The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society is the sixth studio album by the English rock group the Kinks, released in November 1968. It was the last album by the original quartet (Ray Davies, Dave Davies, Pete Quaife, Mick Avory), as bassist Quaife left the group in early 1969. A collection of vignettes of English life, "The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society" was assembled from songs written and recorded over the previous two years. Although the record is widely considered one of the most influential and important works by
The Kinks has since become the Kinks' best-selling original record. The album remains popular; in 2004, it was re-released in a 3-CD "Deluxe" edition and one of its tracks, "Picture Book", was featured in a popular Hewlett-Packard television commercial, helping to boost the album's popularity considerably. In early 1969, Quaife told the band he was leaving. The other members did not take his statement seriously, until an article appeared in "New Musical Express" on 4 April featuring Quaife's new band, Maple Oak, which he had formed without telling the rest of the Kinks. Ray Davies pleaded with him to return for the