ALBUM REVIEW: The Kinks - Preservation Act 1

    In the book of Samuel in the Old Testament, David sings "Oh how the mighty have fallen" upon hearing of the death of Saul and Jonathan - indeed, how the mighty fall. The Kinks opened the decade with an unbelievable momentum and power, having previously released two of their greatest albums with The Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur, and then immediately following it up with the sarcastic and biting Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround. By 1972, though, something was changing within the group - the reflective character studies and British charm of Ray Davies was morphing into a fondness for theatrics and grand ideas, already becoming more evident with Everybody's in Show-Biz. Even with that album being a transitional period, Preservation Act 1 immediately thrusts you into their new ambition - the rock opera! Yes, in the year of Quadrophenia, The Kinks released the first of four rock operas - the end result? Ugh. Ignoring the fact that the plot is just an uninteresting rehash of ideas from Village Green right down to character names (Johnny Thunder is a character in this rock opera. Really.), but the music sits amongst their most uninteresting of their entire career - say what you will about the slapdash inconsistency of their debut or the lacking energy of Percy or the annoying Everybody's in Show-Biz, they didn' act like they were bigger than they were.

    Once you sit through this centrifugal mix of vaudeville and rock that makes Paul McCartney's most granny music moments look like "Helter Skelter," you might try to piece together the plot of Preservation. For what it's worth, it's not overly convoluted, with consistent themes of self-preservation, greed, power, and "borrowing" some ideas from their earlier, better albums. If you ask me, the references to village greens and Johnny Thunder and the old ways of British life is an attempt to try and get the listener to think "Wow! What a cool reference," but it instead comes off like a Disney live-action remake. The character struggles between Mr. Flash, Mr. Black and The Tramp are surface-level at best, with the two former characters looking after their own self interest of "business" or "keeping the world clean," and of course The Tramp is the middle man who looks to find the best of both worlds - who could've seen it coming. Maybe these character dynamics will further be explored in Act 2, but my expectations are thoroughly low after this album - apparently this was better on-stage, though, but my critiques remain. Even in comparison to the rehash nature of Show-Biz, Preservation feels like a retread in the worst possible way.

    At least the music is good, right? Are you fucking mad? Outside of the admittedly... well sweet "Sweet Lady Genevieve" and the musically compelling rocker in "One of the Survivors," there is very little to be gained from consuming Preservation Act 1 - the musical equivalent of a Burger King meal. The wordless introduction of "Morning Song" isn't necessarily insulting, but it's a flat-out confusing way to begin - say what you will, it sets the tone at least. Most of the album has a sheen of horns that was certainly present on Muswell Hillbillies, but instead of sounding natural or part of the sound, it just sounds cluttered at points - and the goddamn choir, don't get me started. On the seldom moments where it sounds theatrical enough for the album's ambitions like "One of the Survivors" or closing track "Demolition," something still manages to fall flat. It's not like Ray couldn't make a concept album work - he just got off a streak of great records all centered around certain concepts, and even the disappointment of Show-Biz managed to work conceptually. Maybe the concept is just weaker here, or maybe it's just that Ray is hitting a serious dud period - it's hard to hear the Great Value Village Green song of "Sitting in the Midday Sun" and think otherwise.

    You may notice that I haven't really brought up many individual songs, and to that I say that I would if any particular thing about this album was of noteworthiness. It's easy to chalk up the Preservation concept as a major fuck-up, because that's exactly what it is - an overly ambitious, somewhat pretentious rehash of ideas that had been done far better on previous albums than on here. While only a few moments of this album are outwardly repulsive, the entire rest of the thing plays like a car without a motor - the ideas are all here, but Ray Davies for whatever reason cannot get them across in a compelling way. Act 2 is twice the length (being a double album) and is supposedly much more plot-heavy - it's also ranked as one of their absolute worst albums. Who knows, maybe it will be better, but I doubt that it's quality will affect the fact that Act 1 is a major bore.

RATING: ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯

Listen to Preservation Act 1.