The Kinks —
The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society — album review

LYRICS FROM "PICURE BOOK"
A picture of you in your birthday suit,
You sat in the sun on a hot afternoon.
Picture book—
Your mama and your papa and fat old Uncle Charlie
Out cruising with their friends;
Picture book—
A holiday in August, outside a 'bed and breakfast'
In sunny Southend;
Picture book—
When you were just a baby, those days when you were happy,
A long time ago.
Picture book....
Picture book....

Album Review: The Kinks started their career with edgy pop hits like "You Really Got Me" and "All Day And All Of The Night"; covers of R&B standards (just like every other British pop band was doing in the mid-1960s); and more laid-back hits like "Tired of Waiting for You" and "A Well Respected Man," which were part Beatles and part Chad & Jeremy. Also brewing in the Kinks cauldron at this time were the beginnings of the Next Phase, which would find the Kinks doing highly original, ultra-melodic pop songs while still retaining their edginess via lyrical twists

and well placed guitar licks. Their 1967 album Something Else By The Kinks was the first album is the vein. This album, The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society, was the second, and it succeeds brilliantly in continuing the trend. The title track to Village Green is typical of the style: sweet, chorused vocals; foot-tapping rhythm; and a smooth, lilting melody. "Do You Remember Walter?" has catchy-sounding verses that break into a hook that will have you nodding along, and the background organ in the song provides a nice diversion from the normally guitar-centric sound. "Picture Book" has great guitar lines that serve to anchor the interesting change-ups in the vocals. "Big Sky" reminds us that the Kinks still knew how to get gritty, though the song still works some honey into the hook. "Sitting By The Riverside," "Village Green," and "Animal Farm" are the best songs on the album—each is a quintessential example of the "ultra-melodic Kinks" style, and it's almost impossible to keep your head from swaying along with the gently rolling notes. The Kinks would have more phases to their career after this one, but this was the best, and The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society is a prime example of what fine music it produced.

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