The record label has never been known to be an artist’s best friend. The men with the money and the various budgets might seem enticing when first signing that record contract, but the fine print of all that paperwork does tend to bite musicians in the ass, especially when it comes to the royalties they are getting paid. While most artists on any roster would be too afraid to attack their label, The Kinks put their grievances at the centre of their music.
At the time, The Kinks were known as one of the grittier answers to The Beatles. Coming out during the prime of the British Invasion, Ray Davies had assembled a snarling answer to traditional rock and roll, with his brother Dave turning his riffs for ‘You Really Got Me’ and ‘All Day and All of the Night’ into the beginnings of hard rock.
Between the thousands of songs that Davies was working on, though, he began looking inward as a songwriter. Throughout projects like Something Else or The Village Green Preservation Society, Davies became interested in telling songs with in-depth stories, like the tale of a couple frolicking in the English sun on ‘Waterloo Sunset’.
At the same time, Davies began to see how the sausage was made in the music industry. Since The Doors had come under fire for ripping the band off on their single ‘Hello I Love You’, the legal side of music and how the money rolls in stuck with Davies when crafting songs for their album Lola vs. Powerman.
Written as a tongue-in-cheek concept album, every song on the project is about a different grievance from being a member of the entertainment industry. While the album might be widely known for the smash single ‘Lola’, songs like ‘Top of the Pops’ and ‘Denmark Street’ have more to do with the business mindset that goes into one’s art, making the artist seem like a machine that’s supposed to spit out as much product as they can.
While the lyrics may have been meant as a satirical look at what the music business is like, for the uninitiated, the most biting commentary doesn’t come from anything that Davies sings. Fluctuating musical styles throughout every song, the music tells the story for him, sounding like a chipper version of something heard in a late-night infomercial than anything hard rock.
When it does go for the throat on songs like ‘Rats’, Davies doesn’t pull any of his punches for his label, talking about the scum of the Earth who are looking to do whatever it takes to make sure they succeed, with morals usually taking a back seat. Paul McCartney may have alluded to these financial troubles in Beatles songs like ‘You Never Give Me Your Money’, but Davies cut to the chase and let everyone know that everything is not what it seems for the average rock star.
Although Davies could have come under fire and marginalised by the music industry, the album would become a precursor for his fellow rockstars. Picking up where Davies had left off, artists like Tom Petty were inspired to talk about how hard it is to keep the money-hungry part of the music industry in line on The Last DJ. For all of the accolades that might come with being a famous musician, Lola vs Powerman and the Moneygoround is the kind of album that every aspiring rock star should study before they sign that fateful contract.
