Another Week Another Vinyl: The Kinks: Are the Village Green Preservation Society

This past week at the record store, I was like a kid in a candy shop. There was a tremendous amount of amazing albums to choose from, and the only thing holding me back from my insatiable desire to purchase every album in the store was the lack of cash in my pocket. Despite that minuscule problem holding me back I still managed to pick up three stellar albums: The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, ELP Tarkus and Neil Young Harvest. It’s hard to do better than that on one trip!

When I saw the The Kinks record I was nearly floored in excitement - I’m not sure quite sure why, but for some reason I was really hungering for that album. As I picked it up I immediately assumed the price tag would be out of my range, but it turned out to only be $8. I examined the record and it look pristine. The jacket was a little worn, but the vinyl itself looked like it could have been printed yesterday. With such a cheap price I felt like a kid who stuffed twenty gumballs in his mouth when approaching the counter at a candy store - trying to conceal the wrongdoings but at the same time simply exploiting the flaws of the store. Was the price wrong? I doubt it, considering the title of the album was right on the tag, but it just seemed too good to be true.

Soon after exiting the store I was blasting this vintage Kinks record that played without a hiss or crack. I don’t know the true value of this record, especially considering the amazing condition, but I would be astonished if it was anywhere under twenty dollars. Quite honestly I would think it’s worth more like forty, but I am far from being a vinyl collecting expert.