Thoroughly Kinky: A Kinks Podcast

This episode of Thoroughly Kinky covers the band's fifteenth studio album, Schoolboys in Disgrace, released on the 17th of November 1975 on RCA Records (and just six months after Soap Opera). 

The album features school-themed songs and tracks the story of a scandal between a schoolboy (canonically the pubescent Mr Flash) and schoolgirl. Musically it recalls the doo wop and rock and roll sounds of the Davies' own school days. While the album failed to chart in the UK, it reached #45 on the US Billboard 200, marking a commercial turnaround in the States.

As usual, your hosts Adam (the scholar) and Liam (the pupil) go through the album track by track to see if this nostalgic schoolyard tale earns top marks or ends up in detention.

As the final album of The Kinks' RCA era, this episode also marks the finale of Season Two.  We're going to take a break, but before long we'll be recording Season Three, diving headfirst into the Arista Records era!

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Episode twenty of Thoroughly Kinky covers the band's fourteenth studio album, the 1975 theatrical concept album Soap Opera. The project originally began as a televised musical theatre piece broadcast on Granada Television in 1974, before being adapted and expanded into a full-length record in May 1975. The plot follows an ordinary man named Norman who is possessed by a rock God named Starmaker. The lyrics explore themes of celebrity, domesticity, and the mundane nature of the daily routine.

While the record failed to chart in the UK, it reached a modest #51 on the US Billboard 200.

Watch the original Granada TV broadcast of Starmaker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8laVs0aMWw

As usual, your hosts Adam (the megafan) and Liam (the newbie) go through the album track by track to decide whether Soap Opera has them bubbling with excitement, or is just old bathwater.

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Preservation Act 2, released on May 8, 1974, expanded Ray Davies' deeping Village Green lore with a double album that describes the political conflict between capitalist developer Mr. Flash and the authoritarian moral crusader Mr. Black. Self-produced at the band's Konk Studios, the production integrated a full brass section, theatrical voice actors, and female backing vocalists alongside traditional rock instrumentation. 

Adam and Liam conclude the double album in this episode. What will their verdict be? A overpickled prune of an album, or well worth preserving?

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Preservation Act 2, released on May 8, 1974, expanded Ray Davies' deeping Village Green lore with a double album that describes the political conflict between capitalist developer Mr. Flash and the authoritarian moral crusader Mr. Black. Self-produced at the band's Konk Studios, the production integrated a full brass section, theatrical voice actors, and female backing vocalists alongside traditional rock instrumentation. 

Adam and Liam are taking their time and looking only at disc one this ep. Tune in next week where we conclude the epic Preservation series with disc two.

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Preservation Act 1, released on November 16, 1973, marked Ray Davies' pivot into full theatrical storytelling, introducing characters like Mr. Flash and The Tramp alongside brass-heavy rock-opera arrangements. The ambitious concept struggled commercially: the album failed to chart in the UK, reached only No. 177 on the US Billboard 200, and all 3 singles also failed to chart.

Adam (the Kinks expert) and Liam (the Kinks novice) track the storyline song-by-song and ask: a conceptual masterpiece, or did the band lose the plot?

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Everybody's in Showbiz was a double album by the Kinks released on the 1st of September 1972. It was the Kink's first double album, and consisted of both studio tracks and live recordings from a performance at Carnegie Hall, New York. It was the second record on the RCA label and the eleventh Kinks album overall. There were two singles: Supersonic Rocket Ship and Celluloid Heroes. Whereas Supersonic Rocket Ship was a modest hit in the UK, Celluloid Heroes failed to chart.

Liam and Adam listen to the first disc of the double album (the second disc to be covered at a later date) and give their honest appraisal of the band's flamboyant new direction. Will it be five stars, or a non-star-ter?

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Muswell Hillbillies was the first Kinks record to be released on their new label, RCA, after parting with their original label, Pye Records. It was released on November 24, 1971, and introduced elements of country music to The Kinks' sound. The single "20th Century Man" was released in the US (not the UK) and reached number 106 on the charts. Although it was not commercially successful upon release, the album was critically well-received and has maintained a cult status within their discography. Adam (the Kinks expert) and Liam (the Kinks novice) go through the track listing and ask themselves: King of the Hill, or Over the Hill?

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In this final episode of Season One of Thoroughly Kinky, Liam (host) and Adam (guest) take a look at the Kinks' soundtrack album, Percy, and ask: is it a popcorn classic?

Percy (album) was released on the 26th of March 1971, following the film's release. The film's plot concerns Edwin Anthony (Hywell Bennett), a man who is the beneficiary of the world's first penis transplant.

The album was The Kinks' final release under the label Pye Records. Season Two of Thoroughly Kinky will follow their work under their next label, RCA records.

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In this episode, your hosts Adam (expert) and Liam (newbie) cover rare Kinks songs from 1969-70 which never appeared on any full album release. These tracks include the singles Plastic Man and Hold My Hand, the latter being Dave Davies' fourth solo single. We discuss the merits of the available Dave material from this period and why his planned solo LP failed to materialize. In addition, we look at other Kinks songs from this era and ask whether it matches the quality that made it onto the 1969-70 albums.

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The Kinks' concept album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround Part One was released on the 27th of November, 1970. The LP featured two hit singles: the titular track, Lola (a top 10 song in the UK and the US) and Apeman (which made it to No. 5 in the UK). The single Lola marked the start of the band's second wave of success in the USA, after having been banned from there for four years (1965-9). Your hosts Adam (Kinks expert) and Liam (Kinks beginner) go through each track of the album, and ask themselves how the songs complement the concept of the concept album.

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