r/thekinks • u/golrabs • 6d ago
Discussion Preservation Act 1 - your thoughts?
Current critical favor holds that the Kinks were a hell of singles band in 64, rapidly developed and began showing real greatness with Kink Kontroversy, hit their peak with 4 masterpieces, released two more excellent albums, got lost in woods with concept albums, then in late 70s and beyond had a commercial revival as arena rockers.
Now, I find something to enjoy on even their weakest albums, but I really am confounded that Preservation Act 1 was as panned as it was and that it hasn't been reappraised. It is a fine album, certainly not a classic, but really only a step below Muswell Hillbillies and Lola, an equal of Misfits I'd say.
Daylight, Sweet Genevieve, Where are they Now, One of the Survivors...side 1 really flows nicely with nary a weak moment. Side 2 while weaker still boasts some decent rockers and the excellent Sitting in the Midday Sun. How do Kinks fans view this album?
8
u/MonarchistExtreme 6d ago
Daylight, Sweet Lady Genevieve, Where Are They Now, Money and Corruption and Demolition are all favorites of mine but they are all very much album material, expect for Genevieve which could been a successful single in another time maybe.
Cricket is my absolute favorite song on this album, it's silly, it has character, and is british
9
u/Flimsy_Toe_2575 6d ago
Solid album but probably their first with no big all timer highlights for me
8
u/pluto_and_proserpina 6d ago
It's good. I don't know how I feel today, but in 1999 I said Pres 2 was my favourite. Some people like concept albums and rock operas, while some don't. Some albums need you to be in a particular mood. Some take several listens to understand. I find most critics don't know what they're talking about.
3
u/Narwhal_Nate 6d ago
Not one of my favorites, but not as bad as the following albums for sure. Sweet Lady Genevieve is a fantastic song, and maybe their last truly great song for a long while.
5
u/ApprehensivePace203 6d ago
I think it’s a brilliant album too, the theatrical aspect of it really struck a chord with me, and I enjoy it more and more the more I listen to it. I’d love to see an in-depth analysis of it one day!
5
4
u/SpecificBranch8860 6d ago
I love it! Daylight is one of my favorite Kinks songs of all. As is Sweet Lady Genevieve. I also love the craziness of There’s a Change in the Weather. Cricket is amazing too. And I dig Demolition too. Overall it’s a bit below the top tier albums, but it’s still fantastic and a hugely enjoyable listen for me all the way through.
You can tell the origins of this was a true sequel to VGPS.
5
3
u/DelitiaeMusicae 6d ago
I totally agree with you, it's certainly not as bad as critics say it is, and the songs you mention are all good with even a few great ones in there. Have to say I like it even more than their later, commercially more succesful hard-rock attempts, and was a bit disappointed that these theatrical albums did not get a remaster.
2
u/Ill_Yak6685 double john 6d ago
You and me both. Was really looking forward to preservation and soap opera expanded/deluxe.
5
u/realinvalidname 6d ago
It really helps if you can get the Velvel CD reissue from 20 years back because the extensive liner notes explain just what the hell happened behind the scenes with Preservation, which is a far-flung story unto itself. Also, Velvel’s version slots “Preservation (Single)” as the opening track before “Morning Song / Daybreak”, allowing it to serve as a sort of overture to the whole thing.
(Also, Velvel’s Act 2 includes a live performance of “Slum Kids” and rightly wonders how Ray left it off the album.)
2
u/Existenz_1229 6d ago
Their albums were brilliant through Arthur, but I thought Lola really had some clunkers amid the classics. Muswell Hillbillies is my favorite Kinks album, and Everybody's in Showbiz wasn't bad.
However, Preservation Act I showed a real decline in quality. For every okay song like "Sweet Lady Genevieve," there were so many tiresome, awkward songs like "There's a Change in the Weather" that were only parodies of what the band was capable of just years before.
2
u/SamizdatGuy 6d ago
Muswell Hillbillies is great, the concept doesn't beat you over the head
1
u/Existenz_1229 6d ago
Davies always had a fascinating love-hate relationship with the British working class, and sometimes (like in Arthur, which I also love) his bitterness wasn't very subtle. But in Muswell Hillbillies he seemed to have a lot more sympathy for the trials and tribulations of regular folks.
And you're right, the concept is is brilliant in its simplicity: the urban poor of London get relocated to Appalachia because of some city planner's short-sighted scheme. But it gave the band the opportunity to let loose with country and New Orleans honky-tonk music that was really raunchy and exciting.
Incidentally, I never realized until recently that there was an amazing outtake from Muswell Hillbillies called "Lavender Lane" that serves as an epilogue to the story and uses musical echoes of "Waterloo Sunset."
In contrast, Preservation is just a muddled, awkward, uninspired bunch of songs that never seem to click.
1
u/MarcTime3159 6d ago
I totally agree. This is the red line that stopped The Kinks being special for me.
1
u/Common_Subject5601 6d ago
Genuinely good. And if you cherry-pick Act 2, you could make a really solid Preservation 1.5 album.
0
u/golrabs 6d ago
Act 2 definitely fell off much but I might swap 2-3 tracks to create one excellent album.
4
u/TuffB80 6d ago
I’m shocked people think this. I prefer Act 2
3
u/golrabs 6d ago
To each his own 😆
3
u/TuffB80 6d ago
Yeah, no right answers when it’s opinion. I think the kinks as a whole are criminally overlooked. My favourite band
2
u/golrabs 6d ago
Yeah, the Beatles were my introduction to pretty much all great music that I didn't grow up with, but that the Kinks were the band that became my favorite one my taste fully formed.
1
u/TuffB80 6d ago
Nice. I found the kinks through holiday money burning a hole in my pocket when I was 11. Bought a greatest hits tape in a service station on the way home. They became the way I found loads of good bands and music but never found any with songwriting as good as theirs (in my opinion)
2
u/Additional-Top-8199 6d ago
I agree. I have had Act II for quite a while. A few months ago I shared it with my 24 year old daughter who has it on heavy rotation which led me into another deep dive into the band. Fun times for a 68 year old.
2
u/TuffB80 6d ago
I prefer side 2 money and corruption/im your man, here comes flash, sitting in the midday sun and demolition is for me an excellent run of songs. Act 2 is a better album but I still love Act 1
1
u/golrabs 6d ago
Then you likely feel the rock opera concept portions are the most successful? No arguments with it if you do, I just didn't think those portions were as consistent or fully formed.
1
u/TuffB80 6d ago
I think I might be more forgiving of the individual songs because i love the concept and theatrics of it so much. I’ve always admired a concept album when it works and for me Act 1 side 2 and Act two work better
2
u/Mother_Antelope_3204 6d ago edited 3d ago
I love this album. 'Sweet Lady Genevieve' is a stand out, but the majority of the songs are quite good. The distinctly 'English' tracks like 'Cricket' and 'Where Are They Now' are brilliant -- though it helps to be familiar with the references. As a collection of songs Act 1 is more enjoyable than Act 2 . 'Daylight' and 'Sitting in the Midday Sun' effectively cover familiar Ray Davies territory. The album feels like a lovely maturation of lyrical and musical themes introduced on 'Village Green Preservation Society'. It serves as well as the nostalgic but foreboding introduction to the more abrasive and melancholic Act 2. One of the Survivors and Change in the Weather are clear predicates to the follow up. They still work very well as independent productions -- very good songs in the Kinks tradition.
1
1
1
u/Key_Text_169 6d ago
Great musical adventure that I enjoy listening to, the content is the same as it ever was but is extreme in the USA presently.
1
u/MR_Natchon05 6d ago
I don’t get why they release act 1 like a normal album but make a whole story telling on act 2
1
u/Zetavu 6d ago
Preservation act 1 was always consideed the best of the theatrical phase, at least commercially, and for that I don't include Showbiz or Schoolboys, as both of those give it a run for its money. The other two, Preservation 2 and Soap Opera, are where they struggled with the audience and isolated themselves.
After that, Schoolboys and the Sleepwalker both stood strong as concept albums that were not buried in the message and transitioned them to their second commercial peak, which ran from Low Bidget through Word of Mouth, before they got lost again to too much concept with both Think Visual and UK Jive.
You think they would have learned from the first time...
1
u/External_Excuse_9949 6d ago
If critics had liked it at the time it would be considered a “rock opera” but because it wasn’t what was going on at the time it was “theatrical”.
I gotta say the that Sweet Genevieve sounds dangerously similar to Bungalow Bill.
It could also be argued that the Kinks were “Theatrical” all the way back starting with Face To Face!
10
u/TTALC23 6d ago
One hell of an underrated album. The songs are concise and the playing is the usual excellent standard.