Customer Reviews

Live at the Bottom Line

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a terrific CD from start to finish of just pure, unadulterated rock and roll energy. Dave Davies delivers a spunky and heartfelt set of KINKS classics, obscure hits, and songs from his solo career that is guaranteed to delight both KINKS fans and casual listeners alike. A great live document from a true great legend and one of the most influential (and criminally under-appreciated) guitar players in the history of rock and roll. Buy this CD and then go track down the other recent KINKS CD reissues before they go out of print.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

It's like the ol' roadies joke of putting: "Caution Tape" over the Marshall stacks before the show. You would need to do this to Dave's amp's before every show...It is indeed an onslaught, if you are too close!

It's November 1997, The Dave Davies Band is at the Bottom Line in New York City and they had the good sense to record it. Here are 27 tracks, at a full 80 minutes and it's just like 1964 again!

The sonic blast begins with: "I Need You" with all the energy and drive of a guy, half his age. Dave, will not grow old graciously and here is the proof. Heavy riffs and those stunning leads abound all over this fantastic live recording and it transfers so well to this CD. Many Kinks klassics are here: "She's Got Everything" "Beautiful Delilah" "Tired of Waiting" "Picture Book" & "Death of a Clown" all the way to the 80's klassic: "Living on a Thin Line" and "Look Through Any Doorway" from the final days of the band in the early 1990's.

Dave, was having a real good time and playing a storm here. During: "Milk Cow Blues" he gives it to some folks arriving late to the show. His backing band, is very good and does spot-on versions on the klassic Kink and solo tunes. But again, Dave IS the show, and gives the people, what they want. Yep, just like what would happen with his former band expect a sing-along here and there. It's still about having fun, and Dave still knows how.

This CD raps up with a mighty and thunderous: "All Day And All Of The Night" and then the encore; "Money/David Watts/I'm Not Like Everybody Else/You Really Got Me". Nothing more needs to be played, Nothing more can be played...This is as great as it gets!
FIVE STARS !!!

Dave Davies, legendary guitarist of one of the most influential bands of the rock era, the Kinks, shines in this new live release. Over the last few years, Davies has come out from under the considerable shadow of his prolific older brother Ray to play live in small clubs across the country. This release captures much of the intensity that has made these shows so memorable.

Opening with an underappreciated nugget from the early Kinks era, "I Need You", Davies cleary demonstrates the prowess on guitar that has led to so many imitations. Blending select Ray-penned Kinks hits (such as "Tired Of Waiting", "You Really Got Me", etc) with a healthy sampling of his own songs from the Kinks catalog ("Death of a Clown", the exquisite "Strangers" and "Living On a Thin Line", among others) and then throwing in some tastefully selected covers ("Milk Cow Blues" and "One Night With You"), Davies also demonstrates that big brother is not the only capable vocalist to come out of the band.

Davies is an energetic performer, and that much comes clear in the banter with the crowd that has made it onto this recording. Nowhere is his humor more evident than a track called "Psycho Lounge", an oddly entertaining combination of "Lola", "Star Wars" and "Strawberry Fields".

Among the many highlights is a blistering version of "I'm Not Like Everybody Else". The title of that song is so true - there are very few like Dave Davies.

If you've ever wondered what the Kinks could have sounded like live, the answer is in this cd. Dave Davies smashes all live Kinks albums to pieces, and rebuilds their music with this one-off live album from 1997 recorded with a small band at the Bottom Line in NYC. What an accomplishment this album is.

Dave Davies has taken 27 songs and re-expressed them in his own inimitable way. Singing at the top of the register, still expressing his rousing emotions, he simply shines on this album. His vocals blister through "All Day and All of the Night" like the song was written for him. He takes Ray's melodies and just smashes them at you in his own style, hard, rocking, butt-kicking, guitar slinging, rock 'n roll. The concert is an event, and by the time you finish listening to this gem, you'll feel as if you were actually at the concert. Dave simply smokes! To hear him put a new twist on "David Watts," "Tired of Waiting," and "I'm Not Like Everybody Else" is simply exquisite. It seems, almost eerily, as those the songs were being performed the way they were supposed to have been performed.

I've long been a fan of the Kinks. They were, in fact, my favorite of the British Invasion bands of the mid-sixties. During their three decade run, I've always felt that Dave Davies was slighted as a band member and obviously over-shadowed by his older brother, Ray. Likewise, having seen the Kinks several times in concert, I always left the concert happy that I'd once again seen the Kinks, but often felt as though it wasn't what it should have been. What was missing was Dave. He was there, of course, but he was in the background playing his licks and singing his occasional song. What Dave has always needed his own band. He's a front man, an obvious rock and roll enthusiast, and , in my opinion Dave Davies has become one of the most singular of all guitar players. Playing lead guitar on over thirty Kinks' albums, Dave has had to come up with hundreds of different hooks to play along with Ray's melodies. Some of his craftsmanship comes roaring to the surface in this live album at the Bottom Line in NYC. What was lacking in those early Kinks shows that I saw in the 70's and 80s was Dave Davies. Instead, what we had was Ray Davies going through the motions, giving us what we wanted, but only he was giving it in a rah-rah performance, as opposed to the guts and glory given by Dave Davies in his Bottom Line performance.

Rock On, Dave!

Dave Davies puts on a great live show! You get your money's worth with 79 minutes of great non-stop rock and roll. It's split pretty much down the middle between Dave's own songs and old Kinks favorites. His great guitar work is prominent throughout this CD. I especially liked "Imaginations Real", which has some tasty guitar licks, and "I'm not like everybody else", a mean 6 minute scorcher of a rock song that's part of a 4 song encore on here. He gets a little psychedelic with "Psycho Lounge", where he starts out singing Strawberry Fields and ends up doing his rendetion of "Girl From Ipanena", all done tongue in cheek. And then he kicks it in to high gear with my favorite on here "One Night With You", a song written like it was supposed to be played live. You can tell this old rocker, whose been around almost 40 years still enjoys performing. And I enjoyed every minute at the Bottom Line.

Dave was always the rocker in the Kinks. It was his jackhammer riffs that powered the early records, and almost single-handedly created heavy metal. So it's only natural that while Ray flirts with novels, West End musicals and nostalgic revues, Dave is still out there rocking his balls to the wall. This show features all the hits and more, 18 tracks of pure, bottom line (excuse the pun) rock and roll. Sheer freaking bliss.

Rock Bottom by Dave Davies: This is an emotionally charged live CD full of pure energy. Dave Davies has captured and brought back to life some of the finest songs ever written and recorded by The Kinks, as well as some solo material he has recorded over the years.

Dave has taken this great material and has given it new life. With a talented band behind him, I truly believe that Rock Bottom should be at the top of your CD wish list.

This is one of the best live recordings PERIOD! A very engaging entertainer, great guitar, great band, great songs, great sound. What else? Let's see.. Well, it helps to have been there and met Dave in person. Still, love this record no matter what.

I love Dave's music. This is a great album. Full of classics.

The Dave Davies cd live is fantastic!I would always buy Kinks albums and cd's and be disapointed that only a couple songs were great and the rest ( Ray Davies Stuff ) really put me to sleep!I am into " You Really bGot Me " not " Village Green and such " This guy is a player .....he favors a Fender Telecaster and I must add very well! Heavy chords and riffs with excellent lead breaks make for a worthwhile investment.