Preservation Act 1
Preservation Act 1 is a 1973 concept album by the English rock group the Kinks. It is their twelfth studio album.
Preservation Act 1 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 16 November 1973 (Act 1) | |||
Recorded | March - July 1973 | |||
Studio | Konk Studios, London | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Length | 39:16 46:54 (1998 reissue) | |||
Label | RCA (original) Rhino (1991 reissue) Velvel (1998 reissue) | |||
Producer | Ray Davies | |||
The Kinks chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Preservation Act 1 | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Christgau's Record Guide | C+[2] |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
The Great Rock Discography | 5/10[4] |
Pitchfork | 9.8/10[5] |
Preservation was not well received by critics and sold poorly (peaking on the Billboard 200 at No. 177), though the live performances of the material were much better received. Some more recent reviews of Preservation Act 1 have been more sympathetic to its ambitions, such as AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine, who declared "Sweet Lady Genevieve" to be the "real candidate for Davies' forgotten masterpiece".[1]
The 1991 CD reissue on Rhino was a 2-CD set combining Preservation Act 1 with its 1974 follow-up Preservation Act 2, but with no bonus tracks other than an extended mix of "Money & Corruption/I Am Your Man", featuring an extra instrumental break.
The 1998 CD reissue of Preservation Act 1 on Velvel includes the single versions of "Preservation" and "One of the Survivors", neither of which are available on the original vinyl release.
Cultural references
The chorus from side 2's "Money and Corruption" was used by the hackers group Anonymous when attacking governmental websites during the 2014 World Cup.
Track listing
All tracks are written by Ray Davies.
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Morning Song" | 2:00 |
2. | "Daylight" | 3:19 |
3. | "Sweet Lady Genevieve" | 3:26 |
4. | "There's a Change in the Weather" | 2:59 |
5. | "Where Are They Now?" | 3:28 |
6. | "One of the Survivors" | 4:31 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Cricket" | 2:56 |
2. | "Money and Corruption/I Am Your Man" | 6:01 |
3. | "Here Comes Flash" | 2:41 |
4. | "Sitting in the Midday Sun" | 3:47 |
5. | "Demolition" | 4:07 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "Preservation" (Single) | 3:37 |
13. | "One of the Survivors" (Single edit) | 4:07 |
Personnel
- The Kinks
- Ray Davies - vocals, guitar, harmonica
- Dave Davies - guitar, vocals
- John Dalton - bass
- Mick Avory - drums
- John Gosling - keyboards
with:
- Alan Holmes - brass
- Laurie Brown - brass
- John Beecham - brass
- Krysia Kocjan, Lee Pavey, Lewis Rich, Pamela Travis, Sue Brown - other singers
- Technical
- Dave Davies, Roger Beale - engineer
- Pat Doyle - art direction
- Chris Hopper - photography
References
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Kinks: Preservation Act 1 > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
- Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: K". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 28 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London, UK: Omnibus Press. p. 2005.
- Strong, Martin C. "The KINKS biography". The Great Rock Bible. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
- Josephes, Jason. "Kinks: Preservation Act 1". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 23 December 2001.
- Preservation Act 1 at Discogs (list of releases)