It was one of those albums that did not really perform in commercial sales terms at the time but, with the benefit of hindsight, The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society is now seen as one of the major album releases of the 1960s. Pete Townshend of the Who described the album as Ray Davies' masterpiece, his Sergeant Pepper. Davies himself called the album "pop's best-kept secret." Like the Zombies' Odessey & Oracle, this is an album that is better appreciated now than when it was released. This was a golden age for British albums and this may have meant that The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society was released around the same time as Electric Ladyland, The White Album and Beggar's Banquet. Quite some competition!

Possibly the reason for its low sales was the lack of a hit single. This was a time when music was moving away from the single towards the album and the LP did not necessarily start with a hit single. However, the single Days does make the CD version of the album as a bonus track as does a version of Wonderboy. Davies was less interested in making a commercial, radio-friendly album but was looking for something more creative. In 1967, the Beatles released Sergeant Pepper, the Who sold out and, in 1968, the Small Faces had just released Ogden's Nut Gone Flake. The phrase "concept album" may not be preferred but we were starting to see albums that were more than just a collection of songs but a body of work with a theme running through the tracks. The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society is pure Kinks with Ray Davies making his tribute to the "real" England. Across the album, Davies appears to be in mourning for the loss of innocence that modernisation is bringing. This is particularly evident in The Village Green Preservation Society and Last of the Steam Powered Trains (1968 was the year that the last steam-powered locomotives were in regular service in the UK). In many ways, the album was the complete opposite of the aggression that was coming out of the Kinks' contemporaries such as the Who, Jimi Hendrix and the Stones. This could almost be described as a folk music album with its tuneful descriptions of real "Englishness."

The core album contains some of the strongest songs that the Kinks recorded with the title track and Village Green stand-out tracks. Recorded between November 1966 and August 1968, the album's release was delayed initially as Ray Davies wanted to add some more songs to build on the theme. The earliest track recorded was Village Green which has the renown session keyboard player Nicky Hopkins on harpsichord. The album was initially a 12-track effort with the provisional title of Four More Respected Gentlemen. However, it was never issued in this form although it did get as far as the pressing plant.

This extended set provides both mono and stereo versions of the album. Discs 1 and 2 include bonus tracks such as the singles Days and Wonderboy and alternative versions of the album's tracks. Both the single Days and Songbird had been intended for the original album but were dropped by the time it was finally released. this is a chance to reunite the tracks. Indeed, it is not possible to listen to the "original" version of the album.

The third CD is a mix of odds and sods and unreleased tracks. Some of these such as Lavender Hill could have appeared on The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society. Dave Davies was becoming a more prolific songwriter by this time and had made the singles chart chart in his own right with Death of a Clown. Here he comes up with Groovy Movies and the superb, Oasis-like Creeping Jean. Three tracks are from BBC radio and did not appear on the earlier BBC Sessions release.

There are a few "missing" tracks where permission could not be obtained to use them. These include Till Death Us Do Part from the film of the TV comedy series.

This is a quite stunning piece of work and, without doubt, one of the best albums of the 1960s.

Release Date: 22 November 1968

CD Re-release: 1998

3-CD set Release Date: June 2004

Sanctuary Midline SMETD102

Essential Tracks:

• The Village Green Preservation Society
• Last of the Steam Powered Trains
• Village Green

Track Listing:

Disc One (Stereo)

1. The Village Green Preservation Society
2. Do You Remember Walter
3. Picture Book
4. Johnny Thunder
5. Last of the Steam Powered Trains
6. Big Sky
7. Sitting by the Riverside
8. Animal Farm
9. Village Green
10. Starstruck
11. Phenomenal Cat
12. All of My Friends Were There
13. Wicked Arabella
14. Monica
15. People Take Pictures of Each Other

Bonus tracks

1. Mr Songbird (From 12 track edition)
2. Days (From 12 track edition)
3. Do You Remember Walter (From 12 track edition)
4. People Take Pictures of Each Other (From 12 track edition)

Disc Two (Mono)

1. The Village Green Preservation Society
2. Do You Remember Walter
3. Picture Book
4. Johnny Thunder
5. Last of the Steam Powered Trains
6. Big Sky
7. Sitting by the Riverside
8. Animal Farm
9. Village Green
10. Starstruck
11. Phenomenal Cat
12. All of My Friends Were There
13. Wicked Annabella
14. Monica
15. People Take Pictures of Each Other

Bonus Tracks

1. Days
2. Mr Songbird
3. Polly
4. Wonderboy
5. Berkeley Mews
6. Village Green (No strings version)

Disc Three (Rarities)

1. Village Green (Orchestral overdub)
2. Misty Water (Stereo)
3. Berkeley Mews (Stereo)
4. Easy Come, There You Went (Stereo)
5. Polly (Stereo)
6. Animal Farm (Alternative stereo mix)
7. Phenomenal Cat (Mono instrumental)
8. Johnny Thunder (Stereo remix)
9. Did You See His Name?
10. Mick Avory's Underpants
11. Lavender Hill
12. Rosemary Rose
13. Wonderboy (Stereo)
14. Spotty Grotty Anna
15. Where Did My Spring Go
16. Groovy Movies
17. Creeping Jean
18. King Kong
19. Misty Water (mono)
20. Do You Remember Walter (BBC Sessions remix)
21. Animal Farm (BBC Sessions remix)
22. Days (BBC Sessions remix)