Ray Davies: Still around and enjoying "Life after Breakfast"

Sad to say, we don't hear much about Ray Davies these days. The last time the one-time Kinks leader got any attention was in 2004-- when he was shot in the leg by a mugger in New Orleans. Davies, possibly fearing he had turned into the 90-pound weakling he sang about in his 1979 hit "Superman," decided to run after the thief--he'd taken off with Ray's girlfriend's purse.

We'll soon be hearing some more about Ray Davies. This morning I was listening to Terri Hemmert's "Breakfast with the Beatles" on Chicago's WXRT, and she mentioned that Ray Davies will soon have a solo album out. I looked it up, and she's right. Ray Davies' "Other People's Lives" will be released next month.

Davies was the principal songwriter for the Kinks. In America the Kinks are hardly unknowns, but in fact only parts of the Kinks' magnificent career has seeped into the public consciousness. We all know the proto-heavy metal anthem, "You Really Got Me," from 1964, the cross-dressing saga of "Lola" from 1970, and 1983's MTV anthem "Come Dancing." But there is plenty more great music from Davies' old band that is unfortunately, largely unheard here.

The last American hit of the Kinks' British Invasion period was "Sunny Afternoon" in 1966. The next one was "Lola" in 1970. Where in the heck did the Kinks disappear to?

Well, they didn't. Going back a year to 1965, in an incident still shrouded in mystery, the Kinks were banned from touring the US for four years after a confrontation with the American Federation of Musicians. The geographically isolated Davies' looked inward, and turned to such British music forms as Music Hall (the UK version of Vaudeville) for inspiration.

And their Golden Era began. Have you ever heard of the songs "Days" or "Waterloo Sunset?" If not, you must, those songs from that era are among the best love songs ever written.

The brilliant concept album about seemingly happy English rural life, "The Village Green Preservation Society" is from the Golden Era. It's now considered one of the best rock albums ever--however, it didn't even crack Billboard's Top 200 list when it was released in 1968.

"Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)" came out a year later, it paired the wistfulness of "Village Green" with the hard rock sound of the Kinks' early years.

In 1970, the Kinks released "Lola versus Powerman and the Money-Go-Round." And for a while, Ray Davies' Kinks were commercially successful in the United States again.

There are many Kinks treausres that remain to be uncovered for the uninitiated.

The Kinks had a crack at country-rock with "Muswell Hillbillies" in 1971. Do you like politics and rock music? If so, find copies of the Kinks' underrated rock opera "Preservation Act 1" and "Act 2" from 1973 and 1974.

Ray Davies' songwriting craftmanship is "turned up to 11" with the Kinks' late 1970s efforts of "Sleepwalker" and "Misfits."

And of course, next month Kink-less Ray Davies releases "Other People's Lives". Is Ray washed up?

Considering the brilliant output of Davies over the last 40 years, only a fool will bet against him. And if there is life after getting shot by a mugger in New Orleans, there is certainly "Life after Breakfast," as Ray sings here, courtesy of NPR.

Much information for this posting was gathered from Dave Emlen's excellently assembled unofficial Kinks site. Thanks!

The official Ray Davies site is here.

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