Brian
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Post by Brian on Feb 14, 2010 1:22:22 GMT -8
Whoever the Kinks were as a band making records and playing gigs from 1964 until 1997, they no longer exist. Yet the brothers Davies went on to greater artistic achievements separately, despite Ray's gunshot wound on the streets of New Orleans and Dave's crippling stroke this past decade.
Dave postponed his show at the El Rey on Wilshire last Feb. 5 because of "doctor's orders," and we still await word how our tickets will be redeemed from Dave's website or Ticketmaster itself. Meanwhile, Anni and I are excited about dining stageside with Roberta and John on Mar. 25 at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills before Ray's first appearance in the L.A. area since, well, last November.
The B-side of "Sunny Afternoon" in 1966, which Ray wrote for Dave to sing, still links them. "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" did not appear on any official Kinks album until the last one, and Ray has opened most of his solo concerts with it. Here's a beautiful, broadcast quality take from "Austin City Limits" two years ago:
Contemporary video by Dave is hard to find on You Tube. Yet patience was rewarded with a remarkable bootleg audio performance of "I'm Not Like Everybody Else," presumably from 2001 in Germany, accompanied by concert photos. His guitar solo at the end knocks me out:
Ray and Dave are clearly not like everybody else. And, especially, not like each other.
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Brian
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Post by Brian on Feb 21, 2010 1:45:08 GMT -8
Anni and I were playing "The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society" in the car tonight and remembering the album's times in our lives. She first heard it by 1969, me in '73, so both of us could sing along with every word and scat. Ray's "Kinks Choral Collection" album and tour last November redeemed songs like "Big Sky" and "Do You Remember Walter" for this century. I found two videos on You Tube, the first capturing the show we saw at the Orpheum downtown with excellent panning close to the stage:
The other serves up incredible sound along with several concert photos from Ray's New York gig days later -- but this was posted just last month and it only has 117 views so far:
According to Dave Davies in the booklet accompanying the 3-CD re-release of "Village Green" in 2004, Ray was intentionally impersonating Burt Lancaster with his "Big Sky" intonations. "It was a running joke between us," Dave said.
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Post by Brian on Mar 7, 2010 1:09:38 GMT -8
Time for an update: Dave Davies' website still says "more news soon" about the postponement of his U.S. mini-tour. I've been sitting on my tickets for the El Rey since Feb. 5. But here's some real news about Ray's tour, which started in Atlantic City on Feb. 26 and ends March 25 in Agoura Hills with some Montrose Peace Vigil people in the audience. From Tour Briefs in the latest Rolling Stone: On his current theater tour, the Kinks frontman is starting with a folky acoustic set before getting loud with L.A. indie rockers the 88 as his backing band. "I'll never recapture what the Kinks did," says Davies, "but playing acoustically puts me in touch with the songs again." He also also begun work on his next album: rerecordings of Kinks classics with guests, including Bruce Springsteen ("Better Things") and Jon Bon Jovi ("Celluloid Heroes"). "'Better Things' starts similar to the original, then it goes in a different direction," Davies says. As for the long-awaited Kinks reunion, he says, "I did some tracks with (Kinks drummer) Mick Avory recently, and I think Dave (Davies) will be up for it eventually."I have a lot to say about that blurb, which I had to type here because I couldn't find it on the Web. First, our friend Dan -- who introduced me to Anni in 1992 -- has long been raving coherently about the 88 and trying to get me to go to their shows. Dan has been a Kinks fan forever and a member of this message board since Feb. 2009. Perhaps he can tell us what to expect at the Canyon Club in two weeks. Just because I enjoyed "The Kinks Choral Collection" album last year for its new vocal arrangements of many obscure classics doesn't mean I want to pay for another CD of duets with New Jersey's finest. (Of course, I will anyway.) I read that Ray ran out of songs with his second solo album three years ago. Certainly, all of his energy has gone to various Kinks-related projects since. The Kinks barely sputtered into the 1990's. I've never been eager for a reunion -- which would have to include Ray, Dave and Mick at the very least -- and I still believe it will never happen, not on record and not onstage. Check out Dave's comment beneath this story on the Atlantic City Weekly's website: blogs.atlanticcityweekly.com/ac-central/2010/02/25/ray-davies-at-borgata-friday-working-with-new-jersey-rockers/
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Post by anni on Mar 7, 2010 19:10:48 GMT -8
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Post by Brian on Mar 9, 2010 0:01:30 GMT -8
I tried to coax my friend Dan to post here on Monday. After seeing this thread, he wrote an e-mail to me instead, which is too good not to quote:
I like that part about "raving coherently," Brian. The 88 has been developing its own voice and style, but it still expresses -- better than anyone else I've heard in many, many years -- the bright (and dark) soul and spirit of Ray Davies' songmaking. I can almost imagine the joy Keith Slettedahl must have experienced when he learned of his band's selection for this honor. And I fantasize about collaborations to come.
I searched for suitable video tonight from this ten-day-old tour, but every clip I saw on You Tube was horrendous in sound, picture or both -- except this montage of the concert in Hartford just two nights ago. Most of the songs feature just Ray and Bill Shanley onstage, but there are a few with the 88. The last third shows Ray posing for photos outside the venue after the show.
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Post by anni on Mar 9, 2010 15:20:17 GMT -8
Guess I'll just have to wait and see the real thing...have no patience for the spinning every few seconds of play...Still I can't wait for the show!
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Post by anni on Mar 11, 2010 17:27:44 GMT -8
Well, I finally made it through (Brian showed me the trick of letting it run for a minute, then push the slider button back, down at the bottom of the video, about 30 seconds and let it go)...it worked pretty well. I enjoyed the bit at the end, more like a meet and greet. I thought it would be really funny to ask Ray to take a pic of our group after the show...?
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Post by Skipper on Mar 11, 2010 18:49:38 GMT -8
Nice to know you two are as fanatical as I. See you at the Canyon! Do you have dinner reservations? I have bee there many times. I will find you!
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Post by Skipper on Mar 11, 2010 18:55:06 GMT -8
Last time I saw Dave was the Think Visual tour in 86 at the Palladium. I was right on the rail. Dave would lean down into the crowd and taunt the fans to try to reach up and touch him or his guitar and then strike out with a back hand. God that was a great show. Get well soon Dave. I'm still holding on to my tickets for the El Rey!
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Post by Skipper on Mar 11, 2010 19:04:22 GMT -8
BTW, I am a big fan of the 88 as well! I have both of here 1st two albums. The toured with the B-52's last year and have been compared to the Kinks and T-Rex. Thanks for the info Brian. The 88 are great players!
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