Arriving in May, 1974, just six months after PRESERVATION ACT 1, the Kinks' double-album PRESERVATION ACT 2 better represented the scope of Ray Davies's aspirations to extend his creative talent to the arena of musical theater. It begins roughly where ACT 1 ended, with the formerly placid inhabitants of Davies' mythical English country village taking up arms against the sleazy dictator Flash. While Flash represents animal desires given free reign, opposition leader Mr.Black takes advantage of citizens' Puritan desires for good old law and order. As the two demagogues circle each other, the masses quickly become pawns in a political morality play that has little actual political content and no morality to speak of, save for Davies' obvious affection for everyday folks. Musically, PRESERVATION ACT 2 closely follows the style Davies affected in ACT 1. The songs are tightly produced, with close harmonies, a liberal sprinkling of hooks, and a high level of drama. Davies has periodically threatened to turn the entire PRESERVATION into a Broadway show, and this album is a reminder of just how close it was to the time-honored Broadway style even when he first conceived it.
