Americana

Posted on by

As a boy in post War England, legendary Kinks singer songwriter Ray Davies fell in love with America its movies and music, its culture of freedom, fed his imagination Then, as part of the British Invasion, he toured the US with the Kinks during one of the most tumultuous eras in recent history until the Kinks group was banned from performing there from 1965 69 Many tours and trips later, while living in New Orleans, he experienced a transformative event the shooting a result of a botched robbery that nearly took his life In Americana, Davies tries to make sense of his long love hate relationship with the country that both inspired and frustrated him From his quintessentially English perspective as a Kink, Davies with candor, humor, and wit takes us on a very personal road trip through his life and storied career as a rock star, and reveals what music, fame, and America really mean to him Some of the most fascinating characters in recent pop culture make appearances, from the famous to the perhaps even interesting behind the scenes players The book also includes a photographic insert with images from Davies s own collection from the band s archive. New Download Kindle ePUB Americana author Ray Davies – kino-fada.fr Ray Davies memoir regarding his affair with America and its culture is great on so many levels The book works on different platforms The major theme of this memoir is regarding his life or thoughts on America, which makes it sort of a perfect travel journal When I hear the two words together Ray and Davies I think of England and Noel Coward I think Davies, overall, sees himself as rocker, but the fact he s probably one of the great songwriters that came out of the 20th Century So yeah Ray Davies memoir regarding his affair with America and its culture is great on so many levels The book works on different platforms The major theme of this memoir is regarding his life or thoughts on America, which makes it sort of a perfect travel journal When I hear the two words together Ray and Davies I think of England and Noel Coward I think Davies, overall, sees himself as rocker, but the fact he s probably one of the great songwriters that came out of the 20th Century So yeah of course he rocks, but he is one of the great portrait painters of song His Waterloo Sunset, Lola, and others are classic samples of setting character with a melody On top of that he is one of the great entertainers, in the tradition of British music hall of the 19th ...As a lifelong Kinks fan, but one who likes real bios and not dramatic fictional bios like X Ray I was looking forward to this, but it s really not all that Ray Davies may be a genius, but he s a very guarded, non intimate one, and that comes through in his writing You get the feeling that his work ethic is unrivaled he lives to write songs but at the cost of ever having a truly meaningful relationship with anyone be it family, brother Dave or the various women muses over the course As a lifelong Kinks fan, but one who likes real bios and not dramatic fictional bios like X Ray I was looking forward to this, but it s really not all that Ray Davies may be a genius, but he s a very guarded, non intimate one, and that comes through in his writing You get the feelin...I love Ray,than Elvis Costello, the Stones, or anyone else Still, I can t say this is a great book on par with X Ray He really seemed to be holding back, still unwilling to share himself That s ok, I guess He s given enough over the years through his songs.During his book talk at Norwich Playhouse on Saturday 10 May 2014, Ray Davies says, I didn t use a ghostwriter, I could have done This isn t news to me because I ve read it, and there s no doubt in my mind he weighed and wrote every word.There is nothing inherently wrong with rock stars using ghosts for their memoirs These books, composed from h...Ray is a musical genius and a pretty good book writer to bootI had a good friend in England, sadly deceased now, who considered the Kinks one of the most brilliant rock n roll bands of all time right up there with the Beatles and Pink Floyd I m a longtime fan of the Kinks, too, but I also rank them as one of the great feuding brothers bands like Creedence Clearwater and the Everly Brothers and Oasis The Davies brothers, Ray and Dave who formed the working class band back in 1964 haven t performed together since 1996 and seldom miss a chance to I had a good friend in England, sadly deceased now, who considered the Kinks one of the most brilliant rock n roll bands of all time right up there with the Beatles and Pink Floyd I m a longtime fan of the Kinks, too, but I also rank them as one of the great feuding brothers bands like Creedence Clearwater and the Everly Brothers and Oasis The Davies brothers, Ray and Dave who formed the working class band back in 1964 haven t performed together since 1996 and seldom miss a chance to beat each other up in the media I never read X RAY THE UNAUTHORIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY, which is about 20 years old now, so I approached this scrapbooky, herky jerky narrative with an open mind It s obvious that the Kinks singer songwriter Ray Davies fell in love with America or with its sound even before the band first toured the U.S as a wavelet in the British Invasion Now aged 69, Ray reflects on the tumultuous history of the band and on his solo career Of special interest is what Ray...I m a big Kinks fan, even up through the Arista years the MCA and Sony years are best forgotten Ray Davies has written some of the most empathetic and beautiful songs in the rock canon His first book, X Ray, detailed the origins of the band through Village Green Preservation Society with a good deal of poignancy Unfortunately, this volume, which covers 1968 through the present, is ill formed and lacking in insight Half of the book is about Ray s time in New Orleans and his recovery from a I m a big Kinks fan, even up through the Arista years the MCA and Sony years are best forgotten Ray Davies has written some of the most empathetic and beautiful songs in the rock canon His first book, X Ray, detailed the origins of the band through Village Green Preservation Society with a good deal of poignancy Unfortunately, this volume, which covers 1968 through the present, is...The highlights for me were Davies reflection on touring, writing, recording, and navigating the industry in the 1970 s His depiction of the medical care he received after being shot in the leg was also engaging The story gets a bit choppy at times He hops from deep reflection about what was happening with the band in the 70 s and early 80 s ahead to the period around the shooting and it can be jarring when you are highly interested in one or the other of the time periods For those who love The highlights for me were Davies reflection on touring, writing, recording, and navigating the industry in the 1970 s His depiction of the medical care he received after being shot in the leg was also engaging The story gets a bit choppy at times He hops ...A nice biographical journey through America over three decades Davies comes across as a very normal person who has discovered himself living a rock star s life His sensibilities and observations tend to lean conservative, whether or not he is overtl...I m a fan of both The Kinks Ray Davies solo music This is the best written autobiography I ve read Like his lyrics Mr Davies has a way with words I liked his approach of having lyrics of his songs highlighted to the events that inspired them While I really felt his life music are one in the same, I didn t get any closer to him or have any empathy for him There are parts of his life that are very public, but he really only alluded to the In particular his relationship with his b I m a fan of both The Kinks Ray Davies solo music This is the best written autobiography I ve read Like his lyrics Mr Davies has a way with words I liked his approach of having lyrics of his songs highlighted to the events that inspired them While I...

Americana
  • English
  • 05 August 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 320 pages
  • 1402778910
  • Ray Davies
  • Americana