Rivalry: Ray & Dave

Great podcast episode HERE about the "rivalry" between brothers Ray & Dave Davies of The Kinks. If you had to read that sentence to know that's who Ray & Dave Davies are, please hang up this blog and never return, funk you very much.

 

I say "rivalry" because unlike most of their other episodes - John/Paul, Gordy/Gaye etc - theirs was not a musical rivalry, but a personal (in this case brotherly) one. The best example like their own would of course be Oasis. Dave wrote got a handful of songs on Kinks albums over the years and almost every one is great, but that's for the same reason if George Harrison got one by the Lennon/McCartney machine onto a record.

 

Most of what the podcasters said are things I've already known or thought myself, probably because I'm a supergenius, but it's still good to hear that other people may be thinking some of the same things. Such as:

 

1) Their difference in personalities - Ray was a sensitive introvert who stayed in to work on his craft while younger Dave lived the rock 'n roll wild man life out on the town - is what fueled both Ray's music and their many physical altercations. One moment I remember reading about is the band was on tour when their manager  announced congrats, they'd just landed their first #1 hit and Dave and the rest of the band went out to tear up the town while Ray sat alone in his hotel room writing his next song. His feeling fully responsible for carrying the band would create resentment for Dave's carefree, fun life, which is called out in many songs, most remarkably transparently in the brilliant Two Sisters. If you'd like to make a point that they are the Hackett Brothers of rock, I will grant you permission.

 

2) Being banned from America 1964-69 may or may not have screwed them. First of all, no matter what I read or watch, nobody seems to be 100% clear why this ban was enacted; it seems to be some sort of mix between an onstage altercation and bad management with local unions re: payment, but even Ray Davies never seems to be able to really spell it out. Those being PRIME British Invasion years to cash in while also being Ray's creative peak means they probably lost millions of American dollars and countless influence. On the other hand, this meant that America wouldn't be over-saturated with them and sick of them by 1967; they could still be a bit of a found treat for decades to come. More importantly, it meant Davies wasn't pressured to write so as to please America, which lead to THE definitive British songbook of the 20th century. Village greens, London pubs, Waterloo sunsets and more; any band can sing about getting up in some guts but Davies' songs are uniquely deep in their characters, narratives and general British-y 60/70s nostalgia of austerity, loss and warmth. One could argue that his songs should be in the great human being time capsule before The Beatles'.

 

3) I was glad to hear someone else say what other Kinks superfans have a hard time admitting: a lot of the mid-late 70s records are hard to listen to. For some reason Ray decided to start cranking out big show-bizzy concept albums, complete with prowling around like Mick Jagger onstage (without a damn guitar! NO Ray, no!). They're hard to get through but 1) I appreciate his tireless ambition 2) even so, there's always a couple of stone-cold awesome songs on each album, so I'm glad they exist. Thankfully by the 80s he got back to just writing songs without worrying about them having to be some sort of carnival showpieces.

 

4) Nice to hear some love for Arthur! Being smack in the middle of the classic Something Else/The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society/Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)/Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround/Muswell Hillbillies run, I feel like it tends to get lost in the shuffle. It's my favorite Kinks album...for this minute.

5) They bring up a good point I'd never thought of, wondering why Dave wasn't the lead singer instead of Ray. Dave's more wild personality lends itself to preening up front; knowing Ray like I do, thank you very much, you'd think he'd be happy to stand in the back playing rhythm guitar while his brother sang his songs, exactly like Noel & Liam's arrangement. But I would argue that while sure that might have worked fine, Ray Davies is not only a singular genius at crafting melodies but also one of singing those melodies. Whether or not he has a great voice in and of itself, I  marvel at a lot of those melodies he's written that feel like his tongue is snaking around and through them. So I'm not sure Dave - or anybody else - could've really pulled a lot of them off.

Enjoy the podcast, then blast The Kinks for the rest of the day!

Sybilla looked into her mirror
Priscilla looked into the washing machine
And the drudgery of being wed
She was so jealous of her sister
And her liberty and her smart young friends
She was so jealous of her sister

Sybilla looked into the wardrobe
Priscilla looked into the frying pan
And the bacon and eggs
And the breakfast is served
She was so jealous of her sister
And her way of life and her luxury flat
She was so jealous of her sister

She threw away her dirty dishes
Just to be free again
Her women's weekly magazines
Just to be free again
And put the children in the nursery
Just to be free again
Priscilla saw her little children
And then decided she was better off
Than the wayward lass that her sister had been
No longer jealous of her sister
So she ran 'round the house with her curlers on
No longer jealous of her sister