Sparkling English songwriting opening with David Watts. This song reminds me of Billy Hunt by the Jam and it no doubt no doubt influenced their future direction. The beauty of the Kinks for me is their simplicity of lyric and music. Harry Rag (fag, a cigarette) is one such case and despite the emergence of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band at this time, the Kinks stick to their knitting. The album goes a bit Sgt. Pepper in fact in the middle with Dave Davis’ Love me till the sun shines’ which is followed by ‘Lazy old sun’ but it gets back to its best with ‘Afternoon Tea’.
Lyrically rich throughout, this album builds to Waterloo Sunset. Surely one of the finest single tracks ever written. For someone who has walked over Waterloo bridge hundreds and hundreds of times from the station, though usually at sunrise, this reminds me always of my happy times in London. Special mention too for the lyrics as someone who worked on Saville Row, for ‘End of the season’.
Favourite Track – Waterloo Sunset
Rating – 7.7
Released – October 1967