As I said earlier, Ray did re-use the "went [somewhere] to see if anybody was there" opening line 20 years later - I wonder if it was just something that came back into his mind and couldn't recall where from, or whether it was an intentional reference to a song that no-one else knew about?
History Brand new song for me, I think I played it a week or so ago after the live bonus tracks and I wasn't really paying attention to it then. I think I assumed it was some other live track. Giving it proper attention today, it's a great song with that real neat instrumental riff/hook to it. I like the volume dynamics of that riff go in and out, and it doesn't seem like a production trick of somebody just changing the volume knob. It's got a solid Ray vocal, with the occasional background vocal in there too. Chronologically, if it was written/recorded 6 months after EISB, then it obviously couldn't go there or as a B-Side to Celluloid Heroes. It's a shame it didn't have a proper home. Could it have been a standalone single? I don't think it would have been successful, but that probably would have been the best way to get it out there if it wouldn't fit on Preservation Act 1 either.
20 countries have greater populations than Great Britain. And we're not talking polar bears. Population by Country (2021) - Worldometer
I've got no idea what you're trying to prove here. Great Britain is not a 'tiny, little island'. Historically, in the western world and in comparison with other colonial powers, the United Kingdom had a pretty substantial population - only France was significantly higher. The plucky little Britain narrative is garbage and always was.
Yes, things will start to get very confusing starting in early 1973 with those early sessions for what morphed into Preservation Act 1 later in the year after most of those early '73 tracks were scrapped, although a few escaped here and there as we will see. This includes History, Time Song and the re-recorded VGPS tracks that were confusingly released on the 2018 VGPS Super Deluxe of a 1968 album, and a few other tracks. These albums and concepts start to overlap for the next couple of years starting here. To further confuse and muddy these waters when we get to Act 1 itself, starting with the CD reissues from 1990 onward, the title track "Preservation" has been appended to the beginning of the album as some sort of prelude, but in reality the song itself was not recorded or released until late 1974 as a stand alone single, so not on the Act 1 album or Act 2 album. It was recorded during what were actually the Soap Opera sessions in late '74 and this song was first released a year after Act 1 had been released and 6 months after Act 2 was released. So that timeline puts this track now as an epilogue to the Preservation concept, not a beginning. The proper opening track to Act 1 is Morning Song. And then when we get to Schoolboys, there's another case of looking back. Too many overlapping concepts Ray, but the conversations here should be interesting since it seems a lot of folks still here are not that familiar with these albums, which was the expectation once we got to this era.
"History" This is a new one for me in the last few weeks. How great to find new Kinks tunes during this era. Ray had all these concepts going on and songs that didn't fit got left out in the cold. This is great, but I'm not hearing where it would have fit unless they saved it for Sleepwalker or Misfits. If I had to guess I would have thought it was an outtake from one of those albums.
Good point! I always forget this until I play my vinyl copy. I need to sort out my digital version and remove "Preservation" as the first song, but the CD version is how I have listened to the album the longest. Now it seems weird opening without it, but "Morning Song" works much better as the intro to the album instead of being second. "Preservation" also sounds more like a Soap Opera tune! I never knew it was recorded so late.
Let's drop this ridiculous size,shape, population etc of Britain..... It has nothing to do with anything. Cheers.
Complicated Life …Princess Marina Long Tall Shorty As other have said, could've picked a better song for Dave to sing. Maybe they really enjoy playing this live? But it does sound good. and the other two are good. Love the ending to Princess Marina.
Yes to Morning song being the opener to Preservation Act 1 but not to Preservation (the full story). The live Preservation shows played 'Preservation' as the first track so when the CD Preservation (A Play In Two Acts) was released it made sense to include this track and place it as the opener. I was lucky enough to attend this one and I remember thinking it was a new song. https://www.concertarchives.org/concerts/the-kinks-75f576ec-c1b2-4fd3-b9bd-66e54826bf1e
History First time hearing it and we have a winner! I love history so this speaks to me. I'm not 100% sure what he's looking for in the museum. At least for the first part he's told: He said Son you must be crazy You better get out of here This is establishment territory The likes of us should never go near I'm assuming that it's a case that history is written by the winners...the establishment. Always good to question history as it's written. You'll always find a bias. What is a clockwork soldier anyhow? of course still more confusing when you come to the lyric: And I hope I find out who's responsible For all of our history Responsible for writing it? or being a part of the history? And of course there isn't any ONE person 'responsible' for history. But I like that this song takes a bit of work to get one's head around. And that it turns into a fantasy near the end. I like that it's a straight forward song by the Kinks. What else is in Ray hiding from us? I'd like him to explore his writing catacombs. He no doubt has treasures in every box.
My first time hearing this. I'll just state the obvious. It's "All Along The Watchtower" with different lyrics.
This is where the tiny island debate started. It was nothing to do with me. Anyway, for me the clockwork soldier is an officious museum curator lackey who doesn't want Ray questioning any of the historical figures in his museum. So in his song Ray turns this guy's "mausoleum" museum on its head and imagines all these historical characters stepping out of their apportioned roles and having a party together.
Yes, this is a great callout. For these next four albums, we’ll have to remember that much of the music was written with a stage presentation for a live show in mind that may or may not translate as we go through these as “albums”. We know too that there are other tracks that were written in this period for the live show that never got recorded in the studio such as Slum Kids and the live Ordinary People that bears little resemblance to the studio recording of the same title.
Thank you for this AJ Smith, as it lets me off the hook! I don’t see how I personally could comment on my thoughts on a song or whether or not I like it based on a first listen. Sure, some songs are so obvious and so great that the first listen might be all you need, but in my opinion most songs, and especially in the case of the kinks, most Kinks’ songs, really need to be heard quite a few times (and, at least a few of those times, with an attentive ear) to even begin to absorb them and truly know if you like them. I bring this up now, because I’ve only heard History once, this morning. So the fact that I can wait arguably and address it during Preservation gives me some more time before I comment. (Although I should add, in case I forget later, just that one listen leads me to believe that I will like it). That said, this to me is also a broader concept upon which I have been wanting to comment. Before I comment, I have made sure to listen closely multiple times to the songs which I had never heard previously (which at this point is pretty much everything we are listening to from this era). For example, at this point, I now feel that I know Preservation Act 1 pretty well. I had never heard it until about four weeks ago when I added it into a playlist that I could listen to in advance of of this thread covering the songs from that album. In fact, I just started listening to Preservation Act 2 this weekend to start getting ready for that album. I’m not saying that people are wrong if they don’t do that, I just think in my case that’s necessary to really determine if I like the song.
“History” reminds me lyrically of the song that eventually did make Preservation Act One, “Where Are They Now”, which lists many more recent famous English persons of the sixties, more cultural icons than political ones. This song is “sung” by the Tramp character, and seems very much in line with the original intent of expanding on VGPS.
Just stumbled across this rear page of Melody Maker from August 5th, 1972 so came to share. The article at right discusses the BBC Kinks At The Rainbow Theatre Film.
I think that's a fine approach. My only caveat is that I needed no multiple listens to know that VGPS and Arthur and Lola and Preservation Act 1 were, in my cramped little life, epochal events. "Do You Remember Walter" and "Sweet Lady Genevieve" jumped off the turntable; "Monica" and "Cricket" did not, and no number of plays would ever change that. "History" is not much of a song. "Where Are They Now?" is better. But they're really kind of the same song, a catalogue intoned over a few repeating chords (a point that @TeddyB has already made.) There's nothing wrong with that. Artists run out of things to say, and they run out of clever ways to say what they do. It would be unrealistic to expect otherwise. The misses may start to outweigh the hits. So what? Who among us has done even one great piece of art? Rejoice in what Ray has created, and don't worry about smacking him around when the songs don't seem as, ah, well thought out. The Lemon Pipers recorded very little of interest, but the world is still a better place for the existence of "Green Tambourine." Good on them. Ray earned a lot of goodwill from his public. He would continue to do some great things post-RCA. But not always and not even often, which is just how it should be.
