matthewcpeck's review against another edition
4.0
Although 'TKATVGPS' is one of my desert island/and or stranded-in-space records, I've tended to pass over the Kinks in my mp3 shuffling, as of late. Andy Miller's breezy assessment (read it in a day) is an unexpected delight that renewed my appreciation for the singular concept album that birthed my love for the brothers Davies upon first listen, 10 years ago. The book consists of an account of the albums's conception and recording, a track-by-track analysis of the album and of the b-sides and rarities resulting from the recording sessions (thank God for SoulSeek). Miller writes the way I wish every music critic would write – he is erudite without hip name-dropping; he writes an equal amount of material about the purely musical elements as he does the thematic and lyrical stuff; and he evinces a genuine and contagious passion for the band. His mini-essay of ‘Big Sky’ will compel you to put the track on repeat. I don’t agree with all of his opinions – I think he undersells the more aggressive, rockin’ permutation of the Kinks that preceded and followed and this era – but, again, that’s what a critic is meant to do.
I don’t need a companion book to grasp the profundity of the Kinks’ opus, but now I have more verbal ammunition for convincing everybody to listen.
I don’t need a companion book to grasp the profundity of the Kinks’ opus, but now I have more verbal ammunition for convincing everybody to listen.
tlockney's review against another edition
2.0
Sometimes interesting and occasionally insightful, but honestly just a bit too boring.
kylegarvey's review against another edition
3.0
I kind of thought "Fu Manchu, Moriarty and Dracula" were interesting things to preserve, but apparently Andy Miller doesn't agree as much because he hardly mentions them at all.
thebobsphere's review
4.0
The first volume of the 33 1/3 series that I read and although not great, it is a solid and interesting take on the album.
blackheath's review
2.0
The first section on the writing and recording of the album is interesting. The rest of the book is a lot of typical rock critic bullshit: fawning praise for the record and Ray Davies tempered with snide remarks and know-it-all comments about Davies and his alleged true thoughts and intentions. As Sybil Fawlty said to Basil re: the latter's treatment of the hotel's guests: "You’re either crawling all over them, licking their boots, or spitting poison at them like some benzedrine puff adder." Obnoxious.
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