Album of the Week - Vol. 22

Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One THE KINKS (1970)
Week: Mon 16th to Sun 22nd August 
Format: vinyl
Producer: Ray Davies
Track listing:
SIDE 1:
1. The Contenders *
2. Strangers *
3. Denmark Street
4. Get Back in Line *
5. Lola
6. Top of the Pops
7. The Moneygoround
SIDE 2:
1. This Time Tomorrow *
2. A Long Way from Home
3. Rats
4. Apeman
5. Powerman *
6. Got to Be Free
TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 40:25

This is an album that I largely ignored for a long time. I think possibly because the record included Lola. Through either repeated listening or requests to sing it, I got quite tired of the track. I knew Lola and Apeman from The Kinks compilation The Ultimate Collection, which came out in 1989 and did the rounds while I was at high school. Pretty sure I managed to get a taped copy of it from a friend. 

As the years went by, I was happy to leave the album alone. I went through a mini Kinks phase around a decade or more ago where I thrashed the Village Green Preservation Society album (1968), and the subsequent follow-up Arthur (1969). It would have made sense to check this record out then, as it followed the order of releases I'd found myself in. But, no, I abstained. 

Until I watched 2007's The Darjeeling Limited. 

Wes Anderson has made some very interesting films over the years, but TDL was the first one of his that I really liked. I didn't think much of Rushmore (been meaning to rewatch it though), felt that The Life Aquatic... was a missed opportunity with an excellent cast (despite the use of Bowie music), and it took a while for me to warm to The Royal Tenenbaums. Oh, and I missed Bottle Rocket altogether. Still not caught it. However, I've enjoyed most of the films he's released since. In fact, every movie he's put out since TDL I've really liked. Fantastic Mr Fox is just that, Moonrise Kingdom was a lot of fun, The Grand Budapest Hotel is wonderful, and possibly my pick of his films and Isle of Dogs was very good too. Not seen The French Dispatch yet, but who has?

Well, that's enough digression I think. Let's get back to the album at the top of the post, and the movie that inspired me to listen to it.

For those unfamiliar, TDL deals with three brothers grappling with the death of their father. In an effort to bridge the growing divide between them, the eldest brother (I think?) Francis, played by Owen Wilson invites his siblings on a spiritual journey which starts on the titular train in India. The first Kinks songs plays when Adrien Brody, portraying the young brother (I think?) Peter, is running to catch said train as it pulls out of the station. The track is This Time Tomorrow, and when the airplane noise at the song's start plays, the sequence goes into slow motion. 

When I first watched this movie, I knew instantly that this was a Kinks song, but I'd never heard it before. Ray Davies' distinctive lead vocals made the band unmistakable. Mirroring this scene, one of the last moments of the movie has all three brothers running to catch another train, again in slow motion, but with the song Powerman playing. It was the strength of these tunes (and these scenes, let's be honest) that convinced me to check out the entire Kinks album containing these songs. 

The third song from this record used in TDL is Strangers, written and sung by Dave Davies (yes, that's his real name!), Ray's brother. I didn't pick it for a Kinks song on my initial watch, probably due to that fact. It didn't leave as much as a mark on me as the other two either, but it has now become one of my album favourites. Again, the sequence employs the use of slow motion, at around the midpoint of the movie. If you'd like to read more on these songs and their corresponding film scenes, I stumbled upon this. Spoiler alert! If you haven't watched TDL.

Now, after getting my hands on a copy of the album, the next song that had a big impact on me was opening track The Contenders. Beginning with a fairly light and melodic intro of vocal and guitar, the tune kicks into gear with a cool rock riff and some stabs by the band. I would offer up the word 'rollicking' as the piano joins in and the song really gets underway. It became a staple of the playlists I would put together for WGJS gigs. As we packed our gear away, it almost became expected by my bandmates that this song would appear, he he he. Other tracks I really liked were Get Back In Line, Denmark Street and The Moneygoround. 

So that's a brief history of me discovering the album, but my education with it was quite slow. It wasn't until I procured a copy of the 50th anniversary release on vinyl last year that I learned a bit more about it. The first revelation being that this was recorded while The Kinks were briefly a five piece band.

After passing muster in a recording session for Lola, keyboardist John Gosling joined the fold in May 1970. The quintet included Gosling, the Davies brothers, drummer Mick Avory (who had been in the band since 1964) and bassist John Dalton who permanently replaced Pete Quaife in 1969. Dalton had filled in for Quaife on several occasions after he broke his leg in June 1966. 

I'd been a little blind to album's loose concept as well, in that it was quite a scathing attack on the music industry. Both Denmark Street and The Moneygoround display contempt for those who sign bands on the dotted line without liking them, but are happy to take the money they generate. The two singles Lola and Apeman seem separate from this narrative, and in my mind, the whole second side only has a couple of moments tied to the concept. Indeed those two songs are more of a reflection of the time period, and how people are changing. According to Ray Davies, the big undercurrent of the album is the constant struggle of good vs. evil.

There was supposed to be a direct follow-up to this record, hence the 'Part One' in the title. It didn't eventuate unfortunately, with the Kinks' subsequent studio release being 1971's Muswell Hillbillies. One might wonder what would happen if this album ever got a sequel some forty odd years later. 

If nothing else, this album did not deserve to be ignored by me for so long.  I can thank Mr Anderson for pushing me into delving into it, and for that, I remain grateful.