BMGThe Kinks will celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society by reissuing the critically acclaimed 1968 album on October 26 in multiple formats, including an expansive super-deluxe box set.
On the concept album, frontman Ray Davies nostalgically reflected on the vanishing “old ways” of his British homeland. At the time of its release, The Village Green Preservation Society made little impact on the charts, but it’s now widely considered one of the finest U.K. albums of its era.
“I think The Village Green Preservation Society is about the ending of a time personally for me in my life,” says Davies. “In my imaginary village. It’s the end of our innocence, our youth. Some people are quite old but in the Village Green, you’re never allowed to grow up. I feel the project itself is part of a life cycle.”
The super-deluxe box set features five CDs; a two-LP set; three replica seven-inch singles and a 52-page hardback photo book boasting an essay by The Who‘s Pete Townshend and band interviews. The package also includes posters, glossy prints from a 1968 Kinks photo shoot, a replica press photo and sheet music for the song “Days.”
The CDs include stereo and mono versions of the original album, a batch of singles, B-sides, alternate takes and mixes, backing tracks, TV performances and interviews.
The final CD also features unreleased home demos, live 2010 solo performances by Davies, songs from the 1970s sequel project Preservation and an unreleased 1973 tune called “Time Song.” A lyric video for “Time Song” has been posted at the group’s official YouTube channel, and it’s also been released as a digital single.
Visit TheKinks.info for more details about The Village Green Preservation Society reissues.
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