Kinks "Village Green Preservation Society" LP (1968, Reprise) white label promo

$

90

Baron Elmo proudly presents a stunning vinyl copy of one of the touchstone albums of the Sixties, from pastoral Brit songsters THE KINKS: The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, released in 1968 by Reprise. This copy is a gen-u-wine white label promo. The album was a complete sales disaster on both sides of the Atlantic in its day – the hazy, crazy days of 1968 couldn't have been a worse time to issue an album suffused with the longing for simpler, quieter times, no matter how brilliantly written and performed. Luckily, the years have established the worth of Village Green a thousand times over as a magnificent collection of songs that deserves to be ranked alongside such eternal classics as Sgt. Pepper, Aftermath, Are You Experienced? and Forever Changes. Ray Davies' sentimental, nostalgic streak first emerged on Something Else by the Kinks, but it developed into a manifesto on The Village Green Preservation Society, a concept album lamenting the passing of old-fashioned English traditions. As the opening title song says, the Kinks -- meaning Ray himself, in this case – spoke up in defense of "little shops, china cups and virginity," and throughout the rest of the album, he creates a series of stories, sketches, and characters about a picturesque England that never really was. It's a lovely, gentle album, evoking the mood of a British country town and drawing the listener into its lazy rhythms and sensibilities. Although there is a definite undercurrent of sorrow running throughout the album, Davies' warm fondness for the past wins the day, making the album feel like a sweet, hazy dream. There are endless layers of musical and lyrical innovation on The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, and its defiantly British sensibilities became the foundation of generations of British guitar pop. Bands like Squeeze and XTC, to name but two, drew heavily upon this period of the Kinks' history. It's an album no one should be without, and here we have a white label promotional copy to tickle the fancy of you serious collectors. The record shows moderate wear, but looks good and plays nicely, with very little surface noise. The previous owner put a small white "Property of…" sticker on the Side Two label, though it's pretty subtle – we've owned this copy for a decade and never noticed until now. The cover is in superlative shape; by far the best we've ever seen for a vintage copy of this album. Still, since the record itself is less than pristine, we are offering this for about two-thirds of what we'd ask for a near-mint copy.

A $3.00 charge will be added to the winning total for shipment within the USA, $8.00 to Mexico and Canada, $14.00 to anywhere else in the world. We will combine multiple purchases, so the more you buy, the more you save on shipping. Thanks for the visit – please check out our eBay store to see the other fine items we carry!

Track listing
Village Green Preservation Society
Do You Remember Walter?
Picture Book
Johnny Thunder
Last of the Steam-Powered Trains
Big Sky
Sitting by the Riverside
Animal Farm
Village Green
Starstruck
Phenomenal Cat
All of My Friends Were There
Wicked Annabella
Monica
People Take Pictures of Each Other