Dave Davies Rock Bottom: Live At The Bottom Line CD

The fame and fortunes of Kinks guitarist Dave Davies have been overshadowed by his brother Ray, lead singer and principal songwriter of that band. Dave has never quite had his due as a contributor to one of the 1960s and '70s best mainstream rock bands, even though he wrote one of the Kinks' best tunes, "Death Of a Clown," and provided the band's sound with much of its rock & roll weight.

The live ROCK BOTTOM finds Dave Davies fronting a lean, punchy outfit at New York City's legendary Bottom Line, playing a mixture of Kinks classics, obscurities, and songs from his solo albums. The program spans the Kinks' early American R&B roots ("Beautiful Delilah"), the melancholy mid-'60s landmarks ("Too Much on My Mind," where he sounds quite a bit like Ray), their wry later '60s highlights, such as "Picture Book," and Dave's solo career originals, like the wistful, slightly Band-like "Strangers." What Davies' voice lacks in subtlety and nuance, he more than makes up for in enthusiasm and good-natured earnestness. He also gets to cut loose on guitar, letting loose grunge-edged power chords, and upping the energy-level considerably on "All Day and All of the Night" and "I'm Not Like Everybody Else."

Recorded live at The Bottom Line in New York, New York in 1998.

Personnel: Dave Davies (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars); Andrew Sandoval (guitar, background vocals); Kristian Hoffman (keyboards); Dave Jenkins (bass, background vocals); Jim Laspesa (drums, background vocals).

1998