A Dirt Opera
Overall Album Score: 7.8 out of 10 Well, The Kinks are continuing to be mediocre in the 70s, unfortunately, even though this is perhaps the most ambitious project that Ray Davies ever underwent. (And I guess, also, the rest of the band was kind of resentful that Ray treated A Soap Opera almost as a solo-project). At any rate, this is a decent album. The melodies aren't any better than the ones from Preservation Act 2, but it is considerably more exciting than that dull Preservation Act 1. I guess if you dislike Broadway show-tunes, then this would be a good example of an album that you ought to veer away from. This certainly is an album that was meant to have a show-tuney feel to it. It's even more blatantly show-tuney than Preservation Act 2! ... I like show tunes, generally, so it would be easier for me to enjoy than someone who, say, fanaticizes about Julie Andrew's death. Again, the Kinks' level of instrumentation is really lacking here. I am utterly spoiled by the band's classic Village Green, Arthur, and Muswell, but ... dude! Why doesn't Ray do better? ... This album does remind me slightly of Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell. This could have scored equally to Meat Loaf's fractured classic, but we were getting short-changed! ... Dang it, Ray! Quit short-changing us! Overall Album Score: 7.8 out of 10 (Not an overall bad album from the Kinks. A few of the songs are iffy, but the rest are fun and tuneful!) Average Song Score: 7.9 (A bunch of catchy melodies that weren't produced exceptionally well. More care and craft should have gone into these songs!!) Album Tilt: 7.5 (Not a bad album ... the solid melodies keep this one held together.) Artist Rating: 8.0 (I'll be nice here. Even though the cheap feel of the songs detract from A Soap Opera's artistic integrity significantly, it had a good idea as a concept. This probably, even, is the best 'concept' the Kinks have ever had ... but don't quote me on that!) Track Reviews Everybody's a Star (Starmaker) 8.5/10 Well, at least this is a really neat pop-rock song. The melody is really good (as usual) ... the instrumentation is fine (and, unfortunately, Davies is still resorting to cheap instrumentation methods that are plaguing the Kinks' mid-career). Oh well. I've already come to realize that the band's formidable artistic period is over, and they've been dishing us cheap bloated concept albums for some time now! ... So, I'm hardly surprised at this. I am kind of having fun, though. Ordinary People 9/10 Sort of a 50s flashback song (...well, that piano sounds very 50s-ish, anyway...) and the simple groove does reek of 50s pop. But this song is also successfully dramatic, and the melody is as good as anything!!! A very good song! I really enjoy this. Rush Hour Blues 8/10 Who is that female doing the talking stuff on here? ... Whoever she is, she sounds hot! ... English women are hot and so are their accents! ...... Well, even though she might sound hot, her voice doesn't really work. She's not a very good voice actor. She's a bit annoying actually. Arggh! ... As far as the actual song goes, I really don't care much for this piece of boogie, even though I do admit that it is rather interesting. There are some really catchy bits in the song ... perhaps some of the catchiest on the album, but overall, I'm not that impressed with it. Nine to Five 7.5/10 It's not bad ... but it's not good, either! A ballad, this song is rather boring. I do like the very British-sounding horn we hear in the background occasionally, though! ... But, overall, this song is dull. When Work is Over 8.5/10 Better! This is an entertaining (even though it's still cheap) song that'll give you something to wiggle your booty around in your chair for a little while. Certainly, this isn't a great song, but it entertains me ever so slightly. Bits of this melody are really great. Have Another Drink 7/10 In a sentence: this fake country song SUCKS! In another sentence: it attempts to re-Muswell Hillbillies the Kinks, but fails miserably. Underneath the Neon Sign 8.5/10 Much more awesome! It's a very pleasant song (with a pretty neat electric piano in the background). The melody is fun, catchy ... what more could you want from the Kinks during their mid-career? ... besides another Village Green Preservation Society. Holiday Romance 8/10 This is alright ... but perhaps this is too quirky for its own good. I mean ... I think Ray was trying just a wee bit hard to be fun and irrelevant with this, even though he did create a rather pleasant song. You Make it All Worthwhile 7.5/10 I want to sit and watch the telly with that hot British Babe! ..... Well, hey, this song is alright, too! I think the British Babe has better voice acting skills on this one with her peculiar melodramatic dialogue. I also really enjoy a bit of Ray's tune on this one ... another section of this song's melody, however, is throwaway. Not a great song ... but it's kind of fun. Ducks on the Wall 6.5/10 Yuck!!! Those stupid duck noises are so freaking annoying ... and so is this song in general! It's just a generic old boogie, 50s flashback song that nobody will ever care about. I can't deny that it's catchy overall, though. It's just throwaway. A Face in the Crowd 8/10 Well, this is a pretty good show-tuney ballad! (You know ... kind of like "Somewhere" from The West Side Story). I like the melody ... I like the instrumentation ...... It could have used more resonance, but I'm not about to file a class-action lawsuit. You Can't Stop the Music 7.5/10 Sounds like maybe Davies was hoping this would be a good radio-single or something ... but the melody doesn't quite make the grade this time ... nor does the instrumentation. This is an alright song, but it's just not exciting! ... It needs more breadth, dangit! Stupid soap opera lovers and haters send me your thoughts here! bobtendy@aol.com (bobtendy) received Feb. 1, 2005 Soap Opera is a great album. How'd you start writing reviews? Don Ignacio responds: ... very carefully. |
All reviews are copyrighted by Michael Lawrence. He loves the people of Bloomington, Ohio.
