Customer Reviews

Other People's Lives

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ray Davies has been MIA for too long."Other People's Lives" is a terrific return to form. The glossy production surface compliments the songs-- here he does what he does best creating character studies in each song perfectly crafted with rich melodies. From the touch of sonic discord (pardon the pun) that opens "Things are Gonna Change" to the witty lyrics and a melody that would have fit at home on "Village Green" in "Is There Life After Breakfast?" Ray's in top form. The playing perfectly supports his witty observations in "Stand Up Comic" which acts as a perfect metaphor for his own career.

The CD booklet has great liner notes from Ray discussing the origin of the songs, how they came to be recorded, what he thinks of them now that they're finished. As usual the notes are clever, witty and feature his brand of self depreciating humor that fans love. While the material was written and recorded prior to his attack in New Orleans (he chasd a purse snatcher that had his girlfriend's stuff and was injured in a knife attack in the process) and Hurricane Katrina they sound like they capture that vibe.


His last album 1998's "The Storyteller" CD had some new material that was extremely good mixed in with vintage Kinks tunes as part of Ray's "audiobiography" tour for X-RAY. These songs were recorded in 2002 but weren't mixed until last year with finishing touches put on the album as well. At age 62 Ray has found his muse and that's good for us the listeners. Sure some people complain that Dave's biting guitar playing is missed (and it is on a few tracks)but it would also have felt out of place on some of these more intimate tracks. Besides, Dave's been busy making some fine music of his own with "Bug" and was recovering from his stroke last year.

Ray we missed you! Don't wait another 7 years to release the next album!

"Working Man's Café" is Ray Davies' second solo-release in two years; but it actually could be called his first real solo album. "Return to Waterloo" from 1985 was a soundtrack-album, "Storyteller" was mainly a live-recording and last year's "Other People's Lives" was recorded over a 3-4 years period.

It been more than ten years since Ray last recorded with brother Dave as the Kinks, so maybe it's irrelevant to compare his present music with his legendary band. But as his vocals and songs were such a big part of the band's profile, it's really hard not to do so; especially as his new album has so many ingredients that were also typical of the Kinks.

The raw unpolished sound that characterised the Kinks' early recordings for Pye is more or less reinvented on this new album; and this without losing Ray's unique melodic touch. Actually this new album features most virtues of the best Kinks albums. Great songs, lots of energy, great vocals and a lot of variation - without losing consistency.

"Other People's Lives" was not a bad album at all, but it did not really work as well as an album as this new release. Several songs deserve to be brought forward, and a good handful of them are already among my Davies favourites.

There some very beautiful ballads; several with moving melancholy lyrics. The closing track "Real World" is a great song in the vein of "Don't Forget to Dance". "Imaginary Man" is another ballad - just as strong. "One More Time" is a great midtempo song, very much sounding like the Kinks of the late 70's.

More bluesy is "Working Man's Café" and "Morphine Song" has some female harmony vocals that make you think of "Preservation Act" - both fine tracks.

"You're Asking Me" is Ray at his wildest - great melodic rocker - with a "Sunny Afternoon" bridge - it's almost as if Dave Davies singing the harmony vocals; an obvious live-favourite.

A great album from an artist who has neither lost his powerful voice nor his unique writing skills.

A long wait for this one. Mr. Davies first proper solo disc! It's all I expected (and more) from Ray Davies. 13 minor masterpieces, and nothing drags this disc down! It's been a long
long time we've heard anything new from Ray (with or without the Kinks). Savor this one! A very solid 5 star CD!!!

He's not the most celebrated 60's icon just the best. Nobody from the Rolling Stones to Paul McCartney has been able to release an album this good for 20 years. They've gotten good press and some decent reviews but this album shines above anything by anybody released in that time. BUY THE ALBUM! It's perfect!

If so, then you'll love "Working Man's Cafe". "OPL" and "WMC" have so surprisingly outshone Ray's latter-day Kinks compositions, it makes it easier to take the fact that we'll probably never see the band perform together again.

It's hard to pick a favorite tune, they all work so well together as a cohesive album. It's amazing to me that, as of this writing, no U.S. record label has stepped up to release it stateside. Do yourself a favor, pay the couple extra $$ and buy it now as an import. Money well spent!

Great album all throughout, some songs are better than others, but amazingly none of them are weak songs. This is what I would imagine The Kinks sounding like in 2006. Ray Davies has such a talent for songwriting it's unreal, his songs are so simple yet complex, and the music is pretty good too. Standouts for me are Run Away from Time, The Tourist, Other People's Lives, and Over My Head. But like I said these songs become even better over repeated listenings. There is not a bad song in the bunch, and I'm just grateful that Ray Davies got this album out. Now all we need is Dave Davies to be in the next album, and life will be perfect :)

For an all too-long stretch in the last two decades, the Kinks fought an uphill battle to stay relevant. There's no questioning the impact Ray Davies and his bandmates have had on popular music, but it's difficult to avoid the nostalgia act label. To my ears, Ray and the Kinks put out some great music well after their heyday, most notably with several enduring classics: "Destroyer", "Do it Again", "Come Dancing", etc., etc. Later albums like Think Visual and UK Jive made it a challenge to find diamonds in the rough, but to Ray's credit, they plugged away.

I came into listening to this album as a devout fan, having seen Ray's Storyteller tour a couple times, and loving it. I always felt though, that the new songs were good, but paled in performance next to "Lola", "Waterloo Sunset", and even "Dead End Street." Tough acts to follow, those Kinks klassics. So with a little trepidation, I heard a few songs from "Other People's Lives" on an NPR interview with Ray, and was very pleasantly surprised.

Fast forward a few weeks, and I received this album as a gift. The first time I played it, I was distracted with other things, had it on in the background, and wasn't blown away. The next playing, I was more attentive to the album, and I gotta say--this is damn near perfect. It seems more like some of Lyle Lovett's best work than it does a Kinks album, and I mean that as the highest compliment. You can always count on Ray for clever lyrics, and on Other People's Lives, they're almost always accompanied with infectious melody. A great example is "All She Wrote"--the lyrics and phrasing fit the song well, and are punctuated with a few rockin' flares here and there. If this song is performed live, with an arrangement anywhere close to the album, I'll even take it over Lola.

Even the lighter songs on the album like "The Tourist" and "Stand Up Comic" never dip too far into novelty, and hold up on their own merits. They add to the diverse (for a classic rocker) musical styles and tone of the album.

I can't say enough about Other People's Lives. It's so enjoyable to see a rock legend not only at the top of his game, but perhaps putting out the best work of his distinguished career. This album will hold up for a long time.

This album is so huge it seems churlish to constrain it with a mere review. Ray Davies has been called the quintessential English song writer (whatever that means) and, more recently, a visionary genius (which makes him sound like the leader of a weird sect).
This album has already collected more Amazon.com reviews than many of its more famous predecessors from The Kinks, and it deserves it. Here's why: unlike all of his contemporaries - Macca, the Stones, Dylan The Who - Davies has preserved his gift for melody. Almost every song here is a belter: I've blasted them all out in the tube, in the shower, under the duvet and at the kitchen sink. Some of them are pure heaven.
Then there's that voice. Amazingly, for a man of 62, his singing sounds more pure, languid and varied than ever.I listened back to some of the early recordings (I Go To Sleep from 1965, for example) in which Ray sounds lovably fraught in a boyish way, and he's kept that but moved beyong it on this recording.
The Kinks always had a studied lack of style which confused the critics and put off record buyers. Something Else and Face To Face are real hotch potches of styles - all over the place in a crazy, unplanned way. Other People's Lives is the same, which is why it won't be a commercial succes. But it's right in line with its illustrious peers.
The writing is still intact: imagine Macca penning a brilliant satire on cultural imperialism like The Tourist; imagine Mick Jagger concocting the devastating (and tragic?) lines to All She Wrote; and does Dylan still have it in him to open his heart as Davies does in After The Fall?
The ending is a knock-out: Over My Head is one of the best songs Ray Davies has written in years, and it's followed by the the magistreial hymn celebrating Thanksgiving Day. In typical Davies fashion, this borrows from many other styles but somehow sounds entirely his own. On the surface it's sentimental, but the loneliness of the central characters gives it a melancholic and bitter undertone.
Some of the reviews here are predictable: the ones which have a go at Davies just because he's so good he's there to be shot at; the ones who want Dave's guitar; the ones who will always live on the Kinks' Sixties output. But there's a lot here that's better than the Sixties stuff. And all of it is better than nearly everything the Kinks put out in the late Seventies, Eighties and Nineties. There's one slight mis fire which is saved by a stomping tune: Run Away From Time sounds like one of the careless fillers which littered Dylan's Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft. Even Davies' voice has a Dylanish growl!

Every once in a great while a piece of art moves us like nothing before it. Fans of Ray Davies and the Kinks who have been patiently awaiting the release of this cd will be thrilled from start to finish. Ray's lyrics are inspired, his tongue and cheek humor is on full display, his voice sounds great and the arrangements are crisp. In keeping true to his great song writing abilities, listeners will quickly find themselves drawn into the stories Ray weaves while also rocking along to the music.

Despite a loyal following and much citical applause, Ray Davies has somehow mangaged to fly under the public's radar when comparisons are made to other music icons; most notably those of the British Invasion. Whether he wants it or not, Ray might finally get the large scale credit he is long overdue with the timely release of this classic solo project.

Great album, it doesn't really sound much like "The Kinks" either, which is a good thing. Ray is doing something new. The songwriting is solid throughout, and at least most of the songs are great. There are two or three that are merely "Good," but that shouldn't hold you down. The bottom line is this album is the best contemporary recording by a songwriter from the 60's/70's since Dylan's "Love and Theft"