Muswell Hillbillies

Muswell Hillbillies is the ninth studio album by the English rock group The Kinks, released in November 1971. The album is named after the Muswell Hill area of North London, where band leader Ray Davies and guitarist Dave Davies grew up and the band formed in the early 1960s.^[1]

The album centred on themes of poverty and working-class life, as well as the destruction and subdivision of old Victorian neighbourhoods—a practice that had become commonplace in North London during the 1970s.

Musical styles

The album is a wide-ranging collection of Ray Davies compositions which focus on the tensions and frustrations of modern life. In the opening song, the singer declares: "I'm a 20th century man, but I don't want to be here."^[2] The album introduces a number of working class figures and the stresses with which they must contend. As pop music historian Alex DiBlasi notes: "Various characters get militantly angry, delve into escapism, or simply go mad. It is important to note that no matter what, even in the album’s closing track, where the titular characters are being relocated to 'identical little boxes', there isn’t a hint of complacency or resignation; they instead pledge defiance by refusing to change."^[3] Musical styles range from rock ("20th Century Man") and country ("Muswell Hillbilly") to music-hall inspired numbers ("Alcohol").

Fortis Green road, Muswell Hill in 1973

Ray Davies and engineer Mike Bobak used 10-year-old microphones on many of the tracks to give the record an antiquated feel.^[4] Muswell Hillbillies was also the first of The Kinks' records featuring their new brass section, The Mike Cotton Sound, which included Mike Cotton on trumpet, John Beecham on trombone and tuba, and Alan Holmes on clarinet.^[2]^[4]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[2]
Blender	^[5]
Robert Christgau	B+^[6]
Pitchfork Media	(8.9/10)^[7]
Rolling Stone	(favourable)^[8]
Piero Scaruffi	(5/10)^[9]

Muswell Hillbillies was the band's first album for RCA Records,^[2] their prior recordings having been released on Pye Records (Reprise Records in the United States). The album was not a commercial success (it failed to chart in the United Kingdom and peaked at #48 in the U.S.^[10]), and its sales were a disappointment following the success of Lola the previous year. Stereo Review magazine called the poor-selling record "album of the year" in 1972 (even though it was released on 24 November 1971). In the 1984 Rolling Stone Album Guide, Rolling Stone editors called this album Davies' "signature statement" as a songwriter.

After the release of the Kinks' next album, 1972's Everybody's in Show-Biz, Davies took the band into a four-year "theatrical" incarnation (1973–1976) with an expanded line-up of musicians and thematic concept albums constructed around elaborate stage shows.

A remastered deluxe edition of "Muswell Hillbillies" was released in October 2013, with several bonus tracks, alternate takes, and BBC recordings.

Cover art

The front cover picture was taken in The Archway Tavern, a pub more than 2 miles away from Muswell Hill. The back inset picture, showing the band below a signpost giving direction to Muswell Hill, was taken on the small traffic island at the intersection of Castle Yard and Southwood Lane in Highgate.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Ray Davies.

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"20th Century Man"	5:57
2.	"Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues"	3:32
3.	"Holiday"	2:40
4.	"Skin and Bone"	3:39
5.	"Alcohol"	3:35
6.	"Complicated Life"	4:02

Side two
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Here Come the People in Grey"	3:46
2.	"Have a Cuppa Tea"	3:45
3.	"Holloway Jail"	3:29
4.	"Oklahoma U.S.A."	2:38
5.	"Uncle Son"	2:33
6.	"Muswell Hillbilly"	4:58

1998 CD re-issue bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Mountain Woman"	3:08
14.	"Kentucky Moon" (Demo)	3:57

2013 deluxe edition (CD 1)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"20th Century Man"	5:53
2.	"Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues"	3:29
3.	"Holiday"	2:37
4.	"Skin and Bone"	3:36
5.	"Alcohol"	3:30
6.	"Complicated Life"	4:00
7.	"Here Come the People in Grey"	3:45
8.	"Have a Cuppa Tea"	3:32
9.	"Holloway Jail"	3:23
10.	"Oklahoma U.S.A."	2:35
11.	"Uncle Son"	2:30
12.	"Muswell Hillbilly"	4:55

2013 deluxe edition (CD 2)
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Lavender Lane (stereo mix, recorded 20 Sep 1971)"	3:48
2.	"Mountain Woman (stereo mix, recorded 16 Oct 1971)"	3:09
3.	"Have a Cuppa Tea (stereo mix, alternate version, recorded 20 Sep 1971)"	3:33
4.	"Muswell Hillbilly (stereo mix, shortened edit, recorded Aug-Sep 1971)"	3:48
5.	"Uncle Son (stereo mix, alternate version, recorded 20 Sep 1971)"	2:44
6.	"Kentucky Moon (stereo mix, recorded 16 Oct 1971)"	3:56
7.	"Nobody's Fool (mono mix, demo version, recorded 6 Oct 1971)"	2:28
8.	"20th Century Man (stereo mix, alternate instrumental take, recorded 6 Oct 1971)"	3:02
9.	"20th Century Man (stereo mix, edit, recorded Aug-Sep 1971)"	5:02
10.	"Queenie (stereo mix, instrumental backing track, recorded Sep 1971)"	3:43
11.	"Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues (mono mix, BBC recording, recorded 5 May 1972)"	3:48
12.	"Holiday (mono mix, BBC recording, recorded 5 May 1972)"	3:08
13.	"Skin and Bone (mono mix, BBC recording, recorded 5 May 1972)"	2:34

Personnel

Ray Davies - acoustic guitar, harmonica, lead vocals, trumpet, trombone, tuba, saxophone, resonator guitar
Dave Davies - lead guitar, slide guitar, banjo, backing vocals
John Dalton - bass guitar, backing vocals
John Gosling - piano (acoustic and electric), organ, accordion
Mick Avory - drums, percussion
Mike Cotton - trumpet
John Beecham - trombone, tuba
Alan Holmes - saxophone, clarinet
Mike Bobak; Richard Edwards - Engineer ^[11]

References

DiBlasi, Alex (2008). "Muswell Hillbillies". kindakinks.net. Retrieved 9 November 2011.

↑ Stolder, Steven. "Muswell Hillbillies". MusicVIP.com. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
↑ DiBlasi 2008, p. 1
↑ 4.0 4.1 DiBlasi 2008, p. 7
↑ Blender review
↑ Christgau, Robert. "The Kinks". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
↑ Josephes, Jason (24 August 2004). "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
↑ Saunders, Mike (3 February 1972). "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies". Rolling Stone (Straight Arrow) (RS 101). ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 24 January 2008.
↑ Scaruffi, Piero (1999). "Kinks". pieroscaruffi.com. Retrieved 15 August 2013.
↑ "The Kinks' Chart Positions". kindakinks.net. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
↑ "Muswell Hillbillies > Credits". JR.com. Retrieved 9 November 2011.

v t e The Kinks

Ray Davies Dave Davies Mick Avory John Dalton Ian Gibbons John Gosling Bob Henrit Andy Pyle Pete Quaife Jim Rodford Gordon Edwards

Studio albums	Kinks Kinda Kinks The Kink Kontroversy Face to Face Something Else by The Kinks The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One Muswell Hillbillies Everybody's in Show-Biz Preservation Act 1 Preservation Act 2 Soap Opera Schoolboys in Disgrace Sleepwalker Misfits Low Budget Give the People What They Want State of Confusion Word of Mouth Think Visual UK Jive Phobia

Live albums	Live at Kelvin Hall One for the Road Live: The Road To the Bone

EPs	Kinksize Session Kinksize Hits Kwyet Kinks Dedicated Kinks The Kinks

Compilations	Kinks-Size Kinkdom Greatest Hits! Well Respected Kinks Sunny Afternoon The Kink Kronikles The Great Lost Kinks Album Come Dancing with The Kinks The Kinks Are Well Respected Men Lost & Found (1986–1989) The Ultimate Collection Picture Book

Unreleased projects	Four More Respected Gentlemen A Hole in the Sock of (Dave Davies)

Related articles	Discography Band members Konk The Kast Off Kinks Nicky Hopkins Argent X-Ray Percy Do It Again Give the People What We Want: Songs of The Kinks

Book Category Portal WikiProject

External links

Dave Emlen's Unofficial Kinks Web Site - Covers Latest News Concerning the Kinks
The Golden Age of the Kinks - Discusses the Kinks' Most Artistically Fertile Period (1966-1972)

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