Kings of Oblivion

The Pink Fairies had not finished recording Kings of Oblivion before Polydor took the master tapes. According to one commentator, the label then "hastily mixed the LP while the Fairies were away on tour, even leaving the vocal tracks off one cut, 'Raceway'." Released to tie in with their concurrent tour,{{cite journal |last1=Jasper |first1=Tony |title=Chart Parade |journal=Record Mirror |date=9 June 1973 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-UK/Music/Archive-Record-Mirror-IDX/IDX/70s/Record-Mirror-1973-06-09-S-OCR-OCR-Page-0003.pdf#search=%22pink%20fairies%20kings%20of%20oblivion%22 |access-date=20 March 2022}} it was the band's third album, and first and only released in the United States. In 2002, all three of the band's albums were re-released on CD by Polydor.

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r15230}}

| rev2 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev2Score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite book|title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide|first1=Anthony|last1=DeCurtis|first2=James|last2=Henke|first3=Holly|last3=George-Warren|chapter=Pink Fairies|publisher=Virgin Books|date=19 November 1992|isbn=0-679-73729-4}}

}}

On release, Kings of Oblivion was considered to be Pink Fairies' best album. Dan Nooger in The Village Voice praised the album and considered "City Kids" and "I Wish I Was a Girl" to communicate "more of what it's like being a Mod than all of Quadrophenia."{{cite journal |last1=Nooger |first1=Dan |title=The Pink Fairies: Kings of Oblivion (Polydor) |journal=The Village Voice |date=13 December 1973 |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-pink-fairies-ikings-of-oblivioni-polydor |access-date=20 March 2022}} A reviewer for Shepherds Bush Gazette, Hammersmith Post described Pink Fairies as one of the last "underground groups", whom they deemed a "dying breed". They noted the group's typically "brutal and heavy" sound and praised the "thumping drum and fast-fingered guitar passages" but criticised the vocals.{{cite journal |title=Albums |journal=Shepherds Bush Gazette, Hammersmith Post |date=26 July 1973 |page=10 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/798139679/?terms=Kings%20of%20Oblivion%20pink%20fairies&match=1 |access-date=1 December 2022}}

In a 1975 retrospective for NME, Mick Farren said that Kings of Oblivion "solved the Fairies' problem of original songs", adding that although Wallis was heavily influenced by Alice Cooper's work with Bob Ezrin, the resultant album was tight and tuneful.{{cite journal |last1=Farren |first1=Mick |title=The Pink Fairies: Looking Back |journal=New Musical Express |date=26 April 1975 |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-pink-fairies-looking-back |access-date=20 March 2022}} In a 1980 review, Ira Robbins of Trouser Press described the album to be an "amazing powerhouse", comprising "good heavy rock'n'roll" songs with careful structures, smart lyrics and "hot jamming". He felt that the band "could have been an English Cheap Trick if only the world had been ready."{{cite journal |last1=Robbins |first1=Ira |title=Pink Fairies: Kings of Oblivion |journal=Trouser Press |date=January 1980 |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/pink-fairies--kings-of-oblivion-polydor |access-date=20 March 2022}} In a later publication for the same magazine, Robbins highlighted the album for its "monumental melodies and bizarre sideways lyrics". He concluded that "Kings is a widely unknown masterpiece that stands on its own but also set the stage for Motörhead, which Wallis and Hawkwind refugee Lemmy initially formed in 1975."{{cite web |last1=Robbins |first1=Ira |title=Social Deviants |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/social-deviants/ |website=Trouser Press |access-date=1 December 2022}}

In the third edition of The Rolling Stone Album Guide, David Fricke wrote that despite "flat production and a slim songbook", the album adequately captured Pink Fairies' "neo-psychedelic bashing". In the fourth edition, an uncredited writer described Kings of Oblivion as a "long-forgotten ramp" that will appeal to "unreconstructed punks and thrash fans alike". Dave Thompson of AllMusic wrote that the introduction of Wallis to the band saw them create some of their most remarkable and concise music, with an "affirmative guttercat stance that so effectively predicted the rudiments of punk rock. Indeed, if any album could be said to have been born ahead of its time, Kings of Oblivion, conceived in 1973 but sounding just like 1977, is it." He concluded that the album remains "a tightly adrenalined beast, the summation of everything that the Pink Fairies promised and all that subsequent reunions have continued to deliver." In a review for Uncut, Carol Clerk wrote that the album saw Pink Fairies finally become a "great rock'n'roll band", adding that the music fulfilled their initial promise and commenting on the band's influence on punk and heavy metal, including on "an unusually complimentary John Lydon".{{cite journal |last1=Clerk |first1=Carol |title=The Pink Fairies: Neverneverland;What A Bunch Of Sweeties; Kings Of Oblivion |journal=Uncut |date=August 2002 |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/the-pink-fairies-ineverneverlandiiwhat-a-bunch-of-sweetiesi-ikings-of-oblivioni |access-date=20 March 2022}} BBC Music's Chris Jones also underscored the record's influence on punk and heavy metal and noted that the introduction of Wallis on "big guitar" increased the band's "outlaw biker credibility".{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Chris |title=Pink Fairies Neverneverland, What A Bunch Of Sweeties & Kings Of Oblivion Review |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/9rjw/ |website=BBC |access-date=20 March 2022}}

In 1991, Chuck Eddy ranked Kings of Oblivion at number 109 in his list of the 500 best heavy metal albums, noting that – more so than Mott the Hoople – the Pink Fairies laid down the scope and possibilities of punk rock, as evidenced by the titles of "City Kids" and "Street Urchin", a song about "a woman who cleans hotel rooms and copulates doggie-style", the "speedrock" instrumental "Raceway", the Jean Cocteau quote on the sleeve, and more.{{cite book |last1=Eddy |first1=Chuck |title=Stairway to Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe |date=1991 |publisher=Harmony Books |location=New York |isbn=0517575418 |page=63}} Eddy adds of its prophetic sound: "Speed up the tempo of 'When's the Fun Begin', retain the diction and structure and mood and message, which apparently concerns a country gone to seed so now it's time to inhale nail-polish remover, and you've got the Adverts, whom riffsman Larry Wallis would one day produce."

1. "City Kids" (Wallis, Sanderson) - 3:45
2. "I Wish I Was a Girl" (Wallis) - 9:41
3. "When's the Fun Begin?" (Wallis, Mick Farren) - 6:13
4. "Chromium Plating" (Wallis) - 3:48
5. "Raceway" (Wallis) - 4:08
6. "Chambermaid" (Wallis, Sanderson, Hunter) - 3:18
7. "Street Urchin" (Wallis) - 7:07

8. "Well, Well, Well" (Single version) (Wayne) - 3:59
9. "Hold On" (Single version) (Wayne, Sanderson, Hunter) - 4:10
10. "City Kids" (Alternate mix) - 3:42
11. "Well, Well, Well" (Alternate mix) - 3:20

Adapted from the liner notes of Kings of Oblivion{{cite AV media notes| title = Kings of Oblivion| others= Pink Fairies| year = 1973| type = liner| publisher = Polydor Records}}

;Pink Fairies

• Larry Wallis – guitar, vocals
• Duncan Sanderson – bass, vocals
• Russell Hunter – drums

;Technical

• Dave Grinsted – engineer
• Peter Lavery – photography

• [http://www.collectable-records.ru/groups/pink%20faries/kings.htm Collectable Records] - Original cover

{{Pink Fairies}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1973 albums

Category:Pink Fairies albums

Category:Polydor Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Dave Hitchcock

Category:Hard rock albums by English artists

Category:Proto-punk

Category:Protopunk albums

Category:Neo-psychedelia albums

Category:Heavy metal albums by English artists