The Kinks Album: “Preservation: Act 1”

A most lovable record. Worth exploring. There are about three true Kinks classics on this one; "One of the Survivors," "Sitting in the Midday Sun," and the sublime "Sweet Lady Genevieve." The rest of it is most listenable, however, and the addition of horns and a vocal ensemble gives this disk a unique musical quality in the Kinks' canon. An odd track, "Cricket," is told in the voice of a parson, backed by tuba, acoustic guitar and trumpet -- lots of fun. The lyric writing reaches for and sometimes achieves the level of poetry.

I've been advised by several people to avoid Preservation Act 1 since apparently it's the worst album the Kinks made in the 70's. Supposedly Ray Davies was trying *so* hard to make a perfect rock opera of some sorts, that the songwriting suffers as a result. BUT... I strongly disagree!

The whole "rock opera" thing is a huge mystery to me. I seriously don't hear anything like that on here. I just hear what I've come to expect from the Kinks since the mid 60's- brilliant pop songwriting.

I don't hear any overblown musical ideas, I don't even hear a rock opera either (at least, there doesn't seem to be a concept of any sorts and even if there *is* one, it's not really meaningful enough to criticize it) and to be completely honest, this album just sounds to me like yet *another* solid, underrated album by a rock band STILL struggling to stand alongside the other mighty rock giants, such as the Who and the Beatles.

So basically, I don't get all the hate for Preservation Act One at *all*.

I love track one. I think you'll understand what the lyrics are about immediately, and perhaps even be able to relate to them rather strongly. "Morning Song" made me cry the first time I heard it. Seriously, this particular track sounds NOTHING like what you'd expect the Kinks to write since it's not a pop song of any sorts- it's just two people humming the most spiritually moving melody imaginable.

"Daylight" is a highly melodic pop song, "Sweet Lady Genevieve" makes me CRY it's so incredibly good, and "There's a Change in the Weather" is a weird song at first because of the way Ray delivers the vocal lines. Eventually though, this track won me over.

"Where Are They Now?" is similar to "Sweet Lady Genevieve" in that it immediately brings me to tears. I don't think it's necessarily the lyrics that are beautiful and touching- it's more like a combination of *just* the right kind of honesty in the lead singers voice and the highly enjoyable melody itself both coming together to create something beyond description.

"One of the Survivors" is a great energetic rock song. Once again... I don't even need to SAY it, do I? It's filled with vocal melody galore! The female vocals in "Money and Corruption" are seriously awesome because they're put in exactly the right spots, "Here Comes Flash" reminds me of 80's Kinks believe it or not because of a slight new wave feeling connected to it, and "Demolition" is brilliant for the final minute of it. I LOVE that vocal melody appearing at the final 1-minute mark, and in fact, a vocal performance like that sums up why I love the 70's so much.

To me, Preservation Act One is a mighty fine rock/pop album, and seriously *not* a step down compared to other Kinks albums. Don't be afraid to pick it up- you'll fall in love with most of these songs, I guarantee it.

"Preservation" Act I and Act II are among the best albums the Kinks have to offer (see my review of Act II for additional comments). They capture everything that makes the Kinks great. Quirky, offbeat, melodic, humorous and moving. Don't believe the critics. As "rock opera" this is far superior to "Tommy" or "The Wall".

First off this album gets unfairly bashed from many of the reviews I've read.

Thanks to some other reviews here, I decided to get the album and was not dissapointed. This album is a bit bizzare, and is indeed a rock opera. For some, this may not be the best thing for you. However, if you are a hardcore Kinks fan and/or a completist, or into experimental/wierd music (like me)I do bevieve Preservation Act 1 is worth the purchase.

The sound of the SACD is great, and the album is densely layered which makes the album interesting for multiple listens.

Overall, it's a good album but doens't quite hold up to the klassics like: Arthur, VGPS, Face to Face, Lola, and Muswell Hillbillies.

As a big Kinks fan, "Preservation" has always been one of my favorite albums, maybe because it is so complete and almost perfect, telling the story of this British town through song. "Preservation" is clearly in the same league as the few true concept albums out there, like The Who's classic "Tommy." For me though, this is a better record because it's a better collection of songs. "Preservation" was kind of the pinnacle of a Kinks discography of concept albums from the late 60s through the 70s including such great records as "Village Green Preservation Society" (a great record full of very fun songs, and really the precursor to Preservation), "Arthur" (love this one), and "Schoolboys in Disgrace." If you like "Preservation," I'd suggest checking these out and others from this era. The Kinks became less conceptual, less folksy, more rock, and more commercial in the mid to late 70s, but still created some fantastic music through and into the 80s. But there is just something about this record that gets to you, or rather, it gets to me.

Some of the individual songs are just great. The reviewer above notes "Sweet Lady Genevieve" as a great song, and he's right, but he misses the true gems. For me, "Sitting in the Midday Sun" is an almost perfect, funny, peach of a song, and at the same time pokes fun at our Western tendency towards materialism, one of main songwriter Ray Davies' constant themes. I also really like the songs "Where Are They Now?," "One of the Survivors," which is basically, a tribute to guys like my father, who still (even now) yearn for the simple days of rock and roll in the 50s when guys like Jerry Lee Lewis and Dion and the Belmonts ruled radio. I also love the song, "Demolition," which perfectly closes the story.

I first heard "Preservation" on a cassette tape someone gave me as a gift. As the tape wore out, I had to buy the CD. My only regret regarding the CD is that they added the first track "Preservation," which was never on the original album, and definitely should not be the first track. It was later added to CDs as a kind of explanatory song, for some reason. The first track of this record should be the first tracks "Morning Song" and "Daylight." The album wakes up with these songs, and was originally intended to. When I play my CD, I skip over that first ugly track. Readers should know that the original record had "Morning Song" as the first track and "Demolition" as the last track. That was the album as it originally was released. All the other stuff (including an additional version of "One of the Survivors" on this listing, is just added filler for your CDs. I'm afraid the people who add these things just don't understand that they are ruining a piece of art when they do it. It would be like releasing a poster of a famous painting, but adding another painting by the same artist and sticking it on the bottom of the poster because there is extra blank space there. Or it would be like releasing a Hemingway novel like "For Whom The Bell Tolls," but adding a short story to the end of it that has nothing to do with the novel and telling readers that this is the novel. (I'll have to look, but I'm pretty sure my "Tommy" CD does not have any extra tracks on it.)

I won't discuss "Preservation Act II," except to say that it is not good and only has a few songs worth anything on it. I think Mr. Davies got a bit carried away with the concept on this sequel, and forgot about the music. And as a result, sadly, he will be overlooked. I used to wonder why "Tommy" was made into a musical but "Preservation" was not, since "Preservation" always seemed to me to be more theatrical, with more characters, and more social commentary. I think I know why it will never happen, and why Ray Davies will never be as recognized as Townsend has been. It's because, although Davies is probably a better songwriter, his music is more British and because his concept album with all the potential, "Preservation," self-destructed in Act II.