Fair enough! I love the film version of Quadrophenia, but I much prefer Preservation both as an album and as a concept. Maybe it would have helped if The Kinks got a good director to turn it into a film? I’m sure that it must have been discussed.
It might have made a good film with the right script (who knows, maybe it could have eventually turned into a perennial audience-participation midnight movie like Rocky Horror Picture Show!). Maybe Ray will at least do a Preservation radio play in the next year or two.
I know that Ray wanted to make a movie out of Preservation at various times in the past. How about Wes Anderson? He's a big Kinks fan & likes to do stage presentations in several of his movies. How about Bill Murray as Flash?
As someone who makes a living writing dramatic entertainment, I don’t think that a story has to have a “hero” to be of interest, though the story does need to interest the viewer/reader/listener enough to interact and not ignore it. I think one thing however that does undermine Preservation is the lack of a real sense of place, which is something that can also interest the audience. This is ironic considering its origins as a spinoff of Village Green. Taking what I think are the most relevant antecedent, the plays of Brecht and Weill are always atmospheric and give a real sense of place. Since Ray had always excelled at that, it’s very interesting. I know some have commented that the storyline is confusing because it starts with the Village Green and winds up in a national dystopia. Maybe if Ray had kept the larger implications as metaphoric, it may have landed better. Maybe again this is why it seemed to work “better” on stage, because the concert story a meta sense of place. I don’t mean to suggest that I don’t like Preservation. I like both albums (though I prefer the first) and the show was terrific. I saw it at Winterland in San Francisco on December 8, 1974. But maybe people found Soap Opera and Schoolboys easier to digest because they were more specific. @Smiler brought up Quadrophrenia. I much prefer Preservation, but Pete certainly offers up a specific sense of place, one of interest to enough consumers of the material, and a relevant storyline. Maybe this is why Lifehouse was so hard to stage, as it doesn’t take place in the “world”. Compare with the Matrix, which unfolds in an imaginary world (in more ways than one), but vividly paints both the artificial and real worlds. A lot of our favorite music does the same thing. Offering up access to worlds big and small we don’t necessarily know or have other entree into. Exile… the Velvets… London Calling… early Bowie… are some of mine, I can even see it in music that isn’t my favorite, like how exotic the Dead seemed to so many… the list goes on. Ray was obviously a master at the specific detail in his heyday that made the listener feel like they were there. With Preservation Act 2, he tried something different. Soap Opera would be an examination of his dilemma.
My first impression of this was that it sounded like Ian Hunter belting out indecipherable lyrics over Pachelbel's Canon In D (indeed, the song is even in the key of D). I've never paid any attention to the lyrics of the verses, because the weird way his voice was recorded simply makes them too difficult to understand. It's the chorus that really sells this tune. It's the part that really holds up as an instrumental, though I would've preferred that B♭maj7 chord at 2:51 to have made an appearance much earlier (at 1:23 and 2:34 would've been nice). It was released as a single here in the states, almost as an afterthought in November of 1974. I could be completely wrong about this, but it sounds to me like Ray might've been at least subliminally influenced by "The Caissons Go Rolling Along" when he composed this tune in the same way that I think "Fifteen Men On A Dead Man's Chest" subliminally influenced "Harry Rag."
Sorry I've missed this last week and am playing catch-up. I want to read others' comments on these songs to see whether I'm on a limb or in good company in my thoughts. Oh Where Oh Where is Love? sounds like a jaunty upbeat duet if you overlook the despairing lyrics. Many of Elliott Smith's songs had the same creative dissonance and I'm fine with that style. Flash's Dream strikes me as a plot filler though I enjoy that short burst of Change in the Weather from Act 1. Flash's Confession is better. I wonder if someone has mentioned that the swirling guitars and synths sound like they are channeling space-acid freaks like Hawkwind and Gong - the latter's You album came out in 1974. I'm not suggesting Ray even listened to those bands, only that there must have been something in the water in 1974. Nothing Lasts Forever is a pleasant enough duet but I can't think of much to say about it. Artificial Man goes on too long at 5:29 and I'm not a fan of its Andrews Sisters-style chorus. Scrapheap City is one of my favourite songs on the album and which I can happily listen to at any time - not just as part of Preservation. Salvation Road has a catchy enough chorus but it struggles to get there. Personally, I think this song would have benefited greatly from allowing Dave to riff to his heart's content. Overall, this deep dive into Preservation Act 2 has left me with a more positive impression of the album than I had before. Where I think it falls down is in the constraints of the concept album. Had Ray just been writing songs about these themes, without trying to string them into a story, we would have been left with a stronger set of songs. However, given Ray's mindset in the mid-70s he probably wouldn't have written the songs had he not been driven by the desire to complete his concept.
I still have difficulty to view Act 2 as a viable double album. I still tend to view it as part of a triple album with Act I as LP1, and I seem to be reaching "3rd LP fatigue" by the time "Mirror of Love" comes around. I guess I will have to find a vinyl copy to shake this impression off. I don't think my journey with this album is over. Some of the best stuff Ray has composed is on this album. But it's far from being as cohesive as Quadrophenia or even The Lamb. The Announcement don't really help: they should ensure dramatic continuity and they fail to do so, by a margin. In fact they add confusion to the plot, while enhancing the existence of said plot. The problem is not diversity of styles : this has always been a major quality for any album, in my book. It's the uneven quality of the songs, in my opinion, and the uneven distribution of songs I like less across the record. For the time being, I will cling to my reimagined Act1&2 album, which goes like this : Side 1: 1. Morning Song 2. Daylight 3. Sweet Lady Genevieve 4. There's A Change In The Weather 5. Where Are They Now 6. One Of The Survivors 7. Cricket Side 2: 1. Money And Corruption / I'm Your Man 2. Here Comes Flash 3. Sitting In The Midday Sun 4. History 5. Demolition Side 3: 1. Introduction To Solution 2. When A Solution Comes 3. Shepherd Of The Nation 4. Scum Of The Earth 5. Second-Hand Car Spiv 6. He's Evil Side 4: 1. Time Song 2. Flash's Confession (with edited intro from "Flash's Dream") (Haven't done it yet) 3. Scrapheap City 4. Artificial Man 5. Nothing Lasts Forever 6. Salvation Road I switched "Scraheap City" and "Nothing Lasts Forever"'s places, to have a great song as the penultimate track, which salvages "Salvation Road". As someone noticed earlier in the thread, "Scrapheap" tends to lower the album's level before reaching the last song, which is good enough but no "Day In The Life" or "Back Seat Of My Car". It's a good closer, though, even if it could have been a bit longer. It works great where "Muswell Hillbillies", "Arthur" and "Got To Be Free" failed, in my opinion. I know the switching doesn't really makes sense storywise, but then the story is rather plastic anyway.
Over the past year or so Millard's friends have been mastering and releasing tapes they were given after he died. Coincidentally the most recent of these releases was a Kinks show - Hollywood Palladium, August 19, 1981. One of Millard’s friends had the following recollection: "The Kinks were on our "Must See" list since we first saw them in 1978. Very much a "Party Band" with songs dating back to the '60s. Ray Davies is a brilliant showman and he had the audience eating out of his hand almost right from the start. It was a fun show, and a rocker, as usual. No pictures unfortunately, way too risky." I used to collect live shows - Millard's 70s recordings of Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin are about as good as they get for clandestine recordings, and I think the Lampinski Preservation recording is around that same standard. Millard's Hollywood Palladium Kinks show has a bit more audience noise than usual - the crowd were really getting into it in 1981.
Preservation. Single by The Kinks B-side "Salvation Road" (US) Released 1974 (US) Recorded 1973 - 1974 Genre Rock Length 3:37 Label RCA PB-10121 Songwriter(s) Ray Davies Producer(s) Ray Davies stereo mix, recorded Oct 1974 at Konk Studios, Hornsey, London Once upon a time In a faraway land Lived a villain called Flash He was such a wicked man He terrorized the people He broke arms and crushed hands He ruled with a fist and he purchased all the land Then he plowed up the fields and cut down the trees For property speculation And he did it all for a pot of gold And for his own preservation The people were scared They didn't know where to turn They couldn't see any salvation From the hoods and the spivs And the crooked politicians Who were cheating and lying to the nation Save the fields and the trees And give them back to the nation Bring the government down A new leader must be found For the sake of preservation He said he did it to help us all And did it for the good of the nation But he did it for a pot of gold And for his own preservation When money is evil And power is corrupt The devil moves in and takes over Mr. Flash broke his word And now he's got to pay For his crimes and his lies and his evil ways And it's gonna get rough And it's gonna get rough It's a crime and a sin that no one can win In a story of self preservation Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray Music Ltd. I suppose the first thing we need to address is the fact that this song starts out very much like Jimi Hendrix's Purple Haze. It isn't exactly the same, but it certainly wouldn't survive a copyright challenge in court. I'm not altogether sure what the mindset behind this was, and although I know from personal experience it is quite easy to accidentally rip an idea from someone, because you are focused on what you are doing and something comes together and you think it sounds really good, and then when you step back ..... there is a sort of "oh crap, really?" moment, that can be frustrating. On the two occasions I found myself in that situation, I did rewrites, and was happy enough with the song/s, but it is surprisingly easy to get close to something someone else has done without trying. Think about it..... there are only 12 notes to play with, and most scales only have 7. It is stunning what you can do with those 7 notes, but it is also fairly easy to find that someone else's tune found its way into your subconscious as you were in your focus zone...... What does surprise me, is that nobody else said "Hey Ray, that's Hendrix. You might want to change it up a little" Both songs start with the consistent thump on the bass and drums, and both riffs run fairly similarly through a couple of descending note runs. The Preservation riff adds a nice little flourish at the end, and actually becomes a hook for the song that plays a bigger part in the song than the Hendrix riff, which works more as an intro and a link piece in the song. Anyway, stepping aside from that..... In a typically oddball way, the Kinks released Act 1 in November 1973, and Act 2 in May 1974, but as we see here this song was only recorded in October of 1974, and appears to have been written specifically for the Preservation Concerts in late November. The single was released in November 1974, but I am not sure of an exact date, so I am not sure if it was released to promote the concerts, or if it was released hoping to get some sales from the concerts..... Nutshelled though - The concerts were a success - the single wasn't. When the song was released on the sacd, the disc starts with this song, and when you aren't/weren't familiar with the history, it makes Act 1 awkward, as it has two sort of starts, and they don't really work together. Once you realise the story it seems rather odd that the single wasn't just put after the album on the disc..... I believe it was on some other releases. Lyrically this works very well, as an overview of the whole project. It condenses the story in such a way as to make it possible to use it as the plot outline for the albums, although it is missing some obvious detail. Basically we are told that Flash did all of his business with selfish motives, but tried to dress them up as being of benefit to the whole country, but nobody believed that, even if those that were profiting from it played along. Although Mr Black doesn't make an appearance, the core of his character is referenced in the lines "When money is evil And power is corrupt The devil moves in and takes over..." So this line essentially speaks to the idea that when leaders lust after their own self benefit and the people notice, they are easily led to vote for what initially seems a lesser evil, but generally it is a bigger evil..... As we looked at when we went through the Preservation albums. The links in the plot between the way in which Adolph Hitler gained power in Germany in the early thirties, and the way in which Lennin and Stalin gained power in Russia in the early 1900's are pretty obvious, and in both cases enormously evil acts of genocide, or at least attempted genocide took place. To some degree this also appears to act itself out in the Preservation story, although Ray goes for more of a Brave New World type of twist in its construction. Musically, I actually like this song, and over the years I have become more forgiving of the Hendrix rip, even though I feel they could have still put together a great track without the riff being so similar. Mick and Dalton give us a solid rhythm section to underpin the song. Dave obviously has the riff, but also rolls out some nice lead breaks in there. Gosling sounds like he is playing a D6 clavinet with its clucky, percussive funk sound. Ray delivers the vocal nicely, with some power and vibrato. We only roll through three chords, but I think the groove holds it up nicely. I think this is an excellent song that is tainted by the borrowed riff being such a big part of the song.
Ray's rip-offs can be so in your face that you can't help wondering, did you really think no one would notice ?... At least this one is not complete, but we will get to the Jumping Jack Flash riff's note for note reuse, and later we'll meet Genesis's Misunderstanding too. Is it unvoluntary, as Mark says, or is it a kind of live sample experimentation ? The song is OK, but the narrative words + the Hendrix rip-off spoil it a little, and it's not a strong enough track to survive these defects.
About the Purple Haze riff, let's just say it puts Dave’s guitar power in a very positive light. Is it a cow bell ? Why do we rock fans enjoy cow bells so much? As for Ray’s “vision” of the Preservation story, I’m not too sure. I understand how he envisioned it for the concerts, but it impairs the Morning Song/Daylight intro (at least on the Rhino "A Play in Two Acts", it does – but the difference in sound may be to blame). I think he’s trying to put the foundations after having built the house… It’s proven time and again that it’s not the best way to go, when you wish to make good, solid construction. But since the tale is more about demolition anyway… I enjoy the song, warble and all, haze and all, purple and all. I like Ray’s acting/speaking/singing style, what we can call “once upon a time” Ray. He’ll do it again on things like Destroyer (especially live) and I think he comes off fairly well doing it. Judging from the recording dates, it was done at the tail end of the Soap Opera sessions, and it shows. More than anything, it already sounds like a Schoolboys in Disgrace outtake (also a prequel to the Flash story). In any case, as @pyrrhicvictory mentioned yesterday, it is hugely different sound-wise (singing, guitar tones, band power) than anything on the two acts: crisper, cleaner, with a fuller sound, probably the best the Kinks had ever sounded up to that point, in terms of studio proficiency. Note the clever references to Demolition (another -tion word, same number of syllables). This is a good rock’n’ roll track, maybe not the “great lost Kinks single” but a worthy addition to what is turning into a spektakular seventies “stray Kinks tracks” playlist.
Not the first or last time Ray borrowed a riff from elsewhere! I like this song a lot, it's a better rocker than anything on Act 2. Lyrically it actually tells you a lot more about Flash and how bad he was than the album does. Flash's faults tend to get lost amid the welter of detail on the album and Ray's fundamental sympathy and affection for the character. I've got to say though that "better the devil you know" is one the worst pieces of advice you can give anyone.
"Preservation" As I only have the vinyl, I don't own a copy of this track, and have only heard it a couple of times. Given that I don't know Hendrix that well, my first thought when hearing that opening riff was Free's "Wishing Well", but it is obviously closer to "Purple Haze". As regards the track itself, it is a perfectly serviceable piece of Kinks 70s rock with plenty to enjoy about it. I don't know about anyone else, though, but I'm a little bit played out on the Preservation storyline by now and don't really need to hear another restatement of it (this time without any intimation that the people may have originally loved Flash). Yes, it's OK, if derivative, but I'm waiting for Norman to arrive now...
I heard "Misunderstanding" yesterday for probably the first time since 1980, and I was immediately thinking "where have I heard that guitar riff before?" Took me a few minutes to work it out but I got there in the end!
I used to (still do occasionally) post on the Music Babble forum (anyone else familiar with that place? started off as the message board for Georgiy Starostin's review site but ended up evolving into it's own distinct thing) and there was/is a somewhat nototious poster there called Jim who was very into the cock-rockier end of classic rock: memorably he described one of his favourite songs as 'sleazily anthemic' which is a pretty good two word summation of his music preferences. Anyway, at one point he tried to do the Kinks discography, and just could not get them at all for expected reasons: too English, too quirky etc. But I always remember how due to his tastes, he ended up singling the 'Preservation' single as being among his few favourite Kinks deep cuts! I guess cos it's so untypically Kinks, with the Hendrix rip etc. (Also, not so much classic rock, but the keys/clavinet seem incredibly contemporary Stevie Wonder 'deep funk' to me.) It's performed well and it's good to hear how different the Kinks could sound musically in the lesser travelled byways of their career, but I have to say I don't think this works very well as a song. It sounds like Ray thought it might be a good idea to do a one song condensation of the Preservation concept as an intro/advert into the full thing, so he got The Kinks to jam some generic 'contemporary rock' that could have been on a royalty free library music album and then recited a synopsis of the Preservation plot over it. Yeah it worked when played during costume changes in the Pres show itself, but surely he didn't think this had any chance of actually being a hit single? It must be among the most, if not the most 'forced into existence/written to order' song in the katalogue.
Some rare audience home movie footage from the full Preservation show synched to the single. It's pretty low quality, although note you can see how Mr Black was manifested onstage:
Preservation I quite like this track, and as Mark notes, the lyric does a good job of providing an overview of the story, mostly found in Act II. In terms of CD placement, I think it would work much better as the opening track of the Act II CD, instead of spoiling the opening Act I.
Preservation (song) A good rocker but a typically (for this period) poor choice for a single along with "One of the Survivors" and "Money Talks". It's just not very memorable. Very interesting comments from everyone about the album/albums/narrative as a whole. I especially agree with this. Not that I have any evidence. Just that it rings true in my experience too.
I said earlier in the thread that concept albums usually come across as technical exercises in songwriting to me, more interesting for the writer than for this particular listener. Usually. It's a bit like bands and writers who are eclectic in a showy way. It doesn't especially impress me that Queen, for instance, can go from a heavy rock track to a 20s pastiche to a funk track, I'm like, "Well done, guys, but so what?"
Preservation (single) It's funny how many people seem to think this song uses the Purple Haze riff when it's virtually note-for-note the opening and closing riff for Wishing Well. And it's equally funny that in all the times I've heard Wishing Well I never once thought it was ripping off Purple Haze. Maybe Ray thought the riff - rather than the band - was Free. I have mixed feelings about this one: I like the song's crunchy rock sound but I don't need a recital of the executive summary of the albums.
Preservation: as I mentioned way back in those heady days when we were discussing Act I, ‘Preservation’ is the last song on the 2014 Sanctuary Records version. Which is what I’m listening to on Apple Music. So for me it isn’t a stray afterthought or an orphan song. It’s a wrap-up, a summation of Act I. For the most part it describes Flash’s actions as strong arm tactics and thuggery (with just a bit of a reference for how he declared his actions to be of benefit to the nation). Earlier, I took the position that Flash must have been charming and a smooth talker. Maybe not! (During the Economic Bubble era in Japan, for certain in the early 80s, developers would hire yakuza to harass owners and tenants of buildings/homes in order to force them to vacate. Non-stop telephone calls, intimidation, even driving dump trucks into the building itself. (I remember the latter from reading about it in the newspaper.) Here Comes Flash!) I grew up listening to a Hendrix Smash Hits cassette until the tape was at death’s door…but I’ve always been a huge Free fan. And, as @ARL notes, it’s ‘Wishing Well’ that I hear. Good song and, as noted earlier, on my playlist.
