View source for Four More Respected Gentlemen

{{Short description|Unreleased album by the Kinks}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2013}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Four More Respected Gentlemen
| type       = studio
| longtype   = (unreleased)
| artist     = [[the Kinks]]
| cover      = Harry Goodwin's 1968 photo of the Kinks.png
| alt        = A black-and-white photograph of the four Kinks standing around a tree. The image is close-up on their faces as they all look in different directions. A caption on the image says "The Kinks Days Out Now!"
| caption    = For the [[album cover]], Reprise planned to use [[Harry Goodwin]]'s June{{nbsp}}1968 photograph of the Kinks, which ''[[NME]]'' published in its {{nowrap|6 July 1968}} issue (''pictured'').{{sfn|Hinman|2004|p=116}}
| released   =
| recorded   = *Late{{nbsp}}1967{{snd}}June{{nbsp}}1968
*(except February{{nbsp}}1966 for "[[She's Got Everything (The Kinks song)|She's Got Everything]]")
| venue      = 
| studio     = [[Pye Studios|Pye]], London
| genre      = [[Rock music|Rock]]
| length     = 
| label      = [[Reprise Records|Reprise]]
| producer     = *[[Ray Davies]]
*[[Shel Talmy]]
| chronology = [[The Kinks]] recording
| prev_title = [[Something Else by the Kinks]]
| year       = 1967–1968
| prev_year  = 1967
| next_title = [[The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society]]
| next_year  = 1968
| misc       = {{Singles
 | name        = Four More Respected Gentlmen
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Days (The Kinks song)|Days]]" / "[[She's Got Everything (The Kinks song)|She's Got Everything]]
 | single1date = 24 July 1968
}}
}}

'''''Four More Respected Gentlemen''''' is an unreleased album by the English [[Rock music|rock]] band [[the Kinks]]. The project arose out of the band's different American contract schedule, which obligated them to submit a new LP to [[Reprise Records]] in June{{nbsp}}1968. As the band continued recording their next album, released later in the year as ''[[The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society]]'', bandleader [[Ray Davies]] submitted fifteen completed master tapes to Reprise. The label planned to issue the LP in the US in November{{nbsp}}1968 but abandoned the project only a month beforehand for unclear reasons.

Reprise initially expected to include twelve tracks on ''Four More Respected Gentlemen'', but later resequenced it to have eleven. The eleven tracks were mostly recorded between late{{nbsp}}1967 and June{{nbsp}}1968 and are generally fast rock songs. Davies later stated that he intended the album to satirise English social etiquette, though commentators dispute his characterisation. Following Reprise's abandonment of the album, its songs were spread across several subsequent releases, including ''Village Green'' and the US compilation albums ''[[The Kink Kronikles]]'' (1972) and ''[[The Great Lost Kinks Album]]'' (1973). Work on the LP did not proceed beyond the [[White label record|white-label test-pressing]] stage. As of 2000, only two test pressings are known to exist.

== Background ==
In September{{nbsp}}1967, English rock band [[the Kinks]] issued their fifth UK studio album ''[[Something Else by the Kinks]]''. Following the album's release, the band began stockpiling numerous recordings for later use without knowing when or in what format they would be released.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|pp=104, 110}} Bandleader [[Ray Davies]] initially thought about making a solo LP, but as recording sessions persisted into June{{nbsp}}1968, his idea evolved into plans for the Kinks' next studio album. At that time, the band's UK label, [[Pye Records]], expected to issue their next album during that year's Christmas season.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|pp=115, 116}} The new project was initially given the [[working title]] ''Village Green'' before being re-titled ''[[The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society]]'' in August{{nbsp}}1968.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|pp=115, 118}}

During the 1960s, differences in the royalty structures of the American and British markets meant US labels typically resequenced albums to have fewer tracks than their British counterparts.{{sfn|Ward|2019|loc=chap. 2}} The Kinks had unique contract schedules for each country which required them to release albums at different times and tailored for each market.<ref>{{harvnb|Hinman|2004|pp=115, 116}}; {{harvnb|Doggett|1998}}.</ref> By June{{nbsp}}1968, as sessions for ''Village Green'' continued, the band were contractually obligated to immediately submit a finished LP to their US label, [[Reprise Records]].{{sfn|Hinman|2004|pp=115, 116}}

== History ==
=== June{{nbsp}}1968: Initial plans ===

In the first week of June{{nbsp}}1968, Davies selected fifteen finished recordings to send to Reprise to fulfill the Kinks' contractual obligation. After several [[monoaural|mono]] tracks were [[Audio mixing|mixed]] for [[Stereophonic audio|stereo]], the company entered them into their tape vault on {{nowrap|20 June 1968}}.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|pp=115, 116}} After learning from the Kinks' management that the band expected to have another album ready by September, Reprise opted to not issue an album immediately but instead scheduled a November{{nbsp}}1968 release.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|p=116}} Of the tapes they received, the label initially only used the mono mixes of "[[Days (The Kinks song)|Days]]" and "[[She's Got Everything (The Kinks song)|She's Got Everything]]", which they issued as a US single on {{nowrap|24 July 1968}}.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|pp=116, 117, 118}}

Rather than include all fifteen tracks, Reprise planned to have twelve songs on the album.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|p=115}} The project was given the working title ''Four More Respected Gentlemen'', a reference to the band's 1965 US hit single "[[A Well Respected Man]]", and a photograph of the band taken by official BBC photographer [[Harry Goodwin]] was slated for the [[album cover]].{{sfn|Hinman|2004|pp=115, 116}}{{refn|group=nb|In [[X-Ray (book)|his 1994 autobiography]], Ray Davies writes the album was going to be called ''Four More Well-Respected Men'',{{sfn|Davies|1995|p=377}} but all other sources refer to it as ''Four More Respected Gentlemen''.<ref>{{harvnb|Schaffner|1982|p=103}}; {{harvnb|Rogan|1984|p=95}}; {{harvnb|Doggett|1998}}; {{harvnb|Neill|2000|p=46}}; {{harvnb|Miller|2003|p=31}}; {{harvnb|Hinman|2004|pp=115, 116, 120}}; {{harvnb|Kitts|2008|p=112}}; {{harvnb|Crawford|2014|pp=22–23}}; {{harvnb|Rogan|2015|p=354}}.</ref>}}

=== October{{nbsp}}1968: Test pressings and cancellation ===

After Reprise made their initial plans for the album in late June{{nbsp}}1968, they took no further action until October{{nbsp}}1968.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|p=115}} At that time, they reduced its planned track listing to eleven songs, began making label-copy sheets for the LP's first pressing and produced several [[White label record|white-label test pressings]] for technical analysis.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|pp=115, 120}}{{refn|group=nb|As of 2000, only two test-pressings are known to exist,{{sfn|Neill|2000|p=46}} both of which were in private collections in 1994.{{sfn|Hinman|Brabazon|1994|p=27}} In a 2000 piece for ''[[Record Collector]]'' magazine, Andy Neill valued a mint test-pressing at over £400 ({{Inflation|UK|400|2000|fmt=eq|r=-1|cursign=£}}).{{sfn|Neill|2000|p=49}}}} Planning continued for the album's cover artwork and the LP was assigned a serial number.<ref>{{harvnb|Hinman|2004|p=120}}: (artwork); {{harvnb|Schaffner|1982|p=103}}: (serial number).</ref>{{refn|group=nb|The album was assigned the catalogue number ''RS 6309''.<ref>{{harvnb|Schaffner|1982|p=103}}; {{harvnb|Neill|2000|p=46}}.</ref>}}

{{quote box|quote= It was long thought that production was halted prior to the manufacture of [[White label record|test pressings]]. However, at least two have come to light in recent years, which strongly suggests the release of [''Four More Respected Gentlemen''] was cancelled at the eleventh hour, in favour of [''[[The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society]]''].{{sfn|Neill|2000|p=46}} |source=– Music writer Andy Neill, 2000 |width=25%|align=right|salign=right|style=padding:8px;}}

Reprise halted work on the album suddenly the same month,{{sfn|Hinman|2004|p=120}} a situation which resulted in confusion for the band's fans.{{sfn|Rogan|2015|p=354}} Adding to the confusion, the ''[[Schwann Catalog|Schwann Long Playing Record Catalog]]'' listed the album in error for several months as part of the Kinks' released discography.<ref>{{harvnb|Hinman|2004|p=120}}; {{harvnb|Schwann|1969|p=237}}.</ref>

Reprise's reasons for cancelling the album are unclear.{{sfn|Marten|Hudson|2007|p=95}} Band biographers offer competing explanations; [[John Mendelsohn (musician)|John Mendelsohn]] suggests Davies stopped the album himself out of an apprehension which stemmed from the poor performance of the band's recent singles.{{sfn|Mendelsohn|1985|p=95}}{{refn|group=nb|"[[Wonderboy (The Kinks song)|Wonderboy]]" (April{{nbsp}}1968) and "[[Days (The Kinks song)|Days]]" (June{{nbsp}}1968) both failed to chart in the US.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|pp=112, 117}} In the UK, "Wonderboy" peaked at {{Numero|36}} on the ''[[Record Retailer]]'' chart and did not appear on ''[[Melody Maker]]''{{'s}} chart,<ref>{{harvnb|Schaffner|1982|p=111}}: (''Record Retailer''); {{harvnb|Hinman|2004|p=112}}: (''Melody Maker'').</ref> thereby ending the band's streak of twelve consecutive top 20 hits.{{sfn|Rogan|1998|p=20}}}} [[Peter Doggett]] writes the label cancelled the album after Davies decided to expand ''Village Green'' from twelve to fifteen songs,{{sfn|Doggett|1998}} and Davies himself later suggested that rather than issue two albums in the US, he wanted to include as many tracks as possible on ''Village Green''.{{sfn|Schaffner|1982|p=103}} Doug Hinman thinks label executives instigated the cancellation after being promised about the quality of ''Village Green'',{{sfn|Hinman|2004|p=120}} while [[Johnny Rogan]] simply writes it was stopped while Reprise waited for ''Village Green''{{'s}} UK release.{{sfn|Rogan|2015|p=354}} The label did not receive ''Village Green''{{'s}} master tapes until 20 December 1968 but made no plans to restart the release of ''Four More Respected Gentlemen''.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|p=120}}

== Content ==

The fifteen songs Davies sent to Reprise range chronologically from "[[Autumn Almanac]]" to "Days", recorded in September{{nbsp}}1967 and May–June 1968, respectively, except for "She's Got Everything", which dates to February{{nbsp}}1966.<ref>{{harvnb|Hinman|2004|pp=105, 107, 112, 117, 119, 121, 142, 161, 170}}: (dates); {{harvnb|Miller|2003|p=31n4}}: (''Four More Respected Gentlemen'' track listing).</ref> Other than "She's Got Everything", the earliest recording on Reprise's eleven-track edition of ''Four More Respected Gentlemen'' may have been "Mr. Songbird", recorded around November{{nbsp}}1967, though "[[Monica (song)|Monica]]" and "[[Phenomenal Cat]]" could date to any time between late{{nbsp}}1967 and May{{nbsp}}1968.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|pp=106, 110, 121}} All of the songs were recorded in the basement studios at Pye Records's London offices.<ref>{{harvnb|Hinman|2004|pp=105, 107, 112, 117, 119, 121, 142, 161, 170}}; {{harvnb|Miller|2003|p=21}}.</ref> Davies produced all of its tracks, except for "She's Got Everything"; though [[Shel Talmy]] produced the song, Reprise credited it to Davies when they issued it as the [[B-side]] to "Days".{{sfn|Hinman|2004|pp=105, 107, 112, 117–119, 121, 142, 161, 170}} Pye's in-house [[Audio engineer|engineer]] Brian Humphries likely remixed several of the mono-only tracks for stereo without Davies's involvement.<ref>{{harvnb|Hinman|2004|p=115}}: (Humphries likely remixed); {{harvnb|Miller|2003|p=21}}: (Pye's in-house engineer).</ref>

{{quote box|quote= [''Four More Respected Gentlemen''] was going to be an LP about manners and things. Table manners. What a joke that all is. The album got mixed in with ''Village Green'' and we decided to finish ''Village Green'' instead. And instead of having two albums, I tried to put as many tracks on one album as possible.{{sfn|Schaffner|1982|p=103}} |source=– [[Ray Davies]], ''[[NME]]'' |width=25%|align=left|salign=right|style=padding:8px;}}

''Four More Respected Gentlemen'' generally includes fast rock numbers, something band biographer [[Andy Miller (writer)|Andy Miller]] thinks Reprise sought to emphasise when editing the album down to eleven tracks.{{sfn|Miller|2003|p=31}} In an interview with ''[[NME]]'',{{sfn|Schaffner|1982|p=103}} Davies stated that he intended the album satirise English social etiquette, table manners and other outdated customs.{{sfn|Rogan|2015|p=354}} Rogan counters that in spite of Davies's comment, none of the eleven tracks planned for the album actually satirise etiquette, something he thinks points to either an abandonment of the original concept or mismanagement of the project by the record label.{{sfn|Rogan|1984|p=95}} Miller writes that despite the track listing's quick and seemingly random assembly, Davies's songwriting thematically reflects his increasing unease over his personal and professional lives; many of the songs deal with methods of escape, whether by running away ("[[Polly (The Kinks song)|Polly]]"), drinking alcohol ("[[Misty Water]]"), listening to music ("Mr. Songbird"), being nostalgic ("[[Picture Book (song)|Picture Book]]"), having [[one-night stand]]s ("[[Berkeley Mews]]") or by committing suicide ("[[Did You See His Name]]").{{sfn|Miller|2003|pp=31–32}}

Following the album's cancellation, Reprise released all of its tracks on ''Village Green'' or one of two US-only [[compilation albums]]: ''[[The Kink Kronikles]]'' (1972) and ''[[The Great Lost Kinks Album]]'' (1973).<ref>{{harvnb|Kitts|2008|p=112}}; {{harvnb|Crawford|2014|p=23}}.</ref>{{refn|group=nb|The five tracks released on ''Village Green'' include "Monica", "Johnny Thunder", "Animal Farm", "Picture Book" and "Phenomenal Cat". The four on ''The Kink Kronikles'' are "She's Got Everything", "Polly", "Days" and "Berkeley Mews". ''The Great Lost Kinks Album'' includes "Misty Water" and "Mr. Songbird".<ref>{{harvnb|Miller|2003|p=31n4}}: (''Four More Respected Gentlemen'' track listing); {{harvnb|Hinman|2004|pp=121, 161, 170}}: (other albums).</ref>}} Reprise began assembling an early version of the latter compilation in 1969 or 1970, at which time they planned to title it ''Four More Respected Gentlemen''.{{sfn|Neill|2000|p=47}} The eventual title ''The Great Lost Kinks Album'' references ''Gentlemen'', though Hinman describes it as misleading since there are only two songs in common between the albums.<ref>{{harvnb|Miller|2003|p=31n4}}: (''Four More Respected Gentlemen'' track listing); {{harvnb|Hinman|2004|p=170}}: (''The Great Lost Kinks Album'' track listing; titled in reference).</ref>
{{clear}}

== Track listing ==

All songs by [[Ray Davies]], except where noted.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|pp=119, 132, 170}}
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

=== Ray Davies's original submission ===

#"[[She's Got Everything (The Kinks song)|She's Got Everything]]"
#"[[Monica (song)|Monica]]"
#"[[Mr. Songbird]]"
#"[[Johnny Thunder (song)|Johnny Thunder]]"
#"[[Polly (The Kinks song)|Polly]]"
#"[[Days (The Kinks song)|Days]]"
#"[[Animal Farm (song)|Animal Farm]]"
#"[[Berkeley Mews]]"
#"[[Picture Book (song)|Picture Book]]"
#"[[Phenomenal Cat]]"
#"[[Misty Water]]"
#"[[Did You See His Name]]"
#"[[Autumn Almanac]]"
#"[[Susannah's Still Alive]]" ([[Dave Davies]])
#"There Is No Life Without Love" (D. Davies){{refn|group=nb|When "There Is No Life Without Love" was released as the B-side to "[[Lincoln County (song)|Lincoln County]]" in 1968, it was credited to Dave and Ray Davies.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|p=119}} On the 2011 compilation album ''[[A Hole in the Sock of (Dave Davies)#Hidden Treasures|Hidden Treasures]]'', it is instead credited to only Dave,{{sfn|Smith|2011|p=23}} and Miller refers to it as a Dave composition.{{sfn|Miller|2003|p=31n4}}}}
{{col-2}}

=== Reprise's planned track listing ===
'''Side one'''
#"She's Got Everything"
#"Monica"
#"Mr. Songbird"
#"Johnny Thunder"
#"Polly"
#"Days"

'''Side two'''
#"Animal Farm"
#"Berkeley Mews"
#"Picture Book"
#"Phenomenal Cat"
#"Misty Water"
{{col-end}}

'''Notes'''
*After Reprise received Davies's fifteen tracks in June{{nbsp}}1968, they planned to remove "Did You See His Name", "Animal Farm" and "Picture Book" to make it a twelve-song LP.{{sfn|Hinman|2004|p=116}} When the label began making test pressings in October{{nbsp}}1968, they instead removed "Did You See His Name", "Autumn Almanac", "[[Susannah's Still Alive]]" and "There Is No Life Without Love".<ref>{{harvnb|Hinman|2004|p=115}}: (October{{nbsp}}1968, eleven); {{harvnb|Miller|2003|p=31n4}}: (eleven, specific tracks).</ref>
*The above listings per Doug Hinman and Andy Miller.<ref>{{harvnb|Hinman|2004|pp=115, 116}}; {{harvnb|Miller|2003|p=31n4}}.</ref> The divisions of side one and two are per author Doug Crawford.{{sfn|Crawford|2014|p=23}}

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=nb|30em}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|20em}}

=== Sources ===
{{Refbegin|35em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book |last1=Crawford |first1=Doug |editor1-last=MacDonald |editor1-first=Bruno |title=The Greatest Albums You'll Never Hear: Unreleased Records by the World's Greatest Musicians |date=2014 |publisher=[[Aurum Press]] |location=London |isbn=978-1-78131-219-3 |pages=22–23 |chapter=Four More Respected Gentlemen |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/greatestalbumsyo0000unse/ |chapter-url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Ray |author1-link=Ray Davies |title=X-Ray: The Unauthorised Autobiography |date=1995 |publisher=Overlook Press |location=Woodstock, New York |isbn=978-0-87951-611-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/xrayunauthorized00davi/ |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite AV media notes |last=Doggett |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Doggett |title=The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society |title-link=The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society |others=[[The Kinks]] |year=1998 |type=Liner notes |publisher=[[Essential Records (Castle)|Essential]] |id=ESM CD 481}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hinman |first1=Doug |last2=Brabazon |first2=Jason |title=You Really Got Me: An Illustrated World Discography of the Kinks, 1964–1993 |date=1994 |publisher=Doug Hinman |location=Rumford, Rhode Island |isbn=978-0-9641005-1-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3jg5AQAAIAAJ}}
* {{cite book |last1=Hinman |first1=Doug |title=The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night: Day-by-Day Concerts, Recordings and Broadcasts, 1961–1996 |date=2004 |publisher=[[UBM Technology Group|Backbeat Books]] |location=San Francisco, California |isbn=978-0-87930-765-3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kitts |first1=Thomas M. |title=Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else |date=2008 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-415-97768-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/raydaviesnotlike0000kitt/ |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Marten |first1=Neville |last2=Hudson |first2=Jeff |title=The Kinks: A Very English Band |date=2007 |publisher=[[Omnibus Press|Bobcat Books]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-8256-7351-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/kinksveryenglish0000mart/ |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Mendelsohn |first1=John |author1-link=John Mendelsohn (musician) |title=The Kinks Kronikles |date=1985 |publisher=Quill |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-688-02983-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/kinkskronikles00mend/ |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Andy |author1-link=Andy Miller (writer) |title=The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society |date=2003 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |series=[[33⅓]] series |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-8264-1498-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1yfUAwAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Neill |first=Andy |title=The Great Lost Kinks Album |magazine=[[Record Collector]] |date=February 2000 |number=246 |pages=46–49 |url=https://archive.org/details/RecordCollectorMagazineNo246-February2000/page/46/}}
* {{cite book |last1=Schaffner |first1=Nicholas |author1-link=Nicholas Schaffner |title=The British Invasion: From the First Wave to the New Wave |date=1982 |publisher=[[McGraw Hill]] |location=New York City |isbn=978-0-07-055089-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qEEUAQAAIAAJ}}
* {{cite book |title=Schwann Long Playing Record Catalog: Monthly Guide to Mono and Stereo Records |date=February 1969 |publisher=[[Schwann Catalog|W. Schwann, Inc.]] |location=Boston |oclc=839154531 |volume=21 |number=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-QUMAQAAMAAJ |ref={{SfnRef|Schwann|1969}}}}
* {{Cite AV media notes |last=Smith |first=Russell |title=Hidden Treasures |others=[[Dave Davies]] |year=2011 |type=Liner notes |publisher=[[Universal Music Group|Universal UMC]] |id=277 765-3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Rogan |first1=Johnny |author1-link=Johnny Rogan |title=The Kinks: The Sound and the Fury |date=1984 |publisher=Elm Tree Books |location=London |isbn=0-241-11308-3}}
* {{cite book |last1=Rogan |first1=Johnny |title=The Complete Guide to the Music of the Kinks |date=1998 |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |location=London |isbn=978-0-7119-6314-6}}
* {{cite book |last1=Rogan |first1=Johnny |title=Ray Davies: A Complicated Life |date=2015 |publisher=[[The Bodley Head]] |location=London |isbn=978-1-84792-317-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/raydaviescomplic0000roga |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ward |first1=Ed |author1-link=Ed Ward (writer) |title=The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock |date=2019 |publisher=[[Flatiron Books]] |location=New York City |isbn=978-1-250-16997-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=baZ_DwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
{{Refend}}

{{The Kinks|state=collapsed}}
{{The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society|state=expanded}}

[[Category:The Kinks albums]]
[[Category:Unreleased albums]]
[[Category:Reprise Records albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Ray Davies]]