Left of the Dial |
Ray Davies: Thanksgiving Day EPby Mark Norris |
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As always, the Thanksgiving holiday is not only a time for food, booze and friends but also an occasion for reflection, nostalgia and sentimentality. As it turns out, Ray Davies, the singer-songwriter who best embodies those qualities, has composed a new song paying tribute to the seasonal celebration. Davies is not an American at all but a British-born musician (perhaps the most quintessentially British songwriter of all time). Fans of Davies and his band The Kinks have been waiting a long time for the celebrated songwriter’s first official solo album. Reports have it that Davies’ record, Other People’s Lives, will finally be out early in the new year. In the meantime, Ray has released an EP containing his personal paean to our annual holiday celebration that also benefits New Orleans music education programs. While writing material for his new album, Davies spent long periods of time in the Big Easy doing character studies and writing observational lyrics of his visit (as evidenced by his song “The Tourist,” heard on an a recently released import-only EP of the same name). In doing so, Davies hoped to come to a better understanding of our country and culture. “I toured America a week after the so called 9/11 and realized how little we had in common,” Davies told Q Magazine in September. “It was like visiting a dying relative you never knew that well.” Davies’ efforts to get to know us better earned him a gun shot wound in the leg (received while pursuing a mugger in New Orleans’ French Quarter) but the old chap didn’t hold a grudge. Instead, he’s written a moving and tuneful anthem for our late-November tradition. Like Davies’ best work, “Thanksgiving Day” presents a wonderful combination of melody and melancholia. Davies sings of husbands who long for their now passed wives to return for the holiday, of lonely people desperate to get back home in time for the family supper and of those who have lost the spirit but still hold onto the warm memories of Thanksgivings’ past. The EP presents two versions of the song, the first focusing on Davies’ lead vocal, the second, an alternate mix with a gospel chorus chanting the song’s chorus at the top of the song. The three other tracks on the mini-album have all been previously released (if infrequently heard). “Yours Truly Confused N10” is a bouncy, horn-driven tune (imagine “Come Dancing” in overdrive) set to Davies cockney-delivered indictment of English politics, press and people. Similarly, “London Song” delves into the not-so-finer points of the city itself and wonders what has happened to its once grand culture and history. Sadly, the date sounds of the drums, guitar leads and back-ups vocals make the song sound like a mid-’80s outtake (largely forgettable). Thankfully, the song is immediately followed by the inspired song “The Storyteller,” a wistful, country-tinged tune that could easily serve double duty as Davies’ musical autobiography. The Thanksgiving Day EP has certainly whetted my appetite for the soon-to be-delivered main course and Davies’ return has given me one more thing to treasure this holiday season. Ray Davies will perform “Thanksgiving Day” on Thanksgiving (Nov. 24) on the “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” show.
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Issue Navigation> Issue Index > v4n47: W: The Incredible Shrinking Man (11/23/05) > Left of the Dial > Ray Davies: Thanksgiving Day EP This Week's Issue • Artvoice Daily • Artvoice TV • Events Calendar • Classifieds |
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