Americana - Ray Davies

 

I just found out about this 2013 tome via another book on the Kinks and lo and behold, our library carries it so I grabbed it.

Of course, I was a Kinks fan in the 60's when their raucous, riotous r'n'r anthems were bursting out of the AM radio everywhere. Power chords and catchy melodies'n'lyrics always caught my ears. When they moved into more sedate material I lost interest for the longest time but I have been discovering some of the gems that didn't make it onto American radio and have a deeper appreciation for these works. I did enjoy Ray's other book, X-Ray (apparently, before I had this blog), so I wanted to see what he had to offer in this one.

Here he talks of his mindset at the time or writing, living off'n'on in New Orleans, sometimes with an American woman that he was infatuated with, but he seemed to be in a contact state of instability or something - not sure at all what he wanted or how to obtain it. He uses his lyrics to emphasis particular points that he is making, although, as lyrics, they are more open to interpretation, which is possibly his point in adding them to the narrative.

He does concentrate on what America meant and still means to him - he goes back'n'forth between remembrances and his then-current state - as is fitting for the concept of the book - and it contains eulogies for many of the characters that he met in the States as well as the band experiences.

Naturally, he talks at length about his shooting, which, while "simply" a wound to his leg, was much more serious than I understood it to be at the time, as it shattered a femur and he needed a titanium rod inserted, which does not sound pleasant at all. Obviously, this subject was literally life-changing to him, but he does dwell on it a bit longer than is "necessary" - if such a word applies to a book.

In any case, Ray is a fine writer, of prose as well as songs, and the book is enjoyable even if it does get a bit bogged down towards the end. Still, glad to hear that he managed to create his own successful solo career after the Kinks wound down. Fans will definitely want to check out this one.