"Autumn Almanac" is a song written by

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter for the Rock music, rock band the Kinks, which he led, with his younger brother Dave Davies, Dave pro ...

and recorded by the

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

group

the Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in London in 1963 by brothers Ray Davies, Ray and Dave Davies, and Pete Quaife. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British ...

in 1967. "Autumn Almanac" has since been noted for being an "absolute classic", "a finely observed slice of English custom", and a "weird character study", and praised for its "mellow, melodic sound that was to characterize the Kinks' next usicalphase..." Some have placed this and other Davies compositions in the

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

- Romantic tradition of the poetry of

Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication '' Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ...

, among others. In his 1995 autobiography ''X-Ray'' and in subsequent performances of his ''

VH1 Storytellers ''Storytellers'' is a television music series produced by the VH1 network. In each episode, artists perform in front of a (mostly small and intimate) live audience, and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories, somewhat ...

'' effort, Davies described the song as being inspired by a local hunch-backed gardener in his native

Muswell Hill Muswell Hill is a suburban district of the London Borough of Haringey, north London. The hill, which reaches over above sea level, is situated north of Charing Cross. Neighbouring areas include Highgate, London, Highgate, Hampstead Garden ...

neighbourhood of North London. "Autumn Almanac" was a non-album single in between 1967's '' Something Else by the Kinks'' and 1968's ''

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 music, rock band the Kinks. Released on 22November 1968, ''Village Green'' was a modest seller, but it was lauded by contemporary critics f ...

''. The song was a big success in the UK, reaching #3 on the singles chart, but not in the US, where it failed to chart on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

. Like many recordings of the mid-to-late 1960s, "Autumn Almanac" was released in both mono and

stereo Stereophonic sound, commonly shortened to stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configurat ...

versions. The mono version was released as a single and appears as a bonus track on the 1998 CD reissue of ''Something Else by The Kinks'' as well as most compilations. The stereo version, which is ten seconds longer and features more psychedelic audio effects such as a

tape loop In music, tape loops are loops of magnetic tape used to create repetitive, rhythmic musical patterns or dense layers of sound when played on a tape recorder. Originating in the 1940s with the work of Pierre Schaeffer, they were used among ...

during the fadeout, appears on the 1972 compilation '' The Kink Kronikles'' as well as the deluxe 2-CD reissue of ''Something Else''. Kink's guitarist Dave Davies spoke highly of "Autumn Almanac" in an interview with ''

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'', saying, "I was playing through 'Autumn Almanac' ecentlyand it’s a phenomenal recording. You can understand why it has lasted so long." English singer-songwriter Damon Albarn named the song as likely his favorite Kinks song in a 1995 interview, stating, "I think '

Dead End Street A dead end, also known as a ''cul-de-sac'' (; , ), a no-through road or a no-exit road, is a street with only one combined inlet and outlet. Dead ends are added to roads in urban planning designs to limit traffic in residential areas. Some d ...

' and 'Autumn Almanac' are my favourites. Primarily because there are so many bits to them and they’re so graphic. I could pick at least 20, but off the top of my head those are my favourites. 'Autumn Almanac' is probably my favourite."

Personnel

According to band researcher Doug Hinman: The Kinks *

lead vocal, acoustic guitar * Dave Davies backing vocal, electric guitar *

Pete Quaife Peter Alexander Greenlaw Quaife (born Kinnes; 31 December 1943 – 23 June 2010) was an English musician, artist and author. He was a founding member and the original bassist for the Kinks, from 1963 until 1969. He also sang backing vocals on s ...

backing vocal, bass *

Mick Avory Michael Charles Avory (born 15 February 1944) is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the English rock band the Kinks. He joined them shortly after their formation in 1964 and remained with them until 1984 ...

drums Additional musicians *Rasa Davies backing vocals *

Nicky Hopkins Nicholas Christian Hopkins (24 February 1944 – 6 September 1994) was an English pianist and organist. He performed on many popular and enduring British and American rock music recordings from the 1960s to the 1990s, including on songs recorde ...

piano,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

Notes

References

Sources

* * {{authority control The Kinks songs 1967 singles Songs written by Ray Davies Song recordings produced by Ray Davies Pye Records singles 1967 songs Reprise Records singles Baroque pop songs