Schoolboys in Disgrace [Hybrid SACD - DSD]

The Kinks | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD
• Label: Velvel Records
• ASIN: B0002IQI7Y
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,260 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The Kinks' concise, typically bittersweet 1975 reflection on the trials and tribulations of the English school system would foreshadow Pink Floyd's similarly themed, if gratuitously unfocused The Wall by half a decade. It would also close out the band's oft-misunderstood "concept" period. Following on the heels of Preservation, Acts 1 and 2, and Soap Opera, albums whose sprawling, Floydian narratives were pointedly deflated by Ray Davies' lovable, Vaudevillian loopiness. Schoolboys has long seemed the red-headed stepchild in that ancestry. But, it's precisely the album's scaled-back ambitions and breezy delivery (typified by the 50's vamping "Jack the Idiot Dunce") that have preserved its charm. Dave Davies' chunky guitar progressions gratifyingly return to the fore on "In Disgrace" and "The Hard Way," while brother Ray's sharp-eyed observations wax alternately cynical ("Education") and wistful ("The First Time We Fall in Love"). This remastered new SACD edition is compatible with regular CD players. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Kinks' best rock theatre album, June 30, 2005

By 

W. M. Davidson (St. Louis, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Schoolboys in Disgrace (Audio CD)

After three muddled messes of questionable ideas and unrealized ambition, the Kinks finally delivered a solid rock theatre piece with "Schoolboys in Disgrace."

Ray's material is tight, and the band sounds rejuvenated as they rip through one great song after another, effortlessly moving from hard rock to '50s homages to prog-influenced epics. Dave Davies steals the show with awesome guitar work on "Headmaster" and "No More Looking Back."

Instead of telling a linear story, Ray focuses on individual feelings and situations that are thematically linked but also stand on their own. The result is more like the classic "Arthur" album, and a huge improvement over "Preservation" and "Soap Opera," where the songs were so stuffed with plot they had no room to breathe.

"Schoolboys" is one of the Kinks' best albums and a beacon of creativity and excellence among their spotty '70s work. If you're curious about the Kinks' fascinating but often frustrating rock theatre period, start here!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It rocks, it's brilliant, it's fun and you can dance to it.., December 28, 2004

By 

Stephen Cabral (New England) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Schoolboys in Disgrace (Audio CD)

Ray's wit was dripping out of the CD case when I cracked this open. This was their final concept album and it has their best hooks since "You've Really Got Me". This album is so underrated...any song here could have been a hit but sadly not one was. I would call this album `the lighter side of Pink Floyd's The Wall'. It rocks, it's brilliant, it's fun and you can dance to it.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Kinks Best Ever!!! Brilliant !!, May 25, 2005

By 

luco "luco" (Panama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Schoolboys in Disgrace (Audio CD)

This cd is simply one of the best works THE KINKS ever did, not in production terms but in songs and concept. All songs have some special apeal. Some rock very hard and others simply capture a special feeling or situation. "NO MORE LOOKING BACK" is one of the band s' best song ever; is very sad this song never got the radio airplay or even the band attention it deserved. I still wait for a good rock band to cover it (maybe OASIS?).