The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society Appreciation Station

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by SpookyGriff, Nov 22, 2014.

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  1. SpookyGriff

    SpookyGriff Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Holy moley this album is good!



    And yet it isn't talked about nearly enough, unfortunately - not that it isn't acclaimed and respected, mind you, but I wish it was simply discussed more, it really is a classic.

    It really is boggling how many culturally ingrained tracks there are on this album, even as an American.

    Picture Book is probably a good example of this, but the whole album is really just terrific, and worth checking out.

    We love The Kinks! Talk about the album here :)
     
  2. SpookyGriff

    SpookyGriff Forum Resident Thread Starter

  3. bmoregnr

    bmoregnr Forum Rezident

    Location:
    1060 W. Addison
    It is great no doubt. It came to me like an unearthed treasure. The mostly only Kinks this late '70s-'80s USA kid got was the Arista stuff. Found it much later in life than I care to admit and I adore it just a nose behind Arthur. It is probably top of my list of albums I wished sounded better. Mono for me hands down and I hope someone figures out how to drip even more of that great music out of those tapes.
     
    rxcory likes this.
  4. SpookyGriff

    SpookyGriff Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Can you imagine a proper MFSL release? :goodie::edthumbs:
     
    thesisinbold and gramfan like this.
  5. pdenny

    pdenny 22-Year SHTV Participation Trophy Recipient

    Location:
    Hawthorne CA
    Just a stone classic, and deserves a higher place in the pantheon of albums that stand as true works of timeless art. Unique for its time and still a delightful, imaginative and even moving listen.
     
  6. MikeP5877

    MikeP5877 V/VIII/MCMLXXVII

    Location:
    OH
    Ray was all of 24 or so when this was recorded. How does someone so young come off as so OLD? Love the album, especially in MONO.
     
  7. bmoregnr

    bmoregnr Forum Rezident

    Location:
    1060 W. Addison
    Well there is a lot going on with that catalog this year, and that catalog loves to make a quid, so why not la la la!
     
  8. rxcory

    rxcory proud jazz band/marching band parent

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    While we're on the topic, absent an audiophile release, what are the best CDs in terms of sound quality? I had the old 80's Reprise CD and it really sucked. Then I got the 2004 Deluxe Edition and it was a definite SQ improvement - and thankfully they included the superior mono mix. Is there anything better out there at the moment?
     
    KinkySmallFace1991 likes this.
  9. notesofachord

    notesofachord Riding down the river in an old canoe

    Location:
    Mojave Desert
    It's one of my favorite albums, for sure - I'd say in my personal top 20 of all-time.

    Song-by-song, the music and lyrics immerse you, the listener, in a unique, and very British world. It's like listening to an auditory movie/film.
    The stories, characters, moods, and grooves never fail to entertain and enrich the body and mind.
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2014
    John Fell, Dave Hoos and Zeki like this.
  10. extravaganza

    extravaganza Senior Member

    Location:
    San Diego, CA USA
    A friend turned me on to this album when I was in high school (probably '82) and after a few listenings I was hooked. I think I played that thing in its entirety every day for about a year. For me, a truly magical album.
     
    live evil likes this.
  11. Jimbo1960

    Jimbo1960 Forum Resident

    One of my absolute favorites.
     
  12. Tgreg

    Tgreg Forum Resident

    Location:
    Nashville, TN
    Stunning album; I got the original Reprise Kink's Greatest hits album at a yard sale when I was 14 in 1978, the same year Van Halen's cover of "You Really got Me" came out....my friends loved Van Halen, but I thought then that the Kinks version was far superior. As great as the early hits were, I truly realized what all the fuss was about concerning Ray's genius when a couple of years later I hear "Waterloo Sunset" "Days" the wonderful Village Green Preservation Society album, etc. What a stunning and overlooked album.....that somehow always ends up getting great press....little press, but enduring press.
     
  13. gramfan

    gramfan Forum Resident

    Location:
    gainesville,ga,usa
    The l.p. burned into my Sixteen year 's brain at the time.....was a secret favorite forever...played People take Pictures of each other at a open Mike recently...some random drunk/stoned dude jumped up and sang the la,la,la part with me me...classic...
     
    Complier, katstep, cc-- and 1 other person like this.
  14. weef

    weef Forum Resident

    I've been an early Kinks fan for 40 years and ignored this one until about a month ago. Since then I've played it non-stop for weeks and can't get over what a great album this is. Animal Farm is one I find particularly moving for some reason, as it sounds so sentimental. Days would have fit perfectly on the original album but the version I'm listening to (mono with some stereo versions and extra songs) includes it.
     
  15. JohnnyQuest

    JohnnyQuest Forum Resident

    Location:
    Paradise
    Makes a Californian like myself feel like I'm in Muswell Hill. Thank you for the trip Ray. :)
    So immersive, simple yet sophisticated and welcoming. :love:
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2014
  16. bmoregnr

    bmoregnr Forum Rezident

    Location:
    1060 W. Addison
    Great question as I would like to sort this out as well. I suppose there will be PRT fans for the stereo right. But for the mono I think there was only a '98 mono/stereo CD on Essential that nobody seems to love, then on the mono box set they remastered VGPS, but the only comments I could find seemed to say the differences were more to bring the '04 remaster in line with the other '11 DEs which made up the mono box and there was no preference given between the two. So if there is any better information... what more can we do?
     
  17. passion4music

    passion4music Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    My favorite Kinks album. I play it quite a lot.
     
  18. asdf35

    asdf35 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin TX
    I'm a bit younger than many here, and the Kinks totally missed my attention.
    I just got into them last week with SH's post about using "Waterloo Sunset" to tune your stereo.

    So, I have a lot of great stuff to look forward to.

    My first impression was that it fit in with my love of Kevin Ayers albums,
    and the Giles, Giles and Fripp albums. Those would be my reference points
    for that off-the-beaten British path.
     
    Hamhead likes this.
  19. lightbulb

    lightbulb Not the Brightest of the Bunch

    Location:
    Smogville CA USA
    Yes, quite an amazing LP that is underrated when classic albums are discussed...
    My favorite tunes are Animal Farm, Starstruck, Picture Book....
     
  20. HadgeTunes

    HadgeTunes Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    Wrote a 29 page paper on the album in college and I could have written 10 times that. A unique classic.
     
    john lennonist, JL6161 and gramfan like this.
  21. Jae

    Jae Senior Member

    One of my top 5 fave albums.
     
    Scope J likes this.
  22. michael landes

    michael landes Forum Resident

    I'm afraid unless the multi tracks still exist, there's not much hope for this one from an audio standpoint.
    Near as I can tell the master itself is just a sad, misguided piece of work. Realize please, this is not a threadcrap.
    I love the album too. But from an audio standpoint it is just sad. Based on the one remix on the deluxe three-cd package,
    I would say the recordings themselves are super, but whatever was down in mixing the master just spoilt the sound of the master.
     
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  23. gazebo

    gazebo Active Member

    I'd have to agree with this its by no means an audio recording with all the bouncing used in the mix, I'm lucky enough to have both the mono and stereo on Pye vinyl (the mono bought at half price when a local record store cleared out all their mono albums) and its by no means an audiophile experience. Andrew Sandoval has said that Johnny Thunder was the only track where tapes existed to roll back the bounces which is a shame because this remix shows there was little wrong with the recording - you can hear Mick Avory's drumming rather than a background thud!

    Apart from the fact that the Castle Classics CLACD 161 (no bonus tracks) is very very similar to the PRT and is far more common and often available cheaply, I'd say that was a fair summary, that really is it. Compared with the PRT/CLACD Castle the Deluxe Edition is slightly compressed and trebly to my ears, but given the nature of the recording its not a great problem. Just avoid the 1998 Castle remaster (and from what I've heard the US Reprise).
     
    bmoregnr likes this.
  24. OneStepBeyond

    OneStepBeyond Senior Member

    Location:
    North Wales, UK
    I daren't click on either of the tracks above, I'd just have to go and listen to the whole album! :D

    So many monumental albums released in 1968 by the 'mainstream' acts that the majority of people on here know and love - (Beatles, Stones, Hendrix etc etc - then you have the lesser-knowns that I adore... Soft Machine's debut, for one! Then there's The Small Faces Ogden's Nut Gone Flake.... I won't list them all, but all these here are albums I'd hate to ever not be able to hear for any length of time) and this deserves its place alongside them.

    I like the Kinks a lo but this album is the pinnacle of their career, for me. I Couldn't 'get' the thing for the first few listens, but all of a sudden it all made sense and became a very sweet addiction. :)
     
  25. noahjld

    noahjld Der Wixxer

    Their best album.
     
    izgoblin and Adam9 like this.
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