Preservation Act 2
Studio album by
the Kinks
Released8 May 1974
RecordedJanuary–March 1974
StudioKonk, London
GenreRock
Length67:00
LabelRCA
ProducerRay Davies
The Kinks chronology
Preservation Act 1
(1973)		 Preservation Act 2
(1974)		 Soap Opera
(1975)
Singles from Preservation Act 2
  1. "Money Talks"
    Released: April 1974 (US)
  2. "Mirror of Love"
    Released: 5 April 1974 (UK)
  3. "Mirror of Love (Band version)"
    Released: 26 July 1974
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB−[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
The Great Rock Discography3/10[4]
Pitchfork9.5/10[5]

Preservation Act 2 is a 1974 concept album by the English rock band the Kinks, and their thirteenth studio album. It sold poorly (peaking on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart at No. 114), and received a mixed response among critics. Ken Emerson, in Rolling Stone, held out the album as an "underrated" one in the Kinks' repertoire.[6]

Other critics were less charitable: The A.V. Club described it as "sprawling... with its radio announcements and melodramatic, sub-Andrew Lloyd Webber musical numbers, is a wash, the sound of a once-great band losing the plot."[7] AllMusic referred to it as "a mess, an impenetrable jumble of story, theater, instrumentals, 'announcements,' unfinished ideas, guest singers, and, on occasion, a song or two."[8]

The live performances of the material were much better received, with one critic going so far as to say that the Preservation shows were the first successful fusion of rock and roll with theater: "Ray Davies has finally pulled it off— the Kinks-based theatrical production of Preservation is a great rock concert and a perfectly coordinated musical."[9]

The 1991 CD reissue on Rhino was a two-CD set combining Preservation Act 2 with its 1973 predecessor Preservation Act 1, but with no bonus tracks. The 1998 CD reissue of Act 2 on Velvel featured the outtake "Slum Kids", a popular live piece for the Kinks.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ray Davies

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Announcement"0:41
2."Introduction to Solution"2:43
3."When a Solution Comes"3:40
4."Money Talks"3:44
5."Announcement"0:55
6."Shepherds of the Nation"4:17
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Scum of the Earth"2:45
2."Second-Hand Car Spiv"4:01
3."He's Evil"4:25
4."Mirror of Love"3:26
5."Announcement"0:34
Side three
No.TitleLength
1."Nobody Gives"6:33
2."Oh Where Oh Where Is Love?"3:40
3."Flash's Dream (The Final Elbow)"4:17
4."Flash's Confession"4:06
Side four
No.TitleLength
1."Nothing Lasts Forever"3:42
2."Announcement"0:20
3."Artificial Man"5:30
4."Scrapheap City"3:16
5."Announcement"1:05
6."Salvation Road"3:20
CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
22."Mirror of Love" (Alternate mix)3:29
23."Slum Kids" (Take 1)6:27

Personnel

The Kinks

Additional personnel

Technical

  • Roger Beale – engineer
  • Pat Doyle – art direction
  • Bob Searles – design
  • Jerry Preston – illustration

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Kinks: Preservation: Act 2 > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  2. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: K". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 28 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th edn). London, UK: Omnibus Press. p. 2005.
  4. ↑ Strong, Martin C. "The KINKS biography". The Great Rock Bible. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  5. ↑ Josephes, Jason. "The Kinks: Preservation Act 2". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 23 December 2001.
  6. ↑ Ken Emerson, Misfits, Rolling Stone, July 12, 1978.
  7. ↑ "The Kinks: Preservation Act 2". The A.V. Club. 29 March 2002.
  8. ↑ "Preservation: Act 2 - the Kinks | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  9. ↑ Half Notes, Crawdaddy, February 1975, p. 22.
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