For their eighth studio album Lola Versus Powerman and The Moneygoround Part One, The Kinks led by Ray Davies released a loose concept album based on the music industry. From dreaming of being rock stars on the country sounds of “The Contenders” (before the guitar and piano get cranked up) right to the Southern Rock vibe of “Got To Be Free” when our man says goodbye to show business. In between is an eclectic group of songs including the old ragtime feel of “Denmark Street” and the jauntiness of “The Moneygoround”.
It’s the band’s first album of the 70s and a few of the songs crank up the power rock guitar that would be heard throughout that decade. Dave Davies’ dirty guitar riff powers “Rats” and the expert bass work of John Dalton underlays the driving sound of “Powerman”. “Apeman” rings just as true now as it did back then with its themes of over population, inflation, and crazy politicians. The catchy song went top 5 in the UK. Both Ray and Dave Davies have standout tracks on the album. “Strangers” is a midtempo track from Dave about a close friend that died from a drug overdose. The heartfelt song contains the tearjerker line, “strangers on this road we are on/we are not two, we are one”.
One of the best rock songs of the 70s also appears in the gender bending hit, “Lola”. Another heartfelt song, this time about meeting a transvestite (transgender?) in a bar and dancing all night with the lady but knowing something is different. “Well I’m not dumb but I can’t understand/Why she walks like a woman and talks like a man” as the guy tries to figure things out. The single propelled the band back into the charts. While overall the general conceit of the album being the troubles of being a rock star can be hard to relate to at times, there are several truly great songs here that it is hard to resist.
In 2020 the deluxe edition added alternate and remix versions of most of the songs found on the original album. The mono single of “Lola” switches the drink of choice to “cherry cola” while later a live version with a choir and orchestra strip the song of all it’s charm. One of the four version of “Apeman” to appear is an alternate stereo version that sounds like the band jamming to great effect. At the end of the disc, two songs from Ray Davies appearing on TV are added in “Marathon” and “Got to Be Free”. These have a distant, dreamy sound and standout among some of the hard rock tracks.
Lola Versus Powerman and The Moneygoround, Part One – 9/10
Extras – 7/10
The Light Appears 