Schoolboys in Disgrace

Schoolboys in Disgrace
Studio album by The Kinks
Released 17 November 1975[1]
Recorded 13 August - 2 October 1975 at Konk Studios, London
5–6 October 1975, mastering at Sterling Sound, New York City[2]
Genre Rock and roll,[3] hard rock[4]
Length 36:26
Label RCA
Producer Ray Davies
The Kinks chronology
Soap Opera
(1975)		 Schoolboys in Disgrace
(1975)		 Sleepwalker
(1977)
Singles from Schoolboys in Disgrace
  1. "I'm in Disgrace"
    Released: January 21, 1976 (US)
  2. "No More Looking Back"
    Released: January 23, 1976 (UK)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[5]
Blender[6]
Robert ChristgauC+[7]
Rolling Stone(mixed)[8]

Schoolboys in Disgrace or The Kinks Present Schoolboys in Disgrace is the fourteenth studio album by English rock group the Kinks, released in 1975.

According to the back cover liner notes,[9] the story which the album presents is as follows:

Once upon a time there was a naughty little schoolboy. He and his gang were always playing tricks on the teachers and bullying other children in the school. One day he got himself into very serious trouble with a naughty schoolgirl and he was sent to the Headmaster who decided to disgrace the naughty boy and his gang in front of the whole school.
After this punishment the boy turned into a hard and bitter character. Perhaps it was not the punishment that changed him but the fact that he realised people in authority would always be there to kick him down and the Establishment would always put him in his place. He knew that he could not change the past but he vowed that in the future he would always get what he wanted. The naughty little boy grew up... into Mr Flash.

Mr Flash was the name of the villain from the Kinks' rock opera Preservation (released as Preservation Act 1 and Preservation Act 2).

In 2015, Dave Davies spoke positively of the album in a Yahoo interview, saying, "Schoolboys in Disgrace is a great album. At the time, we were so busy doing it and getting it out and touring and playing it. Over a matter of three years it was gone and we were doing something else. But when you draw this into the present, it’s like, 'Oh my God, what the f— is this?!? How did we do that?' We've been very fortunate, Ray and I and the Kinks. We’ve had such a wealth of materials, ideas, and observations. We’ve been very good at following our intuition. That's something you can’t really teach."[10]

The front cover was illustrated by Mickey Finn of T. Rex. It later appeared on NME's list of the '50 worst covers of all time'.[11]

In 1978 the Finnish band Kontra had a number one hit with the song "Jerry Cotton" which was a cover version of the song "Jack the Idiot Dunce."[12]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Ray Davies. 

Side one
No. Title Length
1. "Schooldays"   3:31
2. "Jack the Idiot Dunce"   3:19
3. "Education"   7:07
4. "The First Time We Fall in Love"   4:01
Side two
No. Title Length
1. "I'm in Disgrace"   3:21
2. "Headmaster"   4:03
3. "The Hard Way"   2:35
4. "The Last Assembly"   2:45
5. "No More Looking Back"   4:27
6. "Finale"   1:02

Personnel
  • John Beecham: trombone
  • Alan Holmes: saxophones
  • Nick Newell: tenor saxophone
  • Pamela Travis: background vocals
  • Debbie Doss: background vocals
  • Shirley Roden: background vocals

References

  1. 1 2 Hinman, Doug (2004). The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 196. ISBN 9780879307653.
  2. ↑ Hinman 2004, pp. 195–6
  3. ↑ Paul Nelson (1976-03-11). "Schoolboys In Disgrace | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  4. ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine. "The Kinks Present Schoolboys in Disgrace - The Kinks | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  5. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Kinks Present Schoolboys in Disgrace - Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  6. ↑ Blender review Archived 30 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ↑ Christgau, Robert. "The Kinks". RobertChristgau.com. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  8. ↑ Nelson, Paul (11 March 1976). "The Kinks: Schoolboys in Disgrace". Rolling Stone (Straight Arrow) (RS 208). ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 2007-10-02.
  9. ↑ Schoolboys in Disgrace (back cover). The Kinks. RCA. 1975. RS1028.
  10. ↑ Weiderhorn, Jon. "Dave Davies: Musical, Biopic Could Lead to Kinks Reunion". Yahoo. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  11. ↑ "The 50 worst album covers ever". NME (London: IPC Magazines). ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  12. ↑ Suomi soi 4: Suuri suomalainen listakirja (Tammi, 2005; toim. Jake Nyman)

External links


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