The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society super deluxe box

Enormous 11-disc super deluxe edition • 2018 remasters • 174 tracks
BMG will issue a 50th anniversary edition of The Kinks‘ 1968 album The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society in October.

The band’s sixth studio album was originally issued in November ’68 and would be the last album by the original line-up (bass player Pete Quaife departed in early 1969). Describin the album today, Davies says it’s about “the ending of a time personally for me in my life. In my imaginary village. It’s the end of our innocence, our youth. Some people are quite old but in the Village Green, you’re never allowed to grow up. I feel the project itself as part of a life cycle.”

The super deluxe edition is a eleven-disc set, no less. It contains a double vinyl LP with stereo and mono versions (both 2018 remasters) and a 12-track ‘Continental’ (Swedish) version on vinyl.

In addition there are five CDs of content as described below:

CD1:
2018 Stereo Remaster, from the original HD tape transfers + bonus tracks of singles, B sides and original album related tracks
CD2:
2018 Mono Remaster, from the original HD tape transfers + bonus tracks of singles, B sides and original album related tracks
CD3:
Village Green Sessions – Including alternate versions, mixes and backing tracks, many previously unreleased
CD4:
Village Green At The BBC – TV performance track audio and band interviews, many previously unreleased
CD5:
Preservation, Sessions, Live & Demos – including mid 70s recordings, previously unreleased home demos, Ray Davies live in Denmark 2010 and unreleased track ‘Time Song’.
The three remaining discs are a trio of replica seven-inch singles, reproduced in picture sleeves. They are:

Days / She’s Got Everything (1968)
Starstruck / Picture Book (1968)
The Village Green Preservation Society / Do You Remember Walter? (1969)

There are 174 tracks in total (see full track listing at the bottom of this post) with “many previously unreleased tracks and versions”, including the previously unreleased track ‘Time Song’ which was performed by The Kinks at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in January 1973. This track was Davies’ commentary on the UK joining what was then called The Common Market. Ray says “This song was recorded a few weeks later but never made the final cut on the Preservation Act I album. Oddly enough, the song seems quite poignant and appropriate to release at this time in British history, and like Europe itself the track is a rough mix which still has to be finessed.” This track features in the box set and the 2CD edition.

The box set comes with a 52-page hardcover book with extensive sleeve notes and new band interviews and includes essays by Pete Townshend and other writers. It boasts “special packaging” with debossed box cover, foil & metallic text, linen cloth finish and a ‘bespoke accessories holder’.

It also comes with what we like to call ‘stuff’… broadly categorised as ‘memorabilia’. This includes a poster of Village Green LP inner gatefold; Empire Liverpool 1968 tour poster; glossy 10” x 8” photos from Hampstead Heath 1968 photoshoot; colour press photo with reproduced band signatures; Bournemouth 1968 gig ticket; PYE Records promo card; ‘Days’ sheet music etc.

The other three physical editions are a 2CD deluxe ‘art of the album’ which features the stereo and mono remasters and bonus tracks (49 tracks in total), plus single disc vinyl and CD versions with just the stereo remaster.

The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society 50th anniversary editions are out on 26 October 2018. The UK box set price of £94 seems pretty good for all that content and with VAT deducted US fans can import this from the UK for almost exactly $100 + shipping (it’s not listed in the US at the moment).