See My Friends

I love the music of Ray Davies, both alone and with The Kinks. Seminal music, seminal band, a fact borne out by the issue over the years of several tribute albums by other artists celebrating the music of this English pop genius. See My Friends is another in that line with the notable and somewhat strange exception to the tribute album rule in that Ray Davies himself appears on the album. It's a bit like attending your own funeral. These are, for the most part, unnecessary joint performances that add nothing to the songs. In fact, on several of these cuts the original song is flailed to within an inch of its life. I'm referring specifically to Bruce Springsteen braying all over the normally beautiful Better Things; Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora turning Celluloid Heroes into an emotionally empty arena-loud bit of nothing; Paloma Faith presenting an insipid Lola and Metallica (Metallica?!?!?) murdering You Really Got Me. And I do mean murdering. Awful to listen to. Shame Ray, shame. On the positive side, Mumford & Sons deliver a lovely version of Days/This Time Tomorrow where their harmonies and Ray Davies' plaintive voice meld into something worthwhile. Similarly, and perhaps surprisingly, Ray's duet with Jackson Browne on Waterloo Sunset finds something new in that song, especially since the arrangement moves to the left of the legendary original. Spoon and Ray give us a See My Friends that works but adds nothing to the original and it's the same with Gary Lightbody and Amy Macdonald on Tired Of Waiting and Dead End Street respectively. 'Til The End Of The Day with Alex Chilton carries an inherent sadness, a feeling that may be the song and may be influenced by his recent death. Perhaps the best performance on the album comes with the Ray Davies, Lucinda Williams and The 88's version of Long Way From Home. Here the album makes sense - a fresh take on an old song that breathes new life into it. It's a pity that happens so rarely on this album and if that's not the reason for recording these collaborations, what is? Money? The hope that someone who normally listens to Metallica might be tempted into the back catalogue? I don't know. For me, I'll be listening to the originals and waiting for Mr. Davies' next album of new songs. Overall what shines on See My Friends are the songs, not the performances, and that is what will keep me listening to it from time to time (with some judicious track skipping!)

Each track presents great Ray Davies compositions in a unique but familiar setting. The pairings with Ray are a cross-section of the musical spectrum:
1. Better Things (Ray Davies & Bruce Springsteen)
2. Celluloid Heroes (Ray Davies, Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora)
3. Days/This Time Tomorrow (Ray Davies & Mumford & Sons)
4. Long Way From Home (Ray Davies, Lucinda Williams & The 88
5. You Really Got Me (Ray Davies & Metallica
6. Lola (Ray Davies & Paloma Faith)
7. Waterloo Sunset (Ray Davies & Jackson Browne)
8. 'Til The End of The Day (Ray Davies, Alex Chilton & The 88)
9. Dead End Street (Ray Davies & Amy Macdonald)
10. See My Friends (Ray Davies & Spoon)
11. This Is Where I Belong (Ray Davies & Black Francis)
12. David Watts (Ray Davies & The 88)
13. Tired Of Waiting (Ray Davies & Gary Lightbody)
14. All Day And All Of The Night/Destroyer (Ray Davies & Billy Corgan)

The Mumford & Sons, Lucinda and Alex Chilton collaborations are works of art. The Metallica remake of "You Really Got Me" is less so. Perhaps the world does not need another version of this classic. How appropriate for Bruce to be on "Better Days." The mash-up (Days/This Time Tomorrow and All Day & All of the NIght/Destroyer) are inspired. But don't cherry-pick the tracks, download the entire album. I love the originals and I love these interpretations. You will find yourself thinking about these songs long after you remove your earbuds.

When I first heard about this I thought that the possibilities were mindblowing... but every wrong move you could think of was taken... Why does Ray have to sing on every song? Why do nearly all the songs sounded like the artists singing were watching the clock? The ONLY song that approaches greatness is Waterloo Sunset which sounds arranged and produced with time, respect,care and honesty... I come away from this thinking that Waterloo is the only song Ray can tolerate of his catalog... Shame on Bon Jovi AND Ray for that horror Celluloid Heroes....I have rarely heard such a great song reduced to sonic sludge...Shame on Metallica AND Ray for subjecting You Really Got Me into another mid 80's Kinks/ Van Halen cover instead of getting any one of a multitude Alt Punk bands to do it with their ears set to the world changing original....in fact.. WHY give these songs to a pile of geezers in the first place??? Why not hear the bands of today do their versions of Kinks songs and get Rays catalog out to a younger demographic? Mumford should have been one of a slew of bands doing these songs....Oh.. and Ray.. PLEEZE don't feel that you have to sing the second verse on every song....Maybe one song on the album... Waterloo Sunset's fine.Very fine.

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