A review of “The Kinks are the Village Green preservation Society”

Have you ever had one of your parents talk up one of the famous movies of their childhood only to find that over the years it's not quite lived up to the expectation? It's a weird mix of emotions, on one hand the art has a place in history and went on to influence some of my favorite films. But on the other hand the elements that make up the film just simply don’t hold up. The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation society gave me this mix of emotions. On one hand, Almost 54 years after its release, the themes and concepts touched upon within The Kinks' sixth studio record still echo today. Nostalgia, Memory, Time, and Legacy are all universal themes that are touched upon in niche ways throughout this fifteen-track record. On the other hand some of the musical elements just did not hold up, or demand a place in your playlist. The composition of this record is modeled as a concept album, where each song is vastly different but holds an overarching theme. This allows each track to be composed of unique character driven stories paired alongside what is seemingly a musical genre picked at random from a fishbowl. To put the record into a single genre would be harder than describing all of the roles of Johnny Depp in a single archetype. We can hear pop, baroque pop, blues, rock, and folk elements within the album, each song surprises you with new sonic elements not previously present in the track prior. 

Although this record is very diverse musically, some of the songs within this album just missed the mark. 

The Kinks are made up of the two brothers Ray and Dave Davies, both born in Muswell Hill London. As teen’s they began playing mainly skiffle and Rock and Roll music alongside their schoolmate Peter Quaife who played the bass. After signing their record deal with Pye in 1964 they would gain their drummer and finish the composition of the band with Mick Avory. Although their first two singles would fail to reach the charts, their third single ‘you really got me’ would reach number one within a month of its release. This single would go on to characterize The Kinks’ early sound with fuzzy two chord riffs and blazing guitar solos. It's no wonder The Kinks would rise in popularity over the next few years due to the nature of their environment at the time.

The music scene in England during the late sixties directly mirrored the political and social environments of the time. Traditional values were falling by the wayside in pursuit of the new more optimistic sentiments. This change spurred a newfound battleground against figures of authority, whether, in the form of parents, police, or politicians, the rebellious nature grew roots. However, In the face of change, The Kinks decided to turn left when everyone else was turning right. They leaned into their English roots and created a truly traditional record driven forward by the acoustic chord compositions of Ray Davies. England was currently undergoing Beatlemania and a rock and roll rebellion with the likes of the Rolling Stones, the Doors, and the Monkees taking occupation on the billboard charts of the U.K. Instead of flowing downstream riding this wave of blues and rock revolution fueled by lyrical allusions of sex, drugs, and booze that the kinks was seemingly on a collision course for with their previous discography. We are instead granted a record designed to invoke a sense of nostalgia for the ways things used to be. We see this on the title track The Green Village Preservation Society which consists of listed memories such as Desperate Dan and Donald Duck who need to be preserved. This immediately brought me back to saturday mornings sitting on my living room floor watching Roadrunner, Bugs Bunny, or any of the other characters from my younger years run amuck on screen. Do you remember Walter is a  song about connecting with a childhood friend only to find out you have drifted apart. It's incredibly relatable, I know I have long lost friends who I haven't spoken to in years and in the vacuum we have developed completely different lives. the song is heavily driven by a piano melody which almost certainly was the inspiration behind the song Mr. Blue Sky by Electric Light Orchestra, and serves as an interesting dichotomy to the melancholy lyrics. Although the witty and creative lyrics make these songs stand out, musically I just did not find them interesting. These Acoustic heavy songs lack both the bass foundation and unique melodies to pair with.

Even though the Record is mostly filled with acoustic guitar, and the occasional electric guitar or piano, A few tracks allowed The Kinks to flex their blues rock chops. With telecaster in hand Ray and Dave Davies managed to meet the increasing interest in rock and roll influences. Firstly comes Johnny Thunder, a rock and roll track centering on the main character Johnny Thunder who shares the rebellious nature of the genre, and consumes a diet of only water and lightning. This heavier song with more low-end sound comes as a welcome break from the airy previous folk and pop songs that lack this lower spectrum of sound. Coming directly after  Last of the Steam-Powered Trains whose electric blues guitar riff paired with a harmonica immediately evokes the sounds of a railyard and the reflection that encompasses walking down those lonely steel tracks. This song’s minor blues guitar riff is seemingly directly inspired by Howlin’ Wolf’s SmokeStack Lightnin’. Lastly, Wicked Annabella takes direct influence from fellow English rock band The Doors, utilizing electric guitar feedback that injects uneasiness directly into your veins. This tone pairs beautifully alongside the lyrics that follow a local witch warning children of her ulterior motives. This is one of the few songs where the mix of treble in Ray Davies voice mixed with the bass of the heavier guitar riff commands your attention.  

Although the album did impress me, one thing was abundantly clear: this record suffers dramatically from the lack of a low-end foundation for the music to build off of. Many of the tracks have an airy quality where the music floats through your ears weightlessly, never demanding your attention. This comes as a result of Ray Davies debuting as the primary producer of the record, helming the task of mixing and mastering the fifteen tracks. This foundational absence additionally ages the record drastically compared to our time and the bassy low-end music of today. This paired with my leniency toward the genre of electric guitar driven