970 The Kinks - Muswell Hillbillies (1971)

 970 The Kinks - Muswell Hillbillies (1971)

Studio Album - Folk Rock



About the Act:

The Kinks were an English Rock band from 1964-1996 and reformed in 2018. The main songwriter and front man of the band is Ray Davies, along with his brother Dave, have been the backbone of the band.  

In the early days they started out as hard rock, breaking into success with "You really got me". They pioneered a gritty guitar sound which has been emulated in many ways by many bands since. A couple of years later, they moved away from the rocky, American sound. This somewhat coincided with a band from performing in America. This move was towards a more English sound, which incorporated elements of Folk and Music Hall, and featured witty observational songs of working class life. This approach lasted for several years and albums. In the early 70s they took another twist into a more theatrical sound for a few albums, at which point their popularity waned. Towards the end of the 70s they signed to a different label, and at the label's insistance went back to their hard rock roots. This brought them success and they became an arena rock band. A few year later they took another twist and became more poppy (typified by the single "Come Dancing". Eventually, they split up.

They have been one of the most influential bands in English Pop and their legacy of working class London storytelling songs can be seen in bands like Madness, Blur and Punk bands.


About the Album:

This is the 10th album from the Kinks, and is full of observational songs about working class life. It reviewed well, but was not as commercially successful as earlier albums.


My History with this Album:

None. In fact I don't think I knew any of these songs before.


Review:

Stylistically, it's hard to pinpoint this album, as it includes elements of Folk, Americana (particularly Bluegrass and New Orleans Jazz, and flavours of Country) and Music Hall. There is a predominance of acoustic guitars in the sounds, and fairly simple, but traditional chord structures. The music is good, but that is not the real star, which is the songwriting, which is full of wry observation and dark humour, and explores various characters with working-class problems. My favourite is probably "Have A Cuppa Tea", but there isn't a weak song amongst them, and they are all worth a good listen. It's a rich box of chocolates, and a lot of fun.


7.6/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/1M0S5V7Vw0DIwPP8AeCXfJ

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrgWFHgA0hq3Y7bwGBgriMW2Htv1OyIf9

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muswell_Hillbillies


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