A (tentative) joke it was… I aimed to pick not the worst but the most vilified (to the best of my knowledge) tracks, the ones most unlikely to be selected for any komp, the ones that would create the most baffling Preservation listening experience I could imagine: all the announcements, the two tracks that don't feature either Davies brother on lead vocals (Morning Song and Scrapheap City), the two often ridiculed 100% prog-operetta numbers (Shepherd of the Nation & Second Hand Car Spiv), the Kinks's own Revolution #9 (Flash's Dream, with snoring and backward red room Twin Peaks backwards vocals effects) + the single that isn't even part of the albums… A bit like a 10 tracks White Album that 'd go something like Wild Honey Pie/Ob-la-di Ob-la-da/Bungalow Bill/The Inner Light/Don't Pass Me By/Why Don't We Do It in the Road/Honey Pie/Savoy Truffle/Revolution #9/Good Night (don't get me wrong : I would still love and greatly enjoy such an LP !). Sorry if it was confusing, it certainly wasn't meant to be. I guess I'm like @Michael Streett (I'm pretty sure it was Michael) who stated he just doesn't like the idea of trimming down or re-sequencing LP's too much. I'm really a legitimist/completist as far as my albums go, I want them as they were intended, flawed and frustrating as they sometimes may be . On an unrelated (?) note, I'm positively stunned by the turn-out on here since we've entered the much maligned Preservation era. Some of us like my excellent cohorts @palisantrancho expressed concerns a lot of people would turn their back to the thread at this point, but it seems to be the other way around. Even @Steve E. and @GarySteel are back! It proves we Kinks fans are dedicated and eager to protect the black sheeps and underdogs in the Discography. I'm so happy about this !
Thanks for the explanation! If anyone tries to vilify "Shepherds of the Nation", you can rest assured it will not go unchallenged!
Introduction to Solution: As a big fan of YRGM, I Need You, Rats etc., this one blasts out of the gates with some fast hard riffing from Dave and the rest of the band sounding great as well, so I love it. I like the rapid fire lyrics and the catchy chorus. I realize that the purpose of this thread is how a song fits within the context of the album, and I am 100% behind that concept. I was born in 1965 after all. To me there is nothing greater than throwing on a “album“ and marveling at one great song after another and the brilliant sequencing. But even back in the 80s I was always creating mixed tapes for my own listening pleasure in my car and to turn my friends onto new music. This album may not really flow very well, and I doubt this song would make sense if it popped up on the radio, but I sure do you think it will sound great mixed into a playlist of other songs from this era. In fact, based on my listening so far, if I listened only to albums, I doubt I would listen to this album very much. Then I would miss out on some of the cool songs (like this one) buried therein if I wasn’t willing to create a playlist to hear such odds and ends.
I once made a playlist omitting all of the announcements, and to my surprise it was a terrible listen, they do provide a desperately needed framework. I've consistently championed Ray's lyrics in this thread, so I feel obligated to point out that the lyrics in Introduction to a Solution to have an uncharacteristic lack of artistry and focus: While the rich get their kicks with their affluent antics Mr. Black sits and ponders their fate. He just sits in the gloom of his dimly-lit room Waiting for them to swallow the bait. While the rich run their rackets he sits in his attic And casually plots their defeat. While the politicians cover up mistakes that they've made And all the promises, the lies and deceits. So: Mr. Black sits. He just sits. He ponders. He sits in his attic. He plots - but casually. Waiting. Is Mr. Black someone to be feared? You would think this revolutionary fellow would out making speeches, organizing thugs, garnering support, making alliances, terrorizing etc. But here is not presented as a man of action. So we wait.... In addition I find the imagery to be pedestrian by Ray's standards: "Gloom of his dimly-lit room" (can gloom be brightly lit?), "Affluent antics" (as opposed to low income antics?), "sits in his attic" (how dull a setting is an attic!), "swallow the bait" (a tired metaphor, and it's not clear how sitting in a dark attic is baiting the affluent). "While the rich" starts off both stanzas - but it seems to me the interesting conflict is between Flash and Mr. Black? Or is it "the politicians" mentioned later? Lifeless rhymes like fate/bait, defeat/deceit, gloom/room don't contribute any sense of excitement or expectation. It's a shame that these lyrics (following the clumsily written Announcement) result in Act 2 stumbling out of the gate IMO (at least from a lyrical/story perspective). Compare to the imagery of Morning Song/Daylight, which get Act 1 off to a stunning start!
A dimly lit room can exude warmth. And we know Mr. Black isn’t going to terrorize anyone. People look to him for stability and morality, just the opposite of the unrest rippling through the nation. Edit: and this is all from The Tramp’s outside observation, remember. Just his commentary, like me saying about somebody (without really knowing), “he has more money than he knows what to do with.” Etc. It gives an overview but the gloomy attic stuff is just The Tramp talking.
Announcement/Introduction to a Solution The announcements don't bother me much in their current form. I kind of liken them to the narrative interludes in Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds. This is musical theater after all. That said, I don't always want to listen to them and this is where CD vs. vinyl comes in handy. Just hit next track and you're good to go. As for the first proper song, it's a dandy. Act I finished with a song that had tremendous momentum, and here, where this album really begins, we again have excellent momentum, forming a very neat continuity between the two acts. The guitar and drum work on this track is truly amazing. It's funny how we cling to this sort of loose garage rock/proto punk turned English folky and still loosey goosey image of the Kinks, and this here rocks but this here is tight. Yet another testament to how excellent these guys are as musicians. Others have already noted how the song title is a bit of a misnomer, indicating a mere introductory notice rather than a fully developed proper song. I will add an observation of irony in the song title as it sounds like this is the start of something better, when in reality it's the start of a mess. We have a title indicating a fix for what ails us but then we have the lyric "Watching it all go on and I'm watching it all go wrong." Which leads me to one of the things I love about Ray. While he spends plenty of time poking jabs at the rich, it's not just blind class hatred and he's never been a throw-the-baby-out-with-the-bathwater kind of revolutionary. He understands that the knee-jerk solutions from the other side of the divide are often no better. Human nature has a way of going awry no matter where you sit in the class structure. Along those lines, this song provided me yet another of those moments where the brilliance of a Davies lyric strikes me for the first time even though I've heard it a hundred (it's amazing how many gems are tucked away in the corners of so many of his songs!). In this case, it's: "And debase life with crude ostentation," Yes! Overblown displays of gaudy wealth for their own sake are as base as anything the lower (often labeled "base") classes do! The obsession with such things is in a way a rejection of life rather than a celebration of it. Of course, it takes the Tramp to understand this and he perfectly weaves it into his observation/analysis. Being rich in and of itself does not make anyone evil or deplorable (as so much of today's narrative tries to suggest). Being poor in and of itself does not make anyone evil or deplorable (as so much of the traditional narrative tried to suggest). It's how we are rich or how we are poor that matters. The Kinks recognized this long ago, and the rest of the world is still doing a piss poor job of recognizing this even today, a half century later.
I think 'The Battle Is Near' would have been a better title than 'Introduction To Solution'. As others have mentioned, I agree that double albums should be celebrated as such - all that extra music to explore in real time, rather than waiting fifty years for them to arrive on the anniversary super-deluxe edition! But with this one, I'd go as far as to change the song title.
I agree, the village is long gone - hundreds of thousands are gathering to hear from the saviour in waiting, Mr Black. We're into something bigger now.
I've always assumed that 'Where Have All The Good Times Gone' (B Side of 'Til' The End Of The Day') was due to their being well known cover versions floating around - the same reason for 'David Watts' and 'Stop Your Sobbing' appearing on some compilations along with the real UK hit singles.
The repeated references in the lyrics to a "(final) solution" lead me just the opposite conclusion about Mr. Black! And in the very next song "... and everybody's gonna be terrified ...". If these lyrics are from the Tramp's perspective, how would he have any awareness of Mr. Black waiting in his attic? I guess I'm missing the charismatic Mr. Black we were introduced to in Act 1 .
Not so sure about that, seems to me Ray Davies has carried one enormous chip on his shoulder his entire life about being working class so he's not exactly the ideal person to be preaching against class hatred and resentment.
That's what makes him so amazing. He has that chip on his shoulder, but still recognizes the perils of acting emotionally on that chip. Preservation is a perfect case in point. That the working class can be so stirred by a charlatan and ultimately end up no better off than before is a fantastic realization. Beats the crap out of mindless drivel like "imagine no possessions...."
I’m guessing The Tramp occasionally ‘tramps’ by the exterior of Mr. Black’s house and observes there’s activity. He doesn’t know where within the house (or HQ) Mr. Black works so the gloomy, ill-lit attic isn’t important. That’s just The Tramp adding a bit of embellishment. The Tramp is observant, though, as he sees who is going in and out, picks up discarded newspapers, watches demonstrations etc , so he provides us an overview of the current status. As for what Mr. Black will do once he’s consolidated power? That’s further down the plot.
Just to add while this songs in the spotlight that I’ve always loved the delivery of the line ‘a military coup has been long overdue’ with that wee martial trill in the background.
Agree 100%. These lyrics are not the Ray I know and love. Rhymes are weak, facile, and repetitive. The arrangement is powerful but not tuneful. A clunky start.
I would agree with this. Some songs gain a reputation beyond their original status because a cover has shed a flattering light on them. I've often read that 'Where Have All...' is the highlight of 'Kontroversy' but it's never stood out for me, maybe because I was told it was meant to. I have a great fondness for that album but will confess to skipping that track, perhaps because I'm over familiar with it.
"Introduction to Solution" Not really an intro is it? It's an actual song that should have a better title. You expect it to be a short instrumental, but then it kicks into a great little opener. When Ray starts singing "He just sits in the gloom of his dimly lit-room" he sounds like Dracula singing from his lair to set the scene that an evil battle is near. When he gets to the "But meeeeeee" it reminds me of the vocals on many songs by the American band Kaleidoscope with their Eastern influenced psychedelia. "I'm only standing here" does sound so much like Bowie. It wouldn't be out of place on Bowie's urban apocalypse Diamond Dogs, which was recorded the same exact months as this album, and released only two weeks later. I think there is something to be said about listening to this album on vinyl. Looking at the 21 tracks on a CD can seem a bit much, and you will most likely start skipping songs and announcements. On record it enables you to fully absorb yourself and get into the flow and the story. The more I listen to it as a complete set, the more I find another great song that I use to skip. This is a great introduction to the album, so maybe that song title does make a little sense. I thought we might even discuss the next song today, but I guess I will have to wait until tomorrow to feel the bite "When A Solution Comes".
Indeed. I'm reminded of the old adage: less is more. Which also reminds me--speaking of The Tramp--of a critique I read once of Charlie Chaplin where at the start of one of his films he showed footage of the sun rising. He followed that shot with a title card that read: "Sunrise." The critique was why the unnecessary redundancy? We don't need hammered over the head. Give the audience some credit. That's my thought regarding the one-two opening punch of "Announcement" / "Introduction to a Solution." I'm not against the announcements in principle, but when one is followed by a song that serves a similar expository purpose, I would think it's stronger, more concise, more focused to go with one. And of course, that one choice would be the song--Ray's strength. And yet Ray obviously wants to introduce right out of the gate the album-long conceit of the announcments. Ooookay, Ray, if that's the case, then lose the song. Yet...no...DON'T toss out the thing you do best to save another idea..... See what happens when one starts getting too critical of why Preservation as a whole is so clunky? One starts to lose sight of why one came to the party in the first place: an enjoyment of the music the Kinks make. This double LP is chocked full of songs I love. A couple I don't. And this one, which is okay but fairly forgettable. As for the overall concept, here's my take: Preservation Act 2 is a like an ill-fitting suit that I like to wear regardless. Yeah, I can get frustrated when I imagine how much better the suit could fit with a little tailoring, but why bother? I'm comfortable as is.
I think we need to accept that Mr Black has a private and public persona. In public he needs to pretend he's a good guy. He needs to appear the switched on affable leader in waiting..... like all politicians. In private he is a self involved plotter and schemer. The Tramp knows Mr Black is in his attic, because the Tramp sees what everyone is up to, and he sees Mr Black's duality, because nobody sees the Tramp, he is too unimportant to notice in the minds of the majority. I think the scary nature of Mr Black in his attic is not too dissimilar to a vampire in his lair, or perhaps Charlie Manson on his farm, twisting people's minds and sending them to do the dirty work for him.
Preservation Act 2 - This is all new to me, having first listened to it over the last month or so. There are certainly some heavier and darker material here, but there are some good songs in this collection. I think I am now somewhat familiar with most of the songs, but have not dove into all the lyrics or anything just yet. It does seem to drag on a bit, but then again it is a double album. I recall the last couple times listening to it in the car, I thought it was almost over, but then remembered at least 3-4 songs that I knew I hadn't gotten to yet, so there was a ways to go. Looking forward to getting into each track starting with today's. Announcements - I generally don't mind these, knowing going in that this is a musical/concept album. I'm not totally sure if the first one is needed though, and perhaps it was not the best choice to immediately open the album with that blaring trumpet fanfare at the start... They are certainly not for a playlist, as they are not actual songs. But, they sort of link certain songs together and add context to the songs. I actually haven't heard The Who Sell Out (apparently I should?) but the other concept album I compare this to is the cockney storytelling during the 2nd half of the Small Faces Ogden's Nut Gone Flake. I don't mind it there, and I don't mind it here -- in context of listening to the overall experience of the concept. Introduction to a Solution I think this should have been the actual proper opener of the album. It seems to lay it all out there, and perhaps the propaganda announcement could have been track 2. That intro is so funky, starting with that funky hi-hat drum feel, then its got that Stevie Wonder circa Superstition funky groove going. The heavier chords and guitar licks and little drum hits come in, and yes, this is a rock band. I really like the "but meeeee, I'm only standing here" part. To me, that's the main vocal hook, and that makes the song for me. The Tramp is hearing the reports, and perhaps seeing some protests/violence in the streets, but it seems feels a bit helpless -- as if there is really nothing he can do to stop it. Really, he just wants no part of it, it seems. He just wants to disappear. Or have it all not go wrong... I really like how this particular line is delivered: "And it's painfully clear that the battle is near" There is something very well constructed there, with the mirrored structure like this: and it's --> that the painfully --> battle is clear ---> near Dave's guitar solo is certainly Keith Richards Sympathy for the Devilesq in tone, but on top of the funky electric piano and hi-hat groove it really becomes its own thing. That whole solo section is fantastic. The horns layer in nicely, with Mick's quick little end-of-phrase fills. Another thing I really like in the song is Gosling's staccato piano part during the verses that almost sounds like a news ticker. This song is one of the best of the album for me, and I think (musically at least) this can certainly stand on its own -- outside the context of this album.
To me, this just serves as a reminder that Ray was well aware of the fact that the "Salvation Road" chorus was easily the most distinctive (and hummable) element of the entire album, and he wanted the listener to keep humming it after the LP was finished. Musically, this sounds like a combination of Steely Dan's "King Of The World" and Jethro Tull's "Lick Your Fingers Clean."
It is a toss up for me between Quadrophenia and Sell Out as my favourite Who albums... Sell Out is somewhat the climax of the early Who's lighthearted, tongue in cheek, naughty rock and roll boys era, before they moved onto headier, more serious themes, and heavier rock sounds...
