album #57

the kinks are the village green preservation society (the kinks)

I loved this album. The Kinks write such fun, versatile music- within their nice, British, pop rock sensibility, they tackle versatile styles- harpsichord delicacy, country & western, hard rock, bouncy pop… they're just plain good. And the lyrics are so clear- for whatever reason, this band's lyrics hit me in a way that almost no other band's lyrics hit.

Lyrically and musically, this is a fascinating, nicely thematic album- versatile styles with a philosophical consistency- a sense of nostalgia, lost illusions, pining for the past, artifacts resisting change- but still somehow silly, sarcastically dismissive of that past, at the same time. Apparently this album sold poorly when it came out- in the turmoil of late 1968- but time has made it not only hugely popular, but strikingly appropriate… I can't help but think of my father's generation, aged and faded.

"Do You Remember Walter" is my favorite- a really great melody and a heartbreaking story. For somebody like me who spends a lot of time thinking about youth and time, it's really an extraordinarily compelling, sad, small tale. Just the simplest story of yearning, memory and age. So simple and beautiful. "Big Sky" is another huge standout. Sounds like one of the most of-its-time songs on the album, something calmly intense, something revolutionary in its tone. And it reads like a startling rebuttal of the idea of God- I think of people praying to that big sky, but the big sky just doesn't care. It's just the big sky, aloof from our chaos, no savior. "Picture Book" is just a classic, bouncy, delightful pop song with that iconic, oft-borrowed guitar riff- "People Take Pictures of Eachother" makes me think of an outsider watching "Picture Book." I like "Johnny Thunder," a song that really evokes the Who- their background singing, the way the instruments hit, the lyrical story of a socially frustrated, strange boy. "Animal Farm" has got a great, swooning, '60s rock sound. I love the harpsichord elegance, the nostalgia and the smarmy wit of "Village Green," probably my favorite track after "Walter" and "Big Sky."

Anyway, this is the second Kinks album in a row that, upon listening, I found almost every song interesting, unique and listenable. I guess I should start delving even further into their catalogue. They might be my favorite discovery from this yearlong music project.