|
Post by mrniceguy on Aug 13, 2009 8:40:25 GMT -5
Preservation Acts 1 and 2 are the only 2 Kinks albums Ive had a hard time listening to. The only songs I really remember enjoying were Sweet Lady Genevieve, Daylight, Morning Song, and Sitting in the Midday Sun. I have noticed that some of you people love these albums though, so I was wondering what you consider the best songs on the albums.. so i could give it another try.
|
|
|
Post by HollyH on Aug 13, 2009 9:57:00 GMT -5
I think it's important to remember that these songs are being sung by characters -- they're very theatrical. I, for example, love the song "Cricket," campy as it is. I also love "Where Are They Now," because as a child of the 60s, it's nostalgic for me to hear names like Mary Quant and Charlie Bubbles.
On Part 2, the most interesting characters for me are Flash and his cronies. "Second Hand Car Spiv" and "He's Evil" are almost like Shakespearean character sketches. "Demolition" is like a commercial for Flash's evil schemes -- I find it wickedly funny. I'll grant you that the announcements can be annoying, but I think it helps to listen to the album straight through so that you can get the arc of the story. (This is less important with Part 1, where the story hasn't really got into gear.) I also love the honky-tonk shuffle of "Scrapheap City" -- it's really a great pub singalong.
|
|
|
Post by complicatedlife on Aug 13, 2009 10:19:46 GMT -5
In a perfect world, The Preservation Saga would be available in a single release -Acts 1 & 2 together and maybe Schoolboys on a seperate CD since it is a prequel to Preservation.
I always felt Act 1 was a weak link - it serves to introduce each character in the Saga, but the story doesn't get flowing until Act 2 (and one heckuva story it is!).
Fave songs on Act 1 - One of the Survivors and Demolition
Fave songs on Act 2 - Money Talks, Scrapheap City, Artificial Man
Strangely, the best song of the Saga isn't even available on the official release - "Slum Kids", and the song "Preservation" was only included after Act 1 was released on CD
|
|
|
Post by powerman on Aug 13, 2009 11:49:12 GMT -5
Personally, I can't see past "Nothing Lasts Forever" I think it's an absolutely beautiful song with achingly poignant lyrics. (But I'm a bit of a saddo )
|
|
|
Post by uncleson on Aug 13, 2009 13:09:02 GMT -5
It took me a long time to get into Presrvation 1, but now I just love it! Favorites are: Morning Song, Daylight, Where Are They Now, Sweet Lady Genevieve, One Of The Survivors, Here Comes Flash, Demolition, and Sitting In The Midday Sun.
|
|
|
Post by franklima on Aug 13, 2009 20:52:06 GMT -5
These albums are the Holy Bible to me
|
|
|
Post by Iñakink on Aug 14, 2009 9:08:50 GMT -5
I don't consider Act 1 one of my favourites or of my least favourites, I guess it would be in the middle. But I'd put Act 2 in my Top 5, I think it's great. Favourites: Sweet Lady Genevieve, Here Comes Flash, When A Solution Comes, He's Evil, Nobody Gives, Artificial Man, Salvation Road and - I agree with CL - Slum Kids.
I must admit that for some time Act 2 was my least favorite Kinks album, and look now! Please Mr Nice, give them another chance, maybe you could try listening to them while you read the lyrics, it helped me a lot.
|
|
|
Post by Kinkcan on Aug 14, 2009 22:03:41 GMT -5
Act I has never been one of my favourites. But Sitting In The Midday Sun is a beautiful song. I know I'lll never get tired of that one. In my opinion, Act 2 is much better. Money Talks, Nobody Gives , Slum Kids, When A Solution Comes, Flash's Confession and Oh Where, Oh Where Is Love are great songs.
|
|
|
Post by luis on Aug 17, 2009 15:22:00 GMT -5
Hi Mr NG
The Preservations are not the most easy listening of Kinks albums, and the announcementes in Part 2 don't help. I know of many people who didn't get into them easily, particularly part 2. For a long time there where some songs I wanted to skip. Since skiping with vinils was a bore, it was annoying. Now, with cd's, its easy to skip, but I love them all now. Part 2 is amongst my top 5 for many years now.
Some of the chorus stuff doesn't really work as songs if you separate it from the story (Change in the weather, Money&Corruption, sheperds of the nation,..), and I think this is the stuff that make the albums hard to listen at first. Nevertheless this is nothing in comparison to the genious that oozes through the greater part of these unique records.
Complete masterpieces:
Part1 Sweet Lady.. Where are they now One of the survivors Sitting in the midday sun Demolition
Part 2 Introduction to solution When a solution comes Money Talks Scum of the earth Second Hand Car spiv He's Evil Mirror of Love Nobody Gives Oh Where is love Flash's Confession Nothing Lasts Forever Artificial Man Scrapheap City
Enjoy the Acts
L
|
|
clattybrown
New Member
Give the people what they want
Posts: 31
|
Post by clattybrown on Sept 19, 2009 15:40:56 GMT -5
mrniceguy Preservation Acts 1 and 2 are a work of pure art but yeah on first listen, they are the tunes that get you tapping away but trust me this is a pure rock opera, Like 'Tommy' from the Who but for some reason or other either The kinks or someone else decided to not go ahead but sure they will sooner or later, I mean the character Flash was a big part of the BRIT comedy serie Black Adder (no-one can deny that), if you read it like a script, its a great read and so many of the songs grow on you to love and cherish
|
|
clattybrown
New Member
Give the people what they want
Posts: 31
|
Post by clattybrown on Sept 19, 2009 15:45:39 GMT -5
Wow Schoolboys is a prequel to Preservation, sitting with that album in front of me now, under sleepwalker, gonna flip CDs now and go have a long bath then shower and enjoy it to the full with that knowledge thank you I had no idea
|
|
|
Post by franklima on Sept 20, 2009 19:00:50 GMT -5
Clatty you are the king of the KinKs covers, so we here and over on the official Ray Davies forum too look forward to many more of your GREAT covers of KinKs/Ray songs. I'd love to hear you cover Scrapheap City from Preservation act two but not the actual version that is sung by the girl Marrianne Price on the album version but rather the 45 single version which has Ray singing it in a very slow bluesy style that is far better than the album version...I would look forward to that and any other covers from the Preservation One and Two albums, Schoolboys, and Soap Opera too. Mr Big from Clatty Brown;
|
|
|
Post by pebbledashnirvana on Oct 6, 2009 6:30:16 GMT -5
yep that blues version of scrapheap city is superior. as, incidentally, is the song 'massive reductions' (the longer version ive got has an interesting middle 8/bridge - the album track is shorter) from 85's word of mouth. I can't remember where ive got the longer version from.
The Mr Flash character is very Shylocky (Merchant of Venice) - so your Shakespearian reference was correct. He could also be influenced by Fagin from Oliver Twist. Very 'Jewish' in a purely camp theatrical stereotypical way (I have no issues with Jews! and neither, I'm sure, does Ray - even though he sings '... who cares if you're Jewish ...' [amusingly]
Second Hand Car Spiv is a fablous song; and quite why Sweet Lady never made it as a hit I'll never know. And why did nobody record audio wise or video a proper 'preservation' stage show is really annoying. There's a grainy Soap Opera but no Preservation. Irritating.
Finally the 'announcements' are read by an English actor called Christopher Timothy who was famous for a character in a british drama called 'All Creatures Great and Small'. Coincidently I ran into his daughter years ago and played her excerpts from Preservation so she could hear her dad at the start of his career. She was very amused and surprised (she was only 17).
|
|
loren
New Member
Posts: 35
|
Post by loren on Nov 1, 2011 18:31:32 GMT -5
I love these two albumn (especially the full set of album), for me it makes sense to select 3 or 4 favorite songs. musical production of both elegance albumn is perfect, but the ACT 2 is even more creative ... In my opinion the two albumn would be treated differently if they had brought bands like Pink Floyd, Queen, Elton John ect .. . Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by cooldad98 on Nov 3, 2011 7:55:25 GMT -5
Ray in a bathrobe, sporting a bow tie with a stogey, priceless..........
"He's Evil", sit back with a glass of Merlot and crank it up, doesn't get much better than that.
|
|