Kinks Choral Collection

Ray Davies | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2010
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca Records
• ASIN: B002S0OBNW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #158,828 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Now the curtain rises on Ray Davies' debut album for Decca, The Kinks Choral Collection, on which he has hand-picked a selection of songs from his repertoire and arranged them for his band and choir. And not just any old choir. Davies fans will be aware that, wherever else his career has taken him, he has always remained rooted in his native north London. Therefore the only logical choice for this Muswell Hillbilly boy's new album was the Crouch End Festival Chorus. "With a song like Waterloo Sunset, I feel as if the people I wrote it for are singing it, and that's what's interesting," he says. "I know some of the singers in the choir, though not all, but as a group I imagine them all living in north London, and they are my subject matter as well as the people singing it. There's some sort of symmetry there." The disc was recorded in London too, with the sessions divided between Konk studios and Air Lyndhurst in not-too-distant Hampstead. The seed of the new album was planted when Davies was asked to perform at the BBC Electric Proms at the Roundhouse in 2007, around the time of the release of Working Man's Café. He'd first met choirmaster David Temple when he conducted the 80-piece choir used in Davies' `Flatlands' piece (a commission from the Norwich and Norfolk Festival). He bumped into Temple again in Highgate, where he was conducting the Crouch End Chorus in a local church, and hit upon the idea of using the Chorus for his Electric Proms appearance. This worked so well that they reunited for two performances at the Hampton Court Festival last summer, and then inevitably the discussion turned to capturing Davies and choir on disc. Davies had his own conception of how each song would work with the choir, but Temple played a vital role in shaping and interpreting his wishes. "My first brief to David and (arranger) Steve Markwick, regarding the arranging, was `I don't want this to be (a) a karaoke record or (b) a singalong with backing vocals.' I wanted the arrangements to be ambitious and for the pieces to be interesting to sing, but I didn't want it to sound like Messiaen or something like that, which wouldn't lend itself to my style of music. Something David taught me very early on was that a choir sounds great when it's a choir, and there's a certain kind of ambience you have to retain. Otherwise it'll just sound like a doowop group." The finished tracks display an ingenious palette of choral techniques, from the tricky tempo changes and contrasting parts of `Shangri-La' to the minimalist, Steve Reich-like "ah-ah-ah" sounds in `You Really Got Me'. One of the most instantly striking efforts is the acapella treatment of `See My Friends.' "I started `See My Friends' with a band, but I rearranged it after we'd finished recording it," he recalls. "In other words, I cut it up in the studio after it was recorded. It sounds brilliant! I'm really pleased with it, because it's an a cappella version." The selection of six songs from the Village Green album is testament to how highly he regards that particular album, though he admits that some of the songs are not well known. "I think these songs fit together really well as a record," Davies says. "I couldn't re-record anything unless I could bring something new to it, and I think I certainly have."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kinks Choral Collection, January 22, 2010

By 

Navydad5 "Navydad5" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Kinks Choral Collection (Audio CD)

Kudos on a terrific concept. Loved that Ray provided newly recorded lead vocals to this collection. The Village Green segment is spectacular. Hope there will be a Volume II.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Heavenly, January 24, 2012

By 

Carl Jaensch (Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kinks Choral Collection (Audio CD)

This album truly is 'heavenly'...the brilliant songs of Ray Davies and the Kinks given a whole new feel.The choral singers seem to soften and complete the sound. This album, unlike the other version, has 'Postcard from London' on it as the opening track.... a nostalgic song, but beautifully crafted as well. I listen over and over!

0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "CELLULOID HEROES" PERSONAL HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE REDUCED TO CHORAL WORLD MUSIC, March 26, 2011

By 

D. Woncisz "LADIDAH" (usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Kinks Choral Collection (Audio CD)

"You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard,
Some that you recognize, some that you've hardly even heard of.
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain." - The Kinks, Celluloid Heroes

(First let me say that I have a friend who dedicates his life to acting, and I don't think anything you have a passion for is ever done in vain).

CELLULOID HEROES was the mantra in my L.A. daze: Climbing the super-steep mountain past Beechwood Dr., and the cemetary with my Punk, Goth and Neo friends and Splashing my "Riva" tag on the last O next to the D on the Hollywood sign; ending a brief stay at my devout grandma's West Hollywood home to live on Marina Del Rey's Bora Bora, Dropping in on the apt of my 4 Guitar Institute Heavy Metal guyz from Jersey, to make sure they kept practicing at least 4 hours a day, in between the Jack, Bud, and MTV; being kept out of trouble by my friend Willow and her cool Hells Angels parents; getting my first surfing lessons from the surfer boyz in Santa Monica and Long Beach; and finally, turning down a UCLA scholarship from my computer analyst boss for a ticket back to Europe. "La-La Land" kept me plenty occupied, and the California sunshine nursed my NY winter skin from hyper-light to just right.

I like the Wikipedea review of this song, where it states: "Davies treats as metaphor the sometimes ethereal and elusive nature of Hollywood fame and success." This can be used to encompass the strife for fame and success on Wall Street, reality tv, the blogasphere, any-and-everywhere... it always comes at a price.

"And those who are successful,
Be always on your guard,
Success walks hand in hand with failure
Along Hollywood Boulevard." - The Kinks, Celluloid Heroes