New York Times March 15, 2022

The 1970s were not kind to the Kinks. While the band had already transitioned gracefully from their mod-ish British Invasion origins (and the heavy production thumb of Shel Talmy) into something more adventurous and artful with 1968's The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, that masterpiece's two iconic follow-ups (Arthur and Lola) found Ray Davies' weird twin penchants for acidic lyricism and music hall song structures becoming more and more dominant in the group's sound.

The 1970s were not kind to the Kinks. While the band had already transitioned gracefully from their mod-ish British Invasion origins (and the heavy production thumb of Shel Talmy) into something more adventurous and artful with 1968's The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, that masterpiece's two iconic follow-ups (Arthur and Lola) found Ray Davies' weird twin penchants for acidic lyricism and music hall song structures becoming more and more dominant in the group's sound. By the time the 1971 soundtrack to Percy rolled around, U.S. audiences had all but forgotten about the band, who soon found themselves facing the same fate in their native England.