RAY DAVIES Face To Face With The Lost Decade

RAY DAVIES Face To Face With The Lost Decade

Iman Lababedi

Bob Nevin

An objective review of recent Kinks history provides us with such episodes as Return To Waterloo, Ray Davies’s tedious video movie; “Come Dancing,” his best song and only hit of the ’80s; the reasonably appealing LP, Word Of Mouth, dating from ’84; a new deal with MCA records; a less than satisfying (some would claim boring) new LP, Think Visually; and his portrayal of the father (the sort of man Ray has often written about) in Julien Temple’s film, Absolute Beginners.

Now, at the age of 41, with the release If the Kinks’ 25th LP (including five compilations), Ray Davies insists that—at least insofar as the promotion of Think Visual is concerned—it’s not going to be “business as usual ”

He’s asked: Are you touring soon?

“No”

No tour to support the album?

“I don’t know; I really don’t know. I want to play, but I’m not going to fall into your format.”

Ray is wrestling with some heavy demons here. On this, his 23rd year as a popular musician, with his place in rock ’n’ roll history long since secure, he simply doesn’t want to go through the motions any more.

“Making music for the format: the album, the promotion, the radio station reports, the tour, the video—I don’t think it’s worth it. I still love writing songs, and I love making great records. There’s nothing like feeling you’ve done a great take. It’s just that the industry has become so depersonalized and so categorized.”

Davies’s point is a given, but when he overreacts to one of the writers telling him: “I don’t much like the album,” he appears petty. “You have given your reaction to the record, and you’ve fallen into the format that I’m against. You’re too programmed. You should take a few months off.

“I’m trying to get away from the format that you use when saying ‘Adult Oriented Rock—the music business has become full of cliches. That’s why ‘Rock And Roll Cities’ is the first single. When Dave (Davies) played me the song I felt physically sick. I was pleased that he was writing, but I was sickened by the fact that market-oriented people like yourself would think it’s the first single.

“I’m not getting sort of personal, I’m not personalizing this. But we’re talking about wry personal things. My music is very personal to me, so I feel on the defensive. I don’t feel I have to justify it. I just feel you are not educated enough yet and I’m here to educate you

If the writers had to choose whom to be educated by in the world of popular music, Ray Davies would be high on the list. Why? At this late date we shouldn’t have to explain why. If all Ray had done in his life is write "Waterloo Sunset” (the “most beautiful song in the English language” according to Robert Christgau), we’d be sitting here. As it is, with the Kinks, Ray has proven himself a pre-eminent social commentator, a compassionate cleareyed romantic, a gifted songwriter and a born rocker. While his contemporaries are either disbanded, dead, or as good as dead, Davies—perhaps because the Kinks have remained essentially a cult band—has made consistently adequate (never self-parodizing) LPs and often far more than adequate songs during this decade.

As we speak, Ray seems fixated on his inability to move away from the rock world and on to the other cultures he’s flirted with in the past. The frustration is made explicit on the first track of Think Visual,. where 23 years of music finds him once again "Working At The Factory” from which rock ’n" roll has been his means of escape.

"It isn’t about boredom at all. There’s anger in the voice. I remember sitting down and writing it, saying ‘Fuck it, I’m going to write this song, ’cause it’s not resignation; it’s anger and realizing the situation and doing something about it.’

I can’t ignore what’s going on and what’s happened to me. ‘Working At The Factory’ is a metaphor; factory means lack of options or alternatives, the things you fear the most.”

We thought you meant it more literally; from making product to making product.

From nine to five.

"Punching in! The amazing thing—I know they won’t hold it against me, go to MCA—they actually have a clock, you punch in. The music industry has become like that."

Are the things that motivated you in ’64 the same as today?

"No. I’ll be explaining my motivations and methods in a book that I’m writing.

I’ve kept a diary of the making of Think Visual, and it should be out the middle of ’87. If the album’s a tremendous success, the book will be a success, and if the album goes down the toilet, I expect it will be a wonderful record of how and why it happened. The book will serve as a big reference point.

; "But I can’t describe the way I write, because I don't have any rules or patterns.

I will say I don’t like to lock myself away when I write; taking a month off to write.

If I take time off I'll diversify and do other things. I must finish a lot of these little oneact plays and five-minute films.”

Or longer. As in Return To Waterloo....

"I had to write that script while on tour in America. We had two days off in San Francisco and I wrote most of it then. I had three weeks to shoot it and it was a very complicated film to make. I was touring, filming, promoting ‘Come Dancing.’ It was a hellish year and it cost me dearly in my personal life. But the point is, I did what I wanted to do. *83*84 was the most unhappy, yet the most fulfilling time for me.”

Unhappy in what sense? “The cost, the cost of doing it.” you broke up with Chrissie

life is just non-existent” In other words, don’t bother asking. Yeah. 1 think that’s a book that will sNtmmi agree

The book! ougt is it autobiogra *11 started ■but in fiftMgiri ite sps the process. My book editor started reading it, and saidtfhis is amazing!’ because he never realized what people have to go through to bring out a record. And I also have all the business aspects of ft, the transition from leaving Arista and the contractual negotiations with MCA coinciding. 1 pinpointed the day I wrote ’Working At The Facto had to give in bn a certain clause in contract. A clause that dealt with ai c control.”

CREEM writ! John Mendelssohn wrote a book ■out the Kinks. Any opinions about the book? “I only know John as a personal friend when he wrote for Rolling Stone. I think I found him quietly ambitious, and I thought of him just as a friend. And, tike a tot of aspiring musicians .they ’re not ful-

emselves. He imagined me to be more than I was; he admired me S iOt. Weil, I understand it’s not a very complimentary book ,.. I’m not sure. I still haven’t read the sleeve notes to The Great Lost Kinks album. ‘‘! know that he’s embittered. All I can say is, he’ll grow out of it.”

Speaking of the past, Mick Avory (the original Kinks drummer) plays on “Rock : And Roll Cities.” How did he get back with \ the band? [ “Well, Mick is no longer a permanent I member. He’s involved in our studio and Ir he plays in the band from time to time. We’re trying to get him involved in a proISl % ject of his own. I’d like to write some songs ... just, like, to get him on the way, be-