The Village Green Preservation Society

Another pending subject approved! They are lovely! 😍

Awesome music!

This slaps

Fun album

Album 343 of 1001 The Kinks are The Village Green Preservation Society Rating : 4.5 / 5 Favorite Tracks : Picture Book / Animal Farm Fun album. Not a bad song in the bunch. This is one I'll put on again.

loved it, major Beatles vibes

actually so up my alley and dope album name, listened to this all wknd fav: the village green preservation society do u remember walter village green

As far as the Kinks go, I’m only familiar with the hits, but I loved this album and it motivates me to become more familiar with their catalog.

Excellent

The consensus view seems to be that this is the best Kinks album. I might like some albums like Arthur a bit more, but obviously VGPs is a 5-star classic.

This was a great album, jam-packed with great songs, executed brilliantly by great musicians.

Everyone loved it. Heard the origin of a lot of influences.

Love The Kinks, though I prefer the first few albums to this one. Bit more riffy

Loved it!

This one is very unique from the other rock music coming at this time. I’m very glad that this wasn’t just another boring rehashing of 60s rock cliches. The vibes are immaculate with the 60s retro charm. These songs are catchy, fun, and have great creativity throughout. Theres also a lot of fun and weird experimentation for its time. A lot of highlights here, and a song I would consider bad. Great album! I applaud!

Really cool to listen through this album and understand why The Kinks became popular. Plus the music was interesting. Loved this one!

One of the most British things you will ever hear. fun and catchy.

BL: The first Kinks album I got on this generator I was not a massive fan of, I found it a bit reductive. However I'm willing to come into this with an open mind as I am still a big lover of this band. AL: This was awesome, the weird and mildly creepy vocals of The Kinks invoke a rallying cry, it is powerful and the lyrics are incredibly political for the time. Exploring concepts of small town hegemony, culture and the criticisms of it, this album serves as a brilliant deconstruction of many issues. Sonically very sound and some excellent production. Great listen and potentially one of the best rock albums I've had on the generator so far. Was listening to a vinyl rip of this and that made me think about intentional production decisions being made at the time as they may translate better to the format. FT: "The Village Green Preservation Society, "Do You Remember Walter?", "Big Sky", "Animal Farm", "Village Green" 5/5

some nonsense about playing cricket in the rain

This is a fantastic album, and really deserves to be remembered better along with the other great 60s rock albums. Very solid songwriting, interesting storytelling and lyrics and some great riffs too (especially "Wicked Anabella"). The only song on here I don't really like is "All of My Friends Were There". "People Take Pictures of Each Other" was basically decades ahead of its time, more or less predicting modern social media. The only thing that surprised me was reading that the lyrics of the title track weren't meant to all be satirical, I always assumed they were! Listening it again with fresh ears I guess there are some things worth saving in that list. Maybe the point is finding common ground between the old and new and taking the best of both forward?

Perfect introduction.

picture book tantanananantnanantna this along with something else and face to face is the gold of kinks. village green being the more solid one out of all 3.

This is a great album right here. I was pretty excited to listen to this one since The Kinks are a band that I've actually heard of. And you know what? For my first time listening to their music, they did not disappoint at all. "The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society" is not only an extremely influential album, but a really good one as well. While this certainly isn't the first concept album ever made, this was one of the early great examples of what a concept album can be. Most songs on this album focus on the theme of nostalgia and preserving memories. This is very evident with the songs, but fortunately, they don't all feel the same because of it. These songs are quite distinct in terms of both sound and lyrics. Both of those aspects, by the way, are great. I like the varied instrument usage throughout this album, even if quite a few of those instruments were actually just a mellotron. The writing is also quite varied. There are a few songs in the second half that don't really fit the theming and are a bit weaker than the other songs, but that doesn't really detract from the experience much. The sheer influence of this album is hard to understate. This band and album influenced so many other iconic bands and songs that in turn would be super influential on their own. It was kind of funny to find out that the opening of Mr. Blue Sky was practically copied and pasted from a song off of this album. Overall, this is a great album that absolutely deserves its place as one of the top 1001 albums to listen to before you die. 5/5.

- I am familiar with the Kinks and have previously listened to a few of their songs including the titular song on the album 'We Are the Village Green Preservation Society'. This was the first time that I had listened to the album all the way through. I enjoyed the fairly upbeat nature of the album which got surprisingly sinister?toward the end. It is a much longer album than I would normally listen to in full but I enjoyed and would listen again.

Great

admittedly, this is one of my favorite albums of all time going into this so i am really biased. this album is perfect from front to back! one of the pinnacles of ray davies' genius :)

A classic that still sounds so cool. I really like it.

Love The Kinks, and really love this fascinating, beautiful album. Is it perfect? No, not from first to last (I'm not here for Phenomenal Cat, for one thing, and the album does drop off in the final third). Is it a 5 star album? Crikey, yes.

Possible muse for Jack Johnson?

kinks are cool

Always loved this album. None of their hits but just a very cool album. Not like anything else that was coming out in 1968.

Amazing

Typical Kinks. fine ...

One of my favorite albums. Nothing but great pop songs with memorable melodies, and each song has its own personality and character. I also love that the songs are tied together by the theme of nostalgia. On some songs, lead singer/songwriter Ray Davies satirizes the way we look back on the past with rose-colored glasses. Other times I think he's being pretty genuine and earnest. It's an idea I connect with. On one hand, nostalgia is a powerful, personal thing. It's one of the things that makes us human. But we can also get a little carried away with it as a society. The title track is excellent and functions as a great opening thesis for the idea of the album. And "Picture Book" is a classic. One of the band's catchiest songs. Can you believe that "People Take Pictures of Each Other" was written over 50 years ago, well before the days of smartphones, selfies and Instagram? The song resonates now more than ever. Funny to think that Ray Davies saw this annoying quality in people even back in the 60's. I've been thinking about this sort of idea lately -- how people always complain about the present day and imagine the past to be better. 'Kids these days' are always worse than kids in the past. Technology is always ruining society. But I don't buy that. I think people would have said the same thing 20, 50, or 100 years ago. So is the world really getting worse or is complaining about the present just a thing people always do? Honestly, the whole album gets at that idea but it does so with bright, playful songs. Always a pleasure to put this album on and today it also got me thinking.

I generally really enjoy this era and style of British Invasion rock. The kinks have always been a favorite of mine, managing to be somewhere between The Who and The Beatles in a way that really works for me.

Having only heard they're big hits. This was a feel good dive into other songs. Enjoyed it.

"The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society" is the sixth studio album by English rock band the Kinks. Pop, rock, baroque pop and folk-pop are the main genres with influences of musichall, folk, blues, calypso and pychedelic. It was thought of as an early concept album with a collection of character studies and based on Dylan Thomas' "Under Milk Wood" with themes of nostalgia, memory and preservation. It took the Kinks from pop hitmakers to a favored cult band. The album failed to initially chart but with reissues became their best selling album in the UK. It was also widely lauded by critics. The album begins with a simple pop song "The Village Green Preservation Society." Guitar, harmonization and piano. Lead singer Ray Davies singing about preserving things from England's past. Ray is flipping through a picture book in "Picture Book." A catchy hook with bass, guitar and vocals. So, catchy I thought I had turned on Green Day's "Warning." I believe there was a law suit there. "Big Sky" starts out with guitars, backing vocals and great rolling drums. Someone is looking down on people. Is it God? The second side begins with the wonderful "Animal Farm." Where has this been all my life? The songs starts out a lot like the Beatles' "Lovely Rita" then goes baroque. Guitar, piano and string arrangements. Great musical chorus with the guitar and piano. Anti-urban commentary. The songs take a weirder turn towards the secind half of the second side. Not unwanted. "Phenomal Cat" tells the story of a flying cat who visited exotic places. It starts out with a flute. Dave Davies' as the cat's voice. They go pschedelic in "Wicked Annabella." Drums lead to a charging guitar. Dave Davies on lead vocals as he tells the story of a witch warning the children to stay in their beds and out of the woods. He whispers. The band goes full out pyschdelic at the end....appropriately. This is a fantastic album. The flow of different songs really works. The story telling is interesting. The music is varied with tons of hooks and catchy choruses. All the instruments stand out at different times. It's very influential and you can hear it in a number of 1980 and 1990 songs. An album everyone need to listen to.

„You really got me” is iconic for a reason! Nothing in this album beats it, but it’s still pretty solid.

Ray Davies is a genius

Classic

This is a great album, it's probably one of the Kinks album I listen to the most in full. I love the production and vibe of the album. It's almost more difficult to review albums I know well and just really enjoy, not a lot to say. This one is a 5/5 for me. Standout Tracks: The Village Green Preservation Society, Do You Remember Walter, Picture Book, Johnny Thunder, Last of the Steam-Powered Trains, Sitting by the Riverside, Animal Farm, Starstruck, All of My Friends Were There, People Take Pictures of Each Other

i enjoy the kinks immensely

"The Village Green Preservation Society" by The Kinks is a seminal album that has garnered both critical acclaim and public indifference. Released in 1968, the album, often considered a concept record, explores themes of nostalgia, societal change, and preservation. 1. Lyrics Ray Davies, the lead songwriter, delivers poignant and reflective lyrics throughout the album. The songs paint a vivid picture of a bygone era, celebrating the simplicity of small-town life while also addressing the challenges of modernity. Tracks like "Village Green" and "Do You Remember Walter?" showcase Davies' storytelling prowess and ability to evoke a sense of longing and introspection [1]. 2. Music Dominantly acoustic-driven, the musical landscape of the album is charming and melodic. The instrumentation, featuring acoustic guitars, pianos, and orchestral arrangements, contributes to the album's warm and inviting atmosphere. Ray and Dave Davies' harmonies add a layer of authenticity, creating a sound that resonates with simplicity and sincerity [5]. 3. Production The production of "The Village Green Preservation Society" has been a subject of debate. Some critics praise its lo-fi charm, considering it a deliberate choice to enhance the nostalgic feel. However, others criticize the mix, citing it as inconsistent and occasionally detracting from the overall listening experience [2]. 4. Themes The album explores diverse themes, ranging from the preservation of cultural heritage to the impact of progress on small communities. Each track contributes to a broader narrative, creating a cohesive thematic structure that reflects Ray Davies' keen observations on societal shifts during the late 1960s [3]. 5. Influence "The Village Green Preservation Society" has left a lasting impact on subsequent generations of musicians. Its influence can be heard in the works of artists who appreciate the fusion of folk, rock, and storytelling. The album's ability to capture a specific moment in time while addressing universal themes has solidified its place in the pantheon of influential records [6]. Pros and Cons Pros: Lyrical Depth: Ray Davies' lyrical prowess shines, offering thought-provoking narratives. Melodic Charm: The acoustic-driven melodies create an inviting and timeless musical landscape. Influence: The album's impact on subsequent generations attests to its enduring significance. Cons: Production Inconsistencies: The mix has faced criticism for its occasional lack of cohesion [2]. In conclusion, "The Village Green Preservation Society" stands as a remarkable exploration of the past in the face of an evolving present. Its lyrical richness and melodic charm continue to resonate, despite some production criticisms.

A pleasant surprise! It’s the Beatles meets The Stones meets Lou Reef. I like some other Kinks stuff but I didn’t know this album.

One of my favorite bands. They didn’t release a bad album in the ‘60s, and this is one of their best.

Beautiful

Very pleasant listen

After being briefly banned from touring the US, The Kinks started looking inward to their own homeland for inspiration. The result is a concept combining the traditionalist British culture with the loose, unrefined and experimental youth culture. An early concept album, a cult classic and some of their best music.

I think is my favorite band

No conocía este grupo, y me encantó. Suenan muy bien.

I love this album. Catchy songs with interesting story lyrics. Very English!

I thought I liked The Kinks, but obviously not super well, because this album totally missed me! This is really good! Right up there close to Beatles or Nilsson stuff. Village Green is the right mix of psych and pop. Feeling it a lot. Gonna go 4.5 on this one!

Super fun and great album

4.5 stars rounded up. I love the concept and almost all the tracks work. My only gripe is that I have to listen all the way through. Everything is solid and coheres. Nothing stands on its own as an isolated track.

Great

4.5

Side 1 is flawless Side 2 is also great

HAIKU REVIEW English countryside captured in tiny snippets. British time capsule!

simply amazing

I've always loved the Kinks but for some reason this album was off my radar for many years. I was given a burnt copy as a last minute birthday gift one year and on first listen I found it bizarre on first listen. Months later it cam up on random and I decided to give it another go and discovered this is one of the best concept albums ever released. Why the change in opinion? There isn't a song out of place, no filler, no half sketched ideas. Perfectly crafted pop that's influence lives on over 50 year later - it is more important to Brit Pop than most other albums.

De jaren zestig: de een begon De Eenzame-Hartenclub van Sergeant Pepper, de ander hield een Bedelaarsbanket, en deze heren stichtten De Vereniging tot Behoud van de Dorpsbrink. Het leuke aan de Kinks is die relaxt-ironische houding die hier tot grote hoogten wordt doorgedreven. Zowaar ga je een beetje naar de teksten luisteren, toch een prestatie voor iets in het Engels. Het schijnt dat er onder alle ironie zowaar echt een laagje gemeende nostalgie zit. Hoe dan ook, ik vond dit album een aangename verrassing. Ik ben voor de aardigheid maar eens royaal met de punten.

Uno de los álbumes más consistentes de la legendaria banda inglesa. Con canciones como “Picture Book” construyeron el panorama del Jangle Rock alternativo de los ‘90s, además de jugar de forma sumamente eficiente con la psicodelia con canciones como “Big Sky”, “Phenomenal Cat” o “Do You Remember Walter?”. Un indispensable para cualquier fanático de las tendencias más alternativas de la música anglosajona.

August 6, 2023 not 1st listen maybe the most British-sounding album I've heard, and I've heard many British-sounding albums But it's also an old favourite of mine, as far as non-Beatles 60s pop goes, and I relish an excuse to listen to it again. I actually had the opener as a morning alarm last month, and it's been stuck in my head continuously as a result. "God save Donald Duck, vaudeville and variety!" <3 HL: title track, "Animal Farm", "Village Green", "Picture Book", "Big Sky", "Last of the Steam-Powered Trains", "Starstruck"

old rock full of brit style

Of all the 60s era i definitely love Kinks the most

I love this album. I loved it the first time I heard it and it has held up on countless listens. I was really into the early Blur albums before I listened to Village Green, so I immediately connected to the similar observations on provincial English life. One of my favorites.

Three 60’s albums in a row. That’s cool, I guess. I love the Kinks for how much they indulge in their… Britishness? Britainism? Britishity? Wait. Anyway, their baroque pop is just really enjoyable. Apparently this is a concept album about stories or something like that. I just think it has good songwriting . I don’t know how to end this, so I’ll just close out with the fun fact that my band at School of Rock (a music learning place, I play guitar) played Picture Book once. I wasn’t on it.

Really great, can see why its a classing. Just nice!

A quintessential English album of the 1960s. Just perfection!

Great

Peeling back the curtain on an interesting, quaint English village…

One of the greatest albums of the sixties. How could I not love a song and album that name checks Sherlock Holmes and moriarty. Overall the perfect mix of nostalgia and critique. Sure, this turns into the worrying politics of ray davies, but this album remains a perfect encapsulation of a certain type of Englishness that has understood it’s no longer the world power, but is happy to remain British, unflappable and unbowed. I love this album, despite where it points. But where it is (not where it points) is an expression of my Anglophilia.

I'm a huge fan of this album. It doesn't have the recognizable hits of some of the Kinks' other albums, but it's the one that solidifies them as the smartest of the British invasion bands, and probably the one Kinks album I listen to the most. The album is so well crafted, full of delightful, melodic songs, sly wit, sweetness and charm. Subtly and elegantly arranged, with elements of baroque pop, folk, and English music hall as well as odd little detours into old timey vaudeville, calypso and psychedelia. The musical choices for each song cleverly highlight the album's central themes of nostalgia and memory, acknowledging the past while also understanding that nostalgia isn't all it's cracked up to be. There's a high level of creativity and nuance here that you rarely find in music. Fave Songs (All songs, from most to least favorite): Picture Book, Sitting by the Riverside, The Village Green Preservation Society, Johnny Thunder, Animal Farm, Last of the Steam-Powered Trains, Do You Remember Walter, Village Green, Big Sky, Starstruck, Monica, Wicked Annabella, All of My Friends Were There, Phenomenal Cat, People Take Pictures of Each Other

Classic album by the Kinks! Peak period for the Kinks with an album devoid of any hit singles, yet has a strong collection of songs that highlight the quality songwriting and musicianship that has been the core strength of the band. This probably was a commercial flop at the time, but artistry shouldn't be judged by sales. This is one of the few deluxe box sets I own, because I want to hear all the music from the recording sessions over multiple vinyl platters, both mono and stereo. I can't say the same for most albums.

I knew hardly anything about The Kinks before starting this generator, with them just being one of the other British Invasion bands for me, but as my partner got a couple albums by them and showed me a few of their songs, I really fell in love. It is just so creative and charming compared to the rock 'n' roll focus still happening at the time. Obviously, The Beatles were also at their creative peak, but that doesn't stop The Kinks, and especially this album, from really standing out. Really looking forward to their three other albums on this list, as this one was awesome. Shame that the leads of the band seem to be twats at times, but that doesn't matter here!

I listened to the first half of this yesterday and rather foolishly decided that perhaps it isn't my favourite Kinks album - but starting from the beginning again this morning makes me think that maybe that's simply a lack of familiarity... It is 60s pop masterwork. Each track is short and punchy. When you listen closely you notice that the harmonisation is absolutely top class. The guitar, bass and drums are faultless. Some of the hooks are just astonishing. I think it is sage to say that The Kinks will continue their 5-star streak.

love it

Such a good album. It’s the perfect length for what it is and such an easy listen. Love it.

Wondeful

5.0 + A bouncy and tuneful record brimming with Kinks' signature British charm. To me this is their magnum opus. I sing along to every song.

Wow, the kinks have finally clicked for me. I'm finally kinky! This was a fun romp with interesting songs that feel like they could be picked apart and examined for ages.

I've got a big soft spot for The Kinks, and this is a fantastic album. So great that I listened to it twice. It may not have any big hits on it, but there's a great energy from start to finish.

Classic Brit 60s rock

Great.

9/10, great album

I loved this album! So kooky and psychedelic and fun.

*chef's kiss*

Classic British music.

Pretty much perfect. Big Sky gets me through those days when the world seems against you.

I thoroughly enjoyed this bouncy classic. Smart, pop-y bangers.

Loved this!

cool

I had never heard this album before, but it is really, really good. Strong instrumentals and harmonies, catchy toons, excellent lyrics. I was really impressed.

9/10. I do love a good concept album, though I do think the concept of this one started to wear a little thin, since you can only sing for so long about how you miss the good old days, especially if you're only going to present an idealized picture of said good old days. Still, I quite liked most of the songs, and pastoral poetry is perennially pleasant, so a high score all in all.

I really enjoyed and appreciated this delightful album. It’s warmly nostalgic and so much fun to listen to.

Totally groovy! I think that I need to expand my familiarity of The Kinks. This 60s rock sounds sweet to me.

Clever and funny and good-hearted. The Kinks can play for me any day. And talk about rhymes: Consortium - awarded them, vernacular - Dracula, affiliates - and billiards. God save Donald Duck, vaudeville, and variety!

I really loved The Kink’s fourth studio album from a few years before this (Face to Face), so I had high hopes for this. To my great surprise, this far exceeded my high hopes! Every song on this appeals to me. This album is quirky, musically varied, and overflows fun! I wasn’t exposed to a lot of The Kinks growing up, but I’m glad to be making up some of that lost time now. I’m becoming quite a fan of The Kinks.

Our fourth album by The Kinks and their best one for me so far. I rated the other ones 4 stars - but this one is a cut above them in terms of songwriting and musicianship. Still super close to The Beatles, but to The Beatles at their best.

Absolutely glorious, The Kinks are such a blast! Fave track - the title track is great, but "People Take Pictures of Each Other" is even better - long been one of my fave Kinks tunes. If we're including tracks recorded in the same session but inexplicably omitted from the album, then "Days" should get a mention too, as it's utterly halcyon, even if it has been co-opted by advertising with a vengeance....

This is bloody brilliant. For me it doesn’t have any standout hits, it’s just back to back gems. Masterpiece. Listening to this only makes me wish I could’ve also rated Something Else 5* too. Great album

More recognizable songs. Beetles-esque sound

Great!

A beautiful album from The Kinks, full of nostalgia and longing for a rural England that perhaps never quite existed. Ray could always write a gorgeous melody and Dave and the band could bring it to vibrant life.

What a great album!

Absolutely classic, if you haven’t heard this you’ve been missing out

It's really good, enjoyed it.

I feel pure joy when I listen to the kinks. They are really great at making catchy songs that are also deceptively intricate. Almost none of their songs are simple 4 chord songs like every pop song today. Their songs often change keys or have interesting chord progressions; it’s pop perfection but it’s substantial enough to keep me interested. I love their vocal harmony sound (Their following album is better than this one)

Such a pleasurable album. Everything feels just right. The songs are all catchy (in a way that's not corny), the arrangement is engaging, fun and organic throughout--I particularly love the spare but well-chosen use of guitars––and the lyrics are witty and biting but never too cynical either. I love it.

Title track tells you what this album is: a memory project, a sonic collage of a time and place. I think that time is both relative (it's the childhood of The Kinks' band members) and also definite (England after the Second World War). The past often feels like an innocent time of untouched pleasures but we know it's an illusion. Things are hidden from children that they can only see with adult eyes. After the War, the Empire was crumbling and a century of unrest was nowhere near over. Of course when you're experiencing childhood and innocence, you're not conscious of it. You turn it into story and song later, in memory, with the benefit of adult hindsight. The tone of a project like that is what The Kinks get right. The songs are not exactly cheerful but have jingly mostly-major-key melodies that often introduce a note of uncertainty or irresolution. The ascending scale in Picture Book over the chorus is a good example of this. Ditto the very end of Sitting by the Riverside where the keys suddenly become uncanny for just a bit and upset the romantic fantasy before the last refrain comes in. The songs are fairly simple pop ballads, almost reminiscent of nursery songs, if you read them straight. But I think most, given the combination of lyrics and melody, are knowingly ironic. This can be a jaded and bitter irony: "You're taken in by the lights, think you'll never look back..." Or more reflective: "People take pictures of each other, and the moment can last them forever, of the time when they mattered to someone..." Sometimes it becomes comically self-consoling out of necessity: "I went to that old cafe where I had been in much happier days, and all of my friends were there..." You need to really listen to hear those hidden notes. I think the comparison to The Beatles is fair and some of the songs can be a little tedious. But it's just a bit more claustrophobic and sad because it isn't committed to being a transcendent experience like Sgt. Pepper. These songs are committed to making you uncomfortable rather than giving you a good time. It makes me want to listen to them again and again to detect their deceptive nuances.

Beautifully complex classic piece of literature detailing the wants of preservationalists in the 70s great highlights all around can't think of anything wrong with it... for the first listen I'm confident in giving it a 9.9/10

It probably does sound a little dated nowadays but this is one of my favourite albums. It's chock full of well crafted songs with plenty of variety yet it holds together really well. I love the punchy production which makes it a little less whimsical than the preceding 'Something Else' album. The lyrics tell imaginary tales from a Ray Davies fantasy land. Diverse fables and characters about childhood, old school friends, old photographs, wicked witches, the pleasures of idleness, god, prostitutes, 1984, cartoon characters, village fetes. To top it off there's some fabulous vocals and instrumental arrangements. Personal favorites include 'Do You Remember Walter', 'Picture Book', 'Phenomenal Cat' and 'Monica' but pretty much every track is a winner. The only (minor) quibble is the lack of a well know "classic" - it's a shame 'Days' was not on the UK edition.

love it, listen to it frequently, not a bad song on it and many top tunes including two or three of their best. wonderful album

All time classic.

Such a lovely sweet little album, brings a slight sweet smile to my face. Not unlike a Bill Forsyth movie with sweet characters that are creatively and vividly captured within the grooves of this album. Some might say it's too light-weight where are those Kink rockers? Personally I don't miss them one but. Ray Davies has always written gorgeous melodies and lyrics and to my ear the arrangements for these songs are absolutely perfect. 5 stars.

Easy listening on the train ride home

Their sound is so freaking delicious. Love the concept thread format.

One of my favorite concept albums. Whereas Sgt. Pepper's contrasted a drab reality with an escape into psychedelia, Village Green escapes into a nostalgia for the past - and stays more grounded in doing so. It has a more consistent and even keeled tone. Okay, it does become a bit unraveled at the end, with the oddness of "Phenomenal Cat" and the jerky but dreamlike "All Of My Friends Were There." Other than that though, this album flows like The River Thames. These songs seem to come from a very real and direct place. The product of honest self reflection. It amazes me that Ray Davies was only 24 years old at the time of recording this album. He was able to articulate the wisdom and perspective of someone well beyond his years. An underrated classic that stands the rest of time.

Just such evocative music, really speaks to Britain in a specific way no other album really does. 4.7

Well, 'Starstruck' and the weird, slightly unsettling 'Monica' are two of my favourite Kinks tracks; whilst 'Picture Book' is one of my favourite pop songs, full stop. Just those three songs alone warrant five stars. But you know what? The rest is a joy too - charming, ambitious and seemingly unfettered by received notions of what rock music should treat as its subject matter. Very British, wry, observant and rather lovely.

Listened to this one twice---mono first then stereo and really liked it both times. I think I like the mono mix better but the stereo version is better quality sound. I previously avoided The Kinks b/c of only having access to deluxe/super deluxe/expanded versions; makes for annoying last.fm scrobbles and I don't like having to look up what the original album included and then have save a playlist to avoid the extra, unneeded tracks later. Anyway, I really liked People Take Pictures of Each Other and Big Sky, which has been in my head all weekend. I think I like this as much as my previous favorite Kinks, Muswell Hillbillies.

Instant 5 for "The Last of the Stream-Powered Trains" - T/E should not be surprised

As English as the queen of englands proverbials! This is classic songwriting!

Love the Kinks and I believe this is their best album. Their true masterpiece.

I love this album... Ray Davies at his whimsical best. happy it was the last one I got to listen to in Australia.

Favorite Kinks album, just a great album.

Wantlist

FIVE STARS An all-time classic and a personal favorite of mine. As is usually the case with those five-stars albums, I won't write a full-blown review about this particular record, because others have already written wonderful stuff about it and there's not much I can add that I feel could be relevant and interesting. It's just a gem. Go and listen to it a.s.a.p. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: 963 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 16 (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 8 Albums from the list I will *not* include in mine (as I think many others are more important): 12 Albums I might not be able to judge (some might end up on my final list but it's because I recognize how culturally important they are): 2

From the title and album cover down, you may think that this is The Kinks at their most San Francisco in 1967 and you wouldn't be blamed. You also wouldn't be blamed if you think this is The Kinks at their absolute finest. One listen to the title track and you are transported into a time when things were simple and not even that description does this album justice. The Kinks' greatest forty minutes and forty minutes well spent.

Love The Kinks. Perfection.

The Kinks have a ton of hits. I can probably name 15 off the top of my head, the majority of them perfect pop songs. And there isn't a single one of those gems on this album. In fact, unless you're related to the Davies or you happen to be Wes Anderson, you likely haven't heard any song from this album. It doesn't matter. This album is fucking great. I loved every minute of it, and I'm almost embarrassed that it took this long to finally get around to hearing it. This is a million times better than all the Byrds albums we've had to listen to here. We should probably talk about Ray and Dave Davies more than we do, or at least more than the press we give to the freaking Gallagher Brothers.

Loved it

I had never heard this album, but I think I will listen to it and see if it hopes up to Soap Opera

This sounds like something the Beatles could've put out. Very experimental songwriting and rock solid execution. This might be my favorite Kinks album.

There are some great sounds coming out of this one. There are timeless hooks and builds that have influenced countless bands. Not to mention consumers. Some songs, or portions of them are ubiquitous in film scores (Darjeeling Limited) and commercials. 'Picture Book' was played in an HP Commercial that played incessantly in the early 2000's. Also the intro from 'Steam-Powered Trains' is used in either some Dick Pills, or Valtrex / STD-type commercials. And why not? With lines like "I'm the last of the good old renegades, all my friends are middle-class and gray" and "last of the good choo-choo trains" big pharma was obviously looking to connect with old dudes looking to plow twenty year-olds. The selection only makes sense. Anyhow, I really love the sound of this album. It's ragged, garage-y and crusty, yet loosely unified in all the right spots... perfect for old dudes. This is The Kinks that I know and love.

Picture Book direct inspo for MD's Salad Days

I absolutely love the Kinks, and this is a classic. Picture Book is the standout tune for me, absolutely wonderful.

5 of 1,001. First time listening, but loved this. Lots of great moments. Will listen to this again.

Wonderful record. Hadn’t realised that it was so ignored initially. “…Walter” a standout track for me.

Really like this album. I'm familiar with the usual Kinks songs but had never heard any of the songs on this album. I keep listening to the title track over and over again. It's got a Lewis Carroll feel to it. The whole album is amazing though start to finish. There are a few silly songs on the album but they don't really distract from the whole and even those have some parts that are really good.

modern b

Arguably the best Kinks record.

Ooh goede zomer vibe i like it Animal farm hype

Я люблю такое

Songs are nice and short, so we're off to a good start. No songs stick out as obvious singles. But overall really good. I actually started listening again after it ended.

Pop sixtie y experimentación en un disco conceptual precioso y nostálgico. Canciones cortas y brillantes. Muy bonito, no tiene que envidiar nada a Beatles ni Rolling.

Loved it

9/10

Outstanding.

This album was great. I love Picture Book, great song.

5 Punkte, da eins meiner all time lieblingslieder drauf ist.

Some rhythms and melodies in here that I know exist elsewhere

Extremely influential

YES love this one already

A favourite Kinks album with some classic songs

i love this

Just some solid tunes. Really enjoyed it.

A fun and enjoyable listen. Some of the best of its era. 4/5.

It's a bit unfortunate for the Kinks that the Beatles are so incredibly dominant in the cultural memory of the late '60s, because this is a clever, articulate, poignant concept album about nostalgia and aging...but as I was listening to it, all I could think was, "Man, this sounds like a lost Beatles album." But of course, the Kinks and the Beatles were operating in the same zeitgeist, influencing and feeding off each other (and the Stones, the Who, and many many lesser-known bands). The Kinks' big hits never excited me that much, but it's impossible to deny Ray Davies' talents as a lyricist and songwriter.

Enjoyed this 😎

The Village Green Preservation Society - 4/5 Do You Remember Walter? - 4/5 Picture Book - 4/5 Johnny Thunder - 3.5/5 Last of the Steam Powered Trains - 4/5 Big Sky - 4/5 Sitting by the Riverside - 3.5/5 Animal Farm - 4/5 Village Green - 4.5/5 Starstruck - 4/5 Phenomenal Cat - 3.5/5 All of My Friends Were There - 3.5/5 Wicked Annabella - 4/5 Monica - 4/5 People Take Pictures of Each Other - 4/5 After being shadowbanned from the U.S., the Kinks decided that they would deviate away from their rock-and-roll and garage rock sound and instead decide to influence the Britpop genre from 30 years later with an album about the England that once was. This nostalgic yearning is different from their next album Arthur (which has similar subject matter) since this is about the more simple things in life rather than wanting the society as a whole to go back to what it was. I'd also like to hand it to them for fitting 15 tracks in 40 minutes, a nice and tight listen for the yearning of the things that once brought comfort. Overall: 4/5 Favorites: Village Green

based conservative music??? is it possible???

4/5

This is a wonderful collection of songs, imaginative music, channeling the Englishness of 60s music. No real hits but very listenable. A potential upgrade to a 5.

In which I discover that ELO didn't just lift stuff from the Beatles.

Always surprised that The Kinks didnt get more recognition. The folky, music hall vibes should be off putting, but really itsa great collection of tunes. If one more hit like Days was on here itd be a 5, as it jt, a strong 4

Kinks still good.

I love this. It's satire, observational and biting delivered in a very British way, mourning the death of a quaint, idealized Victorian England that never actually existed. Great band and song writers.

Silly album. Lots of satire

Jag är övertygad om att personer som inte tycker om den här typen av kul musik (som också har substans) aldrig har haft kul i sitt liv.

I like The Kinks, but wasn't too familiar with any of these songs, but I really enjoyed it. Lots of psychedelic vibes throughout. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

fun pop rock, quite groovy, with fairly consistent songwriting. the recording and mixing are a bit inconsistent, but the overall texture is more or less pleasant and definitely varied.

This album was fun i really enjoyed it. It reminds me of the song We gotta get out of here by the animals (at least i think thats what it’s called) which makes sense as they were from the same era of music . I definitely would listen to it again, and lyrically I really enjoyed the final track people take pictures of each other’s lyrics. I’ve b==never really listened to the Kinks properly before but i will be listening to more in the future, I would give this album a 3.5

classic

Enjoyment: 7/10 Replayability: 8/10 Cohesion: 7/10 Flow/Pacing: 7/10 Artistic Merit: 8/10 Weighted Average: 7.4/10 Review: At first glance, this sounds like a light and fun concept album. But looking deeper into the themes and lyrics shows the dynamic range of the Kinks. This will enter my rotation of albums to relisten to. Liked Song(s): The Village Green Preservation Society, Picture Book, Last of the Steam-Powered Trains, Animal Farm, All of My Friends Were There Disliked Song(s): (None) Recommend? Yes Heard Before? No

Great sound from the kinks. Thoroughly enjoyable upbeat rock. As always with the Kinks it's a lot of fun.

Rach song has a unique sound with the use of a variety of instruments ranging from harmonica to flute. The lyrics drift between old-souls poetry and ethereal fairy tales. An excellent musical journey from start to finish.

Que dire, j’adore les Kinks.

This is one of those albums you have to take the time and place into consideration. This is so unique and was a divergence on what was popular. It's easy to get lost in and enjoy. I doubt I'd put it on often but it is a good listen and has a nice vibe

The Kinks are always a little cheeky and I appreciate that. The Beatles wish they could produce an album as cohesive as this. Production wise, It has an accessible sound that probably added to the inspirational nature of the album. The track lengths are very consumable. Seems like Ray Davies had some influence on Pete Townshend. I was always a fan of the more quirky songs that Pete Townshend wrote for The Who, and never really listened to The Kinks. Similar to my review of Arthur I am very intrigued by this album. The demo like sound I can get past, and has already grown on me on second listen. I found myself sinking deeper into the songs. The song craft is so good. This came very close to being a 5, I just think Arthur hit a little more instantly.

Still stands up so well, although a few tracks feel slightly twee these days. Very enjoyable.

unimpressed, just one nice acoustic tune for me

4.5 Been learning how much The Kinks rock through this project. This is just a really fun, well-made, catchy album. I knew a couple of the songs already, fun to hear them in context, tho. “Picture Book” is one of the most perfect pop songs ever written. Hook after hook after hook.

I really like The Kinks!! This was a pretty solid album! I prefer the album with You Really Got Me.

Kinky the prequel. I like the term Baroque pop. It just feels so perfect in encapsulating this albums vibe

Icons only

The Kinks are a band that I thought I knew quite well, but I hadn't listened to this album. I enjoyed the variety and inventiveness of this. There are some really solid pop tunes on here, though like lots of records of the time they frequently end just as I feel they're about to get going! As an album I would prefer this as a slightly shorter and tighter 10-11 songs; there are a few cases where the simplistic lyrics grate a bit, or where it descends into a bit too much whimsy / tweeness for my liking, but that's the minority and I there is a lot on here that I enjoyed, including hearing the influence on later indie and rock bands that I have separately enjoyed (Shins, Cardiacs).

I enjoyed this one. The kinks rule

Glorious album, a real snapshot of British bands in the 60’s. Packed full of memorable lines and riffs, and made my drive to work a joy this morning. None of the real big hits on this album, which to me makes it even better. The Kinks often get overlooked, but they are up there with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones as one of the most important bands in history. A couple of songs which maybe haven’t aged as well as others, but nothing that feels too out of place.

Strangely, I was skittish about this beforehand. After the Kinks were restricted from the US, I know their sound definitely got more British in nature, and kind of foundational for the whole Britpop scene later. So perhaps I was expecting proto-Blur...not that I would know what that sounds like, exactly. What I got instead was a very charming pop rock album, with great songwriting. British, yes, but not so much so that it felt too foreign for me to identify with. The whole album is good, and while it has potential to be a 5, the few listens I had didn't get me quite there. A strong 4, then.

Post-script: I originally gave this one the 5, but Arthur is just blowing me away more these days. This is still a near perfect album! I'm with the critics on this one. The Kinks are one of those very, very special pop/rock bands in history. The Davies' brothers wrote a ton of amazing music, with memorable hook after memorable hook, only to never really find the same financial success as their peers. To this day, I barely find ANYONE that holds the Kinks in as high regard as other more famous British Invasion bands, but they were probably the best songwriters of all. Better than the Beatles? Who knows, I love the Beatles. You have to take this album at face value. The lyrics are the stuff of brilliance. Very English in its humor, sure, but brilliant satire and observational comedy the whole way through. Some examples of this: "Picture book, when you were just a baby Those days when you were happy A long time ago" "We are the Sherlock Holmes English Speaking Vernacular Help save Fu Manchu, Moriarty and Dracula We are the Office Block Persecution Affinity God save little shops, china cups and virginity" "Big Sky looked down on all the people who think they got problems They get depressed and they hold their heads in their hands and they cry People lift up their hands and they look up to the Big Sky But the Big Sky is too big to sympathize" "People take pictures of the summer Just in case someone thought they had missed it Just to prove that it really existed" "I'm the last of the good old renegades All my friends are all middle-class and grey But I live in a museum, so I'm okay I'm the last of the good old fashioned steam-powered trains" The best part is how they are able to get such masterful prose and make it sound rhythmic, melodic, and poppy. As Belle & Sebastian would do decades later, this a thinking person's music, filled with dark humor, sentimentality, and wit that should be the makings of great pop hits. I also appreciate all of the diversity of genres explored here, amid the jangly guitars, solid bass/drum combo, melodic riffs, and pretty vocal harmonies - all towards a psychedelic sound that is vintage in a good way, not outdated at all. There are even moments of unsettling noise, such as in "Wicked Annabella" and "Sitting By the Riverside". Not much else to say here - maybe the Kinks don't have a perfect album, but I consider this to be their pop masterpiece. Baffling that it was a commercial disappointment. Too ahead of its time. 4.5 stars.

One of their better ones

This album definitely feels outdated in many ways, but I think it still sounds good. It's not basic. It kind of sounds like The Beatles but sort of better in a way.

So many cool and simple and beautiful tracks on here. It’s transporting honestly. On “sitting by the riverside” I’m doing exactly that.

I'd heard this was supposed to be good, influence on Blur etc but I'd never listened to it. Maybe that biased me in its favour but I thought it was excellent.

Musically it was what I expected but the lyrics took me a little by surprise - in a good way

I know everyone points to the Beach Boys and the Beatles as the reference points for the revival of 60s psych pop in the 90s (a la Olivia Tremor Control), but try and convince me this doesn't sound like an Elephant 6 record.

I'm not a big fan of psychedelic rock, but this is much better than a lot of what I've heard from the genre. I enjoyed almost the entire album, and there's a charm to the songwriting that kept me engaged throughout. I'm not sure I'll ever reach for this one on my own, but I can definitely appreciate what The Kinks were doing here. I'm glad this journey gave me the opportunity to hear it.

So far this album starts with an all time classic, followed by a song that sounds like another song I cant quite place, then a song with the main guitar riff sampled in a ton of songs, but more specifically warning by green day. While scatting in picture book, they reference scooby scooby doo, which didnt exist until the next year. So, yeah, ahead of the curve

Favs was wicked Annabella, liked the playing with sound and atmosphere

…!!

this was such a great start to my day. and adeline loves it as well!

Prima plaatje! Het heeft wel wat weg van The Beatles en soms ook wel van The Beachboys. Leuk dat het album zo divers is! Grappig wel, als het album helemaal dezelfde sound is vind ik het niet chill. Als een album twee gezichten geeft vind ik het waardeloos (maak dan gewoon twee losse platen), als het het divers is vind ik dat juist wel plezant. Maar het allermooiste is toch een verhaal of een opbouw in de plaat. Toch aardig voor een WMvMLplaat.

Me gustaba The Kinks, nunca había escuchado ni este álbum ni estas cancion, pero me gusta mucho el estilo. Banco.

typ första albumet jag genuint gillar sen isaac hayes. hippie känslorna är starka och det är uppenbart att mac demarco kopierat picture book 8/10

Will probably get better for me on future listens but this was still really solid and has a couple of my favorite Kinks songs.

Timeless while still sounding like a time capsule. I enjoyed this much better than I remember the first time through. Last of the Steam-Powered Trains is a banger

Classic Kinks album. Great songs. Send up of British culture at the time.

An interesting piece of music and an obvious influence for all the indie bands. But I don't like indie music that much. What even is indie? Why is it called indie? How does the fact you aren't signed to a label define your genre?

I really enjoyed this album. It’s interesting because it has this looking backwards “dear old England” thing that I think is deeply problematic. But, I do empathise with the anxiety of things becoming more Americanised. The other day my colleague said her primary school aged child had a prom coming up and I pulled a face, “ugh that’s so American, what happened to the year six disco.” I’m not sure I can properly untangle this in an album review. There’s definitely something enjoyable to me about the Englishness of this album, but there’s something uncomfortable about that backwards looking yearning for a past that isn’t entirely real. I did enjoy that a lot of this was presented in songs about memory and about photographs. I liked those more than the ones that were purely pastoral escapist fantasy type songs. All those complicated feelings aside, I really enjoyed it musically. It felt varied enough to stay interesting while being thematically coherent. It suffers a little from starting with the best song and then never getting back to that high, but the rest of it is still good. Fav song: The Village Green Preservation Society Least fav: Animal Farm

Love the kinks and this is not my favourite album but still some great songs in here. Quite English but in a fun way. Specific rating -4.3 Fav song - Village Green preservation society Least fav- animal farm

The Kinks were banned from touring in the US and their response was essentially to write as British of an album as they could. I think it's such a fun concept album and such a distinct theme that really makes it stand out amongst the rest of the list. Favourite song: The Village Green Preservation Society Least: Village Green

A fine album of Englishness. Great storytelling lyrics, as usual, from Ray Davies. The album must’ve stood out during 1967 when psychedelia was in its pomp and there was so much musical experimentation. This is a songwriter’s album. My only criticism is that it doesn’t feature one or two more raucous tracks, as that was Dave Davies strong point as a guitarist. However, that is a minor critique and goes against the concept of the album. 4/5

I've always been in to this one. Still am.

There were aspects of this that kind of made me roll my eyes - the overall sound of this album was very 60s, which isn't really a sound that usually falls well on my ears. I did like a lot of the instrumentation throughout, however. I would personally give this a 3.5, but there were a few songs that really caught my ears, so I'm okay with a 4.

God this album is fun to listen to, and slightly reminiscent of early Beatles work to me. Great instrumentally and lyrically, with great harmonies throughout. Loved every minute of the record.

Kinks have been all over the place in their career

Yes

idk why i thought the kinks were punk but they're just the beatles 2

Cute, kinda like if the beatles were slowly getting sucked into a black hole

I love this album. I have this in the car on cd and keep going back to it. Side one is so good. This album is highly underrated.

love love love. especially "do you remember walter?", obsessed with how the pace changes within the song.

Pretty good!

Refreshingly thoughtful. Good job, Kinks, now a thinking delight. 40 minutes rush by, barely a song much past two minutes. Elegiac and refreshingly inventive at the same time, even nostalgic. So I guess sitting by the riverside mellows you out. (Okay Wicked Annabella is a darkthing, but she highlights the bright appreciation of the green.)

I guess I love The Kinks. This is the fourth album and the fourth 4-star review. Maybe they all really deserve 5s. In addition to the material and performances being excellent, how much influence did this band wield? The Move and ELO totally lifted ideas from Do You Remember Walter (and others), Johnny Thunders... The Kinks are kingmakers.

I loved this! Completely unfamiliar with this era of The Kinks.

Enjoyed this a lot, maximum whimsy

4/5 This album sounds so British, but I really enjoyed it. There was a lot of interesting experimentation. Animal Farm and Sitting by The Riverside were my favorite songs. I really disliked "All of my Friends were There" because of the vocals. There were some interesting chord progressions here and the lyrics about farms, nature, and what not were cool

Two albums from these guys in a row is pretty Kinky, if you catch my drift. I see why people glaze this one in particular – it's often mentioned in polls deciding the best album of a given year (in this case, 1968). The opener/semi-title-track is fine, but having your first song be softly and limply delivered conjures worries that the rest of the album will be the same way. Fortunately, that doesn't end up being the case – but there's a reason most albums start with something relatively hard-hitting. The first few seconds of Do You Remember Walter?, the second song, sound like a near-carbon-copy of the beginning of ELO's Mr. Blue Sky. I had to check that I hadn't accidentally put Spotify on shuffle. A decent song and one that would've worked better as an opener. Picture Book is energetic with a sort of oldey-time rock'n'roll group vocal, like something the Rolling Stones were doing around the same time. "A picture of you / In your birthday suit" threw me for a loop (these guys are supposed to be family-friendly like the Beatles were, right?) The meandering guitar line during the chorus is fantastic though. As is the out-of-left-field "scooby dooby duh" lyric. Then there's Last of the Steam-Powered Trains – a spirited rock-adjacent performance featuring some solid harmonica playing, energetic drums... and a fairly decent melody. Melodies seemed to be in short supply in the 60s. McCartney was hogging most of them. If you're wondering where the post-Summer-o'-Love goofiness lies, look no further than around halfway through the album, with Sitting By the Riverside. It's literally just a Syd Barrett song. A wavery but still clearly good vocal part, various soft accordions and other atypical instruments, a whimsical kind of vibe. Love it. Village Green (real title track??) is much the same. Animal Farm is great too, though pretty unmemorable. Phenomenal Cat arguably takes the "soft whimsical psychedelia noodling" a little too far – that weird chipmunk filter doesn't do it any favours – but the mellotron and song title barely save it. "Earworm song of the hour" award goes to Starstruck. I don't know what to compare this to. The Beach Boys' Heroes & Villains, maybe? No idea. It's kind of a gentler, more acoustic alternative take. Bleh. All of My Friends Were There... Not good. Again sort of reads like a Barrett composition, but those have the benefit of being composed and performed by goddamn Syd Barrett. The Kinks, while very famous, don't have quite the same star power. And they can't keep getting away with psychedelic pastiche, even if it's rare. Now Wicked Annabella, that's much better. Some solid mega-distorted guitar, and perhaps the best drumming I've heard from the Kinks. Not a huge fan of the singing in Monica and People Take Pictures of Each Other to end the album. But most of the other tracks are pretty consistently strong. 4/5 Key tracks: Picture Book, Sitting By the Riverside, Starstruck

Pop Rock Favorite Songs: Do You Remember Walter?, Johnny Thunder, Last of the Steam-Powered Train, Big Sky, Animal Farm, Village Green, Starstruck, All My Friends Were There Least Favorite Song: Phenomenal Cat I’ve heard a few decent The Kniks’ songs before starting this project, but after hearing this album, it was a completely different take of the band than from what I would normally expected from them. That being said though, I’m actually not complaining. Their more calmer elements of the album than what’s usually expected sounded mostly pleasant. There were a few things that I’d wished that they could’ve done differently, but if anything, this album is a welcoming experience. Definitely going into my personal collection. 8/10.

Awesome album

Really fun album!

3.5/5

I never *love* the Kinks, but I almost always enjoy them -- except for when I feel they are too proud of themselves for being silly.

Really enjoyed listening this album. Understand their influence on later bands.

Very old, quite good.

Second album from The Kinks on this list and much like the first I really enjoyed it without it having any tracks I absolutely loved to push it to 5 stars. Top Track - Johnny Thunder

Que buen estilo tienen los kinks!

Great album

Mainly liked it because they dared to be different and made some great songs in the process.

early beatles vibes 100%

Album #115: The Kinks — The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Despite only getting four stars, this is a personal favourite of mine. I absolutely adore this album. I just don’t think, objectively, it’s a full five stars. But I also think The Kinks are vastly underrated when compared to bands like The Rolling Stones and The Beatles and the other contemporaries of the time. I think they were nearly every bit as creative and inventive as those bands, but here I am underrating them again as well, so it’s funny like that. It’s a concept album about a quaint little English village and, while I’m Irish, our villages tend to be kind of similar in terms of quaintness and modesty and all those kinds of manners and little everyday characters. Culturally they’re obviously very different, but there are similarities there too. So this is actually a very relatable album in a lot of ways. The whole quaintness of it is given over to the music. It’s never bombastic. It’s all very subtle and quirky. It depicts different characters you might come across in a village and really it’s kind of giving an album to the everyman. It’s like if Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band wasn’t written about a fake band, but was instead written about ordinary people you’d meet out on a walk. What I love most about it is how catchy it is. Lovely melodies, quirky funny lyrics, every song really short but memorable. Chugging rhythms all over it and there’s never any big solos or attempts at showing off. There’s no real sense of the garage band they started out as. From a musical perspective it feels like a really thoughtful, carefully constructed album. I think as the album goes on it just gets weirder and weirder too. Songs like Wicked Annabella delve into psychedelia, but not in the overt way of someone like Jimi Hendrix. It’s a very English kind of psychedelia. The weirdness is there, but it’s understated. It’s actually quite difficult to review because I’m not entirely sure how to describe why it works so well. I just love it. I love the title track, Picture Book, Monica, Starstruck, Last of the Steam-Powered Trains. I think the rhythm section in particular is amazing throughout the album. Everything just kind of chugs along in this strange, uniquely English way. Where The Beatles explored Indian music and The Rolling Stones rooted themselves in American blues, this feels completely English to its core. Honestly, this might be the quintessential English album. It’s just full of charm and character. Pretty much every song is good. As a side note, I’ve only been listening to the original versions of albums for this project, not the deluxe editions or expanded cuts. I’d never get through the list otherwise. But my favourite song from this whole era of The Kinks is actually an outtake from these sessions called Misty Water. If you haven’t heard it, I highly recommend it. It’s my favourite Kinks song full stop.

A classic, but not in the top division of the best albums of this area. Have listened to it in the past every now and again, and will always continue to do so.

Classic exempel på; "behöver jag lyssna på ett till?" Antar att det här var viktigt för genre eller liknande. MED DET SAGT - jag njöt. Kanske det mest jämna albumet från The Kinks hittills, men faller på inga superlåtar.

Positivt överraskad. Var inte alls sugen på mer 60-tal men den nostalgiska brittromantiken fick mig

So many good little songs on this album, you never tire of them cuz they move by quickly, and each one has its own little vibe. You can hear a ton of different styles and influences as well, but they're all somewhat subtle.

Speels, afwisselend

Yep. First few songs were great. Definitely feel like it was an album of the 60s. Worthy of a listen at least once. For a minute I thought, these guys should have been The Beatles, but I just feel like it didn't push enough. There was definitely recording shenanigans, like playing with stereo. I dunno. Maybe I'm just past my old bands are better than new bands phase.

Released the same week as the White Album in November 1968, this record never had a chance. The Beatles cast a shadow so large that almost anything would disappear beneath it, and Village Green Preservation Society — quiet, nostalgic, and deliberately unfashionable — was exactly the kind of record that gets buried rather than celebrated in that kind of cultural moment. What Ray Davies was doing here is actually quietly radical. While everyone else in 1968 was going cosmic, psychedelic, or political, he wrote a record about village greens, steam engines, old friends, and a vanishing English way of life — and committed to it completely without apology or irony. The contrarianism is part of the charm, but so is the genuine warmth underneath it. This is the British Isles equivalent of what the Band was doing with Americana across the Atlantic — finding something worth preserving in the ordinary and making it feel universal. The songs are consistently strong without any single track towering above the rest, which is both the record's limitation and its defining quality. It sustains a mood and an identity front to back in a way that rewards return listens rather than demanding them. The melodic generosity is real throughout. The record player test passed clearly — something you'd actually reach for again. That's not generosity. That's a four.

Musically I enjoyed this and lyrically it really hit home for me. I read once that they found a stone tool that was 100,000 years old and near it they found another stone tool that was 50,000 years old and, other than their ages, they were identical. Same materials, same exact design, the same tool unchanged for 50,000 years. That is how slowly life changed for 99% of human history. We as a species are not wired for life to change as rapidly as it has been changing since the Renaissance. We are all in constant states of mourning for a world that no longer exists, and in the case of this album (and maybe in all cases), never really existed. We are not psychologically equipped to deal with the world as we know it vanishing during our lifetimes. So, I like this whimsical album mourning a simpler world that the author knew was gone and was never coming back. Even if that world was mostly make believe.

What's not to like?

While it's not their best, it's still super solid, and picture book is an all-time great. Feels a bit like a stepping stone album toward what they would accomplish.

Nice, very Sgt. Peppers vibe.

Hot start, like it

algumas cópias dos beatles são legais

Just a classic. The kinks can’t make a bad song

like a beatles album but better

This was so based, that I listend to the Kinks the whole morning. Before today I only knew Lola, and I even have them on vinyl.

I remember hearing an interview where Jeff Lynn said that without this album, ELO as we know it might not ever have existed. Hearing it with that perspective ties a lot of things together for me. You can hear the family relation in the music. This album was released in the U.S. at about the same time I was and we're both showing our age. The album is more fun to dance around to. Youtube has lots of extra reissue material, which I am going to ignore for the sake of this review.

Just a fine bunch of lads, not their most memorable hits, but a pleasant listen

I have this record.

The stereo mixing is awful with headphones, makes you feel dizzy. If you can get past that, good songs!

Fully expected to give this kind of 60s pop rock a 1/5 but no - Campy and corny as hell, really quite fun.

What a charming record. A glorious golden-hour, nostalgic peek into a concept of England that maybe never really existed. Lyrics and melodies completely on point. Another where streaming service versions are taking the piss though. Brilliant though the Kinks may be, putting 60 tracks up and calling it an album - when the original had 15 - really cheapens the thing.

I'm going to be really harsh and give this a 4 as albums by The Kinks for me are generally instant 5's. But... I find this marginally less enjoyable than Arthur or Lola, with a slightly less interesting story. However, it's still incredible. Love all the different styles towards the back end of the album. Maybe I'm being overly harsh and after another listen through I'll take this up to a 5.

Spectacular grower. Weak 4.

This is a really good collection of songs. These also just hold up really well. Absolutely exuberant. I don’t think I liked this quite as much as Arthur but this is definitely the same tier. Favorites were the title track, Do You Remember Walter?, Johnny Thunder, Last Of The Steam-powered Trains, Animal Farm, and Starstruck.

I love you weird British band.

I don't think I had heard this album before today (likely might've). I feel like the influence of The Beatles ins massive in this album. I had to freshen up on The Beatles timeline to get a grip on how this sound fit in with their musical journey.

I remember when I heard this album first. A friend of mine worked in Zhivago, a local music store. Zhivago was an institution of our youth, a place where I had spent countless hours sifting through CDs, not looking for anything in particular, maybe just some inspiration as to what to listen to next. One of the perks of his job was that employees were allowed to borrow one CD or DVD each evening, bring it home to watch or listen to, and then return to the store the next morning. This happened to coincide nicely with the arrival of my desktop computer and first ever portable MP3 player. No, not the iPod. I’m even older than that now-obsolete piece of tech. My first MP3 player pre-dated the popularity of the iPod. I had a Creative Zen. So, thanks to the perks of my friend’s job, and the proximity of my apartment to Zhivago, my Creative Zen’s music library was filling up nicely. One day, he brought over “The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society”. I was intrigued. I had an old compilation of the best hits of the band, labelled “The Story of the Kinks”, that I had played the bajaysus out of. But, I’d never actually heard a full album of theirs. And this was a concept album. Needless to say, my Dell computer was quick to swallow the CD and digitally rip its contents into my Creative Zen library. But it wasn’t what I’d expected at all. To me, the Kinks were a raucous proto-punk 60s band, churning out raw, gritty fuzz-soaked tunes like “All Day and All of the Night” or “You Really Got Me”. I loved learning the fact that Jimmy Page played lead guitar on some of these songs, lending both his skills and his fuzz-tone to help shape their music. But this wasn’t that band. This was a refined, quirky, almost folky group playing laid-back acoustic songs about eccentric characters and the olden days of England. It sounded more like a precursor for indie rock than punk. It might have thrown me, and my preconceived perception of the Kinks, but I got over it pretty quickly. Songs like the title track, “Last of the Steam-Powered Trains”, “Big Sky”, “Do You Remember Walter” and many others really won me over. It’s like every song on the album is in a different genre, but they somehow all have a commonality to them. The Kinks sound here might not have been what I was expecting, but that “new” sound was easy to identify as theirs right away. “Picture Book” is my favourite track by a mile here. Like most of the songs, it’s a strange subject matter, which adds to the intrigue. The marching acoustic riff between the verse and chorus is something else. The drumming is a key factor, not just in this song, and gives these songs the right amount of kinetic energy to make them so enjoyable. It seems like The Kinks and Small Faces were two of a very small number of bands in the late 60s who were coming out with these lighter, more laid-back records that focused on less glamorous, “slice of life” themes. It was a real departure from the heavier rock sounds and the more experimental psychedelia that many other bands were producing at that time, so it stands out as something quite unique. I think that’s what makes this album work so well. There’s a real honesty to these songs, and taken in the context of the album’s concept, they work really well. Taken outside of that context, the music is good enough to carry them alone. I miss my Creative Zen. It was replaced by an iPod after I dropped it into the toilet, and now that’s been replaced by Spotify. Zhivago doesn’t really exist anymore, well, not in the way it used to, as a music shop. It couldn’t sustain itself solely selling music in a digital world that had turned its back on traditional music collecting. Now it sells mostly Irish tat, leprechaun hats, “Póg mo thóin” t-shirts and shamrock glasses to passing tourists. But I recently realised that a small section of the store is still set aside to sell vinyl. It might be a small selection compared to back in the day, but it’s still there. In fact, I recently bought David Byrne’s new record there. Maybe I’ll head in there over the weekend and pick up “The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society” on vinyl. I guess I owe them.

i liked it! i would like to find a version without an entire second version of the album.

Not knowing this album was a hiatus in my musical knowledge. It was a fun listen, The Kinks usually are, and the theme of the album is quite clear. I understand how this record became an evergreen, revered by many musicians of later generations.

I love the Kinks. I love how ironic and tongue in cheek they are. They pull it off with such musical competence. They’re able to jump genre and write a catchy and witty song with seeming ease. But it does get tiring. This album is only 40 minutes, but I was ready for it to finish. That’s my only real complaint. Boolean: yes, absolutely glad to hear a Kinks album, generally

Enjoyed this. Would benefit from repeat listens because there is a lot going on with the lyrics.

Earnest, well-written, nostalgic, and well-performed rock music. A pleasant listen, perfect for a summer drive through a city you grew up in.

Kinks forever

One of the best Kinks albums in my opinion. Sounds like a nice picnic in the country. Favorite track: Village Green 4.5/5

Great stuff

Always loved this album.

Pretty good concept album about the simple village life, good old times and quirky people. Reminds me of Nick Cave's "God is in the house", which I love. Of course it has the usual baroque melodies and satirical lyrics the Kinks are famous for.

8/10: a charming album by one of Britain’s most charming bands. Makes me nostalgic for a world I never knew. More albums should be as fun as this are, whimsy is underrated. Best song: People Take Pictures of Each Other Best moment(s): the quaint little storytelling in the verses of the title track

I’m happy SOMEONE is ensuring our heritage is preserved. All those jam varieties are important! LISTEN TO THIS ALBUM, and if it doesn’t work for you, get an ear transplant.

No intention of kink shaming here…. Absolutely great record!

man the first three tracks on this album are total all timers. the kniks are pretty epicsauce but I feel a bit trepidatious about them... but tbh i never knew they have almost 30 albums and some of them (Soap Opera) seem hilarious

very enjoyable, very english, will listen again fosho

I've always thought the Kinks were a really underrated band. I've loved them since I was very young. This isn't my favorite album by them but still fantastic.

This still isn't quite the Kinks album I want to hear (and I'm afraid that the one with Strangers isn't on here) but it's very charming nonetheless. (And of course I like seeing my daughter so happy.)

Interesting concept album from The Kinks. Last album to have the original kinks lineup was an interesting trivia note for myself. Songs felt fairly quick and I was able to process some of the lyrics upon first listen. Not likely I’ll revisit the album itself or more of The Kinks music but I appreciate thee exposure and what I read about the album from Wikipedia. Happy listening all!

Feels like sgt pepper at home 4/5

Eigentlich 4.5/5, weil das eine Zeit lang eins meiner Lieblingsalben war, aber wenn ich das jetzt wieder höre, ist es keine 5/5 mehr... Trotzdem ein sehr gutes und spaßiges album! Lieblingssongs: Sitting by the Riverside, Starstruck, Monica, People Take Pictures of Each Other

What if we put a really bad blues song in like every British act from the 60s? Other than that I really like this album. A lot. The first track is stuck in my head. It’s so funny. It’s interesting that this is a small c conservative album, literally about conserving and reminiscing about the past. But it doesn’t feel regressive. It feels like an album for your uncle who really loves history museums. Me basically. I think it’s a little too inconsistent to be a 5. Definitely a 4.5.

Great album, exceeded my expectations. Good vibes, made me feel happy Favourites: Do you remember Walter?, Picture Book, Sitting By the Riverside, People take pictures of eachother

Wallah, it was peak

3 or 4 idk, didn’t get through it but some good some bad kinda just like this era of sound

Más fácil de digerir. Canciones cortas, una vibra nostálgica muy clara y un mood que se siente como soundtrack

Some pretty good shit on here, surprised these guys don't get more credit.

Not my very favorite Kinks but this is very enjoyable. I hadn't heard many of these songs before. Get some Sgt. Pepper vibes for sure.

Third Kinks album to show up on this list, and the best so far. Good songwriting and interesting touches to many songs, which takes it above the second-rate Beatles connotations of their other albums. Good stuff

I love the kinks. My dad used to call them the poor man's Beatles, but honestly they are a top notch band on their own!!! 8/10 Top song Picture book

I liked this a lot! Keen to give it another listen not as background music on a three hour drive but tbf it suited that perfectly.