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Autumn Almanac
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Wikipedia article
"'Autumn Almanac'" is a song written by Ray Davies and recorded by the rock group the Kinks in 1967. "Autumn Almanac" has since been noted for being an "absolute classic",Charles, Paul. 'The Complete Guide to Playing Live'. Omnibus Press, 2004. p.41. "a finely observed slice of English custom",Rawlings, Terry. 'British Beat, 19601969: Then, Now and Rare'. Omnibus Press, 2002. p.112. and a "weird character study",Brackett, Nathan. 'The New Rolling Stone Album Guide'. New York: Fireside Books, 2004. p.460. and praised for its "mellow, melodic sound that was to characterize the Kinks' next [musical] phase..."Hardy & Laing, 'The Encyclopedia of Rock'. Schirmer Books, 1988. p 253. Some have placed this and other Davies compositions in the pastoral-Romantic tradition of the poetry of Wordsworth, among others.'Cf.', Krause, MJ. "The Greatest Rock Star of the 19th Century: Ray Davies, Romanticism, and the Art of Being English." 'Popular Music and Society'. Volume 29, Issue 2. (May 2006) pp. 201212
In his 1995 autobiography 'X-Ray' and in subsequent performances of his 'VH1 Storytellers' effort, Davies described the song as being inspired by a local hunch-backed gardener in his native Muswell Hill neighbourhood of North London.
"Autumn Almanac" was a non-album single in between 1967's 'Something Else by the Kinks' and 1968's 'The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society'. The song was a big success in the UK, reaching #3 on the singles chart, but not in the US, where it failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Like many recordings of the mid-to-late 1960s, "Autumn Almanac" was released in both mono and stereo versions. The mono version was released as single and appears as a bonus track on the 1998 CD reissue of 'Something Else by The Kinks' as well as most compilations. The stereo version, which is ten seconds longer and features more psychedelic audio effects such as a tape loop during the fadeout, appears on the 1972 compilation 'The Kink Kronikles' as well as the deluxe 2-CD reissue of 'Something Else'.
Dave Davies spoke highly of "Autumn Almanac" in an interview with 'Yahoo!', saying, "I was playing through 'Autumn Almanac' [recently] and its a phenomenal recording. You can understand why it has lasted so long."
Personnel
According to band researcher Doug Hinman:
'The Kinks'
*Ray Davies lead vocal, acoustic guitar
*Dave Davies backing vocal, electric guitar
*Pete Quaife backing vocal, bass
*Mick Avory drums
'Additional musicians'
*Rasa Davies backing vocals
*Nicky Hopkins piano, Mellotron
Notes
References
Sources
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Category:The Kinks songs
Category:1967 singles
Category:Songs written by Ray Davies
Category:Song recordings produced by Ray Davies
Category:Pye Records singles
Category:1967 songs
Category:Reprise Records singles
Category:Baroque pop songs
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