"The Kinks' Latter Day Gems" : THE WEEKEND MIX

My friend John Dunbar feels about The Kinks, the way my mother feels about Paul Sorvino. So I guess I didn't really expect anything but a proactive response from him when I casually tossed off the statement, almost 7 years ago, lamenting, "Ray really lost it in the later years."

Days after my ill-informed remark, I received "Latter Day Gems," a CD proving 13 times, that Ray Davies still had it. I love this CD. It should exist commercially. It should exist in record shops. Record shops should exist. All men are mortal. Socrates was a man. All men are Socrates.

(Sorry, I digress...)

Here is John, who is a fine singer-songwriter himself, with commentary on his wonderful compilation.


TRACK LIST

WAR IS OVER
(from "U.K. Jive")
One of most power poppy tracks in Kinks history. No one expected that from the boys in 1989.

DID YA
(from "Did Ya" E.P.)
A stand out track that tips its bowler hat to Sunny Afternoon. It was later added as a bonus track to the Japanese edition of Phobia.

ANIMAL
(from "To The Bone")
One of the 2 new studio tracks recorded for an album of live, unplugged versions of Kinks classics put out by the classical label Guardian. There's supposed to be a filmed version of the live sessions at Konk that remains unseen. By me at least.

THE MILLION POUND SEMI-DETACHED
(from "Kinks:The Singles Collection")

MY DIARY
(from "Kinks: The Singles Collection")
Both of these songs come from a bonus disc included on one of those kountless kompilations on Kastle, I mean, Castle. Ray had a book out of short stories at the time titled Waterloo Sunset. Each story was named after, and based on, a Kinks song. The bonus disc was called- "The Songs Of Ray Davies Waterloo Sunset.". It collected all the songs named in the book, including these 2 previously unreleased gems. They're credited as demos, but they sound refreshing compared to the bombastic production of latter day Kinks records.

SCATTERED
(from "Phobia")
This is the last track on Phobia (Ray has a tendency to end his albums with real killers). This may be Ray's most underrated song ever, containing lyrics only Ray can conjure up, "Now my life is all scattered, ever since she's been gone, I feel older-I feel fatter, I feel the blues coming on." Check out the brilliant use of the bridge, reversing the order the second time around.

HOW ARE YOU
(from "Think Visual")
Ray has always been the master of songs that can even make UFC fighters well up. Supposedly Ray chose a rough take demo vocal for the master. The video shows Ray singing to a dog.

SURVIVING
(from "Phobia")
Ray writes the best break-up songs. The song is a tad lengthy, but it's hits the mark.

HATRED
(from "Phobia")
Could there be a better subject for a Ray and Dave duet? I wonder if he'll add this to his upcoming duets album, Ray and,... hmmmm? Liam Gallagher? Tom Robinson?

LOOK THROUGH ANY DOORWAY
(from "Did Ya" E.P.)
Sony insisted that Ray record a cover for their first release on the label.
Ray agreed. He covered this superb Dave Davies composition.

LONG DISTANCE
(from "State Of Confusion"
This song was only available on the cassette version of State Of Confusion until the Velvel CD re-issues. The cassette also listed a bonus track called Once A Thief. I bought the cassette and was miffed to learn the song was not on there. Being the young optimist I was at the time, I ended up buying a few cassettes from different shops hoping the song would be on one of them. It eventually appeared on the Velvel CD as well.

EXPECTATION
(from "Return To Waterloo")
From Ray's directorial debut, Return To Waterloo. Add it to your Netflix queue.

DOWN ALL THE DAYS
(from "U.K. Jive")
Written in response to the projected ( at the time) EU. You gotta love the pidgin French, Spanish, German, Italian bit in the middle.

ZIP FILE

Check out John's music HERE, especially his tribute to Brothers Ray & Dave, "The Kunks."