2000 Great Songs #1370: Johnny Thunder

The Kinks' 1968 masterpiece, Village Green Preservation Society, is one of the most-played records in my collection, yet this is only our second visit to the album. (Third if you count "Days," but since that wasn't included on the version of the LP I first owned, I've always considered it a part of the mass of wonderful non-album tracks from the era.) Aside from the delightful title track, I tend to hear the rest of the album as a whole, so it's always been hard for me to pick favorites. I mean, songs like "Picture Book" and "Big Sky" are fantastic stand-alone tracks, but, still, it's so hard to single anything out. 

Yet I've always had a weird fascination with "Johnny Thunder"; maybe it's the odd, childlike la-la-las, or Ray's strained delivery. But I think it's just the closest thing the album has to a straight pop/rock song. At the time I bought Village Green back in high school, I knew the band for their early 60s singles and late 70s return to hard rock, so stumbling across this quiet, thoughtful album came as quite a surprise; "Johnny Thunder" was a little closer to familiar ground, but it's still part of the unique Ray Davies character-based storytelling that makes the album such a wonder. (Hell, Davies even brought him back for a sequel, "One Of The Survivors," on 1973's Preservation Act 1.)

Ray Davies, live 2018:

Chris Richards cover:

Somewhat disconcerting cover version:

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