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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kinks Frontman Ray Davies' Musical Autobiography, February 18, 2006
In 1995, Kinks frontman Ray Davies published his "unauthorized autobiography" X-RAY. A few years later he released what amounted to a musical adaptation of that tale with THE STORYTELLER on Capitol Records. Sadly that album has been out of print for several years. Now Koch Records has re-released this wonderful album in its entirety.
Davies was always the most British of his Sixties contemporaries. Classic albums like SOMETHING ELSE, THE VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY, and ARTHUR revealed Davies as a songwriter who was concerned with the changes he saw in the British Empire and was nostalgic for a past which no longer existed except in his memory. Many of these songs ("Victoria," "20th Century Man," "Autumn Almanac")are revisited here in live versions in small venues with sparse instrumentation (including original Kinks drummer Mick Avory on a handful of tracks).
The songs and the accompanying dialogue (the latter comprises a bit over thirty minutes total) tell the story of The Kinks from its origins to the release of its first successful single--the classic "You Really Got Me." Many of Davies' stories provide new insight to songs like "See My Friends" (written after the death of his older sister when he was 13) and "You Really Got Me" (which the record company did NOT want to record so the band had to raise their own money to record it, and was supposed to include a session drummer--but Mick was sneaked into the studio and allowed to play tambourine).
There are a handful of new songs. "Storyteller" would not have been at all out of place on MUSWELL HILLBILLIES. "X-Ray" is about a sports injury when Davies was young and was told by a doctor that if he didn't quit sports he would end up like the hunchback that frequented the neighborhood. "Art School Babe" is about an unrequited love. "Julie Finkle" is an ode to groupies. "London Song" is the only track to appear on the album twice--the first is a lovely acoustic version, the second is an electric studio version with a full band. [The only other studio recording is "X-Ray."]
Overall, this is a low-key, utterly charming collection of songs. In the introduction to one of the songs, Davies says that despite going to a church school, the closest he felt to religion was not when he was singing in the school choir or going to Sunday School, but "it was more when I rehearsed with (my brother) Dave in the front room." Over the course of 74 minutes, Davies shows us how much these songs mean to him. And in doing so, they give new meaning to his fans. I missed out on this album when it was first released, I'm glad Koch Records gave me a second chance. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Storyteller, February 27, 2006
It's great for all Kinks fans that The Storyteller has been made available again. As if experiencing the eclectic observations of Ray Davies by way of the Kinks Kanon isn't enough of a gratification, here he turns both inward and outward to present an affecting, if all too brief, live account of his formative years as a musical artist. Assuming the actual show was lengthier and more comprehensive, this CD is still a wonderful teaser for the pseudo-autobiography X-Ray. Is it all true? Who cares!
Ray's telling of his sister's passing at the age of thirty is especially moving as it gives meaning to the otherwise arcane tune "See My Friends", always one of my favorites. Equally moving is the story of the hunchback and it's musical incarnation in the song "X-Ray", as well as the romantic yearnings of "The Ballad of Julie Finkle".
Humor abounds in the story of the little green amp, the self-deflating account of the "... tease" at art school, the audition for a drummer, and the "perfect" first managers; not to mention the fly-fart hint of Dave yelling "... off!" during the initial recording of "You Really Got Me", which had me cracking up!
The album is also notable for a harrowing acoustic rendition of "20th Century Man"; another favorite which is a case of a song being equally great, but different, in all versions I've heard--this one, the original on Muswell Hillbillies, and the bonus track on One For the Road. I can say unequivocally that this is the version to which I return again and again.
"London Song", apparently an original on this album as it's performed acoustically live and concludes the album in a stirring studio version, is another in a long list of Ray's paeans to his hometown. The song itself is quite fine--again, equally great but different in the two performances here. Though I must admit I had to do a Google search on a few of the names Ray drops, e.g. the Kray twins. It didn't seem the joke was lost on the obviously British audience. Mention also must be made of Ray's beautifully dulcet tones in the classic pop standard "That Old Black Magic". Could he sing this well in his twenties?
This album, listened to uninterrupted, has become one of those experiences that I savor. At 74 minutes it's much too short. If it doesn't give ample evidence that Ray Davies is one of the world's great entertainers, then I'm thoroughly out of touch with the tastes of the world. I only wish I could have seen the show live...or perhaps it's best that it remain "wished" for.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Storyteller, June 11, 2002
As if experiencing the eclectic observations of Ray Davies by way of the Kinks Kanon isn't enough of a gratification, here he turns both inward and outward to present an affecting, if all too brief, live account of his formative years as a musical artist. Assuming the actual show was lengthier and more comprehensive, this CD is still a wonderful teaser for the pseudo-autobiography X-Ray. Is it all true? Who cares!
Ray's telling of his sister's passing at the age of thirty is especially moving as it gives meaning to the otherwise arcane tune "See My Friends", always one of my favorites. Equally moving is the story of the hunchback and it's musical incarnation in the song "X-Ray", as well as the romantic yearnings of "The Ballad of Julie Finkle". Humor abounds in the story of the little green amp, the self-deflating account of the "... tease" at art school, the audition for a drummer, and the "perfect" first managers; not to mention the fly-fart hint of Dave yelling "... off!" during the initial recording of "You Really Got Me", which had me cracking up!
The album is also notable for a harrowing acoustic rendition of "20th Century Man"; another favorite which is a case of a song being equally great, but different, in all versions I've heard--this one, the original on Muswell Hillbillies, and the bonus track on One For the Road. I can say unequivocally that this is the version to which I return again and again. "London Song", apparently an original on this album as it's performed acoustically live and concludes the album in a stirring studio version, is another in a long list of Ray's paeans to his hometown. The song itself is quite fine--again, equally great but different in the two performances here. Though I must admit I had to do a Google search on a few of the names Ray drops, e.g. the Cray twins. It didn't seem the joke was lost on the obviously British audience. Mention also must be made of Ray's beautifully dulcet tones in the classic pop standard "That Old Black Magic". Could he sing this well in his twenties?
This album, listened to uninterrupted, has become one of those experiences that I savor. At 74 minutes it's much too short. If it doesn't give ample evidence that Ray Davies is one of the world's great entertainers, then I'm thoroughly out of touch with the tastes of the world. I only wish I could have seen the show live...or perhaps it's best that it remain "wished" for.
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by Ray Davies 
