Village Green Preservation Society, The - Kinks (The)

Advantages: Cleverly written and beautifully crafted songs
Disadvantages: Not everyone's cup of tea, but then, what is?

...I saw a TV commercial just before Christmas and identified the accompanying music immediately as being by The Kinks, but I'd never heard the song before. Somewhat perplexed, as a fan of the band, I searched the net and found it was a song called 'Picture Book' taken from the 1968 album 'The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society'. So why didn't I recollect it? Well, it's the forgotten album, it got trampled underfoot in the rush to buy other albums from the autumn of that year, such as the Beatles' White Album, The Stones' 'Beggars Banquet', and Jimi Hendrix' 'Electric Ladyland'. The music was changing at the time, the flowers that grew so incredibly high were being crushed by the Street Fighting Man, Revolution was in the air....and here were the Kinks singing songs about, "draught beer, cricket and strawberry jam... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Pop tunefulness, indie wackiness
Disadvantages: Yet to find a distinctive voice - but great for a debut album

...'Strangeways Inside', pairs twinkling xylophones and a euphoric chorus with lyrics which might be about mental illness, but equally might not be. The closing song 'Paper Houses' quotes lines from other songs on the album, with musical hints of Buddy Holly, and ends with another announcer - this time from the Oban-Mull ferry. A final, 'hidden' track comprises a shambolic assortment of trumpets and keyboards and echoey drums. "I share my lies with you" he seems to be singing. Bonkers, absolutely bonkers. As fictitious musical social groups go, Mull Historical Society deserves to be the 21st century's answer to the Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society or Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club. Just listen to its insanely jolly eponymous recruitment ditty, complete with steel drums and trumpets. This is one club you'd want to be invited to join. Track... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Great Easy Listening
Disadvantages: None

...He always really difficult to describe his music to people. It's pretty much guitar blues and soul but listen to his 'Better Man' and make up your own mind. He grew up on artists like Otis Redding, Al Green, Cat Stevens, The Kinks and Van Morrison and always loved songs where the singer would sing with real soul, like they really believed in what they were singing about. Those are the kinds of songs that really stayed with him. He can't sing a song about something he don't believe in. Born in Rugby in 1984 he moved around a bit through Northampton and Derby until eventually he stopped and settled in a little village called Porth in Cornwall. His Uncle used to play the guitar and watching him made him want to learn. He found that singing and playing guitar was a way for me to release any frustration he had at the time. Not that he... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful