The Kinks - Four More Respected Gentlemen (1969)

There is a lot of mystery about this album, as no-one seems to know why it was recorded or why it was never released. The songs were mostly written in 1968 and recorded in early 1969, just after the release of 'The Village Green Preservation Society' album, and it's rumoured that once Reprise got their hands on the completed songs they kept them as collateral in case the band defaulted on their contract and refused to deliver any new material. These were the fifteen songs that were delivered to Reprise, but in the end they dropped the last four before cutting acetates of the eleven track album.

Track Listing

01 She's Got Everything
02 Monica
03 Mr. Songbird
04 Johnny Thunder
05 Polly
06 Days
07 Animal Farm
08 Berkeley Mews
09 Picture Book
10 Phenomenal Cat
11 Misty Water
12 Autumn Almanac
13 Did You See His Name
14 There Is No Life Without Love
15 Susannah's Still Alive

These were the fifteen songs that were delivered to Reprise, but in the end they dropped the last four before cutting acetates of the eleven track album. No final masters were ever made, and no cover artwork was completed, although I did manage to find this cover online, and it looks pretty good, so it could be the one that Ray Davies rejected.