Low Budget (song)

"Low Budget" is the sixth track from The Kinks' album of the same name. It was written, produced and sung by Ray Davies.

Background

"Low Budget" was recorded in January 1979. It describes a man giving up his "expensive traits" in order to save money. Like many of the tracks on Low Budget, it applies to the economic troubles occurring during the time that the album was released, such as strikes in Great Britain. However, AllMusic's Richard Gilliam claimed that the track's theme could "easily apply to just about any modern recession".

Although "Low Budget" refers to economic problems of the times in general, it also refers to some of Ray Davies' own personal concerns. In the song, Davies mocks his own fear of not having money and his frugality. The song also references Davies' vanity. The singer describes himself as once being well dressed and able to afford cigars, but now has to buy discount clothes and chew mints. He describes himself as "a cut-price person in a low-budget land." But despite being reduced to poverty, the singer expresses pride in his hair and his teeth. Author Thomas Kitts notes that even the title, used in the refrain "I'm on a low budget" could refer to Davies keeping himself on a tight budget.

Low Budget (album)

Low Budget is the seventeenth studio album by the English rock group, The Kinks, released in 1979. Following the minor success of their 1978 album Misfits, the band recorded the majority of the album in New York rather than London. Unlike the more nostalgic themes of many Kinks albums prior to Low Budget, the album contains many songs that appeal to current events of the time. Musically, the album is a continuation of the band's "arena rock" phase, resulting in a more rock-based sound and more modern production techniques.

Despite being a relative failure in the UK, Low Budget was a great success for the group in the US, not only becoming their best-selling non-compilation album, but also peaking at #11 on the American album charts. The lead single, "(Wish I Could Fly Like) Superman" was also a minor hit in the US, reaching #41. The album was also praised by many critics in the US, although reception was more mixed in the band's native UK.

Background

After spending the majority of the 1970s focusing on lofty concept albums, such as the two-part Preservation album, The Kinks began to lose the commercial success they had regained with their 1970 hit single, "Lola." However, upon switching from RCA Records to Arista Records in the summer of 1976, the band gradually began to regain commercial success in America. Abandoning the conceptual work they had created during their RCA years, the band's 1976 album Sleepwalker and 1978 album Misfits were both modest hits in the United States, as were their respective first singles, "Sleepwalker" and "A Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy."