“Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround, Part 1” by The Kinks - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1970Album Chart of the Decade: 1970s

TJR says

Having been reduced to a quartet in the springtime of ’69 when founding member Pete Quaife had left to pursue his own project, the group again became a quintet for their first album of the 70s. For this one, the Kinks lined up: Ray Davies (26, lead vocals, guitar, harmonica, keyboards, resonator guitar); Dave Davies (23, lead guitar, banjo, backing vocals, lead vocals on “Strangers” and “Rats”, co-lead vocal on “Powerman”); Mick Avory (26, drums, percussion); John Dalton (27, bass guitar, backing vocals) and John Gosling (22, keyboards, piano, organ). For the third album-in-a-row, a common theme emerges; this time Ray’s songs take a satirical look at the various facets of the music industry, including song publishers (“Denmark Street”), unions (“Get Back In Line”), the press and the hit-making machine (“Top Of The Pops”), accountants and business managers (“The Moneygoround”) and the road (“This Time Tomorrow”). “Top of the Pops” is best of these: “I've just come in at number 25, I'm oh so happy, so glad to be alive, And everybody says it's going to get to the top, Life is so easy when your record's hot, Go tell my mamma and my sister too, To press my trousers and polish my shoes, I might even end up a rock-and-roll god, It might turn into a steady job.” You can almost see the sneer. A sarcastic humour plays a big part throughout and this is most evident in the album’s two big hit singles; “Lola”, a July release and “Apeman”, a 45 released in conjunction with the LP in November. The former was an unlikely smash about a person who “walked like a woman and talked like a man” – be careful in those dark clubs kids! The latter finds our lead Homosapien tired of the rat race; he’s looking to “sail away to a distant shore and make like an Apeman”. He’s just looking for his Apeman girl. What a pen. Who could possibly resist lines such as “I'll be your Tarzan, you'll be my Jane, I'll keep you warm and you'll keep me sane” or “I don't feel safe in this world no more, I don't want to die in a nuclear war”. Not me anyway : – )

The Jukebox Rebel
08–Aug–2008

Tracklist
A1 [02:44] 5.7.png The Kinks - The Contenders (Ray Davies) Blues Rock / Soul Rock
A2 [03:21] 5.9.png The Kinks - Strangers (Dave Davies) Blues Rock / Soul Rock
A3 [02:03] 7.4.png The Kinks - Denmark Street (Ray Davies) Blues Rock / Soul Rock
A4 [03:06] 6.5.png The Kinks - Get Back In Line (Ray Davies) Folk Rock / Americana
A5 [04:04] 7.8.png The Kinks - Lola (Ray Davies) Blues Rock / Soul Rock
A6 [03:41] 8.2.png The Kinks - Top Of The Pops (Ray Davies) Rock
A7 [01:48] 7.7.png The Kinks - The Moneygoround (Ray Davies) Pop
B1 [03:23] 6.0.png The Kinks - This Time Tomorrow (Ray Davies) Cerebral Pop
B2 [02:28] 6.7.png The Kinks - A Long Way From Home (Ray Davies) Songwriter
B3 [02:41] 5.3.png The Kinks - Rats (Dave Davies) Rock
B4 [03:53] 9.7.png The Kinks - Apeman (Ray Davies) Pop
B5 [04:19] 5.7.png The Kinks - Powerman (Ray Davies, Dave Davies) Rock
B6 [03:00] 6.7.png The Kinks - Got To Be Free (Ray Davies) Rock

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