The Village Green Preservation Society

The best-known song from the Kinks' most cultishly adored album (which is something quite different from being one of their biggest hits), "The Village Green Preservation Society" is rather unfairly held up as the Kinks at their "purest." Surely it's one of Ray Davies' clearest evocations of one of his primary lyrical themes ("new" does not necessarily equal "better," and it's entirely possible to remain fond of the institutions and icons of one's youth without being a reactionary conservative), and it did inspire the slogan "God Save the Kinks" that stuck around the group's cult throughout the '70s, but as a lyric, it's slightly less effective than the earlier "Autumn Almanac." Musically, however, it's one of Davies' sweetest creations, with his organ taking the lead over brother Dave Davies' acoustic rhythm guitar under the band's familiar dulcet harmonies. It's not entirely surprising that with a song like this as its leadoff track, the album wasn't a hit, but as the cult of The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society has grown, its endearing title track has perhaps been slightly overpraised.