Preservation Society

Elliot Stephen Cohen talks to the man who put the Brit into Britpop about his Kinky roots, his indie legacy and his new solo work

I  totally lost my confidence on how to make records,” admits Ray Davies, explaining the 13- year gap between The Kinks’ last album, 1993’s Phobia, and his 2006 solo outing, Other People’s Lives. “When I start any project, I try to get everything perfect in my head… with this record I said, ‘just go with it’.”

In contrast to the Jurassic-like wait for …Lives, Working Man’s Café (V2) appears a scant 18 months after its predecessor, an acknowledgement of an astute assuredness that should never have wavered in the first place. While the earlier album was a fine return to form, …Café’ displays even more of the laser-sharp wit, impossibly irresistible melodies, and strong vocals that have characterised his best work over some five decades.

If Britain has ever produced a songwriter whose repertoire is richer and a more eclectic than Ray Davies, I would like to know that person’s name. Inducted into both the UK Music Hall Of Fame and America’s Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, the breadth of Davies’ work stretches from the pioneering early garage rock of You Really Got Me and All Of The Night, to later classic singles such as Tired Of Waiting For You, Sunny Afternoon, Waterloo Sunset, Autumn Almanac, Days, …

by Elliot Stephen Cohen
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