The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society Poll

This album blows my mind.

...no narcotics needed, I should add.

Where's all the love for Starstruck?

It is out there. My second choice, matter of fact.

Wicked Annabella, 'cause it's scary!

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

what

As always, the lurkers vote for the hit.

that's because the hit is the fuckin bomb

Well, it's OK. There are better tracks though.

3 people voted for "Phenomenal Cat."

Yay!

3 people voted for "Phenomenal Cat."

― da croupier, Sunday, October 7, 2007 9:16 AM (2 years ago) Bookmark

i heart ILM sometimes

(not that i would've voted for "phenomenal cat")

Write-in for single-around-the-time-of-the-album: "Days" blows this whole record out of the water. And that takes some doing.

"People Take Pictures of Each Other" – 2:10 1

I'm surprised, and surprised that no-one else was.

That's probly my fav. It pops into my head all of the time. I hate people who think that just b/c they have a digital camera they've suddenly been appointed documenter(documentarian?) of every goddamn social event.

Also, did anyone else notice this?:

This is really difficult, but I ended up voting for "Village Green".

― Geir Hongro, Tuesday, October 2, 2007 4:49 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark

As always, the lurkers vote for the hit.

― Geir Hongro, Saturday, October 6, 2007 12:33 PM (2 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

that's because the hit is the fuckin bomb

― roxymuzak, Sunday, October 7, 2007 7:52 AM (2 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Well, it's OK. There are better tracks though.

― Geir Hongro, Sunday, October 7, 2007 7:56 AM (2 years ago) Bookmark

"Village Green" came seventh.

Ha! Song name mixup! My bad!

Title track is easily my least favourite.

I like these:
"Last of the Steam-Powered Trains" – 4:03 1
"Monica" – 2:13 1
"People Take Pictures of Each Other" – 2:10 1

more than these:
The Village Green Preservation Society" – 2:45 11
"Big Sky" – 2:49 8
"Animal Farm" – 2:57 7

"People Take Pictures of Each Other" – 2:10 1

Disgraceful. I've always liked the Fiddler On the Roof vibe of this song.

I never reckoned much on this album back in the day, as it was supposed to be all about British Village Life as such.

Yet, line two is "God bless Donald Duck" which is USA, so I got the impression the whole album was sarcasm. Which put me off.

Eventually, I got a nice copy of the mono album (the opening track has an edge warp, which just about plays OK if the turntable is in a good mood), and enjoyed it more.

Then, "People take pictures" was on some ad, and it prompted me to dig it out again. (That track wouls have been a hit single, reckons I)

Then I managed to get the 10CD Kinks boxset for £25 or suchlike (see pollthread)

I think Ray Davies what knew about 'British Village Life' would probably have fitted on the back of a postage stamp. Unless Muswell Hill counts as a village.

Would have voted for either 'Big Sky' or 'Animal Farm', with 'Monica' and 'People Take Pictures of Each Other' being the two I like but don't love as much as the rest of the album. Superb record though, easily one of the finest albums to come out of the UK in 1968.

title track
walter
starstruck
sitting by the riverside
steam powered train

one of these^

or village green

I love the instrumental break on 'Last of the Steam Powered Trains', and I was surprised to learn that 'Village Green' was recorded a couple of years before the album but yet they didn't do anything with it until '68.

I love this album. Definitely one of the best 60s pop albums (up there with Pet Sounds, Revolver...).
The flow of fantastic melodies is unstoppable and the sound is warmer and fuller than on their previous output.
I'm surprised by the winner of the poll, though.
It's a good and fun song but nowhere near many of the other tracks.
I would have said "Animal Farm" or "Village Green".

"Walter", definitely.

Also, "King Kong" from that time is such a prelude to T-Rex !

I'm surprised by the winner of the poll, though.
It's a good and fun song but nowhere near many of the other tracks.

I agree - I love the track but see it more as an extended intro to the LP.

honestly think this is one of the best albums ever made. hard to pick a favorite but "Animal Farm" bounced around in my head for a very very long time.

this thread reminded me to listen to this beautiful album again, good job guys

They were on fire from 1966-1971 ... they had an excellent singles discography from 'You Still Want Me' onwards, of course (their cover of 'Long Tall Sally' is a bit meh) but I love pretty much almost everything they put out 1966-1971.

The six albums from Kink Kontroversy to Lola are a fantastic run. Who has done better than that besides Frank Sinatra in the 1950s?

impossible to choose, really, but i'd have gone with "walter" which always makes me melancholy. prob my favorite album of the decade.

Yeah they were incredible during that period. I must say I don't know much about their post Lola albums.
As for the Village Green album, I thought there might be something lacking for all its perfect pop : there's not really an emotional song, like "Waterloo Sunset" or "Don't Talk" or "God Only Knows" for Pet Sounds or "For No One" for Revolver, for instance.
It's mostly all pure upbeat pop. "Village Green" might be close to that kind of emotional song but it's not exactly that. There's more distance (in the songwriting and the arrangements).

AIXTC - some versions of this album include 'Days', which should be that emotional song you're looking for.

I have this album in mono and stereo edition, all on one disc, which has the original tracks as well as additions like Days. Lots of greatness.

I could go with the winner of the poll, but Last of the Steam-Powered Trains is another of my favourites here.
(But if Days would be eligible, it'd be Days!)

The fact that 'Days' (one of my favourite songs of all time) isn't on the album yet the album is still incredible says a lot about how strong the songwriting is.

the Kink Kronikles compilation that covers this period is insanely good as well, and includes a lot of the awesome singles that weren't on the albums

The six albums from Kink Kontroversy to Lola are a fantastic run. Who has done better than that besides Frank Sinatra in the 1950s?

― Josefa, Friday, November 10, 2017 2:41 AM (seven hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

The Percy soundtrack, though...

I mean, it's not awful, but it's hardly on the level of the records that came before and after.

Wikip has Percy coming after "Lola" i.e. it's the last Pye album

Percy did have one great song on it though. I think it's called "God's Children". Given that it's a soundtrack and they did do the excellent Muswell Hillbillies the next year I guess I can forgive them for it.

wait, not the next year. the same year. though MH was clearly a different sound that doesn't really jive with the Pye era. it's probably the only great album they did outside it.

"The Way Loved Used to Be", "Moments" and "Dreams" are all excellent too, re: Percy soundtrack

Those three and "God's Children" are better than most of "Muswell Hillbillies".

"God's Children" is an incredible song, was a long time before I heard it

Wikip has Percy coming after "Lola" i.e. it's the last Pye album

― Mark G, Friday, November 10, 2017 10:32 AM (one hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

D'oh, you are correct! I probably misread your post as "Kontroversy through Muswell Hillbillies," which is often pointed to as The Flawless Run.

That wasn't me.

the Kink Kronikles compilation that covers this period is insanely good as well

and the great lost kinks album, which came out a year later and is every bit as good, compiling b-sides, unreleased miscellany, etc., from the same insanely good era.

honestly I wouldn't mind seeing him give it a go

I blame Shel Talmy

haha probably something about the mic placement

I can’t think of another band of their era that would’ve benefited more from an outside producer.

so otm, as are the preceding posts re: production. this has always bothered me, even though i've learned to love the records dearly in my own way. it's a shame, such a shame

I got the ridiculously big "Muswell/Showbiz" box for ridiculously cheap from the official kinks website.

I don't hear any production issues, although there must have been some as "Rays Remixes" are all over it.

VGPS is definitely a murky sounding album. They did all their early albums at Pye (Downtown, In the Summertime). When they switched studios for Lola Vs Powerman.... holy shit, what a quantum leap in sound quality.

Totally agree that VGPS shares sonics with SF Sorrow (done at Abbey Road, though...)

(done at Abbey Road, though...)

And produced by Norman Smith! Leaving aside his Beatles track record, Sorrow doesn’t even have the clarity of Piper At The Gates Of Dawn.

Oh Ray, what would you say?