“Low Budget” by The Kinks

The Kinks cut "Low Budget" in January 1979 and made it the title track of that year's album for Arista, parked sixth in the running order. Ray Davies wrote it, sang it and produced it, with Dave Davies on guitar, Mick Avory on drums and Jim Rodford on bass keeping the strut going.

Ray plays a man who used to dress sharp and puff cigars and now shops the discount racks and chews mints, pinching every penny while still bragging about his hair and his teeth. It's aimed at a Britain squeezed by strikes and hard times, but Davies points the joke at himself just as hard, poking fun at his own dread of going broke, his tightfistedness and his vanity. AllMusic's Richard Gilliam reckoned the gag would fit just about any recession.

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