Ignored by virtually everyone upon its release in November 1968, ‘The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society’ is now seen as one of the best British albums ever recorded. Here, Andy Miller traces the perilous circumstances surrounding its creation, and celebrates the timeless, perfectly crafted songs pieced together by a band who were on the verge of disintegration and who refused to follow fashion.
EXCERPT ‘Big Sky’ contains some of the most beautiful, thunderous music The Kinks ever recorded, aligned to a vulnerability and warmth no other group – and I mean no other group – could ever hope to equal. It is a perfectly balanced production. On the one hand, the mesh of clattering drums and electric guitar never threatens to overwhelm the melody; on the other, the gossamer-light harmonies, Ray and Dave’s vocal line traced by Rasa Davies’ wordless falsetto, are bursting with emotion. When most of the instruments drop away at 1.20, the effect is effortlessly vivid – two lines where Davies’ performance is both nonchalant and impassioned. The result is wonderfully, enchantingly sad, made more so perhaps by the knowledge that The Kinks will never again sound so refined or so right.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“So thorough is Miller s survey of the period.”- Pop Culture Press
“Miller takes an in-depth look at the Kinks’ nostalgic and autobiographical album, released in 1968, at the worst possible time, when rock was all about rebellion and psychedelia This is the sort of focus that my make you want to buy a copy, or dig out your old one.” -Rob Mackie, The Guardian
“This detailed tome leads the reader through the often fraught construction of what is now regarded as Davies’s [sic] masterpiece- and, like the best books of its ilk, it makes the reader want ot either re-investigate the album or hear it for the first time.” -Blender Magazine, October 2003
A compelling portrait…Miller s insight into the album s thematic structure is as eloquent as any writing on The Kinks Philadelphia City Paper
“Kinks kommander Ray Davies once described the Beatles as “the boy next door only better.” Miller notices this is a deeply autobiographical comment, and he’s unquestionably in the tank for both that boy and that boy’s nostalgia-driven magnum opus. But Miller tempers his enthusiasm with research, with and detailed-if-straightforward analyis of the songs, the time, the players and the fascinating history of the very English temperament that produced this most English of magnum opuses. A” Austin American-Statesman, Oct. 17, 2004
.”..thisis a charming and valuable addition to the series.”- Joe Pettit, “Ugly Things, “Issue 25–Ugly Things
.”..this is a charming and valuable addition to the series.”- Joe Pettit, “Ugly Things, “Issue 25–Sanford Lakoff
From the Publisher
“Thirty Three and a Third” is a new series of short books about critically acclaimed and much-loved albums of the last 40 years. The authors provide fresh, original perspectives often through their access to and relationships with the key figures involved in the recording of these albums. By turns obsessive, passionate, creative, and informed, the books in this series demonstrate many different ways of writing about music. What binds the series together, and what brings it to life, is that all of the authors musicians, broadcasters, scholars, and writers are huge fans of the album they have chosen.
From the Inside Flap
“‘Big Sky’ contains some of the most beautiful, thunderous music The Kinks ever recorded, aligned to a vulnerability and warmth no other group and I mean no other group could ever hope to equal. It is a perfectly balanced production. On the one hand, the mesh of clattering drums and electric guitar never threatens to overwhelm the melody; on the other, the gossamer-light harmonies, Ray and Dave s vocal line traced by Rasa Davies wordless falsetto, are bursting with emotion. When most of the instruments drop away at 1.20, the effect is effortlessly vivid two lines where Davies performance is both nonchalant and impassioned. The result is wonderfully, enchantingly sad, made more so perhaps by the knowledge that The Kinks will never again sound so refined or so right.”
Ignored by virtually everyone upon its release in November 1968, ‘The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society’ is now seen as one of the best British albums ever recorded. Here, Andy Miller traces the perilous circumstances surrounding its creation, and celebrates the timeless, perfectly crafted songs pieced together by a band who were on the verge of disintegration and who refused to follow fashion.
About the Author
Andy Miller has worked as a bookseller and a publisher (for Fourth Estate) in London. He is an occasional contributor to Mojo, and has recently published his first book through Penguin in the UK.
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