Muswell Hillbillies

Muswell Hillbillies is an album by the English rock group The Kinks. Released in November 1971, it was the band's first album for RCA Records. 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.^[2]

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.

Recording

Muswell Hillbillies was the band's first album for RCA Records,^[3] their prior recordings having been released on Pye Records (Reprise Records in the United States). Their contract with Pye/Reprise expired the same year. The album was recorded between August and October 1971 at Morgan Studios, London, using a new brass section, the Mike Cotton Sound, which included Mike Cotton on trumpet, John Beecham on trombone and tuba, and Alan Holmes on clarinet.^[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Blender	^[4]
Robert Christgau	B+^[5]
Drowned In Sound	(10/10)^[6]
Pitchfork Media	(8.9/10)^[7]
Rolling Stone	(favourable)^[8]

The album was not a commercial success (it failed to chart in the United Kingdom and peaked at #48 in the U.S.^[9]), 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.

In a retrospective review for Allmusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine feels the album is a wide-ranging collection of Ray Davies compositions which focus on the tensions and frustrations of modern life.^[3] The album introduces a number of working class figures and the stresses with which they must contend.

Release

A remastered deluxe edition of Muswell Hillbillies was released in the UK on 7 October 2013, with several bonus tracks, alternate takes, and BBC recordings all remastered by Andrew Sandoval and Dan Hersch. On 10 November 2014, a Legacy Edition was released for the United States, with disc 1 containing the remastered stereo album, and many of the UK Deluxe Edition bonus tracks remastered by Vic Anesini, while the second disc is a DVD with promotional TV performances (previously released in the UK on The Kinks At The BBC box set) from the era.

Cover art

The front cover picture was taken in The Archway Tavern, a pub in Archway (more than two miles away from Muswell Hill). The back inset picture, showing the band below a signpost giving directions 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, original album in stereo)
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, bonus tracks)
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 - lead vocals, acoustic guitar, resonator guitar
Dave Davies - lead guitar, slide guitar, banjo, backing vocals
John Dalton - bass guitar, backing vocals
John Gosling - piano (acoustic and electric), Hammond organ, accordion
Mick Avory - drums, percussion
Mike Cotton - trumpet
John Beecham - trombone, tuba
Alan Holmes - saxophone, clarinet
Vicki Brown - backing vocals on tracks 4 and 9
Ken Jones - harmonica on track 7
Mike Bobak; Richard Edwards - Engineer ^[10]

References

↑ Donald Brown. Bob Dylan: American Troubadour. p. 121.
↑ Stolder, Steven. "Muswell Hillbillies". MusicVIP.com. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
1 2 3 Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
↑ Blender review Archived 4 May 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
↑ Christgau, Robert. "The Kinks". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
↑ Slaughter, Matthew (2013-10-04). "Muswell Hillbillies (reissue)". Drowned In Sound.
↑ 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.
↑ "The Kinks' Chart Positions". kindakinks.net. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
↑ "Muswell Hillbillies > Credits". JR.com. Retrieved 9 November 2011.

The Kinks

Ray Davies Dave Davies Mick Avory Pete Quaife John Dalton Gordon Edwards Ian Gibbons John Gosling Mark Haley Bob Henrit Andy Pyle Jim Rodford Nicky Hopkins Shel Talmy

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 Kwyet Kinks

Compilations	Kinks-Size Kinkdom Greatest Hits! Well Respected Kinks Sunny Afternoon The Kink Kronikles The Great Lost Kinks Album 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)

Stage	Sunny Afternoon (musical)

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

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