Search - Kinks :: Lola Vs Powerman

The best

Joel Jacobsen | New Mexico USA | 05/21/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Side A is the best side to any Kinks album, and taken together the two sides rank it among the best rock and roll albums ever. "Lola" is perfect -- the riff, the chorus, but also the teasing ambiguity of the lyric, its double entendres capturing the essence of the subject matter. But then "Lola" is followed by "Top of the Pops", without doubt the funniest great three-chord rocker ever, and it's surrounded by a lot of other superb songs in a wide variety of styles, from Dave's obligatory hard rockers, to calypso ("Apeman"), to English music hall ("Denmark Street" and "Money-Go-Round"), and even the country-folk sound later explored in "Muswell Hillbillies" ("Intro" and "Got to be Free"). The pacing of the track selection, especially on side A, is particularly satisfying.There's a hint of a storyline (poor young man comes to big city and, after struggling as a day laborer, finds unexpected success as rock singer, only to find it doesn't solve life's problems), which is clearer than the story behind "Arthur" but not nearly as intrusive as that of "Preservation" or even "Schoolboys in Disgrace". And it's very, very funny -- how many rock and roll albums can you say that about?"

It's worth the extra money

David Higgins | Greenville, FL United States | 12/05/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was listening to this one in on the way home last night. The best way to listen to an album is to be "trapped" in a car with a good stereo. The bazooka tube on FEEL. This remastered version is worth the extra money. And, it's a great album. "Denmark Street" is my favorite."