Customer Reviews

The Kinks Choral Collection

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Hmmm?...one wonders, how would anyone, even the amazing Raymond, pull this off? Ray Davies is my favorite WRITER - not just song writer, but wordsmythe of all kinds and all time. His wit, cynicism, sometimes joy, and freakin' cleverness never fails to make me smile. As I listened to this for the first time I couldn't stop smiling and simply got lost in a concept that really COULDN'T be 'pulled off' by anyone else I can think of. His web site talks about what a joy it was to have 'the people he was singing TO on Waterloo Sunset' actually singing WITH him on it! His genius to me is underlined by this treatment of Waterloo Sunset, what I consider the greatest rock 'n roll arranged song ever. I thought "how could even a chorus improve on the original vocal arrangement"? It doesn't! It honors that original arangement with the richness of a chorus. How beautiful! It just makes you wonder, what's he gonna be up to next?

The Kinks Choral Collection is definitive a Masterpiece.
Some of the best Songs ever written in the History of Music in a fantastic new Choral/Band Arrangement.
Shangri La, See my friends and the Village Green Suite to name a few by so many Highlights from that wonderful CD.
You really got me Ray , I like your Angels from North-London !!!

I didn't know what to expect, but I was blown away by the first song (Days). Ray's voice is still at the top of his game (at least with the help of studio recording), and the additon of the choir doing countrapuntal harmony (I think that's what it is called) was beautiful.

As I continued to listen, I was surprised when one tune turned out to be You Really got Me.

During parts of the CD it sounded as though I was in church, but these songs are better than anything I've every heard in a place of worship.

Overall, I really enjoyed the CD. But you have to know I've been a die hard Kinks and Ray Davies fan since the 60's.

When this album was announced many, many Kinks fans were skeptical and vowed to never buy it or listen to it. I too was leery of having to purchase 'You Really Got Me' for the 28th time. The thought of hearing 'All Day and All of the Night' with Dave Davies replaced with a choir did nothing to further endear me to Ray Davies. However, after seeing 'Electric Proms' show on a bootleg CD from England (thanks O**a!) I was excited to see the music reproduced. I ordered the English copy a couple months ago and from the opening verse of 'Days' something told me I was into something good. All of the songs, with the exception of 'You Really Got Me' and 'All Day....', are excellent. The production is clear and clean, the musical performances are excellent and Davies' singing is outstanding for someone his age (see Jagger for a 15 year-long embarrassment). Dare I say that 'Days', 'Waterloo Sunset' and 'Shangri-la' are equal to the originals. The choir adds so much to harmonies that were only hinted at on the originals that it makes me wonder why this wasn't done earlier. So many Kinks songs were marred by poor production, unfathomable vocal mixes and second-rate musicianship that these reproductions make the originals sound, well.....professional. While professionalism is not something many Kinks purists look kindly on I enjoy it at this point in my fanhood (two lifetimes later). My favorite is 'See My Friends' sung a cappela. The Village Green section is a welcome addition - the songs have been overlooked forever and ever - and are done here with care. Standouts are 'Big Sky', 'Do You Remember Walter' and 'Village Green'. 'Celluloid Heroes' is the best remake so far (only redone twice before). 'Victoria' rocks surprisingly, choir be damned. Not quite the orginal but passes the test nonetheless.

Since there is so much going on musically here something had to be mixed down. The band is not loud enough on many tracks; the guitars and keyboards are too low in the mix - the band seems unnecessarily compressed - and in many songs the choir is just a TOO prominent but I guess this is to be expected. The choir was recorded at Air studios which is apparently a superior space than Konk studios and it shows. Good move on Rays' part. This is his best production to date and it's obvious that a lot of attention to detail was put into this project. It has paid off in spades.

The album was a surprising success in England and one could hope Americans would exhibit equal good taste but with future Liberaces like Adam Lambert soaking up the spotlight I won't get my hopes up. All of you diskoncerted Kinks fans out there should set your purism aside and pick up a copy; you WILL learn to like it believe me. It would sound awfully good at my house during Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow if I could get my father to turn down the stupid football game; somethings never change but some songs get better. Pick up this album - you won't regret it.

lovely music, great versions of an important selection of the best repertoire of the kinks music. musical arrangements sounds good and Ray's voice at its best. A must for Kinks fans.

Have you ever sat around listening to old records and wondered to yourself "Gee, I wonder how that would sound with a choir on it?" Apparently Ray Davies does just that with his older material. On this album, he reworks several Kinks tunes and one from his solo album Working Man's Cafe with a choir...presumably just to see how they would sound.

When the approach works, it works very well. The version of "Days" here takes back the crown for my favorite version of the song from Elvis Costello, who covered it on Kojak Variety. Davies takes the gentle folk rock of the original and recasts it as a beautiful piece of melancholia to open the album with...quite nice. The choir also does wonders for "Shangri-La" and is particularly good on a medley of songs from The Village Green Preservation Society. However, the choir approach adds absolutely nothing to "Waterloo Sunset" or "Victoria," and the inclusion of "Working Man's Cafe" here not only is much, much worse than the original, but seems almost like a cynical attempt to point Kinks fans in the direction of his solo work (very much worth seeking out, by the way). The versions of "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night" here are interesting choral experiments, but that's all they really are--interesting.

This is one of those times that I wish Amazon allowed us to use half stars, or letter grades, or something, because this is in no way bad enough to warrant a 3 or below, but not really good enough for a 4 in my mind. 3.5 doesn't work because it succeeds just a little more often than it fails. And it gets bonus points for "Days" and the "Village Green Medley." This could have been a pretentious cash grab, and it really isn't...at least not for the most part. 3.75 stars, if such a thing could exist.

Just when you think Ray may go the way of the Last of the Steam Powered Trains, he comes through and delivers with artistically creative and innovative projects...the Storyteller shows, Come Dancing musical, solo albums, and now the choral collection. I was a doubter at first but after seeing a live choral show, the concept works fantastically well. This CD is illuminating!

This is Kinks music as you might hear it in church. Surprisingly, it works really well. Some songs are simply breath-taking, but they're all a pleasant listen.

Hats off to Ray Davies for stepping out and recording his hits with this Choral ensemble. If you like the British bands, this is definitely a must-have CD for your collection. Randall Ponder, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The Kinks Choral Collection is just one great cd album and worth the price offered here. Disappointed in the fact that there is only one disc, when there could have been two. Since purchasing this album I've played it over and over again and not tired of it.

What could have been better was the layout of the track listing, it's a little confusing but no problem once you put it in the player and listen. Ray Davies is a great songwriter and musician and very under rated. This is one disc that shows you just how good he is and what a great catalogue of quality music he has. The Kinks had an up and down career but one thing that never varied and that was the quality of the music. These 'old' songs have been given a new life and if there is one Kinks/Ray Davies album to have in your possession, then this is it.