Working Man's Cafe - Ray Davies

I don't know an incredible amount about The Kinks, but what I do know is that their lead singer and rythm guitarist Ray Davies is an AMAZING songwriter. He may not write the most complex of lyrics nor the most talented but he has produced so many songs and has written so many songs. If you look up his work on the internet you will see that there is lists of songs, thousands! They're all very good songs too, they're very simple and fun and about love affairs and people. If you're struggling to think of any of his work, maybe this will ring a bell: Waterloo Sunset Lola Dedicated Follower Of Fashion Sunny Afternoon All ...  Read the complete review

Working Man's Cafe is the latest Ray Davies album, released in 2007, it has generally attracted plaudits, personally I hadn't heard any of his stuff since his days in The Kinks, so I was quite intrigued to find out how good he still was. Vietnam Cowboys is a pretty funky opener with some excellent guitar playing, Ray Davies seems to be getting an odd voice - a mixture of a Johnny Cash drawl and Lou Reed's laid back New York stoner voice yet every so often sneaking in a bit of "old bloke from London" and somehow Musically the liveliness that you could find in his work with The Kinks is hard to come by, there's a lot of ballads and some ...  Read the complete review

For many people the only song by the Kinks that they know is Girl You Really Got Me and, although a classic pop song, this does not demonstrate Ray Davies at his best as a songwriter. His credentials as one of the greatest comes from other lesser known songs such as Some Mothers Son and Victoria. Both these songs are off the original 'rock opera' - 'Arthur - Or the rise and fall of the British Empire'. Although 'The Who' were the first to release a 'rock opera', Ray Davie's had already written his album previously and so technically was the first to write such a piece. Of the albums I have by The Kinks, Arthur is the best and ...  Read the complete review

So it's here after only eighteen months. And, in rather unfitting words, it's ... fantastic! It is neither no better nor no worse, in my opinion, than Other People's Lives, as it's a completely different album: unique sounds and unique lyrics. It does seem that Working Man's Café is much more personally introspective in comparison to Ray's first studio solo release, with most of the lyrics in first-person. Vietnam Cowboys is probably the best way possible to begin the album. And those opening chords are probably the best way possible to begin the track! The addictive rhythm, topped with thoughtful lyrics, conceal aspects such as disgust, irony and sarcasm ...  Read the complete review