The most under-appreciated album of all-time, according to Noel Gallagher
There are a number of albums, like Definitely Maybe by Oasis or The Beatles’ White Album, which have reached right-of-passage status that everybody who grew up in Britain has heard too many times to count.
These are more than just albums; they are cultural milestones and records that will still be played in 100 years. However, not every great album gets to join this exclusive club of a dozen or so LPs, even though they are equally great and historic.
While the 1960s are often viewed, from a British standpoint, as The Beatles vs The Rolling Stones, that is only part of the story. Quite rightly, Noel Gallagher believes that The Kinks should also be given their credit and believes their contribution is wildly under-appreciated by most.
Although they never hit the same level of commercial heights as some of their peers, their importance to Britain’s musical landscape is undeniable. Not only does Gallagher cite them as a primary influence, but Damon Albarn, Paul Weller, Alex Turner, and almost every British songwriter of note also cite Ray Davies as one of their songwriting heroes.
Like Oasis, The Kinks were built around a brotherly pairing, and the Davies were equally as explosive as the Gallaghers. As has been proven time and time again, these tempestuous atmospheres are breeding grounds for musical greatness to be conquered.
As far as albums are concerned, there’s no better place to start than The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, a concept record celebrating the quirks of British culture. Released at a time when all the other bands were looking to America for inspiration, Davies decided to explore influences closer to home and wrote about relatable characters that we all know.
Concept records were still a relatively new idea in 1968, with The Kinks pioneering the sub-genre alongside The Who. However, while Tommy is seen as a masterpiece that later spawned a movie and even a Broadway production, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society hasn’t received as many flowers.
One person who has given it the love that it deserves, however, is Gallagher. Upon naming it as one of his all-time favourite albums for iTunes in 2015, the Oasis icon said, “Probably the most under-appreciated album of all time. Ray Davies was the unsung hero of the ’60s. Storytelling of the most highest order.”
Although the album went under the radar at the time of its release and failed to break into the top 40 on the UK chart, time has been kind to The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. It was even the subject of a 2018 documentary on Sky Arts, which saw Gallagher, among other British music legends, explain its brilliance.
In the film, Gallagher said of the record: “It’s as important a record as Sgt Pepper’s, which on a global scale, of course, is Sgt. Pepper’s – we all know what that meant and still means, but Village Green, for me anyways, it’s equal.”
As Gallagher said himself, globally Sgt Pepper’s impact sits in a league of its own, and can be heard in bars in every country under the sun. Whereas, there’s a distinct Britishness to The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, which naturally doesn’t make it translate to other cultures.
Nevertheless, despite The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society not selling millions of copies across the globe, those that it inspired, such as Weller and Gallagher, show just how it changed British music forever. In some ways, the album was the forebearer to Britpop much more than a specific record by The Beatles ever was, and unquestionably, it remains one of the most vital albums in British history.
