The Kinks - Are The Village Green Preservation Society (1968)

This is a band I should like. Everyone knows The Kinks. They wrote "You Really Got Me" well before Van Halen existed. "Lola" is probably the greatest song ever written about almost going to bed with a transvestite. And although the subject matter is kinda stupid for such a sad epic, I love "Celluloid Heroes," possibly way too much.

I know a few other Kinks tunes, but have never done a really deep dive. I get the sense that compared to the other British invasion bands of the mid 60s The Kinks were more like early punk rockers- harder than The Beatles, less raunchy than The Rolling Stones, not quite as deep as The Who, and capable of creating iconic guitar riffs with the best of them. Hopefully that sense is correct and I'll come out of listening to Are The Village Green Preservation Society with a new appreciation for the sum of The Kinks output.

I am immediately disappointed by the sound quality of the album. Are The Village Green Preservation Society was released on the same day as The Beatles, so I know The Kinks could have done better than this. It's a bit too crunchy and the drums sound really boxy. The vocals are also quite low in the mix. The first 2 tracks are just OK, but things take a turn for the better with "Picture Book," which has a great boppy riff. I completely forgot The Kinks made that song. You might recognize the riff from the Green Day song "Warning."

"The Last Of The Steam Powered Trains" has a familiar feel. It sounds like The Kinks probably should have sued John Fogerty for "The Old Man Down The Road" instead of the CCR castoffs. "Sitting By The Riverside" is a trippy number from a French cafe in your nightmares. Not sure how else to describe it, the accordion overdubs are quite dark and disturbing. "Starstruck" is a good song, but it has an annoying earworm chorus. It's been stuck in my head for the last twenty minutes and just won't stop.

Other than the somewhat poor sound quality I don't have any real complaints about Are The Village Green Preservation Society. I guess the title is a bit pretentious, but pretentiousness is mostly forgivable if the music is good. I was hoping for something a bit harder, but at least they had the sense to use a lot of acoustic guitar while playing a touch soft. I liked it a bit, not a whole lot, but enough. 3 stars.