Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Ray Davies' Choral Aspirations

Posted by Nick Spacek on Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 12:00 PM

The Kinks' frontman and primary songwriter, Ray Davies, had the ambitious idea to collaborate with the 65-strong Crouch End Festival Chorus at the 2007 BBC Electric Proms in London to create The Kinks Choral Collection. The album is due out November 10 on Decca.

click to enlarge ray_davies.jpg

The BBC's already heard it, and their reviewer Sid Smith didn't like it one bit, saying of the songs, "the choral embellishments ultimately drag rather than lift."

Still, I am most excited about a six-song suite that makes up the majority of the album's back half, drawing from The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, a pastoral concept album that initially flopped. However, the album is now widely regarded as a classic, and it certainly opened my eyes to the music the Kinks did beyond "You Really Got Me" and "Come Dancing." "Village Green" into "Picture Book" into "Big Sky," along with "Johnny Thunder"? Goosebumps, people. Goosebumps.

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I've been listening to the CD for about a week and most of it is great. Several of the songs would make Brian Wilson jealous, and I'm sorry to say, I'm not dying to hear a middle-American school chorus sing Eagles songs. Back to your cave and don't forget your Van Halen CDs...

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Posted by Danny Dog on September 10, 2009 at 9:33 PM

The Kinks Choral Collection is a fantastic
and wonderful Journey through the best Songs
in Music History.Don't believe the Bullshit
above.

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Posted by Hugo on September 10, 2009 at 2:33 PM

The Langley School Music Project CD is awesome. It actually helps you like the Eagles.

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Posted by Bewlay on September 9, 2009 at 11:52 AM

I listened to this at work today.

Aside from "The Village Green Preservation Society," the chorus is pretty much wasted. Langley School Music Project did better, and that was an elementary school music teacher and a bunch of kids.

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Posted by Nick3 on September 9, 2009 at 11:26 AM
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