21st Century - # 14 on my Dave list. Good to see this lost demo get in here somewhere as it was released only 18 months or so ago, so it hasn't been around very long for us to get that familiar with it. It was one of the few times we actually had something new to hear, experience and discuss in real time here while the thread was in progress which was kind of cool, so this may have had something to do with that since it is so new. Never knew Dave and Goffin had become friends during those years until this was announced as being released and we learned the back story which was also neat. I remember I had some fun tracking this single down by calling a local independent store in another city 45 minutes away, having them special order it, and then driving over and picking it up the next weekend. Just like the old days. Only released physically as a US Record Store Day 7" single in Nov 2022 thus far but now also as a download and stream. We just had the latest Record Store Day this past Saturday but no Kinks related releases this time around. All She Wrote - # 4 on my Ray list. I think the guitars and the drums here sound particularly exciting, sharp, and crisp and the production doesn't bother me in the least, but I think we've been all over that stuff - different strokes, literally by these particular players and all that, so that's all I'll write about that. Not surprised to see this got ranked in this countdown but thought it may have ended up a little higher consensus-wise. Conversely, I now think I may have put this a little too high on my own list after looking at the rest of my top Ray ten. Oh well, there's no doubt all of those will appear in good time I'm confident. That's what I get for putting both lists together literally at the last minute after taxes and all that. First day for me to go two for two on the consensus ranked side of things in this Solo Bros Kountdown.
Dang! I jumped back in and because I was so far behind I decided to skip to the day before we started the countdown and now I find out Mark delivered some Cold Chisel! I have been wanting his guidance on discovering this band. ...and Procal Harm too! After the countdown (or during it if I have time, which seems unlikely lately), I am going to have to go back and see what I missed!
I'm a fan of both of today's picks - catchy songs of environmental and emotional devastation, anyone? 21st Century was the last thing I listened to when prepping for my Dave list. He sounds great - it ended up at no. 10 for me. (And today is Earth Day, apparently, so it seems serendipitous that this is today's Dave song.) I really liked OPL on my first listen just a few weeks ago. The rockin' All She Wrote (my no. 5) was a standout, especially the vocals and the bitter bite of a few killer lines (I've met this person ... reminds me of you; Picked up one of her old love letters ... such a change from that cold, bitter scan* of what I was, and what I am), followed by the gut-punch twist at the end ... that's all she wrote. *I was very happy to find a cd copy of this album to make my own a few days ago, and now that I have the liner notes in my hand (also back here), I can see that it's a scan (not scam) of the old love letters (what I was) and the good-bye note (what I am), which makes more sense (even if it does sound a bit like he sings "scam"). (Yesterday I came across an lp copy of OPL too, but I had to leave it behind - a bit rich for my blood at approx. 15 times what I paid for the cd!) ---- I have finally tallied my scorecard so far: Dave: 2/6: When The Wind Blows (Emergency); 21st Century Ray 3/6: The Tourist; Yours Truly, Confused N10; That's All She Wrote
Whilst Ray's prefers sitting on his sofa Dave doesn't look down the back for spare songs and goes belly up!
14 - Rock You, Rock Me (Bug) 81 - 10. stereo mix, recorded early 2002 at Laurel Canyon Studios and Stagg Street Studio, Los Angeles, California In the middle of it all There's a reason for it all If a tear comes, let it fall If your heart aches, give a call If your world is falling around And the rain keeps pouring down Rock you, rock me, rock on Have faith, have hope, have love In the middle of the night When the truth is far from clear Don't you worry, don't you cry A new dawn will soon be here Oh when they tell you everything is wrong Just lift your head up to the sun Rock you, rock me, rock on Have faith, have hope, have love Time and time again we keep making the same mistakes throughout all history Maybe this is the chance we've all been waiting for to build a better world for you and me There is no mystery Rock you, rock me, rock on Have faith, have hope, have love Rock you, rock me, rock on Have faith, have hope, have love Rock you, rock on Have faith, have hope, have love Rock you, rock me, rock on Have faith, have hope, have love Rock you, rock me, rock on Rock you, rock me, rock on Have faith, have hope, have love Rock you, rock me, rock on! Written by: Dave Davies Published by: Capedale Ltd. So I see the title of this one and I am imagining a Scorpions track from the eighties, or some kind of glam/hair metal track, with lots of innuendos, and double entendres ,,,, But we open up with a beautiful piano and then it's joined by the acoustic guitar, and one of Dave's most beautiful and delicate vocals yet. I really want to like this one, but sadly it ends up just coming across as a bit conry and I can't get past that. I like the structure, and the beautiful section sounds beautiful, and the impassioned section sounds impassioned, but Rock You Rock Me Rock On, really cheapens it for me. Full write up
14 - The Real World (Our Country) 105 - 8. You danced and partied at the Mardi Gras Threw back all the beads at the parade Fake worlds and logos in the shopping mall where you came from Everything seemed the same the whole world now So you headed down south Left your old home town Relocated so far away from the real world But where is the real world? Get out of the bar And follow the stars Now you've relocated so far away from the real world But where is the real world? Ambitious eyes set firmly on the future So keen to leave your old home town But you're a lost soul looking for the great illusion in another state You had to escape you know you just couldn't wait you thought the real world let you down. So you headed down south left another home town Now you don't have the time to think who's left behind in the real world Watching game shows all day was no kind of deal It all seemed oh so surreal had to break from the real world But where is the real world? One day you'll wake up and you will feel "I am alive this is real" Your friends came down to visit from all over To see first hand the brand new start you made But you were overqualified for the tips you earn in a bar It won't work here and it didn't work there but you tried it anyway So head off in the car and follow the stars There's someone waiting not far away in the real world Hope you get there this time But just bear in mind There's a lot of lost souls looking out for a sign for the real world But where is the real world? One day you'll wake up and you will feel "I am alive this is real" Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray Music Ltd. To me, just reading through the lyrics, without relistening yet, it sounds like Ray singing to himself. He left his home to find something he felt he had lost or never had. He moved on to another place, and nothing really changed. He moved on again and nothing really changed. It seems, and maybe I'm missing something, but I'll have a listen and read again, but it seems like the very true thing that you can run away from places, to other places, but essentially you will always bring yourself with you, and if you are the thing that is hobbling yourself, or you are looking for something to change in your life, a different view of the horizon isn't going to supply it. Home is where the heart is, and the heart is inside your chest, so the only home you can actually count on is the body you live in. I don't know, maybe I missed the point completely, but that's what I heard lol Full write up
The Real World (Working Man's Cafe). stereo mix (5:06), recorded Mar 2007 at Room and Board Studios, Hermitage, Nashville,Tennessee You danced and partied at the Mardi Gras Threw back all the beads at the parade Fake worlds and logos in the shopping mall where you came from Everything seemed the same the whole world now So you headed down south Left your old home town Relocated so far away from the real world But where is the real world? Get out of the bar And follow the stars Now you've relocated so far away from the real world But where is the real world? Ambitious eyes set firmly on the future So keen to leave your old home town But you're a lost soul looking for the great illusion in another state You had to escape you know you just couldn't wait you thought the real world let you down. So you headed down south left another home town Now you don't have the time to think who's left behind in the real world Watching game shows all day was no kind of deal It all seemed oh so surreal had to break from the real world But where is the real world? One day you'll wake up and you will feel "I am alive this is real" Your friends came down to visit from all over To see first hand the brand new start you made But you were overqualified for the tips you earn in a bar It won't work here and it didn't work there but you tried it anyway So head off in the car and follow the stars There's someone waiting not far away in the real world Hope you get there this time But just bear in mind There's a lot of lost souls looking out for a sign for the real world But where is the real world? One day you'll wake up and you will feel "I am alive this is real" Written by: Ray Davies Published by: Davray Music Ltd. This is another one where Ray heads straight into the vocal, after a short piano chord strike. The opening verse seems like a message to trying to escape the falsity of the modern world... that's not very Ray now is it.... As we go through here, I wonder how disenchanted Ray has become with the world, since he had concerns in 1967/68, and pretty much stated he was out of step with the world in 1971... and fifty years later it is much worse, and becoming some kind of Orwellian cliche... Anyway, I'm a bit tired this morning, so that may be all bollocks, but that's what these lyrics are saying to me this morning. Musically this takes the form of a beautiful ballad, and I like it a lot. Full write up
I missed with both today. I really like Rock You Rock Me, but I can't get past the chorus... it's ok, but it sort of cheapens the song for me. Otherwise it would likely have made my list. The Real World came in at 23 on my long list. So it only just missed out. I like it a lot, and would have a challenge picking my favourite of the two versions.
...and we go from the sublime to the ridiculous. At last we hit something on my Dave list, and it's my #1. Yes, I know there were a couple of more obvious candidates for #1 than "Rock You Rock Me", but I love its corniness - it's a no holds barred, lighters in the air power ballad and I think it does it really well. It comes across as utterly sincere even though the title is silly. A few other tracks from Bug made my list, but none impress me quite as much as this one has ever since I first heard the album. "The Real World" is #10 on my Ray list. It's more the WMC version I was thinking of when I placed it there, but it serves the dual purpose of giving me a second selection from Our Country. Like most of WMC, it just sounds better, more lively, more Ray, even more Kinks than his other solo albums, which is why most of its tracks appear in my list.
21st Century - Unranked I think I had decided I didn't have time to locate non album Dave tracks before deadline for taking my little hol-i-day! I didn't mind this at all thanks to its structure, vocal and general lack of Daveness in that it was conceived as a conventional song. Maybe i would have picked it given the opposition i just can't say, though happily others got it started by carrying the Gerry can! All She Wrote - Rank #9 I can vividly recall first listening to this and hearing of the suicide note which I found very clever on Ray’s part. Whatever one may think of this songs production it is impactful and you can remember it long after its finished and that's without even considering the title could have even more than two meanings or connotations. It's dark a bit emotionally breathless and full of caustic cutting criticisms of the protagonist who if it can be said has a last laugh its solely because he is the only lover left alive! Or at least as far as I can tell from Ray as that's all he wrote! Today's pick is Ray so I'm guessing Dave is up 3-2 if this is the 5th vote but if 6th maybe 3-3? Actual Top 20 Selection Scorecard is; Ray 2 Dave 1
“Rock You, Rock Me”/“The Real World” (both versions): All three songs weren’t in my lists. The Dave song is a bit too AOR for my taste, although the chorus is a bit of an ear worm. Ray’s song is a bit more literary and profound in the lyrics, dealing w/his usual topic of “where do I belong”.
14 Rock You, Rock Me - Unranked As has been said there are some very fine elements here though the song title and how it's sung really hit it in the solar plexus 14 The Real World - Ranking (of course it's) # 14! Initially I didn't know where to put this and wondered if it would scrape in but that sung melodic line alone; "This is reeeeeel!" Coupled with a thematic (and briefly vocal) link to Imaginary Man it was a shoe in and climbed my ladder of success! I suddenly hear a little 4 note strum similar to but not as slow or gentle as the one in Joni Mitchell's song I Don't Know Where I Stand. Ok it must now be 3-3 with 6 counted but willing to be corrected by our Scoreboard Savants! Easy win for Ray above and as for individual songs selected it now stands at; Ray 3 Dave 1 N.b. Might my backyard wind have been too strong when my daughter crunched the numbers?
Rock You, Rock Me isn't my favorite ballad from Bug, I'd lie! if I said it was, but I still enjoy it tremendously. What I'm not certain of is if I enjoy it in spite of its corniness or because of it. Dave wrote this in 2002, about 15 years too late for it to be the summer's slow dancing ballad… but really, you've got to give it to him that there's quite a bit of panache involved in putting together an homage to this genre (eighties hard rocking power ballads) in the … 21st century, especially since he would've never done such a thing in the eighties! Whatever, I like (almost) everything here, but especially the delicate verse, the corny chorus, the storming guitar solo and the live version from Transformation. The bombastic bridge less so, but it's part of the deal, isn't it ? The song rocks me and landed at #20 in my Dave list!
Two days for the price of one… Dave 21st Century may only be a demo but it has been polished into a respectable sheen. Still, it is one of Dave’s songs that I simply overlooked. This isn’t the first time I have to thank everyone who voted for a song for bringing it back to my attention. The lyrics and the music intertwine beautifully into a song that I’m adding to my Dave playlist. Rock Me, Rock You (number 15 on my list) is Dave doing a seventies - or eighties (thanks @Fortuleo) - big ballad, cigarette lighters-aloft. It’s not classic Dave but it is classic rock. Every Dave playlist needs a Rock Me, Rock You to break up the madness. Ray All She Wrote packs a great punch: crisp lyrics, crunchy guitars and a catchy chorus. So I’m not sure why I left it off my list. Indeed I didn’t even have it in my top 30. Maybe I was put off by that big Australian barmaid? It’s a good song, a worthy inclusion here and should be on my Ray playlist. When I was shortlisting songs for my Ray list I initially felt I had chosen every song from Workingman’s Café, which is my favourite solo album. But I did leave a few off, including The Real World. It’s a perfectly good song and I can see why others like it but I just felt Ray had written the same story a few times before.
I've just realised that I was the only person to choose Conspiracy (at number 20) in my Ray list. I picked three songs from 80 Days and placed them at 18-20 because of their demo status. I like Conspiracy because of what Mark described in his original write-up as "an almost Tom Waits kind of track" combined with what I see as a Pink Floyd/The Wall atmosphere. It's not classic Ray Davies but it stands out for being entirely different to his other solo work.
‘Rock You, Rock Me’: Not on my list. This is what I said originally: ‘Rock You, Rock Me’: hmm. (And now I’m frantically trying to think of what else to say.) Okay, that sure came out of left field. I do not like the opening lines, “In the middle of it all, there’s a reason for it all,” for starters. But then there’s a short crunch guitar and I get my hopes up. Unfortunately, I like raw Dave vocals (circa *Ronnie Lane and Rod Stewart) and this is too polished for me, as is the guitar (past that initial crunchy tone). *how does one lose the rasp like that? Rod Stewart doesn’t/couldn’t do that. It’s his voice. —-end paste— ‘The Real World’: Number 11 on my Ray list. My original comments that I stand by: ‘The Real World’: Beautiful. 12 in a row (tallied as 10 + 2, of course). Simply put, I have nothing but accolades for this album (pure and bonus). I like the accordion (whether it’s real or a keyboard). This ballad, sung in such a warm voice, puts me in a pensive mood. Terrific. —end paste—
Rock You, Rock Me: Well, I couldn't not rank it. No, 80s power ballad is pretty low on my list of favorite genres. But he just does it so well here! Against my better judgement and giving Dave full credit for the sincerity in his heart, this tasty nugget ranked #17 on my list. My favorite part is the chorus coming after the key change in the bridge; it is cheesy, but it is just such a nice moment of Dave acceleration. The Real World, on the other hand... this song always leaves me a breathless; both Ray's tour de force bonus version on WMC but even his ghostly Americana version where he gets a little help from his friends, especially at the beginning. When I first heard the track in 2008, it was not really my favorite; it passed me by amid very stiff competition from the other album tracks. But it has steadily risen in my estimation, and represents simply the best of what Ray can offer melodically and lyrically. On my list, it came in at #4, facing stiff competition from another friend from the same album as well as two 80 Days numbers. I think if I could convey Ray a single message of thanks, it would be to tell him how much those solo tracks mean to me. I'm so glad you folks enjoyed them as much as I did. Anyway, in the face off, Ray decisively wins today and takes the lead, 4-3.
Rock On is great for about 2.5 minutes, but then it drags out to 6… The Real World is pretty good, especially the earlier version. Ray for today.
This countdown is killing me. Once again, neither song made my list. "Rock You, Rock Me"- This would make my list of least favorites songs we have covered. It's safe to say, this power ballad is not for me. "The Real World" - I have nothing to say except that at least it's better than the Dave song. I'm only talking about the Working Man's Cafe version. I can't even get through the Our Country version. I'm feeling grumpy this morning and neither of these songs are helping. Song #14 goes to Ray Dave- 4 Ray-3
