Soap Opera
Studio album by
the Kinks
Released16 May 1975
RecordedAugust 1974 - October 1974
StudioKonk, London
Genre
Length37:30
LabelRCA
ProducerRay Davies
The Kinks chronology
Preservation Act 2
(1974)		 Soap Opera
(1975)		 Schoolboys in Disgrace
(1975)
Singles from Soap Opera
  1. "Holiday Romance"
    Released: 11 October 1974 (UK)
  2. "Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)"
    Released: April 1975 (US)
  3. "Ducks on the Wall"
    Released: 18 April 1975 (UK)
  4. "You Can't Stop the Music"
    Released: 23 May 1975 (UK)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Blender[2]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[3]
Rolling Stone(unfavourable)[4]

Soap Opera or The Kinks Present a Soap Opera is a 1975 concept album by the Kinks. It is the fourteenth studio album by the Kinks.

Development

The material was initially developed for a Granada TV live teleplay in 1974, which was broadcast under the title Star Maker, starring Ray Davies and June Ritchie as the leads, with the Kinks providing live accompaniment. A Soap Opera adapted the same songs and plot to an audio presentation, with Ritchie in the same role. Plans for a full-scale theatrical tour were not realised, but the Kinks, with their extended mid-70s lineup, did perform the entire album on tour in 1975. Though the album was not well-received, Dave Thompson, reviewing an unofficial bootleg recording, called the live presentation "a revelation".[5]

Plot

Soap Opera is the third concept album in the band's "theatrical period". It tells the story of a musician named Starmaker who changes places with an "ordinary man" named Norman to better understand life. Starmaker beds Norman's wife Andrea and then goes to work the next day, getting caught in the rush hour. He works 9 to 5 and then visits the pub for a few drinks before making his way home. Andrea greets him, and he tells her she is "making it all worthwhile". By this point, Starmaker has lost his grip on reality; he doesn't know who he is anymore. In the end, he settles down with Andrea, accepting that he is now just "a face in the crowd". The album concludes with the sentiment that, although rock stars may fade, their music lives on.

The Starmaker is an exaggerated characterization of Ray Davies. He would often use his name in the stage version of Soap Opera and perform previous hit Kinks songs as examples of his work as a star to explain that he is not actually the "ordinary" Norman.[5]

"Holiday Romance"

The song was written by Ray Davies[6] and released as a British and Japanese single in October 1974. Backed with "Shepherds of the Nation" from the band's 1974 album Preservation Act 2, the single was a flop, not charting in any countries.

Music critic Dave Lewis' contemporary review of the single said that "Davies's camp, Palm Court vocals are matched perfectly by the careful string arrangements, making the tune simple, catchy and amusing – in fact, everything a good pop song should be."[7] Rolling Stone critic John Mendelsohn said that it was "ultra music hall-ish" and the only Kinks' song with pizzicato strings, and said that it "serves as delightful proof that Ray hadn't completely lost his knack for telling a story in a single song."[8] Kinks' biographer Rob Jovanovic described "Holiday Romance" as being "catchy but incredibly twee."[9] Kinks' biographer Nick Hasted described it as "a thirties pastiche tale with an archly acted, eventually addictive vocal."[10] Music critic Johnny Rogan summed up his review of the song stating that "Ray sings the composition in his Noël Coward voice with a sumptuous backing that works quite well."[11] Boston Globe critic Nathan Cobb described it as a "kind of British 'Blue Hawaii' fantasy number."[12]

Kink guitarist Dave Davies considered "Holiday Romance" to be one of the "best-realized songs" on Soap Opera.[13]

Tributes

In 1994 Moog Konttinen recorded a Finnish translation of the album as Saippuaooppera.[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ray Davies

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)"2:57
2."Ordinary People"3:49
3."Rush Hour Blues"4:27
4."Nine to Five"1:48
5."When Work Is Over"2:06
6."Have Another Drink"2:41
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Underneath the Neon Sign"3:53
2."Holiday Romance"3:10
3."You Make It All Worthwhile"3:49
4."Ducks on the Wall"3:20
5."(A) Face in the Crowd"2:17
6."You Can't Stop the Music"3:12
1998 CD reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)" (single version)2:54
14."Ordinary People" (live)3:44
15."You Make It All Worthwhile" (live)4:17
16."Underneath the Neon Sign" (live)4:05

Personnel

The Kinks

Additional personnel

Technical

  • Roger Beale – engineer
  • Joe Petagno – illustration
  • Pat Doyle – art direction

References

  1. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Kinks Present a Soap Opera > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  2. ↑ Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ Mendelsohn, John (3 July 1975). "The Kinks: A Soap Opera". Rolling Stone. No. RS 190. Straight Arrow. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 2 October 2007.
  5. 1 2 Thompson, Dave. "Norman: a Soap Opera Review>" at AllMusic. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
  6. ↑ "The Kinks - Holiday Romance". Discogs. 1974. Retrieved 24 January 2020.
  7. ↑ Lewis, Dave (31 October 1974). "Singles". Shepherds Bush Gazette. p. 10. Retrieved 17 March 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Mendelssohn, John (1984). The Kinks Kronikles. William Morrow. pp. 154–155. ISBN 0688029833.
  9. ↑ Jovanovic, Rob (2013). God Save The Kinks: A Biography. Aurum. ISBN 9781781311370.
  10. ↑ Hasted, Nick (2011). You Really Got Me: The Story of the Kinks. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9781849386609.
  11. ↑ Rogan, Johnny (1998). The Complete Guide to the Music of the Kinks. Omnibus Press. p. 108. ISBN 0711963142.
  12. ↑ Cobb, Nathan (17 July 1975). "England's Kinks in comeback with 'Soap Opera'". Boston Globe. p. 13. Retrieved 17 March 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Sullivan, Denise (2001). Rip it Up!: Rock & Roll Rulebreakers. Backbeat Books. p. 38. ISBN 9780879306359.
  14. ↑ "Moog Konttinen - discografia / soololevyt". Perunamaa.net. Retrieved 13 June 2014.
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