The Kinks - Village Green Preservation Society

[DennisFromHalifax]

Im a huge Kinks fan and never understood why everyone loved this album. But as im listening to it right now, it just clicked, i get it! Anyone else a fan or this album or just The Kinks in general

[Paul DeLouisiana]

Im a huge Kinks fan and never understood why everyone loved this album. But as im listening to it right now, it just clicked, i get it! Anyone else a fan or this album or just The Kinks in general

Weird, that was the album that made the Kinks "click" for me. I was exclusively a Beatles fan in highschool and had only heard the Kinks early songs and wrote them off because, like I said, I thought I only had time for the Beatles. Then I heard Village Green and things changed greatly.

[masterofsparks]

It's now my favorite Kinks album by a large margin, but it never really clicked for me until I visited England in 2000. Hearing those songs while driving through little towns with village greens was when everything sort of joined up for me.

[nec13]

I like VGPS. But the album that turned me into a Kinks fan was Muswell Hillbillies. While it's less ambitious than Village Green, I think it has better songs.

[Crusherkc]

Im a huge Kinks fan and never understood why everyone loved this album. But as im listening to it right now, it just clicked, i get it! Anyone else a fan or this album or just The Kinks in general

Hell yes!  I'm intrigued: you were a huge Kinks fan before but you didn't like this album. What did you like better than this before Village Green kicked in?  I didn't really start getting into the Kinks until I heard this from start to fin about 20 years ago. Before that I assumed they were all 70s arena rock or chugging riffing like "You Really Got Me".  Then after I listened to "Something Else" and that was really it, I felt like I was in London in 1966.

[HaroldBlvd]

This and "Something Else" have been my fav Kinks albums for a long time. 60's psychedelic rock at it's finest.

[Greggulator]

I always enjoyed The Kinks but never considered myself a fan of The Kinks. But then a friend pushed Village Green on me and that's what transformed me. It's one of my favorite albums.

I know their later era output is hit or miss. And I know that "Best Of" albums are inherintly lame. But Come Dancing is something that pops up on my iPod a ton.

[Key Loser]

I gotta say Arthur is still my favorite Kinks album

[gravy boat]

It's kind of arena rock but the One from the Road live double-album has stayed one of my favorites.

[fonpr]

It's kind of arena rock but the One from the Road live double-album has stayed one of my favorites.

Saw them on that tour in an arena. 

Dave was on fire. 

[Wes]

I gotta say Arthur is still my favorite Kinks album

Arthur is my favorite, as well, and I agree that Muswell Hillbillies is right there with Arthur and Village Green. As for Village Green itself, "Phenomenal Cat" is the only song that keeps it from being perfect.

[DennisFromHalifax]

I was big on Face To Face first and then Something Else...and of course those amazing singles..kinda lost it after the early 70s...good run of 5 star albums though in the mid 60s til the early 70s. 

[ChipSuey]

I just love that album.  It's pretty much a perfect driving record, especially when you're on long stretches of open road.  It's definitely one of my personal favorites, and I've been listening to it quite a bit lately.  Timely thread!

[Key Loser]

I gotta say Arthur is still my favorite Kinks album

Arthur is my favorite, as well, and I agree that Muswell Hillbillies is right there with Arthur and Village Green. As for Village Green itself, "Phenomenal Cat" is the only song that keeps it from being perfect.

also the song Monica, though to be fair it is the next to last song. And who's idea was it to put Steam Powered Train before Big Sky? I always skip that song. Just cant wait for the epic rock of Big sky

[masterofsparks]

Regardless of your favorite, it seems inarguable that Face to Face through Muswell Hillbillies is an unprecedented hot streak. Even the singles, b-sides, and outtakes from the era are very high quality, so the reissue CDs which feature some of those tracks are worth getting. Songs like Days, King Kong, Big Black Smoke, and Dead End Street are better than some of the best songs by any artist you'd care to name, and none of them even made it onto an album.