(2020) The Kinks - Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One [2CD Deluxe Edition]


Review:
“Lola” gave The Kinks an unexpected hit and its crisp, muscular sound, pitched halfway between acoustic folk and hard rock, provided a new style for the band. However, the song only hinted at what its accompanying album Lola Versus the Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One was all about. It didn’t matter that Ray Davies just had his first hit in years — he had suffered greatly at the hands of the music industry and he wanted to tell the story in song. Hence, Lola — a loose concept album about Ray Davies’ own psychosis and bitter feelings toward the music industry. Davies never really delivers a cohesive story, but the record holds together because it’s one of his strongest set of songs. Dave Davies contributes the lovely “Strangers” and the appropriately paranoid “Rats,” but this is truly Ray’s show, as he lashes out at ex-managers (the boisterous vaudevillian “The Moneygoround”), publishers (“Denmark Street”), TV and music journalists (the hard-hitting “Top of the Pops”), label executives (“Powerman”), and, hell, just society in general (“Apeman,” “Got to Be Free”). If his wit wasn’t sharp, the entire project would be insufferable, but the album is as funny as it is angry. Furthermore, he balances his bile with three of his best melancholy ballads: “This Time Tomorrow,” “A Long Way from Home,” and the anti-welfare and union “Get Back in Line,” which captures working-class angst better than any other rock song. These songs provide the spine for a wildly unfocused but nonetheless dazzling tour de force that reveals Ray’s artistic strengths and endearing character flaws in equal measure.





Tracklist:

CD 1
01.The Contenders
02.Strangers
03.Denmark Street
04.Get Back in Line
05.Lola
06.Top of the Pops
07.The Moneygoround
08.This Time Tomorrow
09.A Long Way from Home
10.Rats
11.Apeman
12.Powerman
13.Got to Be Free
Alternate Versions
14.Lola (Mono Single Mix)
15.Apeman (Uk Mono Single Mix)
16.Rats (Mono Single Mix)
17.Powerman (Mono Mix)
18.Apeman (Alternate Version, Stereo)

CD 2 – Alternate Versions & Mixes:
01.The Contenders (Instrumental Demo)
02.Strangers (2020 Stereo Mix)
03.Anytime
04.The Good Life
05.Get Back in Line (Live Version)
06.Lola (Ray Davies & Band with the Danish National Chamber Orchestra & The Danish National Vocal Ensemble)
07.Top of the Pops (2020 Mix)
08.The Moneygoround (Alternate Version)
09.This Time Tomorrow (Alternate Take, 2020 Mix)
10.A Long Way from Home (Live, Austin City Limits, 2006)
11.Rats (2020 Mix)
12.Apeman (Us Mono Single Mix)
13.Powerman (2020 Mix)
14.Marathon (Edit, from The Long Distance Piano Player)
15.Got to Be Free (Edit, from The Long Distance Piano Player)​


Media Report:
Genre: rock
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits