1972's Everybody's In Showbiz kicks off with ten new songs, most of which were inspired by RCA's whirlwind press junket after the release of Muswell Hillbillies. To describe the music would be boring because the stars are Ray Davies' lyrics. A few quotes for you:

"Life keeps using me, keeps on abusing me, mentally and physically/ I gotta stay fit, stay alive, need fuel inside, eat food to survive/ Maximum consumption sure keeps running me down." ("Maximum Consumption")

"I said I don't need your fancy cooking/ I like the simple things in life/ Just give me those plain hot potatoes/ And I'll be well satisfied." ("Hot Potatoes")

"You've never seen loos like motorway loos/ Thousands of people passing through/ It's enough to put you off your motorway food/ Motorway food is invariably fried/ It keeps me and feeds me and helps me survive." ("Motorway")

Gee, Ray, get enough to eat on the tour? Of course, Everybody's In Showbiz isn't all hoagies and cream of wheat. It's about the dreams of the have-nots and the downfall of the haves. "Celluloid Heroes", the standout studio cut, is a six- plus minute number about movie stars and the Walk of Fame. It's simple, it's catchy, and I bet the Wallflowers will end up covering it sometime soon. Hear it while you can still associate it with Team Good Music.

The second half of Showbiz is a live show recorded at Carnegie Hall. Along with a whole buncha Kinks songs (most pulled from Muswell Hillbillies, they plow through playful covers of "The Banana Boat Song" and "Baby Face." Shows like this only helped lend creedence to the rumors that these guys loved the sauce (witness Ray's tipsy cabaret take on "Alcohol"). But drunk or not, they were in full bloom at this point in their career. Infectious, sly, brazen, and solidly awesome, this is that pre- Arista Kinks stuff you should be hip to.

-Jason Josephes