Muswell Hillbillies

Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English {{safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst-infobox||$params=italic_title,name,type,longtype,artist,cover,border,alt,caption,released,recorded,venue,studio,genre,length,language,label,director,producer,compiler,chronology,prev_title,prev_year,year,next_title,next_year,misc|$extra=italic_title,longtype,border,caption,language,director,compiler,chronology,year,misc|$aliases=italic title>italic_title,Italic title>italic_title,Name>name,Type>type,image>cover,Cover>cover,Border>border,Alt>alt,Caption>caption,Longtype>longtype,Artist>artist,Released>released,Recorded>recorded,Venue>venue,Studio>studio,Genre>genre,Length>length,Language>language,Label>label,Director>director,Producer>producer,Compiler>compiler,Chronology>chronology,Misc>misc|$flags=override|$B={{#ifeq:{{#invoke:Is infobox in lead|main|[Ii]nfobox [Aa]lbum}}|true|{{#if:Template:Has short description | |{{#if: Template:Start date | Template:Short description}}}}}}{{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Category handlerTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox album with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y|italic_title |type |name |image |cover |border |alt |caption |longtype |artist |released |recorded |venue |studio |genre |length |language |label |director |producer |compiler |prev_title|prev_year|next_title|next_year|chronology|year|misc}}{{#if:{{#invoke:String|match|error_category=Music infoboxes with Module:String errors|A|1=Percy1971Everybody's in Show-Biz1972studioMuswell HillbilliesThe Kinks - Muswell Hillbillies.jpgthe KinksTemplate:Start dateAugust–October 1971Morgan, LondonTemplate:HlistTemplate:DurationRCARay DaviesThe Kinks UKx|2=</?t[drh][ >]|nomatch=}}|Template:Main other}}Template:Main other}}

Muswell Hillbillies is the tenth studio album by the English rock group the Kinks. Released on 24 November 1971, it was the band's first album released through RCA Records. The album is named after the Muswell Hill area of North London, where band leader Ray Davies and guitarist Dave Davies grew up and the band formed in the early 1960s.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

The album introduces a number of working class figures and the stresses with which they must contend. It did not sell well but received critical acclaim and lasting fan appreciation.

Recording

Muswell Hillbillies was the band's first album for RCA Records,<ref name="Allmusic Muswell"/> their prior recordings having been released on Pye Records (Reprise Records in the United States). Their contract with Pye/Reprise expired the same year. The album was recorded between August and October 1971 at Morgan Studios, London, using a new brass section, the Mike Cotton Sound, which included Mike Cotton on trumpet, John Beecham on trombone and tuba, and Alan Holmes on clarinet.<ref name="Allmusic Muswell"/>

Reception

The album was not a commercial success (it failed to chart in the United Kingdom and peaked at No. 100 in the US<ref name="Chart">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>), and its sales were a disappointment following the success of Lola the previous year. Stereo Review magazine called the poor-selling record "album of the year" in 1972 (even though it was released on 24 November 1971). In the 1984 Rolling Stone Album Guide, Rolling Stone editors gave the album five stars out of five and called it Davies' "signature statement" as a songwriter. In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the album a wide-ranging collection of Ray Davies compositions which focus on the tensions and frustrations of modern life.<ref name="Allmusic Muswell">{{#ifeq: | yes | https://www.allmusic.com/album/r812945{{

 #if: review
 | /review
 }}

| {{#if: r812945

 | {{#if: Stephen Thomas Erlewine
   | {{#if: |[[{{{author-link}}}|Stephen Thomas Erlewine{{#if: |, {{{first}}} }}]]|Stephen Thomas Erlewine{{#if: |, {{{first}}} }}}}. 
   }}[https://www.allmusic.com/album/r812945{{
   #if: review
   | /review
   }} {{
   #if: "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies > Review"
   | "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies > Review"
   | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
   }}] at AllMusic{{
   #if: 9 November 2011
   | . Retrieved 9 November 2011.
   }}

 | {{#if: {{#property:P1728}}
   | Template:First word {{#if: "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies > Review" | "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies > Review" | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

   | {{#if: {{#property:P1729}}
     | Template:First word {{#if: "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies > Review" | "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies > Review" | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

     | {{#if: {{#property:P1730}}
       | Template:First word {{#if: "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies > Review" | "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies > Review" | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

       | {{#if: {{#property:P1994}}
         | Template:First word {{#if: "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies > Review" | "The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies > Review" | Template:PAGENAMEBASE }} at AllMusicTemplate:EditAtWikidata

         | Template:Main other

         }}
       }}
     }}
   }}
 }}

}}</ref>

Re-releases

The album was reissued on CD in 1998 with two previouslн unreleased bonus tracks: "Mountain Woman" and "Kentucky Moon".<ref>Muswell Hillbillies 1998 CD liner notes</ref>

A remastered deluxe edition of Muswell Hillbillies was released in the UK on 7 October 2013, with a bonus CD of alternate takes, and BBC recordings all remastered by Andrew Sandoval and Dan Hersch.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

On 10 November 2014, the album was reissued in the United States as CD/DVD Legacy Edition. The CD featured 9 bonus tracks, most of which were taken from the 2013 deluxe edition, while the DVD featured promotional TV performances from the era (previously released in the UK on The Kinks at the BBC box set).

In 2022 Muswell Hillbillies was remastered and reissued with 3 previously unreleased bonus tracks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Muswell Hillbillies 2022 CD liner notes</ref>

Artwork

The front cover picture was taken by Rod Shone in the Archway Tavern, a pub in Archway (more than two miles away from Muswell Hill). The back insert picture, showing the band below a signpost giving directions to Muswell Hill, was taken on the small traffic island at the intersection of Castle Yard and Southwood Lane in Highgate.

Track listing

• Tracks 1, 3, 5 recorded on 20 Sep 1971
• Tracks 2, 6 recorded on 16 Oct 1971
• Tracks 4, 9 recorded Aug–Sep 1971
• Tracks 7, 8 recorded on 6 Oct 1971
• Track 10 recorded Sep 1971
• Tracks 11-13 recorded at BBC John Peel Sessions, 16 May 1972
• All tracks are in stereo except 7, 11-13 in Mono; Tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10 are previously unreleased<ref>Muswell Hillbillies 2013 CD liner notes</ref>

Personnel

Track numbering refers to CD and digital releases of the album.

The Kinks

• Ray Davies – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, resonator guitar
• Dave Davies – lead guitar, slide guitar, banjo, backing vocals
• John Dalton – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Mick Avory – drums, percussion
• John Gosling – piano (acoustic and electric), Hammond organ, accordion

Additional personnel

• Mike Cotton – trumpet
• John Beecham – trombone, tuba
• Alan Holmes – saxophone, clarinet
• Vicki Brown – backing vocals on tracks 4 and 9
• Ken Jones – harmonica on track 7
• Mike Bobak – engineer<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

• Richard Edwards – engineer