THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,591) The Kinks — “Sitting By the Riverside”
The Kinks (see #100, 381, 417, 450, 508, 529, 606, 623, 753, 865, 978, 1,043, 1,108, 1,302, 1,330) gift us “irresistible . . . balm for the ears and the soul . . . a little moment of perfection” (Orino, https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-kinks-album-by-album-song-by-song.1075714/page-249), a “mixture of Vaudeville singing and soft psychdelia” (Audiobernd, https://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-kinks-album-by-album-song-by-song.1075714/page-249), Ray Davies’ “A Day in the Life”.
I think Daverenick5830 would rename the song “Sitting by the Styx”, with a “kind of whirling ominous hurricane of sound between verses that undercuts the happy lyrics, like the couple by the riverside is just a happy flimsy little daydream layered over an awful nightmare, like those vaudevillian tunes penned during the nightmare depression”. (daverenick5830, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80o__1OkB8M)
Wikipedia relates that:
Ray Davies was inspired to compose “Sitting by the Riverside” after reminiscing about childhood fishing expeditions with his father. The song’s narrator expresses his pleasure at sitting and drinking wine with his partner by the riverside . . . . Johnny Rogan considers the song one of several by Davies about “the beauty of a quiet life”, suggesting its mood of “lazy resignation” is reminiscent of “Sunny Afternoon” . . . . Rob Jovanovic . . . [says it] convey[s] imagery of simple village life. . . . The narrator closing his eyes results in a rush of overwhelming memories and fear, accompanying which is a swelling cacophony. A section of rising dissonance between verses serves to briefly undermine the idyllic mood, before cutting back to the pleasant feeling of the verse. . . . The recording features honky-tonk piano and a Mellotron . . . which duplicates the sound of an accordion. The dissonant section between verses features rising piano strings. Its wordless chorus and orchestral crescendo are reminiscent of “A Day in the Life” . . . . While the studio version of the song was recorded in July 1968, Davies did not include it on the twelve-track edition of The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, planned for release in September 1968. After he delayed the album’s release by two months to expand its track listing to fifteen, it was among the songs he added.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine tells us of the immortal LP:
Ray Davies’ sentimental, nostalgic streak emerged on Something Else, 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 — were for preserving “draught beer 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 a small British country town, and drawing the listener into its lazy rhythms and sensibilities. Although there is an undercurrent of regret running throughout the album, Davies’ fondness for the past is warm, making the album feel like a sweet, hazy dream. And considering the subdued performances and the detailed instrumentations, it’s not surprising that the record feels more like a Ray Davies solo project than a Kinks album. . . . [T]he album is so calm. But calm doesn’t mean tame or bland — there are endless layers of musical and lyrical innovation . . . and its defiantly British sensibilities became the foundation of generations of British guitar pop.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-village-green-preservation-society-mw0000068713#review
The Reconstructor adds:
Scheduled for release on September 27th [1968], th[e] 12 song Village Green album was soon canceled under Ray’s wishes. He had asked Pye, their label, to have some additional time to track new songs, and perhaps even expand it into a 20-track double LP. The label reluctantly agreed, and so in September, they recorded an additional two songs for the record, them being “Big Sky” and “Last of the Steam Powered Trains”, and started to mix the new double LP. However, Pye weren’t that confident in the band back then. The failure of their latest single, “Wonderboy”, which barely made the top 30 in England, had left a bad taste in their mouths, and a double LP by them would be a big bet. They decided to nix the idea, much to Davies’ anger and insisted on it being a single album. As a compromise, however, they decided to allow the album to feature fifteen tracks, instead of the original twelve. That meant two tracks would be removed, them being “Days” and “Mr. Songbird”, and the two newly recorded songs and three outtakes would be added.
https://the-reconstructor.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-kinks-village-green-preservation.html
mono:
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