The Kinks - Part One Lola Versus Powerman And The Moneygoround (1970)

A strange album that sees The Kinks sounding a little tired and Ray Davies sound a little worse for wear, or indeed, wired. A belter of an example of that arrives with the bitter, yet incredibly funny, 'The Moneygoround'. In a similar vein is the only slight less enjoyable 'Denmark Street'. The idea of The Kinks ending their long association with their record label with huge diatribes, is hugely warming to me. I'm like that! The best song here for me isn't the huge hit song 'Lola', but rather the storming 'This Time Tomorrow', a gem in The Kinks entire catalogue. It's just so perfectly constructed, piano aiding the guitars - energy is there and the lyrics are great. It's all you could want, there's a middle section, a beginning. Hell, there's even an end, there's even vocal harmonies. What more could I want? I love the strummed guitar sections. Love the sweet vocal sections. You get the general idea, I hope. As for 'Lola', it's a song that very easy to remember and sing a-long with, it has simple melodies, always key in creating a hit song. It was also a hit song in America, The Kinks ban there had ended and that ending would create a beginning, eg, the direction The Kinks would take through good parts of the seventies.Not that Ray was ever going to be predictable or make it easy for Kinks fans, after all, that would be too easy!

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There are some good songs here then, but often, those good songs are made by certain moments. 'Get Back In Line' is made by its introduction, Dave's 'Strangers' is made by his weary vocal performance. Trouble is, such fleeting moments don't lend to the songs being repeat playable or timelessly memorable. They are the kind of songs you forget straight after hearing them, although you know you enjoyed them whilst you actually WERE listening to them. Bearing that in mind, plus the success of 'Lola', it's no wonder the album sold far better than the more artistically ambitious albums that came immediately before it. Yes, there certainly are forgettable songs here, although the highlights i've mentioned are high enough, that had they been joined by a few more highlights, could have seen this album embraced as well by critics as the previous few had. 'Apeman' was also a hit, by the way. It's very very repetitive, very very repetitive. It's repetitive. Did I also say that it was repetitive?

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(info by Adrian)

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01. The Contenders - 2.42

02. Strangers - 3.20

03. Denmark Street - 2.02

04. Get Back In Line - 3.04

05. Lola - 4.01

06. Top Of The Pops - 3.40

07. The Moneygoround - 1.46

08. This Time Tomorrow - 3.21

09. A Long Way From Home - 2.27

10. Rats - 2.40

11. Apeman - 3.52

12. Powerman - 4.18

13. Go To Be Free - 3.01

14. Lola (mono) - 4.08

15. Apeman (demo) - 3.41

16. Powerman (demo) 4.23

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