Preview the Kinks’ ‘Lola Versus Powerman’ 50th Anniversary Set with a 2020 Remaster of ‘Lola’

On Dec. 18, the Kinks will release a special 50th anniversary edition of Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One, the famed band‘s eighth studio album.

Originally released in 1970, Lola features the title track and “Apeman,” and was a critical and commercial success for the band despite being a concept album pointing a satirical angle on the music industry.

Watch the video now for the new 2020 remaster of the song 'Lola', taken from the forthcoming 50th anniversary album re-issue – https://t.co/2qODpzXYAr pic.twitter.com/idvDx5ffr7

— The Kinks (@TheKinks) November 25, 2020

On Wednesday, the Kinks shared a preview of the set in the form of a 2020 remaster of “Lola,” complete with a comic book-style lyric video:

Click here to pre-order the Lola Versus Powerman CD from our Rock Cellar Store
Click here to pre-order the Deluxe 2-CD of Lola Versus Powerman from our Rock Cellar Store
Click here to pre-order the LP version of Lola Versus Powerman from our Rock Cellar Store
Click here to pre-order the Lola Versus Powerman Deluxe Box Set from our Rock Cellar Store

The new take on “Lola” follows a previous share of a “Powerman” remaster:

Along with the original announcement came Ray Davies’ 2020 mix of “The Follower/Any Time,” which you can hear below:

More on this pre-release track, per a news release:

Originally written by Ray as a possible B-side for “Apeman”, “Any Time” includes previously unreleased versions and excerpts of several Kinks tracks from the Lola album as well as added spoken word and sound effects. It is a concept piece about which Ray states “The isolation caused by Coronavirus can give people time to re-evaluate the world and re-assess their lives. Music can comfort the lonely, transcend time and it’s not the future or the past, yesterday, today or tomorrow. It’s anytime”. He adds, “I saw a way of making this unreleased 1970s track connect to an audience in 2020. I also saw a way of showing that music can time-travel, that memory is instantaneous and therefore can join us in the ‘now’. I put this together as something surreal then realized that it was really happening. The song has found its place – after its 50th Birthday!”

Said Ray Davies in a statement, looking back on the record:

“The album is a celebration of artistic freedom (including my own) and the right for anyone to be gender free if one wishes. The secret is to be a good and trusting person and friend.”

Here’s a look into the Deluxe Box Set edition of the Lola reissue: