Ray Davies - Working Man's Cafe (Ltd Ed Deluxe CD/DVD Combo)
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CD Details
Artist: Ray DaviesEdition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown)
Format: Extra tracks
CD Release Date: 2008-02-19
Music Label: New West Records
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Vietnam Cowboys (4:12)
- You re Asking Me (3:22)
- Working Man s Café (3:41)
- Morphine Song (4:18)
- In A Moment (4:29)
- Peace In Our Time (4:39)
- No One Listen (3:13)
- Imaginary Man (4:09)
- One More Time (4:28)
- The Voodoo Walk (4:24)
- Hymn For A New Age (3:42)
- The Real World (5:06)
- Angola (Wrong Side Of The Law) (4:29)
- I, The Victim (4:33) (rough mix from the upcoming project called Ripper )
- Vietnam Cowboys (demo) (2:52)
- The Voodoo Walk (demo) (4:25)
- Americana A Work In Progress DVD. Filmed and directed by Ray Davies.
Music reviews of Working Man's Cafe (Ltd Ed Deluxe CD/DVD Combo)
Music Review: OK, I'll go first
Rating: 5 Stars
I've had this CD since it was released in Europe in November and I've listened to it almost everyday since. It's an improvement over his previous effort 'Other Peoples Lives' aka 'OPL'. While there were 3 or 4 songs on OPL that I'll always listen to, some of them were flat and others were over-produced. That is not the case of any of the songs on this album. All of the songs on the album use the same group of musicians, were recorded in the same place over a short period of time. Since Ray Kennedy co-produced the record, there is little or no navel-gazing that has marred so many Kink productions. None of the songs, with the exception of 'Angola', are too long or are lyric-heavy at the expense of the melody.
The musicians, especially the lead-guitarist Patrick Buchannan, are excellent. Buchannan captures the spirit of Dave Davies in many of the solos, especially on 'I, the Victim'. His guitar tone is very Gretschy and gritty and his piercing solos are outstanding. The bassist and drummer are solid and unobtrusive. The mix is consistent and just dirty enough to keep everything edgy.
Rays vocals are outstanding. He pushes his limits sometimes, especially on 'Peace In Our Time', which is marred by some atrocious belting. The ballads 'One More Time', 'The Real World' and 'Imaginary Man' are the high points for me. 'OPL' had nothing on par with these three songs. Its nice to know Ray can still write beautiful songs, and to his and/or Ray Kennedy's credit, none of them are too long or over-arranged. The vocals are outstanding, especially on 'One More Time' and 'The Real World'. Some reviewers have said these songs drag the record down, but I think they give it balance and variety and a sense of humanity that most pop music severely lacks.
The other standout song for me is 'Morphine Song'. Its funny and poignant at the same time and performed in a style that hasn't been done well since Muswell Hillbillies. It has 'hit' stamped all over it in a better world. 'In a Moment' is also excellent - goes from minor to major smoothly, has a good hook, great guitar solo and is just the right length. Another song that deserves airplay. He did a great version on Letterman this week. Maybe that performance will open some peoples ears.
I first heard 'Vietnam Cowboys' at a concert in NYC in 2000 (I think) and didn't particularly like it. It's been reworked and re-energized. Also has a great guitar solo. Once again, it's not too long nor too wordy. 'You're Asking Me' is a decent rocker, as is 'No One Listens'. Neither are as good as 'All She Wrote' on 'OPL', but you can't have everything. 'Voodoo Walk' is just but maybe that's just me.
'Hymn For A New Age' is a standout rocker. Great arrangement, great playing, great harmonies, perfect length. Ray almost gets carried away with the lyrics and while one verse is unintelligible, he seems to have been reigned in just in time. The song ends with a great 1-2 punch.
'I, The Victim' is my favorite rocker. The guitar work slashes at multiple angles and has the Total Kinks Guitar Sound x 2; Buchannan shines again. The band really pushes their limits - you can tell they are having the time of their lives and no one told them to be careful. This will be the song Ray should play to close the show - it will pound the audience into submission and leave them screaming for more.
Hope he goes on the road and I hope the new record company can convince radio stations to play it. They didn't play 'OPL' so I'm not expecting much but stranger things have happened. Just happy to have the new CD. Congratulations Ray and keep up the good work!
Hey you fans out there - call your local radio station and shame them into playing this record. I know most of them could play 'Truckin' 'Stairway to Heaven', 'Moondance' and 'Whipping Post' one less time and fit in a track from this album. See if you can make a difference....
Description of Working Man's Cafe (Ltd Ed Deluxe CD/DVD Combo)
Working Mans Cafe a new studio album by legendary musician and Rock n Roll Hall of Fame member Ray Davies (founder, singer, songwriter of The Kinks), features 12 new songs written by Davies, and co-produced with Grammy® Award winning producer/engineer Ray Kennedy (Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle) and 4 bonus tracks. Recorded in Nashville, Working Mans Café is Davies second solo album, following his solo debut Other Peoples Lives, released in 2006.The deluxe CD/DVD contains a limited edition DVD entitled Ray Davies Americana A Work In Progress. Filmed and directed by Ray himself, it features footage from the fall 2001 Storyteller Tour. Ray narrates over the post-9/11 landscape of airports, freeways, hotels, soundchecks and performances, with songs from Working Man s Café as the soundtrack. It all culminates in New Orleans, the city that inspired many of the songs on the new album. The film is a fascinating glimpse into life on the road with one of rock n roll s most legendary artists. It is filmed and directed by Ray Davies.
Working Mans Café, focuses on the plight of the worker, the every day man around the world. It is Davies American record (many of the songs were written and all produced in the US) describing the changes he s seen in this country since he first started visiting in the 60s. In a recent four star Mojo Magazine review Davies is described as having a tourist s blend of enchantment and bafflement when writing about the United States
2008 must be an interesting year to have an outsider's view on the US and its role in the world, and when Ray Davies sings "everywhere I go it looks and feels like America," it's hard to miss a bit of the bitterness in the observation. His second studio solo album in three years, Working Man's Cafe feels like exactly the album a 60-something rocker would craft--assured and direct yet searching and restless, a glimpse into the head of a man who's comfortable in his skin but still wonders how he fits into a world that seems to be turning faster and stranger as the years pass by. Davies has cultivated this contraposition of bitter and sweet, of intertwining comfort and conflict throughout his years leading the Kinks, and now continues into what looks to be a fruitful solo career. There's a bit of George Harrison in the melody and sentiment of "One More Time," acknowledging the widening gap between powerful corporations and the overtaxed little guy, while still envisioning the possibility of a brighter future. And the title track's half-acidic, half-nostalgic take on modern homogenization follows the classic Davies approach of reporting what he sees around him with one eye toward a fading past: "I bought a pair of new designer pants where the fruit and veg man used to stand." It's nice to note that, 40 years on, the songwriter that skewered '60s Brits with "A Well-Respected Man" and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" still wields a sharpened pen and pulls no punches. --Ben Heege
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