Then Now and Inbetween is a promotionalcompilation album by the English rock band the Kinks. Reprise Records issued the album in July1969 to journalists, radio program directors and disc jockeys in conjunction with the "God Save the Kinks" promotional campaign,[7] which sought to reestablish the Kinks' commercial status in the US after their four-year ban on performing in the country.[8]
In July1965, the Kinks were informally blacklisted from performing in the United States by the American Federation of Musicians.[9] The circumstances that led to the ban are unclear but likely stemmed from several incidents during the band's first US tour;[10][11] bandleader Ray Davies later attributed it to a combination of "bad luck, bad management, [and] bad behaviour".[11][d]
As part of the campaign, Reprise mailed press kits to journalists, radio program directors and disc jockeys. The kits included Then Now and Inbetween and other assorted items, such as guide to the Kinks' recordings and a plastic bag with blades of grass from "Daviesland village green".[18] The compilation album was also available to public via mail order for US$2 (equivalent to $17 in 2023).[19] The album has since become a valued collector's item.[20]
The songs on Then Now and Inbetween range chronologically from July1964 to October1968 and are a mix of Shel Talmy- and Davies-produced recordings.[21] All of the songs were recorded in the basement studios at Pye Records's London offices, except for "You Really Got Me", which was done at IBC Studios in London.[22]
Then Now and Inbetween marked the first inclusion of "Days" on a US LP.[2] It also featured "Berkeley Mews" a year before its first official release, as the UK B-side to the 1970 single "Lola".[23] The Kinks recorded "Berkeley Mews" in early1968 during the sessions for Village Green, but band biographer Andy Miller hypothesises that the band may have overdubbed additional parts for the song in anticipation of its inclusion on Then Now and Inbetween. In particular, he focuses on elements which were generally absent from the band's 1968 work, such as the heavier guitar production and the presence of a saxophone. He suggests the saxophone may have been overdubbed around May or June1969 during the sessions for Arthur (1969), since Dave Davies's song "Mr. Reporter" received a brass overdub around the same time.[1]
Ray Davies – lead vocals, rhythm guitar; piano ("Louie Louie" and "Waterloo Sunset"); Mellotron("Berkeley Mews" and "Sitting by the Riverside");[e] producer (side two, except for "David Watts", "End of the Season" and "Death of a Clown")
Dave Davies – backing vocals, lead guitar; lead vocals ("David Watts")
^Andy Miller hypothesises that the Kinks overdubbed additional parts to "Berkeley Mews" in May or June1969.[1]
^The liner notes describe all songs as "an original Pye Records production",[2] but every track was produced by either Shel TalmyorRay Davies.[3]
^Johnny Rogan writes the single was released in August1969,[4] as do Doug Hinman and Jason Brabazon in their self-published band discography.[5]Village Green's 50th anniversary release includes a replica of the 7" single, with notes printed on its sleeve stating it was originally released in July1969.[6]
Hinman, Doug; Brabazon, Jason (1994). You Really Got Me: An Illustrated World Discography of the Kinks, 1964–1993. Rumford, Rhode Island: Doug Hinman. ISBN978-0-9641005-1-0.
Hinman, Doug (2004). The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night: Day-by-Day Concerts, Recordings and Broadcasts, 1961–1996. San Francisco, California: Backbeat Books. ISBN978-0-87930-765-3.
