The Kinks Are...The Classic That Almost Was｜Vinyl Monday

hi I'm Abby I have a lot of records and this is vinyl [Music] Monday so welcome back or welcome if this is your first time here vinyl Monday is the who what when where why and how do I feel about classic albums in my collection if 30-minute episodes aren't your thing don't worry I also do vinyl Monday in 60 seconds here on my channel over on my Instagram as well as Tik Tok you guys I up if you've been around here any length of time you'll know that I cannot do basic mathematics to save my life and that numberers illiteracy has now affected mod month mod month is the four-part modern classic albums minseries running on Fridays but I miscounted the number of Fridays this month turns out there are five so the next mod month installment will actually be on May 24th I am so sorry for this but considering how quickly next week's main stage video is spiraling out of control I'm honestly kind of grateful but enough about next week and the week after that and all the stuff in between it's getting confusing this week's album is The Kinks are the Village Green preservation Society congrats to those who guessed this one remember if you want to play along all you got to do is check out my community tab that's where I post my hints to what next week's album is going to be I host polls where sometimes you get to pick what's on the series I make announcements when I'm places that aren't here you can find all of that on my Channel all right let's take the plastic off so my copy is a UK original this was a hand me- down from one of my longtime subscribers across the pond sometimes when he upgrades copies in his collection he'll send the old one off to me my original UK monor Rubber Soul came from him my Beatles for sale as well my UK mono blond on blonde was once his this is some nice ass stuff so I can't even imagine what he's upgrading to OG Village greens especially these get ungodly expensive for reasons we'll get into so let's talk about this cover art this is some of my favorite album art of the' 60s right up there with Rubber Soul Odyssey and in the court of the Crimson King the front cover was photographed by John prer this is a brilliant use of light and color with the guys bathed in rainbow like arcs of white light opening up the not a gatefold the technical term is escaping me right now but the album comes out on the inside instead of the Outside Inside is a photo from the same shoot with the guys stood in front of what looks like a projection of a tap history the back cover was photographed by Barry WIIL the guys are in a grassy null somewhere a photo from this shoot was used for the cover in Scandinavia pretty much every territory Village Green was released in got different album art I have to say this back cover kind of reminds me of what 10 years after would do a few years later with a space in time the Village Green preservation Society is Ray Davies or sorry we actually have full government names on here Raymond Douglas Davies on lead vocals guitar keys and harmonica David Russell Gordon Davies on guitar and lead vocals on Wicked Annabella Peter Alexander green law quaif on base and Michael Charles AKA Mick Avery on drums our special guests include Nikki Hopkin on Keys David Whitaker arranging Village Green and Animal Farm and Raza davies's unback vocals Village Green preservation Society or Village Green as I will definitely be shortening it to for the rest of this video was produced by Ray Davies engineered by Brian humph rooll [Music] transition to understand why the Village Green preservation Society is well the Village Green preservation Society we have to understand where the taste for preservation comes from what did The Kinks want to preserve and why the mid to late 60s in Britain did not just see a cultural revolution there was a massive overhaul of Britain's infrastructure some sectors of the public pushed back on this makeover seeing it as a loss of Britain's national identity and destruction of History seeing artifacts of workingclass New England disappear you know tobacco barns being torn down for Amazon Fulfillment centers and a new dunan cropping up on every corner I can relate to the complex things these people were feeling you know you're losing the place you grew up in this revolution had a double whammy for The Kinks with groups like The Experience cream The Yardbirds at the very end of their run fleetw Mack in their infancy British pop music was sounding more American and more Back to Basics than ever if you're up on your Kink's lore you can imagine how the guys can't really relate to this trend if you're not up on your King's Flore they were banned from the United States for 5 years because Ray punched a union head in the face Ray simply had too big an idea for this Back to Basics thing he wanted to make an album that was a snapshot of all things British the guys going to dance halls as kids see jangly piano and Brass pushed this project in the direction of Baroque pop this is bolstered by presence of the mellotron the same model John lennin played on Sergeant peppers and Rod Argent played on Odyssey and Oracle thematically Ray wanted to C capture the Britain the guys grew up in last of the steam powered trains is about the decommissioning of rural Railways animal farm and Village Green reminisce on the good old days living in the country and the title track Harold's preservation of the institutions of old there's an appreciation for nature on songs like sitting by the Riverside which follows the tradition of writers like William Blake he also influenced Nick Drake who we covered a few weeks back and of course there's a hefty dose of stalgia picture books and photography Galore work on Village Green began before production of the previous album something else Village Green was very nearly a ray solo project and the original concept was some kind of TV special at some point it changes hands to the band and considering the scope of a project like that it was shelv in favor of something else the TV idea did come back later see the origins of Arthur a few of the Village Green songs were recorded as early as' 66 but re-recorded later on the oldest version of a song we have on this project is Village Green it was recorded in February of ' 67 and produced by shell taly shell and the King's parted ways and Village Green was shelved again until rehearsals at the end of ' 67 then it was shelved again while the band was on break Village Green production finally begins in Earnest in the spring of 68 and long time engineer Alan McKenzie quits they're dropping like like flies man the bulk of Village Green was cut in the spring and summer at Pi Studios the guys would record in bursts with breaks in between the breaks were so that a Dave could release his solo stuff B the guys could tour to support production costs and see the guys could iron out more material why did they need to continuously come up with more because according to Mick Ray was pushing for a double album this makes sense 68 was a big year for the double albums C creams just released wheels of fire and Jimmy Hendrick's about to be released electric ladyland but p v toed a double album for The Kinks it was way too expensive and ambitious a project for a band that just wasn't pulling in the money to support it Berkeley Muse dida's name and rosemary Rose were all cut in favor of tracks that were deemed better suited for the single album format but wait weren't the guys gigging surely that could have funded a double album well yeah it could if the guys weren't flopping so hard they couldn't headline their own fing tour and if their single didn't flop a whole string of singles flopped despite big issues with sales and singles the guys keep trucking on half the album was recorded in July the title track was actually one of the last songs cut in August they hand in what they think is a complete Village Green releas is set for late September member early October all is well until out of nowhere Ray Slams on the brakes he's like wait wait I know I literally handed in the album but it's not done I'm going to completely redo the sequencing haul the whole band back into the studio to record more stuff and remix everything I already have sound good Pi said no it's literally not okay ray because the Scandinavian album r out with the OG track listing had already begun they couldn't just take back the album so by technicality there are two Canon Village greens one with 13 tracks and ones like mine with the two additional songs from the October sessions Big Sky and last of the steam powered trains this conundrum means there are a whole flurry of mixes and all of them are slightly different even the stereo mixes have slight discrepancies 12 tracks stereo got the original intended ending with this but since the label couldn't get that sample cleared on such short notice the 15 track mix ends like this the final version Z versions of Village Green were handed in in November 3 weeks after the album's release Pi shipped it to the pressing plants with whatever the recording industry equivalent of an SOS is the patched version a Village Green preservation Society goes as [Music] follows opening up side one we have the Village Green preservation Society followed by do you remember Walter then picture book next Johnny Thunder then last of the steam powered trains followed by Big Sky and side one closes with sitting by the Riverside opening up side two we have Animal Farm followed by Village Green then Star Struck next phenomenal cat all of my friends were there then Wicked Annabella next Monica and the album closes with people take pictures of each other Village Green was released for real on November 22nd 1968 and if that date sounds familiar well it should be because what album shares that release date oh no big deal just the White Album surprise Ray Davies and his insane perfectionism shot himself in the foot to add insult to injury a week later Village Green caught a stray in the form of The Rolling Stones finally releasing Beggar's Banquet insert the toilet cover debacle here Unfortunately The Kinks who hadn't made an appearance in the states since' 65 just couldn't compete with the two biggest bands in the world sales-wise and and because of Ray beefing with pie over singles there was no honest to goodness promo single International sales of Village Green suffered big time to this day it is exceedingly difficult to find Kink's records here in the States you know now that I think of it Village Green wasn't even the only time the king screwed themselves with a release date because the followup Arthur was released on the same day as Frank Zappa's hot rats and in the court of the god Crimson King these guys could not catch a break dates aside 68 was one hell of a year there was so much unrest it's no wonder an album about strawberry Cham and steam trains sank like the Titanic despite the spectacular circumstances those who actually heard Village Green had great things to say here's what Paul Williams and hey wait a minute that's my birthday had to say about Village Green once Rolling Stone finally got around to reviewing it like months after its release to begin with Paul is a king's fan he flat out States his bias he doesn't mind Village Green's eclecticism as he understands what the guys were trying to do with this thing and appreciates it insert a tangent about that one Kink's live record with the audience cheers on Loop here here we go the Kink's listening experience is quote something that can be consciously related to the sense of nostalgia has less to do with time and things past and more to do with texture if style is how you do it texture is the way you make it feel there's lots of emphasis on texture in this review different sounds different feelings woven together shout out to this guy comparing The Kinks with Eric sat and Maurice Sak overall Paul concluded Village Green is deliberate intentional carefully crafted in narrative music and feeling even Chris gal seems so grumpy in print all the time had some nice things to say about green he called it his quote best record of the year so far right up there with the Flying Burrito Brothers debut Wilson pickets hay Jude and oh God damn it I can't escape either of these two nowadays Village Green is remembered as part two of a four-part run of classic Kinks albums beginning with something else by The Kinks and ending with Lola versus Power Man and the money go round part one man these guys in their long ass titles could give Panic at the Disco Fallout Boy run for their money and Village Green's influence has manifested in some unlikely places sometime in 1969 a young man from Queens cuts his hair like Keith Richards and takes a stage name inspired by track four of this album that's Johnny Thunders of the Heartbreakers the New York Dolls and gang war so what do I think of Village Green [Music] going in like many American fans I have an interesting relationship with the Kinks I hear their early hits on classic rock radio it's no wonder I dig the early stuff I heard have love will travel at age 13 and it ruined me forever Lola through early alt Rock playlists populated by Lou Reed and such heard water loose Sunset and for a long time wasn't familiar with much else as for Village Green I don't think I would have liked this at any earlier stage in my life when you're just getting into' 60s music you aren't usually thrown in the deep end of Baroque pop and concept albums considering how Niche their stuff can be everybody's ideal entry point for The Kinks will be different Paul Williams said as much in the Rolling Stone interview he quote never had much luck turning people onto the Kinks and hoped the reader was already hip to them that seems to be the key for appreciating Village Green unfortunately it's not a record for casual fans I was debating whether to cover this or Lola versus Power Man until very late in the process so late that I filmed two outros for back to black one with this and one with this on my first listen through of Village Green I didn't really warm up to it much but after poking around and finding out about the Epic release date fery I was like okay if for nothing but the story I have to to give this thing a second chance and boy am I glad I did important note to make I really had to rely on active listening this week where I sit down with my setup and do nothing but listen and take notes that's because the mixes of Village Green on streaming services are hot garbage the title track especially sorry Paul having the vocals mix so low and the base so high irks me sh is fine I'll crank the volume to work out whatever saying but I don't want to have to turn up a 60s pop record just to hear the dimension I want it there from the jump aside from wonky sound the title track does exactly what it's supposed to do in these early concept albums defines its character and its story just as the Beatles became Sergeant Pepper Lonely Hearts Club Band The Kinks become the Village Green preservation Society with interests in upholding the pleasures of the old world Vaudeville tea time hitting a the pub with the boys Sherlock Holmes and virginity I think Ray means like unspoiled Land by this and condemning modern real estate development so true bestie the Rolling Stone review points out a certain Detachment in Ray's writing we've passed through nostalgic Declarations of Village Green preservation society and are on to a more cynical do you remember Walter is it just me or does the opening remind you of something oh God it's Weezer n I'm just kidding it's ELO although now you have to live with the knowledge that Weezer covered Mr Blue Sky and it's not bad I don't know if that says more about Weezer or me do you remember Walter still reminisces but it's more bitter than the sweet jam and custard pies of the previous track the narrator Pond the whereabouts of their titular childhood best friend concluding that maybe the most magical thing that could have happened to him is a run-of-the-mill plaintive existence I bet you're fat and married and you're always home in bed by half 8 and if I talked about the old times you'd get bored and you'll have nothing more to say to Walter nothing is as exciting as living in the present even if it's boring to us this is a very melodic record do you remember Walter is no exception there's like three going on here and the vocals don't stay on one note for longer than one note all are equally infectious and pleasing to the ear there's a running theme of photos photography and pictures is there anything more nostalgic than an album full of Polaroids picture book is vignettes of family life summer vacations Uncle Charlie boozing it up with his friends even your embarrassing bare ass naked baby photos when you were just a baby those days when you were happy a long time ago if only life were as simple as it was back then but Ray's detached tone tells us it was was never that simple Chris gal said last of the steam powered trains was the most obvious choice for a single had there been the interest surprise surprise I disagree picture book is one of the Kink's signature songs for a reason it's a catchy acoustic guitar driven Shuffle it would have done numbers here in the states with our folk pop Wave It's delightfully 60s through and through right down to the hey where have I heard that before [Music] picture book is quite strong for pop purposes you knew that I knew that but Johnny Thunder took me by surprise on the early listen throughs it seems Johnny was destined for mythology whether that be in the rock and roll Cannon or the Village Green Cannon he lives on water feeds on Lightning embodying the simple Thrills of youthful Brash decisions he's the exact opposite of Walter the wafting almost The Who esque acoustic and Breezy La laas seem to invoke a flower child makes sense for a true individual who doesn't want money the guitar almost Shadows the vocals for thunder and lightning then shies away I am addicted to this otherwise completely insignificant touch so you know how I said this was a celebration of all things British yeah that all falls apart once you get to last of the seam powered trains it's literally Smoke Stack Lightning [Music] but in a way it preserves something for listeners in the current day it's an artifact of the 60s British Blues boom you literally could not Escape it by 1968 The Kinks had it in their Roots no wonder it weasel its way into Village Green and I'm glad it did it was the first tune that stuck out to me as familiar these are sounds I've spent a lot of hours with and The Kinks do them well it's not a bust down the doors rocker by any means the highest they crank the volume is like a six but the way this song builds upon itself ramps up and crests reveals the sense of play that motivated Village Green's creation the spoken word on Big Sky reminds me of what Ginger Baker did with pressed ratten warthog on Wheels of fire a few months earlier both songs read very British in that aspect but Big Sky is more endearing to me than warthog was I love this beefy really Bassy guitar tone on the scooping r in a sea of Baro pop sounds like acoustic guitars Harps Accords and mellotron it provides necessary body and a Sonic link to the previous track sitting by the Riverside is a totally Carefree tune I could imagine playing on a swan booat it's very theatrical like come on it even has accordion but I like the noisy muddy Crescendo it's an unexpected elaboration on something that otherwise reads saccharine I don't want to jump the gun or make picture book book feel left out but Animal Farm might be the strongest song here to begin with it has one of my favorite opening lines in any song the world is big and wild and half insane half the appeal is in the Cadence with a topsy turvin reminiscent of Sergeant Pepper's Big Top [Music] moments super memorable sticks to your ribs you know I'm a sucker for a jangly saloon piano this one's got it but the guys blend it with acoustic guitar touches of a keyboard and orchestral flourishes the Baseline isn't imposing the drums EB and flow The Kinks did some great backing vocals but these Excel by virtue of Simplicity a song about retreating to farm life could be so hokey but the instrumentation totally transforms it it's a tasteful and balanced song but not star Ray quite passionately yearns for barn cats oddly enough this is the most outwardly emotional I've heard him he the narrator really regrets leaving this life behind tugs at your heart strings a little especially if you're like me and you left the country too having a track titled The Village Green preservation Society abbreviated Village Green and another track titled Village Green has been confusing as hell Village Green cranks the Baroque in Baroque pop 2 A1 with harpsicord and Brass I might also file Village Green under medieval Revival with this very strong emphasis on character-based narrative and what sounds like clarinet the narrator mopes about his childhood love marrying the grosser in his hometown becoming a tourist spot for dumb Americans to gawk at Star Struck was eventually chosen as a pseudo single off Village Green and it flopped literally had they just swapped the A and the B sides it would have fared much better with the PopCap in 68 it wouldn't have been a blockbuster hit but at least it would have charted that's not to say I don't like Star Struck I do it reminds me of something Lou Reed would have recorded for Transformer that theme of Fame and a flashy lifestyle not being all it's cracked up to be reads very warholian but it's just not single material phenomenal cat reads like a fable and kind of loses me but I appreciate the blending of the flute sample with the mellotron and I get a kick out of the sped up I think that was Mick Ray took himself way too seriously to be doing stuff like that you know who didn't take themselves too seriously to be doing stuff like that Sid Barrett this reads like his Piper era writing with gnomes and scarecrows and all of my friends were there is where my focus starts to waver probably because the overarching theme is starting to spiral out of control the flow of this chorus the organ is really nice I wish this was the idea that had been followed through upon I have the same issue with this that I had with passing the time for so long maybe this will grow on me the way that eventually did Wicked Annabella is the local folklore character the Bedtime Story you tell the littles about so they don't misbehave don't go out into the woods at night or Annabella will steal you away woo I'm a bit of a Dave Davies girly I kind of channeled him today with the Ruffles and lace and let's be real I'll take any excuse to wear this dress Dave was the right choice to perform this darker Witcher number with the his voice carries the atmosphere well super groovy psychedelic drums thanks to Mick grittier grimier guitar and bass though not actually grimy Village Green grimy is like having a wrinkly shirt Paul was right Village Green has a lot of textures like that of last of the steam powered trains I'm drawing on to this one it finds a home in my playlist then we have Monica the real life counterpart to the mythical Annabella you know the town everyone knows that Monica glows at night and we hear from the poor soul who fell in love with her I shall die if I should lose Monica in subject matter it's a protol Lola in music it has a quirky Calypso flavor and we finally spun out of control by people take pictures of each other this entirely goofy cartoony observation on how ridiculous it is that we take photos of everything in the age of screens and social media this sentiment has aged like a fine wine but maybe don't drink it because it sounds like the J was spiked people take pictures as quite an absurdest angle to view something so sad none of these moments can truly be captured because you can't ever bottle the feeling is it an apt closer in theory yes in execution not really it's unfortunate that Village Green stumbles at the Finish Line especially if you don't have the maybe the real Village Green preservation Society was the friends we made along the way really though what a baffling little record for its time especially in its historical context it sticks out like a sore thumb this was a time for pulling your socks up and putting your foot down and at first glance this stuff reads as buttoned up pacified lolly in your mouth and everything square but the Kinks aren't Innocents or ignoramuses The Kinks are no squares like another forgotten Baroque pop classic that's getting its dues Odyssey and Oracle Village Green is an example of happy music sad lyrics all these vignettes Ray and The Kinks have shown us these people and places are long gone Village screen's strongest quality aside from musicianship it's remarkable how well all 15 of these zany ideas are executed lies in how it handles Nostalgia sure we can indulge but we can never escape and when we try to we get disruptions is Village Green a Timeless classic as I've seen it heralded time and time again absolutely not this thing is so 1968 my teeth hurt but a that's the beauty of Baroque pop and B what's really Timeless is its subject matter Nostalgia is bigger than ever think about it instant film is more popular than ever synth pop and disco rules the pop charts songs that are 50 plus years old regularly blow up on Tik Tok Love Grows Where My Rosemary Goes anyone and physical media is booming last year Zoomers were the biggest demographic for buying vinyl CDs and cassettes I'm I'm living proof of that statistic I'm not sure how to close this out other than stating the obvious Village Green is perfectly suited for this series an obvious choice really this little corner of the internet is a preservation Society in and of itself is it not silly as this can be it'd be silly not to preserve this in its ranks Village Green is everything this place is textured varied but still tightly woven above above all just far removed enough to see all the most beautiful things with a Discerning Eye my personal favorites off this one are picture book Johnny Thunder last of the steam powered trains Big Sky Animal Farm and wicked Annabella remember if you want to keep up with all of my favorites from all of the vinyl Mondays and all of the modern classic month stuff I have a Spotify playlist Linked In My description I update it every week and that's it that is the kink are the Village Green preservation Society what do you think of this album what do you think of the Kinks leave a comment letting me know I love hearing what you guys have to say about albums I love and remember despite what some guy on the internet has to say your opinion matters if you like what I do here you should like this video And subscribe to my channel I post new episodes what the hell this is heavy um new episodes of vinyl Monday every Monday morning at 11: and the next part of mod month will be up next Friday at noon thank you guys so much for watching and I'll see you guys next week for [Music]

Channel: Abigail Devoe

Views: 15,011

Keywords: video essay, deep dive, fantano, fantano classics, theneedledrop, polyphonic, mic the snare, deep discog dive, the kinks, the kinks you really got me, the kinks village green, the kinks village green preservation society, the kinks picture book, Dave Davies, beatles, 60s, album review, music review, vinyl, vinyl collection, record collection, vinyl community, vc, vintage, devyn crimson, vinyl monday, all day and all of the night kinks, kinks, the kinks Lola, Waterloo sunset

Id: kBe-BfHbYKw

Length: 31min 25sec (1885 seconds)

Published: Mon May 13 2024