The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society (2018 Stereo Remaster)

イギリスらし過ぎるブリティッシュ・ロック・バンドとして世界中のロック・ファンから今も愛され、リスペクトされているザ・キンクス。その彼らの最高傑作との呼び声高い『THE VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY』が、発売50周年を記念して新リマスター音源で蘇る!

Q - 4 stars out of 5 - "It deserves a place alongside the decade's best." Uncut - 5 stars out of 5 - "The songs are informed not by cozy nostalgia but fear and anomie and a plea for safe haven and sanctuary." Spin - "[I]ts back-to-the-English-garden pop, full of harpsichords and faintly ironic la-la-las, is rife with more shiny hooks than a Home Depot hardware aisle." Rolling Stone - "...The bass and drums sound so easy and sure....Such very fine vocals. The tune, the rhythm, are more of a delight with each verse..." Mojo - 5 stars out of 5 - "The Kinks could, and did, do it all: as their last, late flowering, VGPS uncannily predates today's nostalgia-saturated pop culture at the same time as it transcends it through its charm, generosity and psychological depth." Rolling Stone - 5 stars out of 5 - "Underneath its genteel English whimsy lurk some of Davies' most gorgeous songs, as well as his most astute observations and character studies." Magnet - "Escapist, pastoral and psychedelic, Davies' vision has never been stronger." Rolling Stone - 5 stars out of 5 -- "Songs like the existentially angsty 'Animal Farm,' the wistful 'Do You Remember Walter?' and the quirky 'People Take Pictures of Each Other' are among the best Davies ever wrote." Magnet - "[H]ands-down one of the best and most influential rock albums ever....Absolutely essential." Magnet - "[A] haunted, yet lush and charming place to nestle."

Ray Davies' sentimental, nostalgic streak emerged on Something Else, but it developed into a manifesto on The Village Green Preservation Society, a concept album lamenting the passing of old-fashioned English traditions. As the opening title song says, the Kinks -- meaning Ray himself, in this case -- were for preserving "draught beer and virginity," and throughout the rest of the album, he creates a series of stories, sketches, and characters about a picturesque England that never really was. It's a lovely, gentle album, evoking a small British country town, and drawing the listener into its lazy rhythms and sensibilities. Although there is an undercurrent of regret running throughout the album, Davies' fondness for the past is warm, making the album feel like a sweet, hazy dream. And considering the subdued performances and the detailed instrumentations, it's not surprising that the record feels more like a Ray Davies solo project than a Kinks album. The bluesy shuffle of "Last of the Steam-Powered Trains" is the closest the album comes to rock & roll, and Dave Davies' cameo on the menacing "Wicked Annabella" comes as surprise, since the album is so calm. But calm doesn't mean tame or bland -- there are endless layers of musical and lyrical innovation on The Village Green Preservation Society, and its defiantly British sensibilities became the foundation of generations of British guitar pop. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine|