Last year I was given this 1978 2LP French compilation that sports "Schoolboys" artwork. Good or not it is an attempt at a summation of the Kinks RCA years from 1971-1975 however I will let more experienced RCA Avids such as @Martyj be the judge of that should they so desire? Can @Fortuleo and @The late man comment if they have it or if it is common, popular, scarce, despised or held in disgrace perchance?
My first copy of Schoolboys In Disgrace was a cassette version in the paper case which I bought from a music store called Ted Cole's here in Salem. The owner was a minor Big Band player whose store sold everything musical, from instruments, sheet music, phonograph needles to records. He had the 45s in order of their chart ranking. Needless to say, it's long gone, having survived the death of the original owner but not the subsequent one of his daughter some ten years ago. As for Schoolboys, I did listen to it a lot as well as the other Kinks albums that I bought at the time. Some of the songs have a certain poignancy to me as I was actually going through my own high school days when I first heard the album. I think that it's a bit tighter than the other RCA albums in that a lot of the songs can be taken out of context of the alleged concept of how Flash became a no goodnick, although the real concept was probably how Dave got thrown out of school. It also looks back to the 50s and forward to the Arista era. I kept my Rhino CD when I found out that the Velvel reissue had no bonus tracks. As for the front cover, a definite "meh". I think Avids Martyj and Ajsmith have great ideas for improving it. I would have the Schoolboy in the arms of a cute freckle faced girl in curls being caught by a prudish type schoolmaster done in the Beano style.
Well Avids I must own up to being an ex schoolboy in disgrace and needing to report to headmaster @mark winstanley 's office in haste and confess all my sins like you want me to! Short of the couple of tracks on the comp above I Do not know the album. I cannot recall how either track goes. I listened to Education on YouTube on Saturday and wasn't sure I wanted to learn more. In December I had the sudden opportunity to purchase a Velvel CD of Schoolboys In Disgrace for $5 and ultimately passed on it. Yes I think and always have that the cover art is poor, especially given a group of the Kinks standing though I will say that the silhouetted, bent knee-ed teacher reminds me of Pink Floyd's one from their Another Brick In The Wall clip! OK Mark don't lash me too hard now as I will need to be able to sit down following my weekend ankle sprain!
Dave is also the lead guitarist to boot and it is a schoolkids cartoon so there is a twin tie-in there!
Catching up: Soap Opera The last of a run of Kinks albums that I was aware of, but had never heard all the way through. I do think it is the weakest of the RCA albums, but is still very enjoyable. I think it is best heard as a piece, with only a couple of songs making much sense as stand alone tracks. Others have said this (and I think I did too at one point), but it is great to have a few Kinks albums that are 'like new' to me. I will listen again. Schoolboys in Disgrace We are now moving into an era of the Kinks where, as a teen, I was aware of them as the albums were being released. I had a friend who had Schoolboys and we listened to it frequently, and the FM station I listened to had "No More Looking Back" on rotation. I really like this album. It has it's flaws, but also have some songs that are amongst my favorite Kinks tunes. I also think it is a leap ahead in the sound of the album, sounding more like an Arista album than an RCA album if that makes sense.
I see a Mickey Finn is credited with the much maligned front cover illustration. That's not the same one from T Rex is it? (I know it's also the name of a drink)
Lol I don't know how I became the headmaster, but anyhow.... everyone's butts are quite safe. There are a couple of very good tracks on here... Education? ..... it's kind of odd, and I wouldn't grade the album by it.
From cruising the net, it seems that Lank Leonard died a few years prior to 1975. It could have been one of his successors.
I never liked the album cover, but I do like the green color and the Kinks logo on it. The drawing just annoys me and I don’t think it’s very good. I’m not sure if it’s Lank Leonard? If you look through many of the Mickey Finn comics the drawing style is very similar, but I’m not sure. It could also be an old drawing he already did from one of his comics.
As the Internet cliche goes, OTOH, from reading this obit of the T. Rex Mickey Finn, it seems that he had a background as a commercial artist: Mickey Finn of T.Rex dies / Music News // Drowned In Sound
Seems like the most likely candidate then! I agree with @Vangro there's no way the illustration is American: it's a classic British schoolboy look, not to mention the teacher with the mortar board hat.
As for the album, I have a soft spot for this record. I bought the cassette long ago, and it was one that never left my car for many years. I grew to love it. I say I hated the album cover, but there is something oddly appealing about it. I do think they should have used the photo of the band instead of the cartoon though. I kind of like the headmaster standing in the shadows, but the crying kid with his pants down annoys me. Now that it’s been mentioned, the drawing does appear to be very British, but an American also has the capability of doing a British style drawing. This does sound like it has one foot heading into the Arista years, but I feel it still has most of the ingredients from the RCA years. The 50s vibe is apparent on several tunes and it’s very appropriate for the “Schooldays” theme. This could be seen as The Kinks present their version of Grease! Even the lesser songs have something to offer on this album. I listened to it all last night and I am pretty sure which songs will not get much love, but I was finding positive aspects in every song. It may be my least favorite of the RCA years, but it’s the last album from the band that I can listen to and enjoy from start to finish. I kind of agree with @ajsmith about the next album being a drastic change of direction for the band. They become a safe rock band and don’t take the chances like they do on the RCA albums. It will be interesting going through those album. I always liked Misfits over Sleepwalker, but that doesn’t seem to be the popular opinion.
I found this. The front cover was illustrated by London artist and illustrator, Colin 'Mickey' Finn (not of T Rex), who also created the two removal men characters used in the Dire Straits video "Money for Nothing". It later appeared on NME's list of the '50 worst covers of all time'.
This french comp looks interesting. I can attest not a single of my "rock" friends ever owned this. I didn't either but i’ve seen it around in records stores through the years. I like some selections choices, though I have great doubts about the Acute Schizophrenia/Maximum Consumption two horns punch at the end of side 1 and the absence of most Muswell Hillbillies highlights. One question for the guitar maniacs among you : I think the first AC/DC record was also released in 1975. Does anybody know if Angus Young was already doing his schoolboy uniform thing in the very early days ? Or could this cover art be yet another Kinks contribution to the History of hard rock and heavy metal ?? In both cases, this dressing up stunt gives an interesting reverse perspective on the « I hated my text books and my school uniform / cause it made me conform » line in Schooldays. Both in Angus Young’s outfit and on this back cover art, it certainly does not make anybody conform!
Jumping off at a tangent but I played tennis with an old friend tonight who always reminds me of one off the Money For Nothing delivery men and yes I have told him this!
Schoolboys in Disgrace When I bought Schoolboys I was still trying to figure out the Kinks. I'd gotten Soap Opera on hearing it on the radio, then Sleepwalker which was the new release. But what had happened to the concept album thing? I ran out to buy something else and got Everybody's in Showbiz, then learned they were playing nearby. The first concert I drove myself to was Kinks at Constitution Hall in May '77, which was an unforgettable show (with a fight between Dave and Mick at the end!) but which didn't clarify what exactly was going on with the Kinks. I bought Misfits on release, which confused me even more, then Schoolboys to try to straighten things out. The reference to "Mr. Flash" in the liner notes made me think I'd found another concept album (I didn't really get the concept of Showbiz until I'd heard Lola v. Powerman), but it didn't have all the funny dialogue and diversity of style as Soap Opera, and the concept seemed pretty simplistic in comparison. But I'd just moved to a new school in a new country, which was structured somewhat on the British model, so a lot of the tracks were unexpectedly relevant. And the idiom was more like Sleepwalker/Misfits -- rock and roll & sound quality similar to what other bands of the era were doing -- but with a level of lyrical inventiveness and -- personal commitment -- that was more like Soap Opera/Everybody's in Show Biz. It isn't on heavy rotation but I listened to it on the way to drop my eldest off at school today, then again as my wife and I drove the two youngest around. The reaction to Jack was immediate with the toddlers: "AGAIN, AGAIN!!!" The 5 year old refused to leave the car until I played it all the way through for the 4th time. Wife was not amused. Soap Opera catch-up Maybe because of Demon Alcohol, Have Another Drink never struck me as a rollicking drinking song. There was something ominous about Ray's final "have another drink," an implication that the (dramatic Greek) chorus was goading Norman into a fatal spiral of addiction. I turned my eldest on to Soap Opera on a road trip when she was 9, and Holiday Romance has become one of our go-to sing-alongs in the car (again to my wife's tolerant annoyance -- this phase of Ray's may be her version of me hanging ducks up on the wall, almost enough to threaten the marriage). You Make it All Worthwhile is partially responsible for what I wound up doing with my life. It can kill your spirit and destroy your mind was a dire warning from the rock gods about giving in and getting an office job when I grew up.
I thought the first ACDC record was 1974 though that may well be a 45 and not an LP. I believe Angus wore the school get up from the onset as he was still at school when they began.
After gorging on the classic Kinks albums for a long time, I started sampling others in their extensive catalogue, all completely unknown to me; I distinctly remember turning Schoolboys off in exasperation during Jack the Idiot Dunce wondering what in the world they were thinking! For whatever reason I wasn't ready for it, and at some point later I came back to it and now my only complaint is that it is too short! I must admit I have a malicious appreciation of the provocative album cover and how much it puts people off. In my opinion, Headmaster, with it's examination of childhood guilt and shame, is the most remarkable song on the album, and that the cover speaks directly to it is no accident. I also like how the picture of the group on the back is staged like a typical class photo. Listening to it again now it's indeed interesting to observe how it has one foot firmly in the aesthetic of the RCA years and yet the other is already stepping forward and anticipating the success of the stadium rock period.
