10 Best Classic Rock Albums Of The 1960s
5. The Kinks - The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks’ 1960s evolution is not unlike that of The Beatles, going from a band of its time, complete with R&B covers and culture defining singles like “Waterloo Sunset”, to something far more expansive and ambitious.
Their first great leap forward comes with their 1968 album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, a concept album of sorts, though more akin to a thematically linked short story collection. Few writers capture England like Ray Davies, and the past and present of his homeland are the defining themes of this record.
The opening title track sets the tone, full of Davies’ trademark wry lyrics over glossy production. This is a greatly varied album, from rockers like “Big Sky” to music hall number “All Of My Friends Were There”.
The album didn’t sell too well at the time, but was a significant influence on generations of British bands to come (Blur basically built their early career around it). The Kinks are one of the decade’s finest Greatest Hits bands, but they were ahead of their time when it came to detailed construction of an LP.