Preservation Act 1

Preservation Act 1 is a concept album and the 12th studio album by the English rock group the Kinks, released 16 November 1973 by RCA Records.

Preservation Act 1
Studio album by
the Kinks
Released16 November 1973
RecordedMarch–July 1973
StudioKonk, London
GenreRock
Length39:16
LabelRCA
ProducerRay Davies
The Kinks chronology
The Great Lost Kinks Album
(1973)		 Preservation Act 1
(1973)		 Preservation Act 2
(1974)
Singles from Preservation Act 1
  1. "One of the Survivors"
    Released: 20 April 1973 (US)
  2. "Sitting in the Midday Sun"
    Released: June 1973
  3. "Sweet Lady Genevieve"
    Released: 21 September 1973 (UK)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
The Great Rock Discography5/10[4]
Pitchfork9.8/10[5]

Preservation Act 1 did not sell well (peaking on the Billboard 200 at No. 177). However, it was well received by many critics at the time. A review in Rolling Stone by Ken Barnes was critical of Ray Davies' "tendency toward vaudevillian excess," but overall he rated Preservation as a "highly listenable, enjoyable album."[6] Barnes singled out "Sitting in the Midday Sun" as a "wistfully irresistible" number and labeled "One of the Survivors" the Kinks' "best outright rocker" in years.[6] Gary Lucas, reviewing Preservation Act 1 for Zoo World, also had high praise for the work, stating: "Dare I say it is one of the nicest albums to be released this year (if not the best)? Of course I will."[7] Focusing on the musical theater aspects of the LP, Barbara Charone ranked the album as one of the "most impressive" of the Kinks' career.[8]

Some more recent reviews of Preservation Act 1 have been sympathetic to its theatrical 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. It contained one bonus track ("Preservation") and 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 is 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.[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ray Davies

Side one
No.TitleLength
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
Side two
No.TitleLength
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
CD bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Preservation" (Single)3:37
13."One of the Survivors" (Single edit)4:07

Personnel

The Kinks

Additional personnel

  • Alan Holmes – brass
  • Laurie Brown – brass
  • John Beecham – brass
  • Krysia Kocjan, Lee Pavey, Lewis Rich, Pamela Travis, Sue Brown – additional singers

Technical

  • Dave Davies – engineer
  • Roger Beale – engineer
  • Pat Doyle – art direction
  • Chris Hopper – photography

References
  1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Kinks: Preservation Act 1 > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: K". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 0-89919-026-X. Retrieved 28 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London, UK: Omnibus Press. p. 2005.
  4. Strong, Martin C. "The KINKS biography". The Great Rock Bible. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  5. Josephes, Jason. "Kinks: Preservation Act 1". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 23 December 2001.
  6. Barnes, Ken, The Kinks: Preservation Act 1, Rolling Stone, February 14, 1974.
  7. Gary Lucas, Preservation Act 1, Zoo World, February 28, 1974, p. 36.
  8. Barbara Charone, The Kinks, Preservation Act 1, Rock, 1973, p. 34.
  9. "'Hacktivists' claim attacks on Brazil World Cup sites". 12 June 2014.
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