Category Archives: classic rock

COLD CHISEL – Circus Animals

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If you live in Australia and happen to be reading this, chances are you own a Cold Chisel album already. Their brand of music, largely stemming from no-nonsense pub rock, made them megastars in their home country; for the rest of the world, however, Cold Chisel’s work is far less known, although they retain a strong cult following throughout the world.

Their early work showcases three chord rock ‘n’ roll, played in a hard rock style. From early on, white reggae influences were a strong part of the Cold Chisel sound, but it their third album, ‘East’ – released in 1980 – which saw the band branching out even farther. This was their most commercial disc to date; the earlier influences were still there, but were more often fused with radio friendly pop/rock styles. While not as raw as Chisel could be, it was a near perfect album. With ‘East’, the band truly came of age.

As a reaction to the commercialism of that album, Cold Chisel’s follow up, ‘Circus Animals’ (released in April 1982; produced by Mark Opitz) was harder, occasionally angrier and often more adventurous. The anger and passion within its ten cuts is obvious right from the off, as lead single ‘You Got Nothing I Want’ tears from the speakers. Written in response to the lack of promotion ‘East’ received from their US record label, the number presents Chisel at their most brazenly angry.
Jimmy Barnes is captured in full-on rasp as he delivers slightly spiteful lines regarding the band’s position. The music has plenty of punch: while slightly more sophisticated than some of Chisel’s earlier work, it captures the essence of their rock ‘n’ roll ethic, with Don walker hammering out almost boogie-woogie piano lines underneath Ian Moss’s raucous chords. It’s from here on, though, that ‘Circus Animals’ becomes more interesting.

‘Taipan’ features one of the album’s most interesting arrangements. Prestwich’s pounding drums lend an almost tribal atmosphere, which when combined with Walker’s piano and an almost spooky vocal from Barnes, couldn’t be farther away from the pub rock which bought Chisel’s early popularity. Occasionally, the band breaks from this for more of a rock section, where naturally, Barnes lets rip vocally – and although that’s far more in keeping with the traditional Chisel sound, it sounds out of place here, especially when followed by gang vocals – again in a tribal-ish style (although the tune chosen has a touch of the Disney’s about it…). By the time Ian Moss adds a solo at the end, the listener gets a proper feel for the breadth of the band’s talent. His solo is vibrato-filled and full of anger and passion (with only a couple of moments stepping to far into overtly aggressive territory), which when backed by Walker’s heavily pounded piano chords, really helps bring the track to a superb climax.

‘Bow River’ – a number written by Moss, whom also steps up for lead vocals – has Chisel’s rock ‘n’ roll as a base. Moss’s vocal is a soulful one, a complete contrast to Barnes’s insistent and uncompromising approach. It’s particularly effective during a atmospheric intro, accompanied by Walker’s sparingly used piano chords, but it more than holds its own, even once the band hits full stride. Walker’s piano launches into pub-rock piano solos leading the band into a full-on, sweaty hard rock workout. As Moss and Barnes begin to harmonise, backed more than ably by Walker, Prestwich and a rock-solid, yet surprisingly busy bass line from Small, the listener gets to feel the full power behind Cold Chisel at their best – a sound almost unmatched by their peers.

‘Numbers Fall’ showcases Chisel in a moody, bluesy vein. Each member of the band contributes something of note. Moss’s guitar work doesn’t stretch his talents, but lays down a few pointed, vibrato filled notes here and there while Don Walker’s quasi-aggressive organ work gives a sense of volume. The rhythm section is hard, particularly Phil Small’s unshakable basslines overlaying Prestwich’s heavy thud. It’s during this number Jimmy Barnes really comes into his own; his raspy, ragged voice – like a hard rockin’ John Fogerty – ringing passion from almost every word.

‘Houndog’ brings anger back into Barnes’s performance, opting for a full on, full-volume delivery. The band counterbalance this with a very interesting arrangement. Moss’s guitar work leans towards a 60s twang full of reverb and Walker’s bar-room piano is high in the mix. For the mid section, there’s an about-face; a similar spaciousness to that of ‘Taipan’ creeps in and Moss and Barness share vocal duties as Small keeps things together with a decent bass line. When you first hear the track, it’s not something you ever expect. As the track builds to a close, the band reverts to the original musical arrangement, slowly getting more intense. Underneath the growing tension, Phil Small’s bass playing is very accomplished – he’s certainly someone who deserves far more credit for his musicianship.

For all of ‘Circus Animals’s adventurousness, it features two of the most commercial tracks in the Chisel back catalogue. ‘When The War Is Over’ and ‘Forever Now’ (both written by drummer Steve Prestwich and released as singles in Australia) are fantastic, unashamedly radio-friendly pop/rock tracks – the kind ‘East’ hinted at so often. During the ballad ‘When The War Is Over’, the listener experiences Barnes and Moss singing in great harmony – their contrasting voices working exceptionally well. Musically, the smooth simplicity of the number is the thing which makes it so unashamedly brilliant, with Walker’s piano providing some great moments. Moss’s guitar work, meanwhile, never steps out of line – his long flowing notes drifting to fade. ‘Forever Now’ shows the band’s fondness for pop/rock with a reggae slant, which coupled with a simple chorus made it an obvious choice for a single. Also here, Prestwich takes an opportunity to write himself a great drum part. It’s not great due to any flashiness; it’s it’s sparseness which is most striking. Throughout the verses, Prestwich concentrates on percussion and hi-hat, only using snare and toms for fills, saving them for impact on the chorus. While it’s the rhythm section moments which provide the best musical aspects (Small’s bass line also more than delivers), Moss’s lead solo coming at the tracks end is masterful albeit without diminishing the pop sensibilities of the track.

These tracks are so good, it’s almost possible to forget about the equally commercial ‘No Good For You’, which also comes with plenty of hit single potential. While a little lightweight musically, once again, Small’s bass playing is exemplary and the vocal harmonies throughout the chorus are among the album’s best. The AOR leanings here certainly have an influence upon the direction Barnes’s solo career would take by the late 80s. Don Walker’s ‘Wild Colonial Boy’ is one of the album’s weaker numbers, but even so features a top performance from Barnes and provides another Prestwich drumming highlight. Sadly, so much focus has been put upon these two factors, there’s very little else to back them up. There’s certainly no real chorus, and even a section which lends itself to the most obvious hard rock moment comes and goes without making too much of an impression.

The closing number, ‘Letter To Alan’ is a another Chisel tour-de-force, beginning with Barnes singing in a relatively restrained manner against Walker’s atmospheric piano work. Ian Moss then joins with some ringing guitars, while Prestwich (at least in places) favours a percussive style, similar to that of ‘Forever Now’. Moss’s soloing is busy and angular, lacking the bluesy vibrato so often heard from his work. Instead, he attacks his fretboard in an almost unrestrained way, pulling back slightly just before his fiery playing becomes in danger of careening completely out of control.

While ‘Circus Animals’ may not always have the all-round enjoyment of ‘East’ – and certainly isn’t a Cold Chisel album for first time listeners – it arguably captures the band at the peak of the powers. Like so many Aussie bands, though, it’s unlikely even at their best Cold Chisel will ever gain more than a cult following (albeit a large one) outside their home country.

[A remastered version of the album adds three bonus tracks]

January 2011

PETE TOWNSHEND – Who Came First

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In the mid 1960’s, beat groups and rhythm ‘n’ blues changed lives, and with their bombast, The Who had become one of the era’s most popular bands. Pop music had constantly re-invented itself and psychedelia had pushed pop’s boundaries even further. As part of The Who’s second album (1966’s ‘A Quick One’) Pete Townshend contributed a theatrical piece, ‘A Quick One While He’s Away’, which suggested there was more to the band than their previous work may have suggested. But things were going to get bigger. Much bigger.

As the lead track from Mark Wirtz’s ‘A Teenage Opera’, Keith West scored a hit single in the summer of 1967 with ‘Excerpt from “A Teenage Opera” (Grocer Jack)’. EMI pulled the plug on the release of the complete ‘Teenage Opera’, but between Wirtz’s grand musical vision and the rock musical ‘Hair’ making its off Broadway debut at the end of the year, some important musical seeds had been sown. Via experiments with psychedelia, The Who released their career defining rock opera, ‘Tommy’, in May 1969.

This was not only a career defining moment for The Who, but for rock music in general. After an appearance playing ‘Tommy’ at Woodstock and the release of their seminal ‘Live at Leeds’ album, Pete Townshend (alongside a few famous chums, including Small Faces man Ronnie Lane) recorded ‘Happy Birthday’, an album of music inspired by the spiritual teachings of Meher Baba. The Who returned in 1970 with a re-recording of a track from this release, ‘The Seeker’, which became a UK top ten hit. Pete Townsend intended The Who’s next album to be an ambitious concept piece called ‘Lifehouse’, though the project was abandoned in favour of a more conventional album release. In 1971, The Who released ‘Who’s Next’, an album containing a solid collection of rock tunes (some of which were intended for ‘Lifehouse’. ‘Who’s Next’ is rightly regarded as a masterpiece; one of its many stand-out moments is ‘Baba O’Riley, a track which would also appear in extended instrumental form on a second collection of spiritual material, once again dedicated to Meher Baba.

After live shows for ‘Who’s Next’ wound down, many musicians would’ve taken the time to step back from such an extraordinarily busy schedule. But not Townshend. He returned to the studio to record a second album of songs inspired by Meher Baba, ‘I Am’, and ‘Who Came First’, an album of personal material; a collection of songs which is widely regarded as his first official solo release.

As expected, the album showcases Townshend’s skill as a songwriter, but also highlights his talents as a studio hand. With the opportunity to have the final say with regard to this project, Townshend not only takes on vocal and guitar duties, in addition to playing various keyboard parts, but also becomes producer, engineer and mixer too. Where The Who had previously enlisted either Kit Lambert or Glyn Johns to produce, ‘Who Came First’ was Townshend’s opportunity to oversee all technical aspects of the project in an almost Orson Welles like fashion.

He’s not so arrogant as to not enlist other musicians where necessary though (even letting them take the musical reigns on occasion). Old friend Ronnie Lane contributes vocals and guitars, Caleb Quaye (best known for his work on Elton John’s albums from a similar period) is enlisted as bassist, drummer and sometime guitarist, and Billy Nicholls adds guitars and vocals. As for the material itself, it’s very much a rag-bag of stuff; some which is instantly enjoyable and some which requires work on the listener’s part to get to grips with.

The album opens with one of its most familiar numbers. Originally intended as part of ‘Lifehouse’, ‘Pure & Easy’ made its debut here as a Pete Townshend solo recording, but was re-recorded by The Who a short time later (eventually appearing on their 1974 compilation of rarities, ‘Odds & Sods’). In the hands of The Who, the song features some great harmony vocal moments in addition to Daltrey’s commanding lead. Townshend’s original take is weak in comparison. The harmonies are all but absent, and Townshend’s vocal during the opening verse is almost painful to listen to, as he hits notes which are far too high for him. Thankfully, he settles down by the pre-chorus, and the song finds its stride. Despite Townshend’s vocal shortcomings in various places ‘Pure & Easy’ is a great song and his band is solid throughout (if never remarkable). Since the song features some great moments but never quite reaches its potential, it makes sense that The Who re-recorded it so quickly, improving it a great deal in the process.

‘Evolution’ presents one of the album’s best numbers. Here Ronnie Lane takes the helm in an acoustic reworking of ’Stone’, an old Faces number. Lane’s vocal is easy and natural, the perfect fit for the rootsy, blues-folk hybrid of the music. The main acoustic part is fairly basic, but a few complicated runs and some fantastic soloing really bring style to the number. Having long been peers by this point in their careers, there’s a mutual respect between Lane and Townshend and the space each performer affords the other on this recording highlights that. [Lane and Townshend would work together five years later on a completely collaborative album, ‘Rough Mix’].

‘Sheraton Gibson’ tells a tale of life on the road and of how it takes its toll upon the artist. Townshend’s gentle vocal is full of aching and longing and set against a beautiful plucked acoustic arrangement, it’s certainly one of his best performances. A few electric guitar overdubs during the chorus flesh things out unnecessarily – as if to remind us of Pete’s usual background – but essentially, this solo performance (without bass or drums) has an air of fragility – of feeling lost. Whether the home he refers to is literal, or whether home refers to the spiritual teachings of Meher Baba is unclear.

‘Time Is Passing’ is a rumbling pop-rock number, which has echoes of The Who, only without any of the power. The guitar parts are somewhat understated, but there’s some great organ accompaniment. Townshend’s vocal style makes this number sound far more twee than it ought to be, but the end result still has more in keeping with The Who than most of the numbers present on ‘Who Came First’. Townshend may be star of his own show, but it’s Caleb Quaye’s bass and drum work which is this number’s strongest feature. Granted, his drumming might not carry the breezeblock subtlety of Keith Moon, but it’s powerful enough; his bass style is very upfront, giving this track an anchor.

‘Forever’s No Time At All’, written by Billy Nicholls sounds like filler material. It has a similar-ish vibe to ‘Time Is Passing’ (clearly that kind of rock-pop was Townshend’s band’s forte) and Townshend’s multi-tracked guitar parts are fabulous (lending themselves to a great use of stereo). Sadly, his great contributions are almost eclipsed by handclaps which are far too loud in the mix. Since it was his number, Billy Nicholls takes lead vocal and his high tone kills any enjoyment this song may have had.

‘Heartache’ is an acoustic cover of the Jim Reeves number ‘There’s a Heartache Following Me’. Hearing Townshend lumber his way through this old, crooning number is just bizarre. Recorded just after the most inventive part of The Who’s career, it seems so out of step with Townshend at his best. However, with ‘Who Came First’s main focus being on more introspective and personal material, it almost fits here. Why did Townshend choose to include it, when the sessions included better cuts which were originally left behind (such as the basic blues workout ‘I Always Say’ or the wonderful film-score-like piano instrumental ‘Lantern Cabin’)? The answer is simple: it was one of Baba Meher’s favourite songs.

Released as a single by The Who the previous year, ‘Let’s See Action’ appears on ‘Who Came First’ as alternate recording made by Townshend and his band. Having Daltrey, Entwistle and Moon on hand may have improved ‘Pure & Easy’ but interestingly The Who’s rendition of ‘Let’s See Action’ isn’t as good as Townsend’s solo take. With Townshend up front, this rolling bar-room rocker feels more natural; his softer vocal appears far more understanding with regards to its mid-tempo, mid-volume arrangement. The Who’s single version appears to drag in places, despite only a four minute duration; by contrast, this six minute extended arrangement stays the course, with Caleb Quay’s rhythm work carrying just enough punch to keep it flowing.

‘Content’ is an interesting choice, particularly for a rock star of Townshend’s usual posturing and bravado. For this track, he uses a poem by Maud Kennedy as a lyric, which he then sings rather gently over a simple piano arrangement. The piano chords are played slowly and very clearly defined in an unfussy style. There’s almost not quite enough happening to make the music gel, so an overdub of Townshend’s buzzing guitar strings is used to add extra musical depth. Again, it’s a world away from the then most recent Who album (‘Who’s Next’), but what is a solo album for, if not to release pieces of music which have no suitable home for a main project? The idea of including poetry just wouldn’t sit right with The Who, although it is very much in keeping with the hippie ethos of the early seventies [See also the old woman reading poetry at the end of Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Bare Trees’ LP].

‘Parvardigar’ is a reworking of a track from the second album for Meher Baba. The lyrics are based upon one of his prayers, but it’s the music which is of greatest interest. Multiple ringing acoustic guitars make up the core of the main tune, but it’s not always gentle. There are moments where Townshend just cannot resist throwing out huge ‘Pinball Wizard’ style chords and during the moments where the band provides complete support, it sounds like a Who demo. Even Caleb Quaye’s drum fills are a nod to Keith Moon (albeit played with far more subtlety). While I don’t care especially for the spiritual aspects of the lyrics, or the general praise lavished upon Meher by Townshend, it would have been great to hear Daltrey at his peak absolutely belting his way through this tune.

‘Who Came First’ only achieved limited commercial success at the time of release, spending just two weeks on the UK album chart, its highest position just #30. Over the years, the album has been re-appraised and is often seen as one of the best Who-related solo ventures.

While ‘Who Came First’ features some good songs,Townshend’s vocal approach doesn’t always bring out their best qualities. Over the years Daltrey breathed a great amount of power and presence into Townshend’s songs and, in comparison, Townshend’s high voiced (although more than competent) style is often unremarkable. While some people have heaped praise upon ‘Who Came First’, it’s possibly more of an interesting curio than an essential album.

[An expanded version of ‘Who Came First’ features most of Townshend’s main contributions to the Meher Baba albums as bonus tracks, as well as a few other choice cuts].

November 2010

THIN LIZZY – Vagabonds Of The Western World

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By the end of 1972, Thin Lizzy had attracted a cult audience, but also had two albums under their belt which were commercial failures. Early 1973 bought a change in their fortunes when their reworking of the Irish folk song ‘Whiskey In The Jar’ (released as a single in November ’72) became a huge hit. Eventually reaching #6 in the UK chart, it gave them massive exposure on radio and even scored them an appearance on ‘Top of the Pops’. The song also became a German top 10 hit and a number one single in Ireland.

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THE GARY MOORE BAND – Grinding Stone

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After the breakup of Irish power trio Skid Row (not to be confused with the popular US band) in the early 70s, Gary Moore embarked on a solo career. This, the first release with Gary as band leader is credited to The Gary Moore Band. The Gary Moore Band released one album together – 1973’s ‘Grinding Stone’.

The album possesses a fair amount of power, but not always much focus. ‘Time To Heal’, with a driving, almost southern boogie approach is one of the album’s better tracks, even if it’s more Allman Brothers than Gary Moore. The only down side is that Gary chooses to deliver his vocal in his rock style voice, which seems an odd choice given the nature of the material. It’s not like he’s not found his blues voice yet, either, as he uses that to great effect elsewhere on the album. The title cut is an instrumental (just shy of ten minutes) which fuses bluesy shuffles and faint hints of jazz rock, creating something which Carlos Santana would’ve been proud to have grace one of his mid seventies albums. Gary’s fuzzy guitar playing has a sometimes bluesy edge, but no real soul. It’s aggressive, sharp and fairly unrelenting. Jan Schellhaus (later of Caravan and Camel) helps create some softer counterbalance here; his piano and electric keyboard work is decent enough given what he has to work with. As something which sounds like it was born from a blues-rock jam, it’s pleasing enough, but you’ve heard this done so much better. ’The Energy Dance’ is a short keyboard instrumental leading into ‘Spirit’. All I’ll say about this is that Jan Schellhaas spoils decent piano work by overlaying what could be the most disgusting synth noise I’ve ever heard.

The seventeen minute tour-de-force ‘Spirit’ could’ve the high point for musicianship, although by the halfway point there’s a feeling that it could’ve been truncated. There’s a fine line between tasteful showmanship and self-indulgence…and this track wobbles across that line regularly. Starting with a tight workout (which again has an Allman Brothers Band feel) it certainly starts promisingly enough. Then, during a rhythmically pleasing section which sounds like another Santana cast-off (featuring solid interplay between Moore, Schellhaas and drummer Pearse Kelly), there’s a decent groove. However, the track falls apart at the seven minute mark as it descends into spacey keyboard and guitar noodling. At this point, it ultimately becomes something which feels like unnecessary filler. Even when the drums come back and the band fall into something which carries the spirit (no pun intended) of a threatening 70s film soundtrack, the momentum never really returns, despite a half decent guitar solo.

‘Boogie My Way Back Home’ is a standard blues workout, pre-empting Gary’s main musical focus by some years. It’s a track which features a simple, but direct use of slide guitar and Gary is in fairly strong voice. The vocal high point of the album, though, comes during the ballad ‘Sail Across The Mountain’. One of Gary’s greatest early achievements, his voice ranges from soulful to pained and passionate, again hinting at his future musical direction. In many ways, if ‘Grinding Stone’ makes any long lasting impression as an album at all, it’s one which leaves the listener asking why there couldn’t have been more of this?

Not long after the release of ‘Grinding Stone’, Gary’s solo career was put on hold, as he would be drafted in to replace Thin Lizzy’s departed guitarist Eric Bell. This tenure with Lizzy would be short, with Gary finishing their 1973 tour and contributing guitar parts to three songs from their 1974 album ‘Night Life’, before joining jazz rock outfit Colosseum II. He would later return to Thin Lizzy in 1979, as a full time member, appearing on their classic LP ‘Black Rose: A Rock Legend’.

As has been well documented, Gary would go on to achieve great things. His solo career – spanning several decades from 1979 onward – going from hard rock to blues and occasionally back again – has moments of sheer brilliance… ‘Grinding Stone’, meanwhile, is still no more than a curio which shows glimpses of greatness.

January 2010

RAY DAVIES – See My Friends

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Ray Davies is a man who needs no introduction. A national treasure, Ray will always be best known for his 60s work with The Kinks. It’s likely you stopped listening to The Kinks after the release of their ‘Percy’ album in 1971, only to reconnect with them in 1983 when ‘Come Dancing’ became an unexpected UK top 5 hit. Unless you’re a die-hard fan, it’s unlikely you’ve heard any of the albums The Kinks released from 1971 onward, even though they tirelessly plugged on, releasing an album a year for the remainder of the decade. From that point, they sporadically released albums up until as late as 1992.

Outside of The Kinks, Davies has released a handful of solo albums which have earned a cult following (the first of which, ‘Return To Waterloo’ released in 1985 during a break in The Kinks’ schedule). As with those less famous Kinks albums, each of Ray’s solo works have moments of greatness – 2007’s ‘Working Man’s Cafe’, in particular, is a gem.

Ray Davies’s 2010 album ‘See My Friends’ is a celebration of his Kinks work, allowing many people who’ve been influenced by him a chance to put their stamp on his songs. In duet with Davies himself, the album features contributions from some musical heavyweights, alongside some potentially more interesting cult performers. While the inclusion of Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and Metallica are guaranteed to help the album shift a few units (or more likely a few iTunes downloads of those individual tracks), kudos must be given to Davies for choosing to work with some less obvious collaborators: it was a surprise to see Pixies man Black Francis and New York indie heroes Spoon on his roll-call of friends.

Naturally, most of the guest performers have played it safely by choosing classic Kinks tunes from the 60s, but there are a couple of exceptions. The first of these opens the album, as Ray Davies teams up with the legendary Bruce Springsteen for a fairly workmanlike run-through of ‘Better Things’ (a track from the 1981 Kinks album ‘Give The People What They Want’). The original version is superb, being an optimistic song driven by a particularly loud drum kit and featuring a brilliant stabbing piano intro. This re-recording is well suited to Springsteen with its slightly bombastic approach. Springsteen’s voice sounds fine on the chorus, but on the verses – where he trades lines with Davies – it sounds huskier than ever and clearly sounds like he’s struggling. Davies’s vocal, on the other hand, features as much wistful charm as ever. Overall, the end result is okay, despite Springsteen not being in the best of voices. [For a superb cover of this number, check out the version recorded by Dar Williams for her 1997 album ‘End of the Summer’.]

The Kinks’ original version of ‘Celluloid Heroes’ is a gorgeous, slightly melancholy affair featuring lavish harmony vocals against a piano-rock base. The recording included here features none of the originals piano greatness, but surprisingly doesn’t suffer for that. Jon Bon Jovi and his right hand man Richie Sambora make this their own; Jon’s voice has real presence and Richie offers some classic sounding, soaring guitar lines. Ray Davies’s harmony vocals round out the sound to make this one of the album’s greatest moments. I have very mixed feels about the version of ‘You Really Got Me’ featured here. I have a great amount of respect for Metallica – and naturally, the original Kinks riff was one they could easily beef up. However, I’m not entirely sure that making it ten times heavier is an improvement. James Hetfield’s distinctive growl feels a little heavy handed too. On the plus side, with the slightly quicker pace the track has been given here, Davies sounds really energized when it’s his turn at the microphone.

After an intro featuring a few bars from ‘Days’, Mumford and Sons lend their folk-rock chops to ‘This Time Tomorrow’, a track originally featured on the ‘Lola vs Powerman’ LP. The original Kinks version is delivered with a stomp and with a heavily accented twang, so it’s a natural choice for Mumford. Davies takes more of a back seat for this number, but Mumford and Sons fans should find plenty of entertainment as Marcus Mumford and Ben Lovett’s raggedy vocals tear through a rather spirited performance of this lesser-known Davies composition. For ‘Lola’, Davies chooses to share vocals with Paloma Faith, who’s old-styled, slightly wobbly voice sounds superb here. The band in turn gives this famous Kinks’ number a rather forthright arrangement, with rumbling bass and a (most welcome) heavy leaning toward the piano. Kinks enthusiasts may be interested to know that Faith chooses the cherry cola line in her vocal, as per the Kinks’ single release, as opposed to the “proper” coca cola line from the original album recording. [It’s still amusing that in 1970 the BBC were more concerned about the song advertising a product than they were about it featuring a man falling in love with a transvestite].

‘Waterloo Sunset’ is one of those Kinks songs you’ve heard so often that it’s become part of our British musical heritage. While The Kinks’ 1967 original will always be the absolutely definitive version, the duet here with Jackson Browne is just superb. Featuring Davies, Browne and two acoustic guitars, the intimate nature of this recording captures both musicians in great form. With absolute professionalism, hearing Davies in close harmony with Browne just highlights what a beautifully written and arranged number ‘Waterloo Sunset’ is. While ‘Long Way From Home’ was never really one of my favourites, Ray’s duet with alt-country performer Lucinda Williams is somewhat dreary. I must confess, I’m not a fan of Williams’s heavily affected, drawling voice and the pace of this track just makes it worse. Her voice is really high in the mix too, almost drowning Davies out in the process.

Power pop legends Big Star recorded a storming version of ‘Till The End of the Day’ in the early 1970s as part of the sessions for their ‘Third/Sister Lovers’ album. Here, Chilton has been given the opportunity to perform that classic Kinks number alongside Davies. Naturally, Chilton’s delivery sounds supremely confident. The band are suitably punchy too: the drums loud and energetic, the organ work (although low in the mix) comes in heavy swirls. In addition, an angular guitar solo and a couple of complex bass runs help recreate the energy of the early Kinks sound. If you’re a Chilton enthusiast and like the Big Star rendition of ‘Till The End of the Day’ from ‘Third/Sister Lovers’, you won’t be disappointed. As a rather sad footnote, Chilton passed away a few months before the release of this album. While his death was far too premature, I’m sure he would have been delighted at being one of this album’s featured guests.

A take on ‘Dead End Street’ with Amy MacDonald is best described as ordinary. While the bar-room piano is quite fun, generally, little has been done here to add anything to the original performance. The warmth of the recording just doesn’t have the same vibe as the Kinks’ trebly 1966 recording and a spoken exchange between Davies and MacDonald at the close of the song is guaranteed to grate after a few listens. I can’t help but think this could have worked out better with KT Tunstall instead…

Since The Kinks’ 1965 single ‘See My Friends’ has a droning, psychedelic vibe (often credited as being one of the first releases to incorporate Indian raga sounds), it’s a perfect vehicle for the alternative rock band Spoon, whose own work features a strong basis of jangly vibes and lo-fi quirks. With lots of reverb, Britt Daniels’s vocal meshes with Davies’s against a wall of ringing guitars. The musicians involved choose (rather wisely) to play things as faithfully to the original as possible. Nothing here sticks out as being exceptional, but if you’re a fan of Spoon, you’ll probably want to check out this collaboration. During ‘This Is Where I Belong’, the guitars chime and the drum provides a solid backbeat. Black Francis’s very distinctive vocal is the main feature here, but he’s offered suitable backing harmonies from Davies. Factor in the slabs of organ work and this is very well suited to Black Francis, the sound here very much in keeping with the more rootsy styles he experimented with in the mid-’00s.

Ray Davies’s voice is the only real saving grace with regard to a re-working of ‘David Watts’, featuring Californian indie-rock band The 88. While the great piano part from the original is given plenty of volume in the overall mix, when combined with staccato guitar work and the general oomph The 88 insist on playing with, it’s really tiring. [For the definitive cover version of this, look no further than The Jam’s respectful version from 1978]. Following The 88, ‘Tired of Waiting’ sounds incredibly…tired. Snow Patrol’s frontman Gary Lightbody joins Davies here and while the track is tackled at a similar pace to the Kinks original, it just seems to sag under the weight of Gary Lightbody’s uninspired vocal.

While ‘All Day and All of The Night’ is a Kinks number familiar to all, it’s 1981 semi-reworking ‘Destroyer’ will possibly not mean a lot to many of you. In an attempt to be edgy in a post-punk way, Davies reworked ‘All Day…’s influential riff into a song which features a partly spoken word delivery. The level of anger on that original recording of ‘Destroyer’ may have sounded a little unnatural in the hands of The Kinks, but reproduced here as a duet between Davies and Smashing Pumpkins mainman Billy Corgan, it sounds great. Corgan’s guitar work concentrates on the simple chord pattern and his loud, nasal vocal style is an effective contrast to Davies. Davies, in turn, when delivering the spoken word parts, sounds better here than he had back in ’81. Corgan replaces the original pre-chorus from ‘Destroyer’ with the famous lyrics from ‘All Day and All of the Night’ to create a very effective medley, ending the disc on a high note.

As you may expect given the selection of featured performers, ‘See My Friends’ is a mixed bag. In some places, it sounds more like an album of people covering songs by The Kinks as opposed to an album of Ray Davies performing duets. In that respect, it’s almost certainly been geared to entertain fans of the guest performers rather than fans of Davies himself. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course. If those listeners enjoy this album, that’s great. If it means they get exposed to Davies’s songs and then choose to explore The Kinks’ back catalogue…even better.

See the official EPK for the album here.
See Ray with Mumford & Sons on ‘Later…With Jools Holland’ here.
See Ray interviewed by Jools Holland here.
See Ray talking about the album on BBC News 24 here.

November 2010