The Kinks Choral Collection

Crouch End Festival Chorus, Ray Davies - The Kinks Choral Collection

The Kinks Choral Collection
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Artist: Crouch End Festival Chorus, Ray Davies
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
CD Release Date: 2009-11-10
Music Label: Decca
Soundtracks:
  1. Days
  2. Waterloo Sunset
  3. You Really Got Me
  4. Victoria
  5. See My Friends
  6. Celluloid Heroes
  7. Shangri-La
  8. Working Man's Cafe
  9. Village Green / Crouch End Festival Chorus
  10. Picture Book
  11. Big Sky / Crouch End Festival Chorus
  12. Do You Remember Walter?
  13. Johnny Thunder
  14. Village Green Preservation Society
  15. All Day and All of the Night

Free Music Notes for The Kinks Choral Collection

Free Music Review: Krazed Kinksters Kringe Kuriously
Hit: 5 Stars

When this album was announced many, many Kinks fans were skeptical and vowed to never buy it or listen to it. I too was leery of having to purchase 'You Really Got Me' for the 28th time. The thought of hearing 'All Day and All of the Night' with Dave Davies replaced with a choir did nothing to further endear me to Ray Davies. However, after seeing 'Electric Proms' show on a bootleg CD from England (thanks O**a!) I was excited to see the music reproduced. I ordered the English copy a couple months ago and from the opening verse of 'Days' something told me I was into something good. All of the songs, with the exception of 'You Really Got Me' and 'All Day....', are excellent. The production is clear and clean, the musical performances are excellent and Davies' singing is outstanding for someone his age (see Jagger for a 15 year-long embarrassment). Dare I say that 'Days', 'Waterloo Sunset' and 'Shangri-la' are equal to the originals. The choir adds so much to harmonies that were only hinted at on the originals that it makes me wonder why this wasn't done earlier. So many Kinks songs were marred by poor production, unfathomable vocal mixes and second-rate musicianship that these reproductions make the originals sound, well.....professional. While professionalism is not something many Kinks purists look kindly on I enjoy it at this point in my fanhood (two lifetimes later). My favorite is 'See My Friends' sung a cappela. The Village Green section is a welcome addition - the songs have been overlooked forever and ever - and are done here with care. Standouts are 'Big Sky', 'Do You Remember Walter' and 'Village Green'. 'Celluloid Heroes' is the best remake so far (only redone twice before). 'Victoria' rocks surprisingly, choir be damned. Not quite the orginal but passes the test nonetheless.

Since there is so much going on musically here something had to be mixed down. The band is not loud enough on many tracks; the guitars and keyboards are too low in the mix - the band seems unnecessarily compressed - and in many songs the choir is just a TOO prominent but I guess this is to be expected. The choir was recorded at Air studios which is apparently a superior space than Konk studios and it shows. Good move on Rays' part. This is his best production to date and it's obvious that a lot of attention to detail was put into this project. It has paid off in spades.

The album was a surprising success in England and one could hope Americans would exhibit equal good taste but with future Liberaces like Adam Lambert soaking up the spotlight I won't get my hopes up. All of you diskoncerted Kinks fans out there should set your purism aside and pick up a copy; you WILL learn to like it believe me. It would sound awfully good at my house during Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow if I could get my father to turn down the stupid football game; somethings never change but some songs get better. Pick up this album - you won't regret it.
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The Kinks Choral Collection Poster

After massively successful career spanning more than 40 years, Ray Davies, the legendary lead singer of The Kinks, is back with creative and unusual interpretations of songs from his extensive catalogue. Often referred to as "almost indisputably rock's most literate, witty and insightful songwriter," Davies had the ambitious idea to collaborate with the 65-strong Crouch End Festival Chorus at the 2007 BBC Electric Proms in London to create The Kinks Choral Collection. This masterful CD will be in stores November 10th on Decca with a nationwide tour scheduled to coincide with the release. (U.S. dates to be announced soon.)

Produced by Davies himself and with uplifting, sometimes epic, choral arrangements by David Temple, Steve Markwick and Davies, this union casts a fresh light to some of The Kinks' timeless compositions including striking new versions of classics such as "You Really Got Me", "All Day And All Of The Night", "Waterloo Sunset" and many more. Ray said of his Crouch End vocal colleagues; "With a song like `Waterloo Sunset', I feel as if the people I wrote it for are singing it". And they display an ingenious palette of choral techniques. Hearing `See My Friends' recast as an acappella gospel hymn is instantly striking, hugely magnifying the impact of Ray's life-after-death lyrics.

A fascinating feature of the program includes a six-song suite from the 1968 album The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society. Although not as well known as some of the bigger hits, this collection is now widely regarded as The Kinks' masterpiece, with songs like "Do You Remember Walter?" which is a poignant memoir of a vanished childhood world.

Overall this inspirational new album offers so much to explore and admire from fans who own the entire Kinks catalogue on vinyl or to complete newcomers. This is a great introduction to Davies' idiosyncratic, delightful world. A slice of pop history revived: "Thank you for the days . . . Days I'll remember all my life".

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