Percy

by The Kinks

Overview

Ray Davies and company had already participated in one failed television musical when the movie Percy came along -- it wasn't as original as Arthur, nor did Davies have nearly as much to do with its creation, but he still outdid himself given the material at hand. Directed and co-produced by Ralph Thomas, who had been responsible for some brilliant thrillers (The Clouded Yellow, Above Us the Waves) and very popular comedies (Doctor in the House) in past decades, Percy was the story of the world's first penis transplant (it was probably inspired, or at least justified, by big-budget efforts of the period like Myra Breckinridge). Although virtually unseen in the United States, it was still popular enough to yield a sequel (Percy's Progress), but its real impact came from its soundtrack. Davies wrote some hauntingly beautiful ballads and some solid blues and country as well -- "God's Children" and "Animals in the Zoo" have turned up on some career anthologies, but there's a lot more to Percy than those two tracks. "Completely" is as fine a slow blues as the band ever recorded, with a sizzling performance by Dave Davies, and "Dreams" is a pretty solid rocker, even up alongside "Animals in the Zoo." To this day the album has never appeared in the U.S. catalog -- recorded at the tail end of their contract with Pye Records in England and Warner/Reprise in America, and connected with a movie that was never going to see much exposure in the U.S.A., Reprise passed on it at the time. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	11/25/2022
Label:	Sanctuary
UPC:	4050538815139
Rank:	68468

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Kinks   Primary Artist
Mick Avory   Drums,Percussion
John Dalton   Bass,Guitar (Bass),Vocals (Background)
John Gosling   Keyboards
Ray Davies   Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica,Keyboards,Guitar (Rhythm)
Stanley Myers   Conductor
Dave Davies   Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica,Keyboards,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

The Kinks   Composer
Ray Davies   Composer,Producer
Mike Butcher   Engineer
Mike Bobak   Engineer
Mal Luker   Engineer
Stanley Myers   Orchestral Arrangements
Peter Doggett   Liner Notes
Russell Smith   Research
Doug Hinman   Research