Ray Davies, best known as the lead singer, main songwriter and rhythm guitarist for The Kinks, has created a list of his six favourite albums.
Davies, who is often referred to as ‘The Godfather of Britpop‘, formed The Kinks alongside his brother, Dave, in 1964, and became one of the most influential musicians of the 1960s alongside his bandmates as they continued to sell out venues right up until the band eventually broke up in 1996.
With 24 studio albums to his name with the band, Davies went out to have a successful solo career where he released a further eight full-length records which, ultimately, had a huge impact on influencing Britpop bands such as Blur and Oasis. “I think when you write songs, you write about people,” Davies once said of his writing style.
Adding: “People are the source of my material. And London is a wonderful place to be for people. So, the next time you’re sitting in a park somewhere, and you see someone like me looking at you, don’t phone the police. I’m just writing”.
Now, sitting down in an interview with The Express, Davies has detailed a string of records that he has held dearly through the years, picking out six records which he has described as his essential listening with the likes of The Funk Brothers, Ray Charles, Percy Grainger and more being selected.
“I loved the Britpop era which produced some of the greatest bands to emerge from the UK in recent times,” Davies said while explaining his decision to include the Various Artists: Live Forever — The Best of Britpop compilation album as part of his list. “This is probably the best ‘greatest hits’ package from that era, pulling together a string of classics including Blur’s Parklife and Oasis’s Live Forever.”
See Ray Davies’ full list, below.
Ray Davies’ 6 favourite albums:
The Funk Brothers: Millennium Collection
Ray Charles: The Definitive Ray Charles
Various Artists: Live Forever — The Best of Britpop
Percy Grainger: The Music of Percy Grainger
Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band: Were You There – Live 1966 [Live]
Gustav Mahler: Simon Rattle performs Mahler’s Complete Symphonies 1-10
Detailing his selections further, he added: “I’ve long had an interest in Percy Grainger, an Australian-born composer and pianist who moved to Britain in the 1900s and hiked around England making recordings of folk songs, which influenced much of his work,” Davies explained. “A fascinating character.”
Elsewhere, when on the topic of Gustav Mahler, Davies said: “I’ve always been interested in various musical genres, including classical music. One of my favourite composers is Mahler and for those who don’t know much about him this is as good an introduction as any to his work.”
Ray Davies, best known as the lead singer, main songwriter and rhythm guitarist for The Kinks, has created a list of his six favourite albums.
Davies, who is often referred to as ‘The Godfather of Britpop‘, formed The Kinks alongside his brother, Dave, in 1964, and became one of the most influential musicians of the 1960s alongside his bandmates as they continued to sell out venues right up until the band eventually broke up in 1996.
With 24 studio albums to his name with the band, Davies went out to have a successful solo career where he released a further eight full-length records which, ultimately, had a huge impact on influencing Britpop bands such as Blur and Oasis. “I think when you write songs, you write about people,” Davies once said of his writing style.
Adding: “People are the source of my material. And London is a wonderful place to be for people. So, the next time you’re sitting in a park somewhere, and you see someone like me looking at you, don’t phone the police. I’m just writing”.
Now, sitting down in an interview with The Express, Davies has detailed a string of records that he has held dearly through the years, picking out six records which he has described as his essential listening with the likes of The Funk Brothers, Ray Charles, Percy Grainger and more being selected.
“I loved the Britpop era which produced some of the greatest bands to emerge from the UK in recent times,” Davies said while explaining his decision to include the Various Artists: Live Forever — The Best of Britpop compilation album as part of his list. “This is probably the best ‘greatest hits’ package from that era, pulling together a string of classics including Blur’s Parklife and Oasis’s Live Forever.”
See Ray Davies’ full list, below.
Ray Davies’ 6 favourite albums:
The Funk Brothers: Millennium Collection
Ray Charles: The Definitive Ray Charles
Various Artists: Live Forever — The Best of Britpop
Percy Grainger: The Music of Percy Grainger
Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band: Were You There – Live 1966 [Live]
Gustav Mahler: Simon Rattle performs Mahler’s Complete Symphonies 1-10
Detailing his selections further, he added: “I’ve long had an interest in Percy Grainger, an Australian-born composer and pianist who moved to Britain in the 1900s and hiked around England making recordings of folk songs, which influenced much of his work,” Davies explained. “A fascinating character.”
Elsewhere, when on the topic of Gustav Mahler, Davies said: “I’ve always been interested in various musical genres, including classical music. One of my favourite composers is Mahler and for those who don’t know much about him this is as good an introduction as any to his work.”
