Muswell Hillbillies - THE KINKS***

20th Century Man/Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues/Holiday/Skin & Bone/Alcohol/Complicated Life/Here Come The People In Grey/Have A Cuppa Tea/Holloway Jail/Oklahoma USA/Uncle Son/Muswell Hillbilly

Muswell Hillbillies was an apt title for a Kinks album as the group was formed in the Muswell Hill area of London, and it features their interpretation of American country music. (US:100)

“I think you have to be a certain age to really appreciate this; you have to believe that the present sucks, and even the future isn't what it used to be. The past, on the other hand, is where it's at, as long as it isn't now. Ray Davies is even more unapologetically atavistic here than on Village Green, and if you're turning into a crusty old codger yourself, you will be able to relate. If you are as sick of every major modern affectation as I am, this album will become one of your best friends.”

“It's Americana in the musicality, but British in attitude. I mean who ever heard a country song about a cup of tea or concerns about futuristic dystopia. That's not to say they don't try a few country tracks, though the results are still hilariously British.” “The Kinks streak of quality from '66 to '71 was remarkable, and this disc doesn't skimp on the charm or immediacy that made The Kinks rock legends. The raunchy guitars, absurdly witty lyrics, and rolling pianos of Holiday and Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues may seem quaint and whimsical compared to the dark proto-metal of the time, but that's no reason to underestimate the album's quality.”

“This is the Kinks at their best. The addition of horns, Dave's gritty slide work and Ray's songs predate his fascination with New Orleans. Once again, Ray has painted a vivid picture of British working class life that resonates with one's own.”

“Another Kinks record with inspired themes. On Muswell Hillbillies, the band decided to make country music, one of the most American of genres, but with their typical English flavouring. But country music and Ray Davies' conception of modern England are fundamentally opposed; embedded into country music is the idea of the open road, the plains, that very American drive for freedom. Bringing that sound to an English setting allowed Ray Davies to emphasise, again, how restricting and hopeless modern England had become.”

“The baroque melodic joy of the late 60s Kinks is gone here, replaced by a spare, basic, low-key country rock sound. I don't mind the rustic sound but on most of these tracks there are just no real hooks that I can latch onto.”