I enjoyed that little documentary. I would imagine Ray and other touring musicians would be shocked at the state of many US cities these days. They are crumbling before our very eyes. I use to be so proud of having musicians and friends visiting the city where I live, but these days I would be a bit embarrassed by what has become of my very beautiful city. Hopefully, we can find a way to repair all of the damage. People are so divided and the wealth and poverty line grows wider everyday. I have travelled all over this country and visited most of the major cities and many National Parks. One of the places I have still never been is New Orleans. It has been at the top of my list for years. I'll get there someday soon! I am running out of places I would like to visit in the US, but I can always go back to several of my favorite places.
I use to live a block away from The King Cat Theater in Seattle where Ray played on this documentary. That area is now unrecognizable and has become Amazon central. The theater was torn down in 2013 to make way for all the high rises and corporate buildings. I never did see a show there. I think it was in decline by the time I lived in that area.
Just watched the Americana documentary - strange to think I hadn't even visited the USA at that time. My first visit was in 2004 and my last one was in 2014. It's a fascinatingly candid portrait of Ray - who seemingly has little in the way of friends and only comes alive once he's on stage. Then the unmistakable charisma is all there. I didn't recognise either of the demo songs - I assume "Song 2" wouldn't have been called that given the more famous song of that title! I wish I had been able to see one of these shows, but I suppose Ray's activities at this time just passed me by. Part of my mind is telling me that I saw Ray live at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend at some point, but the only shows I can find on Songkick are from 2010 onwards, and by that stage I would have had some photo or video evidence of being in attendance, which I don't.
"Real World" and "Imaginary Man" sound great on that poor quality documentary. It takes off some of the studio polish and I thought to myself- I love these songs. Here is my first attempt at a playlist for Other People's Cafe. Maybe I was a little harsh on Working Man's Cafe? I ended up choosing five songs from each album. Trying to keep it at ten songs or around 45 minutes for one full album length, so a I had to cut a few other songs that could have made it. 1. Things Are Gonna Change (The Morning After) 2. You're Asking Me 3. Next Door Neighbor 4. All She Wrote 5. Other People's Cafe 6. Working Man's Cafe 7. Imaginary Man 8. The Getaway 9. Vietnam Cowboys 10. Real World
Hmmm My ten track from both: Things Are Gonna Change (The Morning After) After The Fall Working Man's Cafe One More Time Imaginary Man Morphine Song Next Door Neighbour Angola (Wrong Side Of The Law) Over My Head The Real World I'd much rather have both albums as they are, lesser tracks and all, in reality. Also, none of us could ever agree on the 'best' ten tracks either. If we can add two Dave tracks from this period too, I'd have a ten track track LP: Things Are Gonna Change (The Morning After) Morphine Song One More Time The Lie Imaginary Man After The Fall Angola (Wrong Side Of The Law) Flowers In The Rain Over My Head The Real World Again, we'd be missing out on loads of great tracks.
Americana (A Work In Progress) The main thing I take from this, is that there is a properly recorded 'Storyteller' show in Ray's archives. I'm increasingly concerned for Ray, with him having gone 'off grid' for perhaps five years now. Dave (and now Mick) would never have been doing all the promo for the upcoming compilations if Ray was well enough to be involved.
There are the best songs @Zeki. No point in arguing! Pretty close to my list. I thought of adding both "Over My Head" and "Angola", but for some reason "Over My Head" is combined on my iTunes with "Thanksgiving Day". So if I added it I would get both songs. Those songs would have also replaced a couple of the songs you didn't choose like "The Getaway" and "Vietnam Cowboys".
Glad I got a chance to watch this. There's this -- movement called Vaporwave, I'm sure most of you are familiar, but anyway it plays off the visual qualities of that kind of camcorder video smudging and distortion. Very nostalgic, like looking at Chaplin films must have been twenty years later. I've got a bunch of archived cam footage from road trips across America in the 80s-90s, complete with hotel room narration, that look a lot like this. Would love to see these shows. God, how much they must have in the vaults. We need some Peter Jackson or Marty Scorsese to dig through it and put it all together. I love how RD wound up/found himself/put himself in the position to be this kind of no-frills working musician playing medium-sized halls. I bet he felt more comfortable there than in sports arenas. It isn't sad to me, except insofar as it may have fed his insecurities. He feels like a wonderful man. I know he has his huge and glaring flaws, but it's nice to see him au natural, looking out hotel windows, thinking about what he's going to write next.
Oh! I didn’t take it to mean dodgy. Ray says he felt safe at night in New Orleans and I certainly have always felt safe in Tokyo. I meant, and thought Ray meant something else; a distinctive night charm.
Without ‘Morphine Song’…the thought of calling an inter-panel disciplinary board has, admittedly, crossed my mind! Ha ha.
Alex Chilton died thirteen years ago, March 17th. Here’s Ray commenting on that and his stay in The Big Weird.
I just saw some footage of Ray being photographed at this event with Dave and Mick! He did make it! It was on the official Instagram page.
Wow, Americana A Work..., made me emotional a couple times. I will use bullet form because I need the organizational help and I don't have the skill of many other Avids to weave this into a beautiful tapestry of thoughts: Ray's voice is no longer what it was. We all know that. But hearing him singing Celluloid Heroes in 2001 in a way he likely will never do again made me cry a bit. I appreciate what he extracted out of America on his journey. I'm a huge David Lynch fan, and just like David Lynch and his time he spent in the "flyover" states and cities, I'm thrilled that Ray got this vehicular time in Kansas City, Cleveland, Houston, and others; whether he turns those experiences into gold with the Americana book and pair of albums or not, I'm just happy for him. I love love love the idea of Ray Davies as the travelogue recorder. That's what he's always been, a master observer, but we haven't had lots of evidence of that in recent history. Seeing him take the helm of the camcorder (and dispatching somebody to assist in cases) is like oxygen to a fan who wonders whether a guy like Ray lost his edge in the modern era. A) His 2000s albums prove he hasn't but B) His *videography* also proves he hasn't. I hope and pray that Ray's health is such that he can substantially contribute to this recent marketing push for the Kinks' sixtieth. It doesn't matter if he can sing anymore, or not; my avatar and my boy <spoiler>Macca</spoiler> both struggle in that direction. But Ray and his family personally deserve the accolades that this band will receive over the next 18 months. *I* will certainly talk him up wherever I can. ETA: Love to see @palisantrancho 's post, Ray can and should embrace it all!!!!