The Kinks Kinks - Part One, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround (Vinyl, Pye Records, 1970) ***** The Kinks Percy (Vinyl, Sanctuary Records, 1971) ***
The Kinks Everybody's in Showbiz (CD, RCA Records, 1972) ****
The Kinks Preservation Act 2 (Vinyl, BMG Records, 1974) **
The Kinks Misfits (Vinyl, Arista Records, 1978) ****
The Kinks Low Budget (Vinyl, Arista Records, 1979) *****
Genre: Pop, rock
They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7
Active compensatory factors: It was a strong, positive start to the seventies for The Kinks.
In actual fact, the first two albums I ever bought by The Kinks were Lola Versus Powerman, and 2o Golden Greats while I worked at Marbecks. For quite a while I was content with those two albums. The years went by, until one day Roger Marbeck gave me a tape of The Kinks' One for the Road - a double live album. That was it! I had to hear more!
We'll get to One for the Road in the eighties post but in the meantime, there are quite a few studio albums to listen to before then.
Starting with Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround from 1970. It's another Ray Davies' concept that drives the album. This time his target is the music industry itself generally and specifically song publishers, unions, the press, accountants, business managers, and life on the road.
The lyrics balance anger with keen wit and the music is richer thanks to the expansion of the band to a five piece with John Gosling's arrival on keyboards. The big songs like Lola and Apeman are not the only highlights. I especially love This Time Tomorrow, A Long Way From Home and Powerman. Percy is a 1971 film soundtrack that Ray wrote for the British comedy film Percy (the name the lead character gives his penis). The soundtrack is a treat - some terrific rock songs (the blues!) and instrumentals (Lola is a delight). It remains an oddity in the Kinks Katalogue though.
Still in 1971, and Muswell Hillbillies continued the momentum and Ray's sense of being from another era entirely. The brilliant opening track (a real feature of all their albums) 20th Century Man tells us I'm a 20th century man, but I don't want to be here. Spot in self-analysis.
The album is a loose concept centering around the working class - hence the brilliant cover photo of the band in the corner pub. AllMusic sums up the album well: Throughout it all, Davies' songwriting is at a peak, as are the Kinks themselves. There are a lot of subtle shifts in mood and genre on the album, and the band pulls it off effortlessly and joyously.
Everybody's in Showbiz is a double album with two sides being a new studio album and then two sides live from a couple of nights at Carnegie Hall. The live album is a lot of fun but it's a weird combination with the studio set in some ways, and Ray's American drawl gets pretty old, pretty fast.
The theme this time is the rock star lifestyle and celebrity culture (he was ahead of his time). A melancholy mood is present in the studio songs - especially on Celluloid Heroes - another classic song by Ray.
Preservation Act 1 and Act 2 came from 1973 to 1974. Overall, it's a mess in terms of a concept and how it was presented. Act 1, acts more like an introduction to the characters, and all the story is condensed into the second album. I never quite know what's going on. But then again, I am not much of a musical theatre fan, even if it is The Kinks.
Although barking mad, at least Act 1 has some interesting songs that stand alone like Sweet Lady Genevieve, whereas Act 2 is beyond my understanding and taste - it's all over the shop.
The Kinks were expanded for these two act productions. Ray, Dave, Mick, John Gosling and John Dalton were joined by the brass section of Alan Holmes, Laurie Brown and John Beecham. All that plus a chorus. The 'over-egged' phrase comes to mind.
The next musical theatre centred album, The Kinks Present a Soap Opera, wasn't as po-faced as the Preservation albums. It even kicks off with a good song (Everybody's a Star) featuring one of Dave's guitar riffs.
Compared to Preservation, the whole concept of Soap Opera is much more manageable and understandable - how ordinary people can dream of becoming stars. Very relevant to the 21st century, if not 1975. The whole thing is camp and flamboyant and OTT. Which has an appeal!
The Kinks Present Schoolboys in Disgrace was also from 1975, and while still in their theatrical period (the title gives that away), it is a creative whole thanks to the 1950's musical direction - doo wop and rock'n'roll and its theme of education. That said, the camp excess was still a holdover from Soap Opera and so it has a limited appeal outside of Kinks fans. Thankfully, it was the last in this music theatre style.
That said, there are some cracking songs on the album. Highlights: Schooldays; I'm in Disgrace; and especially The Hard Way.
Sleepwalker, from 1977 - the year of the punks, marked a return to straight-forward rock songs. The new label - Arista made it clear that they'd rather not have the camp concepts that had been Ray's go-to during the previous four years. It also marked John Dalton's last album as a Kink.
It's okay, but full of not particularly inspired rock songs. Better was to come with the next album - Misfits. Ray sounds much more interested in delivering some solid stuff. This album marked the end of John Goslings' time as a Kink.
The band and Ray mean it maan on Misfits. It's full of chunky rock guitar (Go Dave!!) and big rawk moments. Highlights aplenty on Misfits: Live Life; Misfits; A Rock'n'Roll Fantasy.
Things got even better still with Low Budget. It has a terrible budget cover but its songs hit a new peak in the seventies.
This was the first Kinks album with Jim Rodford on bass. Every song hits its mark with some brilliant lyrics from Ray. Many of the songs would end up on the 1980 live album - One for the Road. The first album in the next post.
Where do they all belong? Ray and the band were on a roll in 1978 - 1979 -the so-called arena rock era.
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