Ray Davies - See My Friends (2010)

Raymond Douglas "Ray" Davies CBE (born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the rhythm guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for The Kinks, which he led with his younger brother, Dave.

See My Friends is a studio album released by Ray Davies with the collaboration of various other artists on 1 November 2010 in Europe and in early 2011 in the US.
The album features new studio collaborations of Ray Davies' compositions, which were originally recorded by his band The Kinks.
The album was recorded in Oslo, New York City, New Jersey, Chicago and London. Davies stated: "This project came about almost by accident, with some tracks I had to appreciate the style of the other artists, otherwise it would have sounded unbalanced. And I wanted the album to work as an entire listening experience but each track had a life of its own".
The album featured the last studio recording by Alex Chilton. See My Friends was released seven months after his death. He previously covered "Till The End of The Day" on Big Star's Third/Sister Lovers.
A tribute album starring the man of honor himself, who also curated the whole affair, See My Friends is a bit of a curious creature. Certainly, Ray Davies' influence is so pervasive he could rope in a number of heavy hitters from a number of different generations. Jackson Browne and Bruce Springsteen sign up for duets; Metallica backs the legend on a rip through “You Really Got Me,” while Spoon offers suitably spacy support on “See My Friends”; Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora harmonize on a languid “Celluloid Heroes,” and Black Francis comes in to sing “This Is Where I Belong,” a song he covered with gusto some 16 years earlier.
As it turns out, “This Is Where I Belong” provides a good indication of the energy level of See My Friends in general: the older dudes are comfortable playing with Ray while the newer dudes are respectful, delivering amiably mannered performances. It’s all pleasant enough, but it’s hard not to wish that more of the record had the kick of “Til The End of the Day,” where the late Alex Chilton seems genuinely enthused to sing with his idol.

Tracklist

1. Ray Davies & Bruce Springsteen - Better Things  (3:13)
     Bass, Backing Vocals – Will Lee
     Drums – Anton Fig
     Guitar – Sid McGinnis
     Guitar, Backing Vocals – Felicia Collins
     Piano, Backing Vocals – Paul Shaffer
     Vocals, Guitar – Bruce Springsteen

2. Ray Davies, Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora - Celluloid Heroes  (5:19)
     Bass – Will Lee
     Drums – Anton Fig
     Guitar – Felicia Collins, Richie Sambora, Sid McGinnis
     Piano, Organ, Harmonium – Paul Shaffer
     Vocals – Jon Bon Jovi

3. Ray Davies & Mumford & Sons - Days / This Time Tomorrow  (4:17)
     Banjo – Marshall Winston
     Bass – Ted Dwane
     Piano – Ben Lovett 
     Vocals, Guitar, Drums, Percussion – Marcus Mumford

4. Ray Davies, Lucinda Williams & The 88 - Long Way From Home  (3:05)
     Bass, Backing Vocals – Todd O'Keefe
     Drums, Percussion – Anthony Zimmitti
     Guitar, Backing Vocals – Keith Slettendahl
     Piano, Organ – Adam Merrin
     Vocals – Lucinda Williams

5. Ray Davies & Metallica - You Really Got Me  (2:17)
     Bass – Robert Trujillo
     Drums – Lars Ulrich
     Guitar, Backing Vocals – Kirk Hammett
     Vocals, Rhythm Guitar – James Hetfield

6. Ray Davies & Paloma Faith - Lola  (4:33)
     Bass – Andrea Goldsworthy
     Drums – Samuel Agard
     Guitar – Seye Adelekan
     Keyboards – Dominic Pipkin
     Vocals – Paloma Faith

7. Ray Davies & Jackson Browne - Waterloo Sunset  (4:07)
     Guitar [Baritone] – Bill Shanley
     Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Jackson Browne

8. Ray Davies, Alex Chilton & The 88 - 'Til The End Of The Day  (2:42)
     Bass – Todd O'Keefe
     Congas – Chopper
     Drums, Percussion – Anthony Zimmitti
     Guitar – Keith Slettendahl
     Organ – Adam Merrin
     Vocals – Alex Chilton

9. Ray Davies & Amy MacDonald - Dead End Street  (3:31)
     Bass – Dick Nolan
     Drums – Damon Wilson
     Guitar – Bill Shanley
     Piano – Ben Waters
     Vocals – Amy MacDonald

10. Ray Davies & Spoon - See My Friends  (4:01)
       Bass – Rob Pope
       Drums, Percussion – Jim Eno
       Keyboards – Eric Harvey
       Vocals, Guitar – Britt Daniel

11. Ray Davies & Black Francis - This Is Where I Belong  (3:04)
       Bass – Dick Nolan
       Drums – Damon Wilson
       Guitar – Bill Shanley
       Keyboards – Ian Gibbons
       Vocals, Guitar – Black Francis

12. Ray Davies & The 88 - David Watts  (2:21)
       Bass – Todd O'Keefe
       Drums, Percussion – Anthony Zimmitti
       Keyboards – Adam Merrin
       Vocals, Guitar – Keith Slettendahl

13. Ray Davies & Gary Lightbody - Tired Of Waiting  (2:50)
       Bass – Dick Nolan
       Drums – Damon Wilson
       Guitar – Bill Shanley
       Keyboards – Ian Gibbons
       Vocals, Guitar – Gary Lightbody

14. Ray Davies & Billy Corgan - All Day And All Of The Night / Destroyer  (3:54)
       Bass – Mark Tulin
       Drums – Damon Wilson
       Piano, Keyboards – Ian Gibbons
       Vocals, Guitar – Billy Corgan

15. Ray Davies & Mando Diao - Victoria  (3:18)
       Bass – Carl-Johan Fogelklou
       Drums – Samuel Giers
       Guitar, Vocals – Björn Dixgård, Gustaf Norén
       Keyboards – Mats Björke   

16. Ray Davies & Arno  - Moments  (3:08)
       Bass – Dick Nolan
       Drums – Damon Wilson
       Guitar – Tim Van Der Kuil
       Piano – Ian Gibbons
       Vocals – Arno Hintjens

Credits

• Engineer – Andy Savours (tracks: 3, 4, 6 to 14), Chris Shaw (tracks: 1, 2), Dougal Lott (tracks: 7), Mike Gillies (tracks: 5)
• Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
• Mixed By – Mike Crossey
• Producer – Martyn Berg, Ray Davies
• Vocals, Guitar – Ray Davies
• Written-By, Arranged By – Ray Davies

Notes

Released: 1 November 2010 

Genre: Rock 

Length: 49:15 

Label - Universal Records

Ray Davies - Other People's Lives (2006)

“Other People's Lives” is an album by Kinks' leader and chief songwriter Ray Davies was Davies' third solo album, but his first straightforward studio release.
As he states in his wonderful liner notes where he details the recording circumstances for each cut, plus the album at large “Other People's Lives” is no concept album, but there are themes that hold it together. It´s a shiny, simmered-in-the-studio album where each song creeps on just a little longer than necessary.
Davies tackles mortality and, one of his favorite themes, domesticity, head-on here, and his wit and wry critical eye remain intact. As an album, “Other People's Lives” may occasionally lag in momentum, but song for song, this is his strongest set of material since Low Budget, but a better comparison may be Misfits. Like that 1978 gem, this record doesn't rock hard and has a distinct writerly bent, as Davies presents a collection of narratives and character sketches that play like short stories. If there's a sense of creeping mortality here, there's also little fear (and there's no rumination over his shooting in New Orleans, either, since all the material was written before that incident). There's humor, irony, earned sentimentality and knowing, careful observations, all wrapped up in meticulously crafted words and music. There are hints of the Kinks  "Is There Life After Breakfast?" lopes along like an outtake from Everybody's in Show-Biz, the absurd "Stand Up Comic" recalls the vaudevillian hard rock of the late '70s but there's nothing written as a conscious emulation of his past; instead, he's returning to his strengths and finding new wrinkles within his signature style. And if there are no flat-out knockouts here, there's not a bad song here, either, and each tune seems stronger with repeated plays. Most of all, Ray Davies sounds engaged as a writer and musician in a way that he hasn't in years, and that doesn't just make for a strong comeback, but it makes listeners realize what they've all missed since he's been away for 13 years (or perhaps longer, given the disconnect on latter-day Kinks records). Here's hoping that “Other People's Lives” kicks off a latter-day renaissance for the singer/songwriter, since it's proof that while many try to emulate him, there's no substitute for the crankiest, funniest songwriter in pop.
Promotional singles were distributed to radio for the tracks "Things Are Gonna Change (The Morning After)" and "Over my Head". No singles have been commercially released.


01. "Things Are Gonna Change (The Morning After)"  - 4:21
02. "After The Fall"  - 4:35
03. "Next Door Neighbour"  - 3:53
04. "All She Wrote"  - 4:10
05. "Creatures of Little Faith"  - 3:45
06. "Run Away From Time"  - 3:48
07. "The Tourist"  - 4:46
08. "Is There Life After Breakfast?"  - 4:30
09. "The Getaway (Lonesome Train)"  - 6:36
10. "Other People's Lives"  - 4:52
11. "Stand Up Comic"  - 4:33
12. "Over My Head"  - 6:02
13. "Thanksgiving Day" (UK-only bonus track)  - 5:10

Credits
Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals, Mellotron, Organ [hammond] – Ray Davis
Guitar – Steve Bolton,
Mandolin, Banjo, Guitar [Dobro] – Mark Johns
Bass – Dick Nolan, Norman Watt-Roy, David Swift
Drums – Dylan Howe, Toby Baron
Tambourine, Cymbal [Mallet Cymbal], Mixed By – Laurie Latham
Choir And Horns – Andy Scarth
New Drums And Guitars – Ben Mason
Guitar – Milton McDonald
Saxophone [Tenor] – Nick Payn, Phil Veacock
Trumpet – Matthew Winch
Vocals – Isabel Fructuoso
Choir – Crouch End Festival Chorus, David Temple, Alida Giusti, Dick Nolan, Linda McBride, Martin Davies, Martin Rex, Serge Krebs
Arranged By, Producer, Written-By – Ray Davies
Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
Mixed By – Andy Scarth, Phil Bodger, Ray Davies, Serge Krebs
Engineer(s) – Graham Dominy, Martin Rex, Adrian Hall, Laurie Latham

Notes
All tracks composed by Ray Davies
Thanksgiving Day is a hidden track, not mentioned on the cover. It is actually kicks in right after after Over My Head, also on track 12
The booklet includes notes by Ray Davies about the songs on the album.
Genre - Rock
Duration Time - 61:07
© 2006 V2 Label