A more punchy sound, fit in, more direct compositions, in short: an album of basic rock or even a hard rock from a group which began in 1964 with two titles which are nothing less than the precursors of hard ( “You Really Got Me” and “All Day And All Of The Night”). This record, oddly enough, it took me a little time to appreciate it, the “rock arena” side and the American references on several titles made me initially regret the typically English side of the group.
the melodies are there, even if the raw sound of decoration gives the impression at the outset of getting to know another group. Humor, irreverence and derision are never lacking either. Moreover, we can consider that this is again a concept album, built around the oil crisis since some titles refer to it (“Low Budget”, “Catch Me Now I’m Falling” and ” A Gallon Of Gas “).
Too bad that this type of rock album, monotonous if we exploit the vein on several albums, was going to determine the musical orientation of the Kinks during the 80s, they who had accustomed us to more diversity. This record is therefore a return to the roots of Kinks rock as well as their last essential album, the last to have. You can still get the live “One For The Road”, a masterful end to 15 years of hearing the happiness in the land of the Davies siblings.
You can listen to the full album below: