Ray Davies Working Man's Cafe CD

The Kinks stopped being a working band in 1996, but it still took frontman Ray Davies another decade to release his first proper solo album. The follow-up, WORKING MAN'S CAFE, came along a relatively speedy two years later. Those who are familiar with latter-day Kinks recordings will recognize a sonic thread here, but while there are some moments that lean toward harder-edged rock, WORKING MAN'S CAFE is ultimately a singer-songwriter album, with the highly melodic, elegantly crafted tunes serving the intentions of Davies's lyrics.

As has been the case since the '60s, Davies focuses his attention on sociopolitical themes, delving into both the political and sociological aspects of modern life. He alternately laments one man's inability to affect global politics ("Listen to Me") and rails eloquently against the misdirection of international economic practices ("Vietnam Cowboys"). Of course, this being the man who wrote "Waterloo Sunset" and "Days," those concerns are couched in musical frameworks so appealing that they taste like candy going down.

Ray Davies took his time crafting his first full-fledged solo album Other People's Lives, delivering it in 2006 -- a full 13 years after his last collection of original material, the Kinks' final album Phobia. Such a long gestation period seemed justified, as the album was an exquisitely written set of short stories that benefited from such exacting attention to detail, yet the length of time between Phobia and Other People's Lives also suggested that Davies would not be returning with his second solo album anytime soon. As it turns out, that wasn't the case: Davies hammered out his second album, Working Man's Café, with a speed recalling the '60s and '70s, when new Kinks albums arrived every year. Appropriately for its quick turn-around, Working Man's Café is a looser, edgier record than its predecessor -- there's polish, but the guitars and rhythms jump, there's a vitality to the performances and the songs themselves bristle with contemporary headlines, bearing references to the vanishing middle class, internet isolation, and New Orleans, the site of both Hurricane Katrina and where Davies was shot and hospitalized after defending a female friend from a mugger. Ever the contrarian, Davies doesn't dwell on his own troubles, they're weaved into part of a tapestry of vignettes of a world gone awry -- a common theme in his work perhaps (this is someone who pined for the village green in the midst of the psychedelic revolution), but such ornery nostalgia has fueled much of Davies best work, as it does here. Far from being an angry, impassioned screed against a world gone wrong (turn to Neil Young's Living with War for that), Davies writes with his signature wry, cynical eye, balancing his weary resignation with a sly wit. The songs have more bite than those on Other People's Lives, as do the performances, which makes Working Man's Café more immediate than its predecessor, yet it benefits from repeated plays as well, as those subsequent spins reveal that these 12 songs are as finally honed as those on Other People's Lives. And having these two albums arrive so quickly is proof that Ray Davies is back as a working songwriter, which is something to be celebrated. [The CD was also released with three bonus tracks.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Photographer: Chris Clunn.

Arranger: Ray Davies .

Personnel: Ray Davies (vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards, background vocals); Pat Buchanan (guitars, electric guitar); Bill Lloyd (electric guitar); Nicky Payne (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Timothy J. Lauer (keyboards); Craig Young (bass guitar); Shannon Otis Forrest (drums); Mick Avory (percussion); Karin Forsman, Ray Kennedy (background vocals).

Recording information: London, England; Room & Board Studios, Hermitage, TN.

Rolling Stone (p.70) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[H]e turns out loose melodies amid nimble bar-band grooves..."
Entertainment Weekly (p.97) - "[With] a cache of Kinks-worthy melodies...[including] the gorgeous 'The Real World,' and 'You're Asking Me,' which could almost be a lost tune from the late '60s."
Blender (Magazine) (p.97) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "When it comes to writing beautiful, wistfully nostalgic tunes, no one can top former Kinks frontman Ray Davies."
Harp (magazine) (p.93) - "WORKING MAN'S CAFE is sharper and more direct, a reaching back to Davies' most biting social commentary and the pointed wit of prime Kinks days."
Paste (magazine) (p.71) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Electric guitars crank for 'Peace In Our Time' and arpeggiate for 'Imaginary Man.' Horns add punch to 'Morphine Song.'"