New Ray Davies Album 'Americana' Out April 21 2017

Subject matter/approach wise very close to Muswell Hillbillies material, though the backing is more authentically Americana than the Kinks English pub band attempt at aping the same: unfortunately I have to say I prefer The Kinks ramshackle second hand approach to country rock which to me has more character. Ray always seems cast adrift on a sea of singer-songwriter anonymousness with the sound of his solo work. Just a bit too sterilely tasteful. Could do with a John Gosling piano flourish or a Dave guitar lick to add more bite.

Having said that, to have him in good voice and writing decent material at this advanced age is not something I should be taking for granted. The melody of the 'do you live in a dream, or do you like in reality' hook to me contains a bit of an echo of the 'there's something hidden in you/and you keep it out of view' section of 1976's 'On The Outside'.

 

Ray Davies heads down “The Great Highway” on latest single from new album — listen

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08lfbyy

Ray on Front Row for everyone in the UK, good interview with him.

 

Ray Davies on understanding hipsters, not talking to Pete Townshend – and why he fled Tony Blair’s Britain

 

Ray Davies on Kinks' Early Hits, Why Family Bands Lead to 'Bloodshed'

 

I really enjoyed the interview he gave on NPR..If only the interviewer could manage to pronounce his name correctly....

 

Beast Exclusive: Ray Davies Returns With New ‘Americana’ Music Video
A new video filmed at KONK for the title track 'Americana'. I quite like this one, probably more than the others that have been previewed. All the reviews popping up in various magazines seem very positive about the release too.

 

Escucha en exclusiva el nuevo disco de Ray Davies
Listen to the whole album, if you so wish. I personally don't hear any standout tracks, of the calibre of the best on Working Man's Café, but this seems to work 'as a whole'. I seem to recall Ray saying in one of the interviews that that is how he would like it to be listened to.

 

Hopefully, it will improve with repeated listens.

 

Thanks for the link. I'm now listening. I'm presuming that the female who shares some of the lead vocals on a few songs is the lady from the Jayhawks. (Is this so?)

The songs do have that Americana/country feel, so it may have been an apt title. But yes, I do agree with your initial opinion. The songs here and there have nice parts, with some nice lyrical twists, but it's sort of "generic" Americana. However, I'll need to listen more, especially once I pick up the album this weekend.

 

I bought the CD. My indy store gets new releases mid-week.

Hate to agree with the previous posts so far. It's nice/OK, but nothing as good as (the best songs on) Working Man's Cafe or Other People's Lives. Better songs I think so far are "Americana," "Poetry," "I've Heard That Beat Before," and the last 3 songs.
The only song I initially don't like is the one featuring Karen Grotberg (yes, Arnold, the lady from the Jayhawks)......"A Place In Your Heart." Kind of cloying.

I guess on the positives, 1) I'm happy to have this instead of yet another interpretation of Kinks songs....and 2) I was uninterested with albums like Forever Changes at first, so you never know.

 

Remember that Volume 2 is slated for later this year. Considering how good Working Man's Cafe was hot on the heels of Other People's Lives, maybe he's still got some stronger material up his sleeve?

 

I just happened to get an early copy today, I had ordered all the separate Pink Floyd sets and Amazon must have decided to throw in Americana a day early. Just got home, but I'm gonna settle in and give the album a listen this afternoon, can't wait!

 

This album is very Muswell Hillbillyish, but I also hear some nods to the Lola and Showbiz and Preservation albums, and the lyrics are very Van Dyke Parks like. The first album this makes me think of is Orange Crate Art, and that is a good thing. Ray's vocals sound better than ever, and The Jayhawks are a fantastic backing band.

If this was put out as a Kinks album, it would be hailed as a minor masterpiece, which it still is anyway. I highly recommend the album.

 

I think it s a good album with some nice songs and Ray Davies twistes. Could have been slightly shorter but imo a few Ray Davies gems are better than none
A place in your heart is just gorgeous

 

How did he pronounce it? Davies is the Welsh version of Davis and can be pronounced the same way, so Davies can either be pronounced DAV-EEZ (English) or DAV-ISS (Welsh). As Ray has Welsh ancestry and Welsh spelling but born in England then either can be correct.

 

Has anyone got the 44/24 version available on HDTracks? If the mastering is quiet/crankable, then I'll get the hi-res. If the mastering is loud, then I'll get the CD.

 

Enjoyed it quite a bit upon first listen - looking forward to relistening loud this weekend.

Very nice to hear how Tarzana seems to be paradise to him - we're south of the Blvd. (Ray wouldn't know what that means) but hopefully this raises our property value!

Jeff

 

Oh and yes - me, I purchased the 24-44 FLAC edition. Listened through my dragonfly and etymotic research headphones. DR ranges quite a bit - but nothing really under DR7 and most above 8 and many 11 and 12. Hard to average this one out.. but I'd say it's a DR10 or DR11. The DR15 track is brief, spoken, playful ("The Man Upstairs").

Hope this helps. So yes - THIS was worth it in HD. So many new albums NOT worth getting. Keith Richards, great album, DR was horrific. This one, HD-ready!

I was afraid this was going to be a DR6 job but nope - plenty of range (which ranges within the album itself!)

Jeff

 

My copy should be @ my door when I get home this evening.i will probably give a listen tonight,and over the weekend. The last two proper solo albums definitely grew on me over time.a couple of weeks ago I listened to both of them in anticipation of the new release and both sounded much better than I remembered.
looking forward to listening to the new record.

 

Just heard about the Jayhawks connection on this album. Are they on the whole album or just one song?

 

Whole album.

 

Very cool. Thanks for confirming. Will have to pick it up .

 

about 1/2 through first go round.album has me reeling it seems like a heart felt wonder.

 

What a great album. Just after One full play. Only heard two tracks prior to release.

Ray occasionally gets a bit cliche but it works.

One of the years best.