For awhile there in the 1970s, Ray Davies was just whacked out of his gourd, and turned the Kinks into a vaudeville act. They had gone right on with the concept album idea, and took it to another level with a series of largely overlooked stage productions with horn sections, actresses, costumes and props. The 1975 Soap Opera is a criminally underappreciated classic from that era.
Davies was basically creating campy stage plays, building on the English vaudeville music hall tradition. The same English sentimental traditions that inspired Paul McCartney to write "When I'm 64" and "She's Leaving Home" moved Ray Davies to write stuff like Soap Opera, and its classic centerpiece "You Make It All Worthwhile."
Leave aside for a moment the storyline and high concept, and all that business. Never having been privileged to see any form of the contemporary live performances, we're looking here at the album as the central creative achievement. How does this record sound as a bunch of songs?
Sounds damned good is what. Nearly every single song on this album is exceptional and memorable. Ray may have been running around half nutsy during some of this time, but he was working it out in his art.
The framework of the story concerns a Star who decides to mix with the "Ordinary People," trading places with a dull commoner for a time. The dichotomy of high and low motives comes even in the title of the first song "Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)." He's going to pick some schmoe out and make him a celebrity, because there's a star inside everyone of us- and because the Star wants to prove he's got so much juice that he can turn anyone into a star.
Thus the Star has traded places with normal Norman to "do research for one of my songs." Of course, mixing with the "Ordinary People" starts with sleeping with Norman's wife. "I'm immortalizing his life, and I'll even sleep with his wife, for the sake of art."
Now this setup really tickles me down deep inside. It repays hundreds of listens over a quarter century in a lot of ways. This plays as a beautifully witty statement on the egos of stars- and on the little people who indulge them. Mostly though, it's because those first two songs are both really good songs down underneath. "Everybody's a Star" is a good rousing populist anthem that would sound great pulled out into a mix with the similarly title Sly Stone classic- and nearly as good.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - rene
intersting comments on an underrated album - the key question being, imho, who is norman/normal here? Also, the hilarious way of using the English language so subtly - standing on the top of the stairs I fell for Lavinia in "Holiday Romance", to give just one example - invites closer reading/listening to enjoy this album
2 - Al Barger
Yes Rene, there are just TONS of little details in the lyrics, and especially in the arrangements that reward multiple listenings.
3 - Eric Olsen
I love this album too, probably the last great Kinks album (although I liked Sleepless Night quite a bit), and the story really holds together well. I will have to go listen to it for the first time in at least 10 years.
"Ducks on the Wall" is outstanding: "I love ya baby but I can't ball/When I see those ducks on the wall"
This is a man on the verge
4 - Lanny
as always the kinks albums of the early 70's to late 70's were not accepted by the big wigs in the rock world at that time...I bought soap opera hot off the racks in l975, loved it then and still love it....especially HOLIDAY ROMANCE and YOU CANT STOP THE MUSIC...closly followed by YOU MAKE IT ALL WORTHWHILE and DUCKS ON THE WALL.......God save the kinks....look for RAY DAVIES new solo cd coming VERY SOON !!!!!!!!!!!
5 - Mark Saleski
...probably the last great Kinks album
i dunno, i still think Give The People What They Want is pretty good.
6 - Eric Olsen
Mark, ah, but is it great? I like it too, btw
7 - Mark Saleski
well, i think it is...but i think of the Kinks of the last big Kinks resurgence as different from the earlier eras (much like very early Bee Gees is different from the disco Bee Gees)
8 - Jon
I need to revisit it, but it was never a favorite of mine. I do think State of Confusion, Sleepwalker & Word of Mouth are pretty good records, as is Give the People What They Want - any record with Better Things on it is instantly pretty good - and there's quite a few other gems on that record, "Art Lover", "Killer's Eyes", etc.
9 - Al Barger
As to "last great Kinks album," I must put in a plug for their big comeback breakthrough Low Budget. It's probably not quite up with this Soap Opera, but what is, really?
10 - Liam
All Kinks albums are great. I cant really pick a favorite but Soap opera is up there.Schoolboys in disgrace doesnt get its due either but i would highly recommend it and the great lost kinks album.
11 - Chris
Other under-rated Kinks albums from that era are the Preservation Act One and Two albums. The studio side of the Everybody's A Star double album also has some gems.
12 - godoggo
Was the term "vaudeville" ever used in England? I know I brought it up a while back, but I was quoting a Yank.
Never liked the Kinks that much.
13 - Al Barger
"Music hall" is the term I've seen used for the English equivalents of our vaudeville. I'm probably Americanizing the terms, plus I don't recall ever seeing Davies ever specifically acknowledge any of that connection.
14 - Eric Olsen
yes, music hall is the Brit term
the Kinks definitely had some killer songs after this, most of which have been mentioned, but I think Ray sort of became a self-parody and way too jokey
15 - bruce
Ray Davies is the most undrated song writer of all time. He's a poet, comedian, commentator, satirists etc.. thank God he still is writing and performing. Today, we are surrounded by so many mundane entertainers and bands that put out mindless music without melodies (because writing a melody is hard to do) and they get so much recgonition. Thank God for Ray and Soap Opera and everything else. Can you believe that Celluiod Heroes has not been on any Hollywood movie sound track ?
16 - Stephen Larrivee
Celluloid Heroes should now and forever be the theme music for the Oscars....Soap Opera was and still is great..but for the last GREAT KINKS album...Must be Phobia since that was the last album they did and God knows they all are great....
17 - Dan Young
All of Ray Davies' work can easily be connected to the British dance hall tradition. We all build on the past.
As a pro trumpeter attending college in the early 70's, I thought The Kink's work on the Preservation albums, School Boys and Soap Opera were (and are) total works of art. I was fortunate to attend a few Kinks concerts during the 1970's.
You can never have too many horns.
Dan Young
Pleasure Point Horns
18 - Kevin Coleman
I wrote this in 2000 on a Kinks web site:
(19.03.2000)
When I first bought the CD, I listened to it once and threw it on the pile of thrity other Kink CDs. However Soap Opera grew on me. You neglect to mention the drinking songs. Think about it, everybody DOES have problems. OK, DON'T stop and think, just have another drink! It says much about Ray's view of "uninteresting". But he comes up with a very Joseph Campbell philosophy, everybody is a star. One of my favorites now.
19 - Tim Brown
I was at Ritchie Coliseum (UM) in 1975 when the Kinks presented the "Soap Opera" live on stage. It was my first Kinks concert (I don't miss them on any tour that brings them to DC), and it was the one I will always remember. The stage was divided by curtains down the middle. On one side was the Soap Opera set,the other was the Kinks side. Ray would alternate between the two sides while playing out (musically and with an actress/singer) the Soap Opera songs, and playing the Kink's hits on the other side. The arena was very small, and we were able to stand right up in front of the stage and watch in amazement. It was truly a spectacular evening that this Kinks fan will never forget.
20 - martin kalin
This album works as a soundtrack. I think it can only be appreciated if you saw the Soap Opera show live. Many Kinks purists believe the RCA years were the Kinks weak period. Muswell Hillbillies from 1971 and 1975's Schoolboys In Disgrace were their only two good albums from this era; though Soap does have scattered gems. Sleepwalker is largely regarded as their return to being a rock band. It's also a much better album than Soap Opera.
--MK
21 - Jonas Lindblad
I have followed Kinks since YRGM, and always loved them and still do. The problem with Kinks,is that they never have been regarded as an album band. The promotion of the albums have always been very poor. It seems that the different recordcompanies never really believed in the albums and never gave them a fair chance.
I have liked Soap Opera from the beginning. I must have been the only one who bought it in Sweden at this time! I never had the chance to see it live. They never toured with Soap Opera in Sweden.
All Kinks albums are good, also their weakest ones. Áll of them do at least have two or three classic songs.
The last great Kinks album must be Phobia. It is their latest and very underrated!
22 - DL
I've loved the Soap Opera album - not to mention Schoolboys In Disgrace! - ever since I heard it for the first time, some 13 years ago or so. This review was the best I've read about it (so far).
Fellow swede Jonas: Phobia is - in places - phenomenal! I saw them in Aalborg during that tour.
The To The Bone album is another favourite of mine.
23 - Al Barger
DL- Thank you so much. I felt some measure of unworthiness to do justice by such a great record, but I tried to break it down as best I could.
Martin, you're wrong there. I never had any opportunity to see the Soap Opera live presentation at all, and I've been hooked on this for a quarter century anyway. This is an outstanding collection of songs.
You probably do need to hear the whole album to fully appreciate the first couple of songs setting it up. However, for all the high concept, most of these songs actually make perfectly good independent sense. You could just pluck the "Rush Hour Blues" out and plunk it into a mix CD with little loss of meaning.
I must express total jealousy of Tim Brown though, for getting to see the thing in full effect on stage. Must have been SWEET.
24 - Steve Vercelli
I stumbled across Soap Opera on 8-track (!) in a bargain bin in 1978, a few months after "discovering" the Kinks via "Misfits". I was more than pleasantly surprised! But I was UNPLEASANTLY surprised that the reviewer failed to mention one of my personal favorites, "Underneath the Neon Sign". One of my favorite lines:
'Electronic nature made by man with robots in mind.'
Listen again. Closer. You missed one!!!
25 - Al Barger
Mr Vercelli, my bad. "Underneath the Neon Sign" might be regarded as something of a sunspot. It's a really good song surrounded by absolutely GREAT ones in the album, so I apologize for not having given it proper weight.
I'm probably something like 15 years past having anything on which to actually play it, but I still have my original 8-track of the album right here at hand. I've saved only maybe half a dozen of those, but this one definitely has particular sentimental value to me.