In a parallel universe, ‘Mr. Songbird’ made it onto the final tracklist of The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. It would have been the seventh song on there out of 12, and it would have been loved and appreciated by all as the album was commercially successful and went straight to number one in many countries. It didn’t happen that way over here though. In fact, the complete opposite happened. The track was actually to be on a 12-track version of the album that planned for release in Europe, but main songwriter Ray Davies persisted that more work had to be done. In the end, the album came out on the same day as The Beatles’ White Album, with 15 tracks and no sign of ‘Songbird’ on there. It didn’t do very well commercially too.

So ‘Songbird’ was something of a rarity for years before it was released as a bonus track on a release of Village Green in 2004. Bit of a shame as, like the 15 tracks that made it on the original release, it contains just as great a melody in the vocals and instrumental elements. Its subject matter also aligns with the overall theme of the album. Nature and nostalgia. Ray Davies tells the listener about a bird that provides him the comfort and enthusiasm to wake up and start a new day with its singing. The mellotron plays the role of the bird here, answering Davies’ “Sing Mr. Songbird” plea with a little trill.

Apart from the mellotron and Davies’ vocals which are clearly meant to be the main focus in the track judging by how predominant in the mix, Pete Quaife also plays his role on the melodic side of it all with his bass. I particularly like that walk down he performs about a minute and a half in. Vilagge Green was the last album he played on as a member of The Kinks, and Davies himself admits that things weren’t the same once he departed. The overall swing feel to the track is another plus in my eyes. And I swear there are these female ‘ooh’ backing vocals at some points too, but they’re really really quiet in the mix. There’s quite a bit to look out for when listening to this one, so I’ll leave it in your hands. Or ears. Whichever one makes more sense.