"A Gallon of Gas" is the ninth track from

The Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

' album, ''

Low Budget A low-budget film or low-budget movie is a motion picture shot with little to no funding from a major film studio or private investor. Many independent films are made on low budgets, but films made on the mainstream circuit with inexperienced or ...

.'' It was written by

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voca ...

Background

"A Gallon of Gas", like many songs by The Kinks from this period, tells of economic problems of the time, in this case the gas shortage. The singer laments about how he "can't buy a gallon of gas", even "for any amount of cash". Author Nick Hasted describes it as "a heavy electric

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

." The song was the second single released from "Low Budget", and is one of two singles from the album to be released in America but not in Britain (the other being " Catch Me Now I'm Falling"). The single version was longer than the album version. It was backed with "Low Budget". In addition to its release as a single in America, the single was also released in Japan that same year. "A Gallon of Gas" also appears on the greatest hits albums ''

Come Dancing with The Kinks The Kinks, an English rock band, were active for over three decades, from 1963 to 1996, releasing 24 studio albums and four live albums. The first two albums are differently released in the UK and the US, partly due to the difference in popular ...

'' and the live album '' To the Bone''. An alternate edition of the song appears on ''

Picture Book A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...

.''

Reception

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' said it has "cool, cocky, British vocals observing an American crisis with plenty of wit and rocking rhythm." The track was praised by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

as well as ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'', who said that "A Gallon of Gas" is "no great poetic achievement, but its slow, bluesy arrangement—meant, no doubt, to re-create the effect of a snail's pace gas line — heightens the good-natured irony of a situation in which drugs are easier to come by than gasoline." Hasted also refers to the song's humor in that it is easier to buy drugs than gas. Hasted further notes that Davies, who years earlier wrote " Apeman," a song about abandoning the city to live in the jungle, "can't disguise his pleasure" in the fact that without gas there are no planes in the sky or cars on the road so that "the air smells unnaturally clean." ''

Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' critic Rob Sheffield calls it an "embarrassing novelty." Critic

Johnny Rogan John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...

commented on the song's comedy and wryness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gallon of Gas The Kinks songs 1979 singles Songs written by Ray Davies Song recordings produced by Ray Davies Arista Records singles 1979 songs