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CD Description
Though best known for the seminal and lengthy Kinks discography, Ray Davies has also released five solo albums: the 1985 release Return to Waterloo (which accompanied a television film he wrote and directed); the 1998 release The Storyteller; Other People's Lives in early 2006; and Working Man's Café in October 2007. Collected pulls together the best songs from Davies' illustrious solo career.
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brand new unplayed
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I don't agree with the previous review, people are always trying to typecast Rays work and compare new stuff with the 60's hits, the truth is that Rays work will keep on being rediscovered, it will turn up sooner or later in an advert in a film or on some covers album, in many cases it is ahead of its time and in other cases it needs 10 years or more for the audience to mature and catch up with Rays thinking.
Ray is not afraid to experiment and try new things, even his work in the 70s, 80s & 90's contain some real gems, you just have to seek them out.
This album is no exception & London Song contrary to the previous reviewer is one of the best, especially the acoustic version on the 'Story Teller' album(admittedly you will have to listen to the story teller album to hear that version), I can just imagine that turning up as a trailer for some 'EastEnders, cliff hanger, it just captures the spirit of London like no other I have heard except perhaps Ralph McTells Streets of London.
On reflection there is one missing track from Rays earlier albums that should have been on this album and that's, 'Is there life after Breakfast', simply because that song along with 'Next door neighbour' complete the circle its like Rays gone on a journey, he has experimented and tried different styles of writing and production but in the end he returns to his singer/poet & song writing roots & finally shows us that he really is the 'Kinks Preservation Society'.
Ray is not afraid to experiment and try new things, even his work in the 70s, 80s & 90's contain some real gems, you just have to seek them out.
This album is no exception & London Song contrary to the previous reviewer is one of the best, especially the acoustic version on the 'Story Teller' album(admittedly you will have to listen to the story teller album to hear that version), I can just imagine that turning up as a trailer for some 'EastEnders, cliff hanger, it just captures the spirit of London like no other I have heard except perhaps Ralph McTells Streets of London.
On reflection there is one missing track from Rays earlier albums that should have been on this album and that's, 'Is there life after Breakfast', simply because that song along with 'Next door neighbour' complete the circle its like Rays gone on a journey, he has experimented and tried different styles of writing and production but in the end he returns to his singer/poet & song writing roots & finally shows us that he really is the 'Kinks Preservation Society'.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I'm not sure why Ray has never been given a knighthood or why this brilliant collection of songs didn't win a grammy or a 'Brit award' or whatever. I suppose he is shackled by his past achievements and the problem is most people are not open minded enough to listen without predjudice - or maybe that was someone else - anyway this is a great collection of songs starting out with 'After the Fall' which here is played at a modest pace but live turns into a stomping rocker - then the ironic 'Vietnam Cowboys', 'Working Man's Cafe','The Tourist' - the list of fine songs goes on and on - there is so much variety here but a common thread is of amused wonder at the world. I was never a great Kinks fan - but give us more of this solo stuff Ray please!
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
As I have mentioned in previous reviews, Ray Davies - to me and many others - represents one of the finest modern songwriters this country has ever produced. Anyone who can write 'Waterloo Sunset' in his very early twenties (21) has got to be somebody very special indeed. The fact that The Kinks had over 20 hit singles during the sixties right through to the early eighties and have influenced many artists over the years says a lot about them and their lead singer and songwriter.
However, when we get to the 'post-Kinks' phase of Ray's career, things are not quite so consistent. I still feel that he let go of The Kinks ten years later than he should have done. He always had solo possibilities because of his dominance in the band he was a member of for over 30 years. The irony is that without The Kinks he has seemed weakened. 'Collected' brings together some of his best solo material from essentially 3 albums - 'Storyteller', 'Other People's Lives' and 'Working Man's Cafe'. The last two albums have only appeared in the past three years and are therefore fairly new.
'Collected' is an inconsistent journey through these three albums. Too many tracks suffer from weak production and lacklustre melodies. Don't get me wrong, some Ray is better than no Ray but tracks like the opener 'After the Fall', 'Vietnam Cowboys' and 'Next Door Neighbour' are not that great. Things only take off with 'Working Man's Cafe' on track 4; the title track from his last album of new material. Ray Davies is at his best when he creates a tune and lyrics that make you smile. This track does just that; it is very clever. So are tracks like 'The Tourist', 'Imaginary Man' and 'Morphine Song'. However, tracks like 'London Song' are pretty awful - noisy and cluttered. The closing track 'Yours Truly, Confused N10' suffers from massive overproduction (Jools Holland) and voluminous lyrics. It sounds like he is reading from a book. The great 'Stand Up Comic' is missing from this album which is a shame.
I have given this 'Best of' 4 stars because of the half dozen great songs on this album rather than the fact that 10 or so of these tracks are of variable quality. If Ray ever reads this review or someone who knows him ,reads this review I would implore them to offer the great man two pieces of gentle advice from someone who has followed Ray's music for the past 45 years - please hire an independent producer for your next album (you need an objective view of your music) and please hire some young, fresh musicians to play with you who sound like they care. Too many of these songs sound like they are being played by average session musicians who don't really care too much. This problem is even more abundant on the recent Crouch End album where some guitarist plays 'All Day and All of the Night' like he was playing in a pub in Swindon. Shockingly bad.
So, that's the best of Ray Davies as a solo artist. 6 or so great songs. With the right producer and some decent musicians who actually care, he can and will do a whole lot better. If you are a Ray Davies fan, you will buy this album. If you are not a fan, I would recommend a Kinks 'Greatest Hits' album as a better place to start.
However, when we get to the 'post-Kinks' phase of Ray's career, things are not quite so consistent. I still feel that he let go of The Kinks ten years later than he should have done. He always had solo possibilities because of his dominance in the band he was a member of for over 30 years. The irony is that without The Kinks he has seemed weakened. 'Collected' brings together some of his best solo material from essentially 3 albums - 'Storyteller', 'Other People's Lives' and 'Working Man's Cafe'. The last two albums have only appeared in the past three years and are therefore fairly new.
'Collected' is an inconsistent journey through these three albums. Too many tracks suffer from weak production and lacklustre melodies. Don't get me wrong, some Ray is better than no Ray but tracks like the opener 'After the Fall', 'Vietnam Cowboys' and 'Next Door Neighbour' are not that great. Things only take off with 'Working Man's Cafe' on track 4; the title track from his last album of new material. Ray Davies is at his best when he creates a tune and lyrics that make you smile. This track does just that; it is very clever. So are tracks like 'The Tourist', 'Imaginary Man' and 'Morphine Song'. However, tracks like 'London Song' are pretty awful - noisy and cluttered. The closing track 'Yours Truly, Confused N10' suffers from massive overproduction (Jools Holland) and voluminous lyrics. It sounds like he is reading from a book. The great 'Stand Up Comic' is missing from this album which is a shame.
I have given this 'Best of' 4 stars because of the half dozen great songs on this album rather than the fact that 10 or so of these tracks are of variable quality. If Ray ever reads this review or someone who knows him ,reads this review I would implore them to offer the great man two pieces of gentle advice from someone who has followed Ray's music for the past 45 years - please hire an independent producer for your next album (you need an objective view of your music) and please hire some young, fresh musicians to play with you who sound like they care. Too many of these songs sound like they are being played by average session musicians who don't really care too much. This problem is even more abundant on the recent Crouch End album where some guitarist plays 'All Day and All of the Night' like he was playing in a pub in Swindon. Shockingly bad.
So, that's the best of Ray Davies as a solo artist. 6 or so great songs. With the right producer and some decent musicians who actually care, he can and will do a whole lot better. If you are a Ray Davies fan, you will buy this album. If you are not a fan, I would recommend a Kinks 'Greatest Hits' album as a better place to start.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
If you are a Ray Davis fan you'll love this CD
There are so many stories in these songs, some of them about difficult times Ray has had (being shot in New Orleans for example) but he makes them meaningful to anybody. Read more
Published 15 months ago by JazzFan
great surprise
I am a huge fan of the 60/70's Kinks material but had heard very little of Ray Davies's solo work so I purchased this CD blind based on his immense reputation and my love of the... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Uglysense
A good start to Ray's post Kinks years
Its fair to say this is not a perfect collection by any means as some songs such as "Stand up comic" and "Life after breakfast" were missed out. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Martin S
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