The Kinks: Influence

One of my favorite 60's bands and in my opinion, one of the most influential to classic rock bands of their present and the heavy metal bands of the future.

Have a listen.



You have to admit they knew how to write a song. They were idolized by The Beatles and The Who to name a few. A long history and many creative songs and great albums followed. Ray Davies always had a way with words and decided early on to make their songs tell a story. Dave Davies even shredded his amp with a single edged Gillette razor to make his guitar sound different and not so boring.

The brothers Ray and Dave are said to be estranged now, but there has been talk of a reunion. Time has a way of healing past hurts, but it also has a way of making them older and not as motivated to perform.

Just so you know, The Kinks helped turn Rock and Roll into Rock.

Free Music - Ray Davies "The Kinks Choral Collection"

I have a sampler of this incredible CD to give away.  If you'd like it let me know in the comments, if there is more than one of you I will hold a drawing in the next few days.

I was surprised at how much I liked this.  I was not sure what to expect but have always thought of Ray Davies as a masterful songwriter.  I highly recommend it and hope you give it a listen.  I'm not a huge fan of chorals, but it works and Ray's voice is as good as ever.

Lots of New Stuff to Buy in November (Christmas Gifts???)

(I took this info from Dave White's wondreful site:  About Classic Rock)

Creedence Clearwater Revival - 'Singles Collection' CD/DVD box set

Release date: November 3, 2009
Creedence Clearwater Revival managed a feat few bands attained. Through the late '60s and early '70s their singles were all over Top 40 AM radio at the same time that progressive FM stations were playing their non-single (or B-side) album tracks. It is those familiar singles that are highlighted in this two-CD set. A bonus DVD contains four CCR videos.
John Fogerty - 'Comin' Down The Road: The Concert At Royal Albert Hall' DVD

Release date: November 3, 2009
The timing of the release of this 2004 concert video probably has less to do with the CCR box set released on the same day than with Fogerty's Live By Request appearance on PBS a few days later. This performance at Royal Albert Hall came 37 years after Fogerty and CCR performed there in 1971. The set drew from the artist's CCR and solo catalogs.
'Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum: Live' DVD box set

Release date: November 3, 2009
No, these are not the just-staged Rock Hall 25th anniversary concerts at Madison Square Garden. No doubt, that will come sometime after they are telecast on HBO. This three-DVD set consists of performances and speeches from the Rock Hall induction ceremonies of the past 24 years. The package might best be summed up by Mick Jagger's observation as Rolling Stones were inducted at the 1989 ceremony. "Tonight you see us on our best behavior. But we re being rewarded for 25 years of bad behavior."
AC/DC - 'Backtracks' CD/DVD box set

Release date: November 10, 2009
AC/DC's Backtracks: The Ultimate AC/DC Experience is a box set of "studio and live rarities" on three CDs, two DVDs, and a vinyl album, accompanied by a coffee table book and fistful of reproductions of posters, flyers and stickers. A limited edition (for serious collectors and very generous gift-givers only, at $200+) comes packaged in an actual working guitar amp.

'The Jerry Garcia Collection, Vol. 2 - Let It Rock' CD

Release date: November 10, 2009
Jerry Garcia is remembered as much for his work ethic as his musicianship. In 1975, Grateful Dead were recording Blues For Allah, The Grateful Dead Movie was in production, and still Garcia found time for one of his many side projects, Jerry Garcia Band. In November 1975, JGB played The Keystone Berkeley, in the shadow of the University of California campus. This two-CD set was recorded during that performance.
Vendor's Site
Ray Davies - 'The Kinks Choral Collection' CD

Release date: November 10, 2009

As lead singer and principal songwriter, Ray Davies had much to do with The Kinks' distinctive (and highly successful) style. He also has much to do with keeping the band's music alive and fresh. In 2007, he enlisted the Crouch End Festival Chorus to collaborate in recording choral arrangements of Kinks classics like "You Really Got Me," "All Day And All Of The Night" and "Waterloo Sunset."

Paul McCartney - 'Good Evening, New York City' CD/DVD

Release date: November 17, 2009

Good Evening, New York City is a two-CD, one-DVD set recorded during Paul McCartney's July 2009 performance at the new Citi Field (formerly Shea Stadium.) Macca performs a mix of material from his solo, Wings and Beatles catalogs.

The Doors - 'Live In New York' box set

Release date: November 17, 2009
Nearly 40 years after The Doors played four shows at the Felt Forum theater at New York's Madison Square Garden, those performances, in their entirety, are being released in this six-CD set. Most of the material on Live In New York is being released for the first time. These were the band's last New York performances with Jim Morrison, who died just a few months later.

Steve Morse Band - 'Out Standing In Their Field' CD

Release date: November 17, 2009

The former Deep Purple guitarist is back with Steve Morse Band's 12th studio release. Morse's virtuosity is front and center -- all 11 tracks are instrumentals. Out Standing In Their Field is a fusion of rock, jazz, funk, and country, in keeping with the range of styles the artist has sampled over the years.
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - 'Live Anthology' box set

Release date: November 24, 2009
Compiling this four-CD set was no small feat when you consider the sheer volume of performances by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers between 1978 and 2007. Engineer Ryan Ulyate compiled more than 400 titles from more than 3,500 concerts. Producers (Ulyate, Petty and Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell) promise a realistic mix -- no fixes or overdubs -- to accurately reproduce the live experience.

Kinks Reunion?

L - O - L - A, Lola, La La La Looooooooooo La.

Ok, I know that's just one of many classics by the Kinks but I have always just loved that song because of its quirkiness and the fun tune.

According to Dave White at About Rock, there is a chance that the ORIGINAL line-up may do a reunion tour (why not everyone else and their cousin is doing it!)

Check this out:

We're talking about the original lineup of The Kinks, dating back to the band's beginnings in 1963: Ray Davies, his brother Dave on guitar and harmony vocals, drummer Mick Avory and bassist Pete Quaife. That lineup hasn't performed together since Quaife left the band in 1969. Avory left in 1984, and the Davies brothers continued to perform with a frequently changing lineup until 1996.