Customer Reviews

Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else

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

 

 

Kitt does a wonderful job of evaluating Davies' fascinating life and brilliant career, which is not an easy task. As Kitt illustrates in the book, Davies has for decades been a notoriously maddening and mercurial figure to the world and to himself, with his ongoing personal quest for self-understanding being the engine fueling his amazing musical legacy. Although his body of work has always stood for itself, Kitt's synthesis of Davies' personal life and a smart analysis of his songs transcends many of the limitations found in previous works, and finally provides a satisfying and comprehensive (to 2007) perspective of this amazing career. Highly recommended for fans of Davies and the Kinks.

When a big DOG gets up and dances: people applaud...not because the dog dances well, but because he can get up and dance at all!

Like the "dancing dog", I'm not applauding the book because it was so well written, (it's better than fair)I applaud it because someone was able to do it at all!

At the moment it's the only book of it's kind. So, until something better comes along shedding light on the way Ray writes songs; and shares the specifics of Ray's private life (warts and all), NOT LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE is the only game in town. I give the author much credit for the extensive research. Writting this book must have been a daunting, frustrating task for many reasons, including the mecurial behavior, egotistical whims and attitudes of Ray. This book does contain lots of good, little known, stories-insights into every Ray Davies project: records, musicals, films, etc.. This, for me, made the best reading: ESPECIALLY insights into Ray's musical composition/lyric writing techniques, satirical or otherwise.

There is an analysis, and quotes from R. Davies, of how the original inspiration for "Village Green" LP came from "Under Milk Wood" (the Dylan Thomas radio play). It even contains a sort of "draft" of the proposed song/scene line-up, and which different character(s) would have sung each song, if "ARTHUR" had been made into the musical cartoon. Bravo! That is the stuff I love to read about. Mr. Kitts did an intelligent job analzing each record, film ("Return To Waterloo) and "rock musical"(e.g Soap Opera)
It wasn't the most exciting read, but the fact that it has finally been done is AWESOME!
Thank you and Congrats Mr. Kitts. You have gone where few people dare to go.

I absolutely recommend this book to Kinks/Ray Davies fans. Prof. Kitts does a creditable job of putting together a superb book of a difficult subject. This is the most detailed, up-to-date book on the Kinks that I've seen and I felt right at home having Prof. Kitts expound on the many details behind the scenes. There are still gaps to this history, and probably will always be, but that's irrelevant. The bottom line is that it parched my deep curiosity about the brilliant Davies and the Kinks.

Someone complained that this book was a little too much like class. It says on the back that Kitts is an English professor, so I don't quite know what one should expect. Certainly not the E!-styled bios that abound in the music section of bookstores. Kitts analyzes Ray Davies' life and art the way countless other artists, playwrights, authors, and filmmakers have been scrutinized. There are fascinating biographical details throughout, but it's mainly a look at the man and his work.

That's every reason why I loved this book. The Kinks are a band to be analyzed and discussed at great lengths. Kitts does it perfectly here. No, not every song on every single album gets a moment in the spotlight, but that's okay. The analysis is terrific, relating the lyrics' inception to events in Ray's life that directly (or indirectly) inspired him to write.

It is the best book out there on The Kinks that succeeds where a lot of music writing fails, instead focusing on the art. My favorite fact from the book was learning how much Ray was influenced by the great filmmakers (Eisenstein, Kurosawa, etc.)

More books in the milieu of rock criticism should be more, yes, ACADEMIC like this one!

If you really want an insight into the life, times and work of not just Ray Davies but The Kinks, get "You Really Got Me: The Story Of The Kinks" by Nick Hasted. It's insightful, beautifully written, and -- most importantly -- has input not just from Ray and Dave, but the other Kinks as well. There should be a warning label on any biography about a living subject in which the subject(s) refuses to participate. Especially when it comes to art, the "facts" don't always tell the story, or at least not the full one.

OK boys and girls. Settle down. It's time for class to begin...here comes professor Kitts.
Yeah, it's a little like that. This is a very scholarly parsing of Ray's tunes/lyrics, and I was a bit put off by the scholarly tone at first, but any true fan (you know who you are) will warm to such a thorough account. Nothing salacious here, but a lot's of good back story to the thinking behind the creation of songs by the greatest rock poet of our times.

Overall, this is an excellent study of the career and creative process of a modern master. My only quibble is that scant attention is payed to later work. For instance, UK Jive and the terribly overlooked Phobia are hardly mentioned; and certainly Other People's Lives, Davies' first proper solo album, could have been discussed in detail. I'm hoping for an updated edition that takes a closer work at Davies' later work, including last year's brilliant Working Man's Cafe. Nonetheless, Kitts obviously knows and appreciates his subject, and this book is full of insights, analysis, and interviews. A must for Kinks / Ray Davies fanatics, but also for those less familiar with this musical genius. Anyone who reads this is bound to walk away with a greater appreciation for the man, his music, and his legacy.

This is a great book obviously written with little input from Ray Davies which is a pity. However, the depth of detail is great and you learn about the artist at work and realise that yes, he is not like everybody else and why would you want to be? I found this difficult to put down and was disappointed that it ended when it did. You get to understand more about what makes Ray Davies tick. Helpful too is the index and bibliography. Interesting about his clash with John Lennon and the rivalry that existed between the two.

Read in conjuction with X-Ray (by Ray Davies) this makes for a great understanding of one of the all time greats. This is a well written book but some day someone will get all the main players down to give a fully developed account of The Kinks and Ray Davies. Until that happens this is the best book I've read on Ray Davies.