The Village Green Preservation Society: Deluxe Edition

2004年、Sanctuary Recordsがリリースした3枚組デラックス・エディションが復刻!

The first question that anyone confronted by this triple-CD version of Village Green Preservation Society might ask is, is it still possible to properly enjoy Village Green Preservation Society in a single-CD version, such as Castle Records' 1998 reissue? The answer is emphatically yes -- it's a great record, period, even without the whistles and bells, variant takes, and other enhancements present on this set. But limiting oneself to the single CD is a little like only ever seeing the theatrical version of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy -- there's a lot more well worth absorbing in the special editions, and in this case, much more than the 15 songs on the finished album; besides, anyone who bypasses this set misses their chance to hear the beguiling acoustic guitar-driven alternate mix of "Animal Farm" (one of five distinctly different versions here of the achingly catchy song), and the equally alluring acoustic- and electric-textured "Did You See His Name," which wasn't part of the album but dates from the same period. The next question is, how does a 15-song LP become a three-CD set? The simple answer is that Village Green Preservation Society wasn't ever just 15 songs -- there were at least 18 finished songs connected directly to the LP, as it was released in two different versions around the world, and there were more songs composed by Ray Davies and recorded with varying degrees of finality throughout that period (1967-68) in which Village Green Preservation Society evolved. That won't surprise hardcore Kinks fans, most of whom have long recognized Village Green Preservation Society as the group's artistic highpoint, in the 1960's and, arguably, their entire history. And the latter is rather ironic, referring to an album that never charted anywhere in the world and never yielded a hit single -- Village Green Preservation Society never got tagged with the "pop culture classic" label that was quickly stuck on to the Rolling Stones' Beggars Banquet and Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland, to name just two contemporaneous releases. But it became an underground hit in America, where it somehow managed to remain in print for a dozen years or more, selling a few dozen copies every month well into the 1980's, making converts one listener at a time (there was no radio play to speak of for any of its songs). The virtues of the original album have only grown over time, the album aging gracefully and rather timelessly. The 2004 remastering is even better than the 1998 remastering, with greater presence on the guitars, bass, drums, and Mellotron, and an even closer sound -- the crunch of the electric guitars and the action on the acoustic guitars all in your face. The original album fills out disc one, supported by five related tracks off the 12-song version; the album's mono mix, which encompasses the bulk of the second disc, offers a different breakdown of vocals and instruments, and is augmented by single mixes and alternate mixes, including a gorgeous version of "Village Green" with doubled vocals, and a stripped-down band version of "Village Green". Disc three is filled out with the free-standing orchestral overdub for "Village Green," stereo and mono mixes on various stylistically and chronologically (if not textually or thematically) related songs, mostly from the lost substitute album Four More Well Respected Gentlemen (which was nearly released in place of the Village Green album), and miscellaneous, relevant tracks from The Great Lost Kinks Album. These include such beautiful works as the busted single "Lavender Hill," the rocking, catchy "Misty Water," the gorgeous "Rosemary Rose" (not only a pretty tune but a beautifully played tune), and the surging, comical "Polly," all of which have been lurking around the fringes of the Kinks' catalog for 30-plus years. The set closes with the BBC versions of "Do You Remember Walter?," "Animal Farm" (with a heavy electric guitar texture), and "Days." The se to be continued...