噂されていた『Muswell Hillbillies』のDeluxe Editionが遂に登場!オリジナル作品は、1971年11月リリースにされた9作目のスタジオ・アルバム、RCA Recordsでの1作目。アルバム・タイトルはDavies兄弟が育ち、バンドが結成された北ロンドンのMuswell Hillにちなんで付けられたと言われており、アルバムのテーマは1970年初頭の貧困と労働者階級の生活だ。ロック(「20th Century Man」)、カントリー(「Muswell Hillbilly」)、ブルース(「Here Come the People in Grey」)、シアトリカル&ミュージック・ホール(「Alcohol」)と様々なジャンルの楽曲を収録。Ray DaviesとエンジニアのMike Bodakは10年物のヴィンテージ・マイクを敢えて使用することによりアルバム・サウンドにアンティーク感を与えた。また"The Mike Cotton Sound"と呼ばれるブラス・セクションを追加!Mike Cottonはトランペット、John Beechamがトロンボーンとチューバ、Alan Holmesがクラリネットを務めている。今回Deluxe Editionでは、オリジナル・アルバム音源とデモ、オルタネイト・ヴ―ジョン、ライヴ音源等が追加されている。

発売・販売元 提供資料 （2013/09/11）

Rolling Stone - 4 stars out of 5 - "[T]he wonderfully ramshackle MUSWELL HILLBILLIES is their EXILE ON MAIN STREET."

Rovi

How did the Kinks respond to the fresh start afforded by Lola? By delivering a skewed, distinctly British, cabaret take on Americana, all pinned down by Ray Davies' loose autobiography and intense yearning to be anywhere else but here -- or, as he says on the opening track, "I'm a 20th century man, but I don't want to be here." Unlike its predecessors, Muswell Hillbillies doesn't overtly seem like a concept album -- there are no stories as there are on Lola -- but each song undoubtedly shares a similar theme, namely the lives of the working class. Cleverly, the music is a blend of American and British roots music, veering from rowdy blues to boozy vaudeville. There's as much good humor in the performances as there are in Davies' songs, which are among his savviest and funniest. They're also quite affectionate, a fact underpinned by the heartbreaking "Oklahoma U.S.A.," one of the starkest numbers Davies ever penned, seeming all the sadder surrounded by the careening country-rock and music hall. That's the key to Muswell Hillbillies -- it mirrors the messy flow of life itself, rolling from love letters and laments to jokes and family reunions. Throughout it all, Davies' songwriting is at a peak, as are the Kinks themselves. There are a lot of subtle shifts in mood and genre on the album, and the band pulls it off effortlessly and joyously -- but it's hard not to hear Dave Davies' backing vocals and have it not sound joyous. Regardless of its commercial fate, Muswell Hillbillies stands as one of the Kinks' best albums. [A Deluxe Edition featured two discs and 25 tracks.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine|

Rovi