Village Green has been reissued before, with bonus tracks galore
and in mono/stereo, but this is the most meticulous version, sure to
excite fans of this classic 1968 release. BMG has released it as a huge,
11-piece super-deluxe box, with 5 CD's, LP's and 45's, housed in a
monster package with memorabilia and a hard-bound book, at $170 bucks.
We'll look at the more affordable 2-disc set however, and you crazed
fans (well, me) can decide to upgrade later if you want.
Like
The Beach Boys at roughly the same period, The Kinks started making
their best albums as their popularity plummeted, their pop audience not
making the transition from hit 45's to art rock with them. Such were the
vagaries of success, the album wasn't celebrated like other classics of
the time. Still in the same month we'll celebrate the 50th anniversary
of the White Album, this birthday party will be much more subdued, even
though Village Green stands equal if not higher to that set. So be it,
it just means more folks may come across this for the first time and be
amazed.
The great irony of this album is that
we have Ray Davies singing about an England that was fast disappearing,
about steam trains and village greens and other institutions, looking
back with sadness at boyhood pals and lost girlfriends, going through
old photos, and he was all of 24. But we're not quite sure if he's
celebrating the old empire days, mocking them or simply catching on to
the sea change that was changing his family and all the others. There's
lots of winking going on, and by the time the original album closes,
with People Take Pictures Of Each Other, he sounds pretty fed up with
nostalgia. By the way, that should be the theme song for the selfie
generation.
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