Schoolboys in Disgrace

Schoolboys in Disgrace, or The Kinks Present Schoolboys in Disgrace, is a 1975 concept album by the Kinks. It was considered by critics to be the last album in what they dubbed the group's "theatrical" period, and their final release for RCA Records. The album is rooted in 1950s rock and roll,[3] and also includes elements of doo-wop, hard rock, and arena rock.[4]

Schoolboys in Disgrace
Studio album by
the Kinks
Released17 November 1975[1]
Recorded13 August – 2 October 1975
StudioKonk Studios, London
5–6 October 1975, mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City[2]
GenreRock and roll
Length36:26
LabelRCA
ProducerRay Davies
The Kinks chronology
Soap Opera
(1975)		 Schoolboys in Disgrace
(1975)		 Sleepwalker
(1977)
Singles from Schoolboys in Disgrace
  1. "I'm in Disgrace"
    Released: January 21, 1976 (US)
  2. "No More Looking Back"
    Released: January 23, 1976 (UK)

The front cover was illustrated by London artist and illustrator, Colin 'Mickey' Finn (not of T Rex), who also created the two removal men characters used in the Dire Straits video "Money for Nothing". It later appeared on NME's list of the '50 worst covers of all time'.[5]

In 1978 the Finnish band Kontra had a number one hit with the song "Jerry Cotton" which was a cover version of the song "Jack the Idiot Dunce."[6]

Concept

According to the back cover liner notes,[7] the story which the album presents is as follows:

Once upon a time there was a naughty little schoolboy. He and his gang were always playing tricks on the teachers and bullying other children in the school. One day he got himself into very serious trouble with a naughty schoolgirl and he was sent to the Headmaster who decided to disgrace the naughty boy and his gang in front of the whole school.
After this punishment the boy turned into a hard and bitter character. Perhaps it was not the punishment that changed him but the fact that he realised people in authority would always be there to kick him down and the Establishment would always put him in his place. He knew that he could not change the past but he vowed that in the future he would always get what he wanted. The naughty little boy grew up... into Mr Flash.

Mr Flash was the name of the villain from the Kinks' rock opera Preservation (released as Preservation Act 1 and Preservation Act 2).

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Blender[9]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[10]
Rolling Stone(mixed)[11]

Reviewing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau regarded the album as "yet another original cast recording" and mocked Davies' indictment of "Education" in the "big production number" of the same name: "Ultimate Cause. Go get 'em, Ray."[10]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine writing for AllMusic criticised the album's combination of '50s rock and roll and contemporary arena rock, and deemed it "one of their least satisfying albums".[4]

In 2015, the band's guitarist Dave Davies spoke positively of the album in a Yahoo interview, saying, "Schoolboys in Disgrace is a great album. At the time, we were so busy doing it and getting it out and touring and playing it. Over a matter of three years it was gone and we were doing something else. But when you draw this into the present, it’s like, 'Oh my God, what the f— is this?!? How did we do that?' We've been very fortunate, Ray and I and the Kinks. We’ve had such a wealth of materials, ideas, and observations. We’ve been very good at following our intuition. That's something you can’t really teach."[12]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ray Davies.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Schooldays"3:31
2."Jack the Idiot Dunce"3:19
3."Education"7:07
4."The First Time We Fall in Love"4:01
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."I'm in Disgrace"3:21
2."Headmaster"4:03
3."The Hard Way"2:35
4."The Last Assembly"2:45
5."No More Looking Back"4:27
6."Finale"1:02

Personnel
  • Written, arranged and produced by Raymond Douglas Davies
  • Roger Wake – engineer
  • Mastering by Bob Ludwig[1]
  • Mickey Finn – front cover illustration
  • Chris Hopper – photography
  • Pat Doyle – art direction

Charts
Chart (1975–1976) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 18
US Billboard 200[14] 45

References
  1. Hinman, Doug (2004). The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 196. ISBN 9780879307653.
  2. Hinman 2004, pp. 195–6
  3. Paul Nelson (11 March 1976). "Schoolboys In Disgrace | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  4. Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "The Kinks Present Schoolboys in Disgrace - The Kinks | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  5. "The 50 worst album covers ever". NME. London. ISSN 0028-6362. Archived from the original on 27 December 2014. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  6. Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (Tammi, 2005; toim. Jake Nyman)
  7. Schoolboys in Disgrace (back cover). The Kinks. RCA. 1975. RS1028.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Kinks Present Schoolboys in Disgrace - Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  9. Blender review Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  10. 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.
  11. Nelson, Paul (11 March 1976). "The Kinks: Schoolboys in Disgrace". Rolling Stone. Straight Arrow (RS 208). ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007.
  12. Weiderhorn, Jon. "Dave Davies: Musical, Biopic Could Lead to Kinks Reunion". Yahoo. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  13. "Dutchcharts.nl – The Kinks – Schoolboys in Disgrace" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
  14. "The Kinks Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 9 September 2020.
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