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| Contactmusic |
 Ray Davies is best known for being the lead singer of legendary rock band The Kinks but since the demise of them in 1996, he has worked hard on a solo career as a singer-songwriter. After five solo albums, Ray Davies now returns with a collaborations album, See My Friends. This collection is very interesting because all of the songs were actually produced decades ago by The Kinks themselves and now have been given a modern revamp. As the man himself says 'Originally it was a way to express myself and give my band The Kinks material to record. After a while, the songs took a life of their own as the world discovered them. Now, when I meet other artists, most of them who know my work have a favourite Kinks song. I decided it would be a natural progression to collaborate with some of these artists'. The result is a walk down nostalgia lane but with a brilliantly modern streak that is sure to garner new-generation fans. The album kicks off in great tradition with the uplifting rock track Better Things. Whilst Bruce Springsteen and Ray's voices really complement one another, it is the exceptionally produced bridge that sets this track apart. Other examples of collaborations that work well is Days/This time tomorrow, where the mixture of the two tracks works amazingly to create probably the best track off the LP. Mumford and Sons' folk sound is evident here and it really alters the direction from the original track. Similarly, You really Got me, the classic track that is probably the most well-known Kinks track, gets a heavy makeover by working with Metallica. Whilst being able to keep the original staple that everyone knows, this is how a remake of a song should be made as it plunges the original track into a whole different direction. These are not just carbon copies; these are reinvented versions, sometimes sounding like completely new songs altogether. The collection is also victorious in being able to diverge in various bearings. Great slow-tempo tracks such as Waterloo Sunset and See My Friends reveal honest soul and complex emotion, whilst crossing various boundaries across genres make this a very eclectic collection. Long way from Home is a more country-western orientated track (ironically so as Ray Davies met Lucinda in Texas) that is able to sound both epic and understated at the same time. Similarly, with the help of Amy Macdonald, Dead end Street is pushed into jazzy territories with lyrics such as 'what are we living for, two roomed apartment on the second floor?' brining up issues that even resonate today. What is great is the fact that who would have guessed that Bon Jovi, The 88 and Paloma Faith could ever appear on the same record. However, this does not mean that Ray moves away far from his roots. Tracks like Til the End of the Day and David Watts retain that authentic British 80s Rock sound which we all originally fell in love with. Harking back to a song that was made 35 years ago is a ridiculously huge feat and one that shouldn't be dismissed lightly; being even further impressive considering that it sounds like something that would appear on a Libertines album in recent years. Rightfully so, the album finishes with All Day and All of the Night, fortunately aligning itself closely with the original; this is the epitome of The Kinks....full text |
| Bbc |
| Following on from 2009’s The Kinks Choral Collection, on which Ray Davies rearranged his back catalogue with the Crouch End Festival Chorus, See My Friends finds him sifting through his songbook once again, only this time he’s brought Bon Jovi along. Yes, it’s a duets album, of the type that veteran artists produce when they’ve nothing left to prove. Such ventures seldom serve much point beyond flattering the star with attention from fellow musicians, who in turn are honoured by association. Plus they sell well. Ray Davies doesn’t need to record a soporific version of Tired of Waiting with Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody, any more than Bruce Springsteen needs to trample the bittersweet Better Things with his wholly unsuitable bombast. But both were doubtless thrilled by the opportunity to record with Davies. And that’s just it: these all-star gatherings are more fun for the artists than they are for the listener. Try as one might, it’s impossible to resist comparing these duets against the hallowed originals, especially when their arrangements barely differ. The likes of This is Where I Belong with Frank Black (billed as Black Francis) and Long Way From Home with Lucinda Williams are pleasant recordings of wonderful songs, but what is their point? Jackson Browne may be in simpatico with Davies’ unweathered voice on Waterloo Sunset, but will anyone ever reach for this version over the magical original? Will they even remember it exists? For better or downright ghastly, the most memorable tracks are those on which the guests imprint themselves. The undoubted highlights are Mumford & Sons’ folk-gospel medley, Days / This Time Tomorrow, its arrangement madly ambitious compared with its companions, and Spoon’s shoegazing treatment of the proto-psychedelic title-track. The late Alex Chilton sounds genuinely enthused on ‘Til the End of the Day, a song his old band Big Star covered during the Third/Sister Lovers sessions. Recorded in 2009, it was the spur for these sessions....full text |
| Guardian |
| Finally, it's Ray Davies's turn to make the elder-statesmen-collaborates-with-star-admirers album. See My Friends sees him plunder his back catalogue, with generally pleasurable results. Though Bruce Springsteen's gruff bark is an uncomfortable fit with Davies's camp quaver, they recast Better Things as a Byrdsy ramble that's an improvement on the original's clumping new wave. Metallica make a decent fist of You Really Got Me, often cited as the first heavy metal song, and Mumford & Sons turn a mash-up of Days and This Time Tomorrow into an agreeable hoedown. The only outright failure is Celluloid Heroes, turned into a power ballad by Jon Bon Jovi, with a squealing guitar solo from Richie Sambora. The songs, of course, are imperishable, but why anyone would prefer this to a decent Kinks compilation is a bit of a mystery: does the presence of Jackson Browne really add anything to a song as close to perfection as Waterloo Sunset? Of course it doesn't....full text |
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