Re: (TV) Ray / John Lennon's Jock Strap

[Sam Inglis <sam@sospubs.co.uk>]

Aw, c'mon. The Kinks did psychedelia before the Beatles ('See My
Friends' was 1965 I think) and got bored with it before the Beatles.
'Lazy Old Sun' is as good a piece of psychedelia as anything Lennon ever
did. The Kinks could rock out convincingly, which the Beatles never
could ('I Need You' and 'All Day And All Of The Night' piss all over any
Beatles rocker). And Ray could keep to the fine line between moving and
sentimental, which Paul ploughed through as if it wasn't there. 
Ray certainly had the odd clumsy moment as a lyricist, but Lennon wrote
some bloody awful words too, and there are so many Kinks songs with
really great lyrics. Ray had (maybe still has?) a gift for writing
apparently plain and straightforward songs about real people and
situations which were often more complex than they appeared. I'd much
rather have his kitchen-sink realism than Dylan's sixth-form allegory or
the later Lennon's childlike mixture of doggerel, spite and naivete
(yes, I realise that I'm being totally unfair, but they've got enough
supporters already...). 
He had a way of making observations that seemed slight but could be
incredibly moving (such as in 'People Take Pictures Of Each Other' or
'Waterloo Sunset'). He had a unique ability to understand not only the
plight of those who suffered under England's class system ('Shangri-La',
'Dead End Street'), but also the romance and the sadness of its
declining aristocracy ('End Of The Season', 'Most Exclusive Residence
For Sale'). He could mock those who led staid suburban lives, but he
also understood the insecurity and fear that underpinned those lives
(see 'Arthur'). He could write songs that were hilariously funny
('Dedicated Follower Of Fashion'), whereas Lennon's attempts to be funny
were just embarrassing (try reading his poetry). And in some cases he
could be more daring than Lennon, Dylan or whoever -- several of his
songs for instance hint fairly broadly at a homosexual theme, and who
else would have written 'Lola'? 
Sorry about the ranting nature of this, but I always thought it was
criminal that 'Village Green' and 'Arthur' never achieved the same
status as Revolver or Sgt Pepper, when they are every bit as good (and
don't suffer from having unlistenable George Harrison sitar music on them!).
Sam

"Casey, Leo J" wrote:
> 
> As much as I love the Kinks and Ray Davies, I have to agree with Jeff.  I really don't think Ray Davies is in the same league; he couldn't carry John Lennon' jock strap (but maybe Paul's).
> 
> Leo The Vulgar
> 
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Jeff Strell [SMTP:jeff.strell@usa.net]
> > Sent: Monday, May 22, 2000 7:31 PM
> > To:   tv@obbard.com
> > Subject:      Re: (TV) Ray / Marc /Ziggy
> >
> > Aw, c'mon.  I hate to sound like an old curmudgeon, but let's set the record
> > straight here.  Lennon/McCartney shaped a culture, defined a generation, and,
> > combined, never wrote a less than memorable song.
> >
> > Ray Davies and his spunky little band rode the wave.  They put out three
> > miraculous LPs in a row (Village Green, Face to Face, and Something Else), and
> > several other memorable ones.  That's more than most other British Invasion
> > bands can say.  But the only Davies tunes that might rank with the Beatles are
> > "Waterloo Sunset" and "Days."
> >
> > - Jeff Strell
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
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