Schoolboys in Disgrace

Honestly I'm still not sure why The Kinks albums from the mid 70's get so much flack from so many people. As a relative newcover to the whole of their career,knowing them more for their 60's radio hits and "Come Dancing" in the early 80's,I had a suspision that there might've been some type of creative journey that led up from one place to the other. And albums such as this were a big part of it. With The Who and Queen in the late 60's/early 70's delivering heavy on the idea of the rock opera The Kinks,once one of the harder rocking British Invasion band began to veer in that direction. It was also a move towards glam rock in a way. But by the end of 1975 and after the mixed reception of the creatively excellent  The Kinks Present a Soap Opera ',it seemed the best qualities about that album was it's strong soul influence musically. So in the end Ray Davies kind of took off again in his own direction for this album with that somewhat in mind. Musically a somewhat slower and melodic album than the previous release overall,the concept of this album is the very human idea that as important as eductation is that matters of the heart cannot be as easily prepared for. On the piano ballad "School Days" we're talking about the changing feelings on school life,hating it while it's happening but missing it over time. While "Jack The Dunce" rocks out a bit the song "Education" actually praises learning itself,at least achedemically while satarizing the phony social aspect of it all. Which,on a personal level I can appreciate. Between the slower "The First Time We Fell In Love","I'm A Disgrace" and "Headmaster" there's a love affair,the man feels guilty and than has to confess it all to a higher authority on a miniture suite of sorts. "The Hard Way" rocks out again with the character finding confidence. And with some beautiful churchy/gospel organ "The Last Assembly" deals with leaving the school world behind and entering the world. Now the somewhat jazz/rock fusion styled "No More Looking Back" deals with meeting this person involved in the "indescretion" years later and deciding..well the title says it all. Dealing with concepts such as rebellian,regret and the process of maturing this album's concept loosely reflects the band as well. This music,with it's strong emphasis on soul searching and generation reflection is a long way from the hormonal explosions of the bands earlier music or their more satirical works of the late 60's/early 70's. Ray Davies had grown into himself in fine form by this time. And despite their constant internal bickering,so did the band as well. They were able to produce concept albums that dealt with relatable topics. And they talked TO the listener,not DOWN to them. It was that ability to bring both the simplicity and the needless absurdity of life relating to these concepts directly to their audience. And one reason why I feel their concept albums are so creatively underrated.

Coming just six months after the wonderfully eclectic and under-appreciated "Soap Opera" in 1975, "Schoolboys in Disgrace" was the final theatrical or concept album by Ray Davies and the Kinks. Whereas "Soap Opera" strayed fairly far from the traditional Kinks sound, "Schoolboys" starts heading firmly back in that direction, as the fine guitar work of Dave Davies starts re-emerging here, hinting at what was to follow in the next few years. Consequently, this is much more of a rock record than its predecessor. The story and characters here are only a very general thread running through the album material.I'm often surprised when people dismiss this work as sub-par. While the Kinks' diverse catalogue is certainly uneven, it is still remarkable and inventive throughout--at least up through the seventies. Even the lesser albums have standout tracks that make them worth owning. "Schoolboys in Disgrace" is not their best album, but it's certainly a worthy effort with some great material.What makes this a concept album is that it tells the story of the formative days of Mr. Flash, a Davies character from earlier on. All the material revolves around going to school and growing up. There's often a sense of melancholy and nostalgia about the music. I get the feeling that much of this is semi-autobiographical, with Ray Davies drawing upon his own school day memories.Younger brother Dave Davies felt the Kinks were getting back on track with this material, and you can hear him assert himself with some great power chord rock on songs such as "I'm in Disgrace," "Headmaster" and "The Hard Way."There is plenty of diversity too, however. "The First Time We Fall in Love" is pleasantly old-fashioned, sounding in some respects like a throwback to the music of Ray Davies' own youth. "Schooldays" and the wistful "The Last Assembly" are the kind of songs that make you want to sway back and forth as you listen. They're not rockers; just great songs.I place this CD in the must-own category if you're a Kinks fan. A very fine effort by Ray Davies and company.

in the 70's I think Ray and Dave were looking to change their sound. Perhaps a more 'electric' edge to it, well if thats so they hit the ball outta the park with this disc. The production is awesome, especially on some of the organ riffs. Dave Davies gives up some of his best guitar licks on this and completely left the old 'You really got me' sound and the 'Preservation' sound in the dust. This is a very polished rock sound.Ray Davies is still into his 'Flash' personna but this 'prequel' was also the last we'd hear of 'Flash'. Fine by me because after this we only get one more 'rock opera', his "Soap Opera" album. Don't get me wrong I'm a Ray and Dave Davies and their band fan from 1970 on. This is one of my favorite Kinks albums. My friends in High School really took notice of them when I'd spin this on my old Phillips GA212 turntable.Sound to me is great but now I've a audiophile surround sound and SACD system that I use for listening. This disc 'rocks' on my system. Hope it does on yours too! It comes complete with all the liner notes, and lyrics and MORE than was on the original album. Enjoy.

This is a great album, written about Ray Davies' school days, you'd be forgiven into thinking that he loved school and really missed it especially when you hear Last Assembly. Wrong! He's said a number of times that he loathed school and writing this album was exercising his demons. In the song Education, he writes, #I've got so many facts that I must memorize, because education is doing me in, I want to stop but my heads in a spin# pretty much sums up the album, it's two fingers to the establishment who are forcing him to participate. In Headmaster, you hear him begging for forgiveness in a bid to avoid a caining, and The Hard Way is more from a teachers perspective trying to get unruly children to pull their socks up or they'll end up sweeping the street. Love this album as it sums up pretty much how I felt/feel about school.

A transitional album that took The Kinks from the showtune-heavy era of Preservation Act 2 and Soap Opera back to more straight-forward rock. The storyline of this concept LP concerns a naughty schoolboy (reportedly based on the life of Dave Davies) and according to the liner notes, he grew up to be Mr. Flash - the villain in Preservation Acts 1 and 2. This makes Schoolboys In Disgrace a prequel of sorts and the 4th album in the Preservation saga. Although it's generally considered a rock opera and was performed as such by the band at the time, it's more a series of vignettes than a detailed narrative. The songs are uniformly strong and those who craved for the Kinks to play rock 'n' roll again loved it. My highlight is easily The First Time We Fall In Love, which takes in '50s doo wop, Beach Boys-esque vocal harmony (probably the best singing of Ray's career) and a great crunchy rock interlude.

Allways loved the Kinks from the first time I saw them in 65 with their thigh high boots and frilly shirts. They looked like highwaymen. Great show in the Berkeley Community theatre where they performed it live in '76. Ray Davies best rock words smith...ever. So bit of a fan really. The album itself mixes rock with sing along whimsy. All performed in the best possible taste. The tracks 'Head Master' and 'The hard Way' are rock classics, the latter the first punk recording before the Sex Pistols were ever heard of. Kevin J.

Ray Davies at his best. Each play brings back memories of my school years. Good song lyrics.

So well written. Clearly written from his own recollections of school. Inspirational writing/lyrics and music from Ray and the boys. One of my favourite Kinks albums.