The Kinks - Preservation Act 1 (2004 Remaster) [SACD]

Preservation was not well-received by critics and sold poorly (peaking on the Billboard 200 at #177), though the live performances of the material were much better received. Many hardcore Kinks fans were alienated by Ray Davies’ melodramatic songwriting during the Preservation project era, resulting in albums that played more like the soundtracks to a piece of musical theatre than rock albums.
However, more recent reviews of Preservation: Act 1 have been more sympathetic to its ambitions. In particular, All Music’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine has declared “Sweet Lady Genevieve” to be the “real candidate for Davies’ forgotten masterpiece”.