Muswell Hillbillies

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A previous Kinks album had used the village green as a symbol of a nostalgic Eden (and another had portrayed Australia as a pot of gold for emigrating Brits), but a move to Muswell Hill – the conceptual glue holding the 12 songs on this 1971 LP together – seems in Ray’s eyes to represent a defeat for the working class, a victory for bureaucracy and the fracturing of a way of life. The character in “20th Century Man”, the opening song, is a disillusioned anti-hero, alienated by every current trend and unhappy about the erosion of his civil liberties. Mountain Woman” and the Randy Newman-like “Kentucky Moon” are examples of Davies’s early ’70s fascination with rural American societies (“uneducated but they’re happy”), whom he romanticised like lost tribes. Dave Davies commented on the song, "There's that love and fondness for Americana and for country music because I had quite a big family, and all the great films like South Pacific and Oklahoma!

Muswell Hillbillies - The Kinks - The Kinks Muswell Hillbillies - The Kinks - The Kinks

The compassionate way in which he shows us the contrast between the girl’s monochrome life and her Technicolor daydreams is so delicate it’s almost balletic.Two Sisters", "God's Children", "Better Things", "Oklahoma USA": the Kinks have the most tunes that bring a tear to my eye. Johnny Thunder" " Last of the Steam-Powered Trains" " Big Sky" " Sitting by the Riverside" " Animal Farm" " Village Green" " Phenomenal Cat" " All of My Friends Were There" " Wicked Annabella" " Monica" " People Take Pictures of Each Other" " Berkeley Mews" " Mr.

The Kinks – Muswell Hillbilly Lyrics | Genius Lyrics The Kinks – Muswell Hillbilly Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

The following year, "Muswell Hillbilly" was released as a single in Japan, backed with " Oklahoma U. While in several respects Muswell Hillbillies represents an uncertain crossroads for the Kinks’ recording career, the fact of Ray Davies’ voice being back in the background where one can’t hear it properly somehow seems most symbolic (and perplexing) of all. Despite its affectionate title, Muswell Hillbillies is anything but a tender tribute to the north London suburb that Ray and Dave Davies knew as home. The Kinks who roared out of Muswell Hill in 1964 with “Long Tall Sally,”“You Do Something To Me,” and (finally) “You Really Got Me” weren’t any shuffling hillbillies, they were grade-A urban brats: and they later matured in a way encompassing broadened scope and sensibilities that few rock bands have ever matched. With “20th Century Man”, I had this image – I wrote a short story about it – of a man in the last house in the street to be demolished.

A portion of it is fine, but some of the songs are so positively uninspired and unenergetic it drives me up the wall. Such as things like the Kinks nasally whining “I’m a Muswell hillbilly boy, But my heart lies in old West Virginia” or Ray singing the saga of “Holloway Jail,” a total doggerel of a song which would have been more at home on some forgotten Marty Robbins album ten years ago.

The KINKS - Muswell Hillbillies/Everybody s In Show Biz The KINKS - Muswell Hillbillies/Everybody s In Show Biz

However, in a more critical analysis of the song, Mike Saunders of Rolling Stone said, "The country stuff [on Muswell Hillbillies] is another matter. In the edit page, go to the 'Metadata' tab and add your Juno artist, label or release page for listeners to purchase your release / releases. Ever since the Kinks started handling their own production on Village Green, it’s been a detracting factor from time to time, and here it seems to have reached its ultimate dilemma.

Muswell Hillbillies was the band's first album for RCA Records, [2] their prior recordings having been released on Pye Records ( Reprise Records in the United States). The lyrics of the track "Muswell Hillbilly" see the singer being forced from his London home and into Muswell Hill, a sterilized suburban community. The compact disc comes package with a twelve page staple-bound color booklet containing graphics, liner notes, and credits.