THE KINKS "LOLA vs POWERMAN..." RARE BLUE 1970 US FIRST PRESS A NICE COPY

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THE KINKS

LOLA VERSUS POWERMAN AND THE MONEY-GO-ROUND

LABEL: REPRISE 6423 STEREO

RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 1970

ORIGINAL FIRST PRESS STEREO GATEFOLD w/ ALL BLUE SLEEVE ART

CONDITION: VINYL EX-  ***  JACKET EX- 

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This auction is for an original first pressing of the Kink’s classic 1970 album “Lola Versus Powerman and the Money-go-round.” This is an original first pressing from the fall of 1970 on the steamboat Reprise label. It’s a nice gatefold album with lyrics on the inside.

In my opinion, the five-year period between 1966's ‘Face to Face’ and 1971's ‘Muswell Hillbillies’ yielded their greatest albums. Problem was, not many fans purchased them and not too many people heard them at the time they were released. They got no sales and less air play at the time. This is a rare, blue, US first press copy of 'Lola...' A timeless record and one of the Kinks best. 

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The record is in decent shape, probably EX-, with some very light wear but nothing too severe. It plays thru fine with only a few pops and clicks, which add charm and authenticity to this 50 year old record. It has the original 'steamboat' reprise labels. 

This is a very rare first issue, all blue print album and copies in ANY condition rarely come up for sale. This record has been in my personal collection as long as I can remember. It may have come from my 1970s days in college radio. It’s all a bit hazy. The album was a surprise hit and it was quickly repressed with black and blue lettering. This is the all-blue first issue.

Condition: I’d call this EX- overall. As mentioned, my personal copy. Very light scratches from wear and play over 50 years.

Cover is in good condition for it's age. Mild ringwear and scuffs, common to this mostly white album jacket, not bad. Gatefold tight and clean inside. There is 'hi-lighter' over the title Lola on the back cover.

Looks great, plays great. It’s been properly stored in my personal collection for years. I’m sure you’ll be more than happy with this rare record. Overall, a great copy and one of the better condition ones I've seen lately. Actually one of the ONLY ones I've seen lately with the all blue lettering. 

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The Kinks released their hit single ‘Lola’ in the summer of 1970 and the full album later in November. It was one of their most commercial and most highly acclaimed albums up to that point, but the path to its success was not an easy one. 

As is often the case, the Kinks were there first but not recognized. They were the first English Rock band to write a pop-rock ‘Opera’ of sorts. It was The Kink’s 1969 Arthur BBC-TV pop-opera project, but it got caught up in business problems, delayed, and cancelled. The Who beat them to the market and critical acclaim with their ‘Tommy’ pop opera show and album instead. 

Ray Davies was once again miffed at several things: The poor sales of his late sixties LPs at the time, now all considered classics (Something Else, Village Green, Muswell, Arthur), their being upstaged by The Who’s Tommy Opera, and what he felt to be poor promotion and poor support from his record company. Kinks record sales were dismal and he blamed the record company. 

Ray’s writing at the time showed he was thinking in broader, conceptual terms. His songwriting muse, in the late sixties, seemed to take an idea and run with it so that song after song poured forth on a particular theme. The ‘Lola’ record was part of their incredible run of concept albums at the time. But instead of detailing British working-class life, as on Village Green and Arthur, the theme was the music industry itself. 

Ray proceeded to put his energy into writing “Lola Versus Powerman and the Money-go-round.” A group of songs about the ongoing saga and battle between the misunderstood recording Artist and the evil record business. Ray’s latest batch of material was driven by disaffection with the music business in general. 

Lola is a satirical collection of songs about being newcomers in the musical industry and having to deal with agents, business managers, journalists, publishers, bookkeepers, accountants, label executives, unions, bosses and life on the road before being able to have personal freedom. These are things that Ray and his band knew much about. 

The songs perfectly reflect Ray’s cunningly cynical perspective on the music scene of the late 1960s. 

Ray knew that this next record would be critical for them. They needed a hit — it was necessary for their continued existence as a band. Record sales were poor. Their last album, 1969’s brilliant “Arthur,” had topped out at #105 on the charts. This was their last chance and Ray Davies knew it. 

Luckily, in the summer of 1970, the classic "Lola" was released and the Kinks found themselves with another Top 10 hit, their first since "Tired of Waiting for You" in early 1965. It gave the group a bit of hope for some stateside success. Ray Davies' growth as a songwriter in the late '60s went virtually unheard and unnoticed in America because of the ban on touring there. When that ban was lifted and the Kinks toured the US in 1970, sales of their albums dramatically increased and Ray’s acceptance as a great rock artist rose, mostly due to their hit song Lola. 

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The album’s two hit singles, though, were only tangentially connected to the album concept. One of the most accomplished examples of Davies’ witty wordplay, the gender-bender tale “Lola” was set to a tangy timbre of unison National steel and Martin acoustic guitars, fattened with piano, maracas and classic Kinks guitar/bass/drums chug. 

Ray personally purchased the old classic guitars used for the tune in London in order to get a specific sound, something similar to the beginning of “Well Respected Man”. He knew exactly what he wanted. 

“Lola” is as perfect a hit single as one could imagine, and a major departure from the blatantly non-commercial songs that Ray Davies had been writing during this period. His use of double-entrendre is brilliant, particularly the line "I'm glad I'm a man, and so is Lola," leaving it about as open-ended as you can get. 

Lola remains my favorite song in their extensive catalogue, a brilliant work of a band at the top of their game. 

In classic Ray fashion, he also violated the Beeb’s prohibition on advertising by including a reference to ‘Coca Cola’ in the song and had to redo the hit for the UK mono single release using Cherry Cola instead. Ray wasn’t one to follow rules too often. The lyrics in the gatefold sleeve of the original LP use the "cherry-cola" line, though the album track contains the original stereo "Coca-Cola" version. 

The other big hit, “Apeman” showcases Davies’ neatly crafted lyricism. It ranks up there with some of Davies' finest writing. “If this is civilization, I’d rather be uncivilized.” A similar lyric conflict was encountered with this song concerning the line "the air pollution is a-foggin' up my eyes". "Fogging" was mistaken for "fucking", and consequently Ray Davies had to re-record this line prior to its UK single release. 

While the album was being recorded, keyboardist John Gosling was added to the band lineup, and his piano and organ bring depth and texture to the songs. 

After the success of ‘Lola’ Part One, Ray started working on Lola part two but his record company pushed him into doing the Percy Movie soundtrack instead and Lola Part Two never happened. In my opinion, ‘Lola’ was the last truly perfect album the Kinks ever made. It was described by Stephen Erlewine as "a wildly unfocused but nonetheless dazzling tour de force", containing some of Ray Davies' strongest songs.

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“Lola” was an instant smash, reaching #1 in the New Musical Express in the UK, and #9 in the U.S. The success of the singles and album allowed the Kinks to negotiate a new contract with RCA Records, construct their own London Studio, which they named Konk, and assume more creative and managerial control over their music. 

“Lola Vs. Powerman And The Money-Go-Round“ was the Kinks‘ most successful record on both sides of the Atlantic since the mid-60s. Its title track became their legacy, an FM standard that refuses to die. 

After ‘Lola’ Ray disappeared into himself and became very self-absorbed.

Some have observed—and I agree—that Ray Davies could have written hit after hit song if he wanted to. After all, he knew all the formulas, knew how to write great lyrics and musical hooks and certainly knew that sex always sells; he just chose to do something different and outside of the mainstream instead of writing hit songs. 

He always chose to do things his way. He had his big hit, he made his mark, now he could do whatever he pleased. He continued to put out music but very little of it commercially viable. Precious little of the Kinks output from the period 1972-1975 (Preservation I & II, Soap Opera, Schoolboys) holds up as listenable to my ears. 

Then, after 1976, Ray flip-flopped and spent the remainder of the decade pumping out commercially successful stadium rock hits, starting with ‘Sleepwalker’ in an effort to “give the people what they want.” The rest, as they say, is history.

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