The Village Green Preservation Society [IMPORT]

The Kinks

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Original Release Date: November 22, 1968
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• ASIN: B00005O050
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #756,789 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Village Green Preservation Society - The Kinks, The Kinks

2. Do You Remember Walter? - The Kinks, The Kinks

3. Picture Book - The Kinks, The Kinks

4. Johnny Thunder - The Kinks, The Kinks

5. Monica

6. People Take Pictures of Each Other

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Village Green Preservation Society [Mono Version]

2. Do You Remember Walter [Mono Version]

3. Picture Book [Mono Version]

4. Johnny Thunder [Mono Version]

5. Last of the Steam Powered Trains [Mono Version]

6. Big Sky [Mono Version]

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Village Green [Orchestra Overdub] [Instrumental Mix][#]

2. Misty Water [Stereo Mix]

3. Berkeley Mews [Stereo Mix]

4. Easy Come, There You Went [Stereo Mix][#]

5. Polly [Stereo Mix]

6. Animal Farm [Alternate Stereo Mix][#]

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Full title, 'The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society'. UK reissue of 1968 album, fully remastered from the original tapes. Packaged in an authentic reproduction of the original (Italian issue) artwork with all inserts & packaging within a miniaturized LP sleeve.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars WARNING: NOT THE K2-REMASTER RELEASED IN 2000, September 13, 2007

By	BOB (LOS ANGELES, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: The Village Green Preservation Society (Audio CD)

In 2007, there were two Kinks catalog Japan mini-sleeve releases, one in July and another in September. The July release were JVC K2HD remastered discs. Chronologically, these started at "Muswell Hillbillies" and continued thru the end of the Kinks catalog.

However, the September release, and this is despite the text of at least one Japanese on-line retailer, are NOT JVC or K2/K2HD remastered discs. These were issued by BMG. The discs themselves have a "Made In Hong Kong" stamp on the inner ring.

The BMG titles are: The Kinks (1st album), Kinda Kinks, Kontroversy, Face To Face, Something Else, Live At Kelvin Hall, The Village Green Preservation Society, Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire, Lola Vs. Powerman And The Money-Go-Round Part 1 and Percy.

After A/B comparison, these are the 1998 Castle/Essential remasters. These also contain the same same booklets as those releases. The Castle discs have the benefit of an absolute plethora of bonus tracks on each, which do not appear on the 2000 Japan K2 remasters.

WHAT IS A JAPAN "MINI-LP-SLEEVE" CD?

Have you ever lamented the loss of one of the 20th Century's great art forms, the 12" vinyl LP jacket? Then "mini-LP-sleeve" CD's may be for you.

Mini-sleeve CDs are manufactured in Japan under license. The disc is packaged inside a 135MM X 135MM cardboard precision-miniature replica of the original classic vinyl-LP album. Also, anything contained in the original LP, such as gatefolds, booklets, lyric sheets, posters, printed LP sleeves, stickers, embosses, special LP cover paper/inks/textures and/or die cuts, are precisely replicated and included. An English-language lyric sheet is always included, even if the original LP did not have printed lyrics.

Then, there's the sonic quality: Often (but not always), mini-sleeves have dedicated remastering (20-Bit, 24-Bit, DSD, K2/K2HD, and/or HDCD), and can often (but not always) be superior to the audio on the same title anywhere else in the world. There also may be bonus tracks unavailable elsewhere.

Each Japan mini-sleeve has an "obi" ("oh-bee"), a removable Japan-language promotional strip. The obi lists the Japan street date of that particular release, the catalog number, the mastering info, and often the original album's release date. Bonus tracks are only listed on the obi, maintaining the integrity of the original LP artwork. The obi's are collectable, and should not be discarded.

All mini-sleeve releases are limited edition, but re-pressings/re-issues are becoming more common (again, not always). The enthusiasm of mini-sleeve collecting must be tempered, however, with avoiding fake mini-sleeves manufactured in Russia and distributed throughout the world, primarily on eBay. They are inferior in quality, worthless in collectable value, a total waste of money, and should be avoided at all costs.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not K2 and Not on 3 Discs Either!, October 7, 2007

By	Frederick Baptist (Singapore) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Village Green Preservation Society (Audio CD)

The rating is not for the content of the album which is clearly not only the best Kinks album but is also one of the best albums to ever come out of the 60s. You wouldn't be far wrong to describe this album as the "Sgt. Pepper's" of the Kinks. Every track is very interesting and shows just how good a writer Ray Davies is when he is allowed to write what he feels instead of just having to pander to the commercial needs of the recording label and the non-discerning average fan. The Kinks' work has always been the subject of imitation which as we know is the sincerest form of flattery. From the Doors ("Hello, I Love You" copying "All Day and All of the Night") to Green Day (compare "Warning" to "Picture Book")it's clear that their influence continues till today.

Now this mini-lp replica sleeve design is quite good with a couple of booklets thrown in which include all the lyrics in English and Japanese and an essay on the background of the making of this album which is very informative. As the previous reviewer highlighted very correctly though, this is not K2-HD remastered and although everything else was made in Japan, the disc itself was "pressed in Hong Kong" which isn't very nice given this very material fact is not made known to me at the point of purchase. Still, the sound quality may not be the best version that is out there but thankfully is still quite good when compared to many other allegedly remastered discs that I've heard that are currently out there e.g. Jethro Tull's mlps version of "Aqualung" and Badfinger's "Straight Up" as well as Free's "Fire and Water" which by the way, suck very, very badly with respect to the sound quality of the recording. Oh yeah, did I mention that all the tracks including the bonus ones are on one disc and not the 3 that Amazon has advertised here? The true track listing is:

The Village Green Preservation Society
Do You Remember Walter?
Picture Book
Johnny Thunder
Last of the Steam-Powered Trains
Big Sky
Sitting By the Riverside
Animal Farm
Village Green
Starstruck
Phenomenal Cat
All My Friends Were There
Wicked Annabella
Monica
People Take Pictures of Each Other
The Village Green Preservation Society - Stereo version
Do You Remember Walter? - Stereo version
Picture Book - Stereo version
Johnny Thunder - Stereo version
Monica - Stereo version
Days - Stereo version
Village Green - Stereo version
Mr. Songbird - Stereo version
Wicked Annabella - Stereo version
Starstruck - Stereo version
Phenomenal Cat - Stereo version
People Take Pictures of Each Other - Stereo version
Days - Bonus

My recommendation is to try and get the better remastered version although if you are not too concerned about perfect sound quality, the quality of the sound on this disc, while still a little muddy, is still okay for the average listener.