“I think rock music is just as important as painting.” Ray Davies—musician, poet, humorist, social critic and leader of one of the world’s oldest rock bands—is sitting in his Detroit hotel room, puffing a cigar, and contemplating just how seriously rock ’n’ roll should be taken. His stance isn’t that surprising, since many people have suggested over the years that “Waterloo Sunset”—one of the Kinks’ numerous masterpieces—is beautiful and vivid enough to be a painting as well as a pop song. If rock is indeed a serious art form, then Ray Davies has given the world some of its most wonderful works.