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Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One
Studio album by The Kinks
Released	November 27, 1970
Recorded	April and September 1970
Genre	Rock
Length	40:07
Label	Pye
Producer(s)	Ray Davies
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Blender link
The Kinks chronology
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (1969)	Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One (1970)	Percy (soundtrack) (1971)

Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One is an album by English rock band, The Kinks, recorded and released in 1970.

Lyrically, Lola versus Powerman is a satirical look at the various facets of the music industry, including song publishers ("Denmark Street"), unions ("Get Back in Line"), the hitmaking machine ("Top of the Pops"), accountants and business managers ("The Moneygoround"), and the road ("This Time Tomorrow"). "Apeman" finds Davies becoming fed up with it all and expressing a desire to leave society and go swinging through the jungle. The closer, "Got to Be Free", is an anthem for maintaining personal independence in the face of all opposition.

Musically, the album is an extremely varied affair, contrasting gentle ballads like "Get Back in Line" and "A Long Way From Home" against songs like "Rats" and "Powerman", two of the hardest rockers in the Kinks repertoire. "Denmark Street" and "The Moneygoround", like much of Ray Davies's work, pay homage to the English music hall tradition.

The album's most famous song and a worldwide hit single, "Lola", was an account of a mistaken encounter with a person of ambiguous gender. Encouraged by his father, Davies consciously and carefully crafted the song to be a hit, after a long dry spell for the band in both the UK and the US. He was even forced to fly from the US back to England to overdub the trademark word "Coca-Cola" from the original master tape, to prevent potential legal problems. The success of the single and album had important ramifications for the band's career at a critical time, allowing them to negotiate a new contract with RCA Records, construct their own London Studio, and assume more creative and managerial control. "Lola" also became their most popular sing-a-long anthem at concerts, as they struggled to regain a footing in the US concert market after a five year absence.

At one point The Kinks planned to write and record a direct sequel to this album, reportedly titled "The Kinks Part 2, The Continuing Saga of Lola Vs. Powerman". However, these plans did not ever come to fruition -- in fact, it's unlikely that any songs for the sequel album were ever even written. Accordingly, there is no "Lola versus Powerman" follow-up.

All tracks written by Ray Davies except for *, written by Dave Davies.

1. "Introduction" – 0:41
2. "The Contenders" – 2:42
3. "Strangers"* – 3:19
4. "Denmark Street" – 2:01
5. "Get Back in Line" – 4:01
6. "Lola" – 4:11
7. "Top of the Pops" – 3:39
8. "The Moneygoround" – 1:46
9. "This Time Tomorrow" – 3:21
10. "A Long Way From Home" – 2:26
11. "Rats"* – 2:39
12. "Apeman" – 3:51
13. "Powerman" – 4:17
14. "Got to Be Free" – 3:01

The CD reissue added alternative versions of "Lola", "Powerman", and "Apeman."

• Ray Davies - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards
• Dave Davies - Lead Guitar, Banjo, Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals on *
• John Dalton - Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals
• Mick Avory - Drums, Percussion
• John Gosling - Keyboards, Piano, Organ