THE KINKS

The opening track, “Wall Of Fire” on the Kinks’ latest release “Phobia”, describes a world caught in the midst of apocalyptic judgement.

Lead singer Ray Davies sounds like an evangelist giving a fire and brimstone sermon in a rural revival tent service, as he sentences all the “city slickers” to a fiery judgment. “There is a feeling of doomsday really isn’t there?” said Kinks guitarist Dave Davies. “Particularly with the end of the millennium coming up.

It’s a record that’s attacking real issues and real things are happening. “At the same time I think there’s a lot of optimism on the record. It’s an optimism about people, I think that it’s people who make things work in this world. It’s not money that makes the world go ’round, it’s people who make the world go ’round.” On several tracks, the theme of romance as salvation helps to counterbalance much of the gloomy rough-edged side of “Phobia”. “The Kinks have always been a band to do things like that,” said Davies, “Everybody has a different way of expressing the way they feel. I think that it’s our style more than any kind of deliberate intent on our part. Through all our work over the years there’s always been that element of heart and hope combined with a never-give-up kind of vibe.” The Kinks began in the nightclubs surrounding London in the early 1960’s.

Brothers Ray and Dave Davies recorded their first single, Little Richard’s “Long Tall Sally,” in an attempt to express the passion both had for the rhythm and blues that was influencing the first wave of British rockers at the time.

“The things that stimulated me musically were works of passion,” said Davies. “When you’re 14 or 15 you don’t always have a vision in a way that is premeditated or carved out. Emotion and passion are the things which have always driven me musically. I think that’s one of the reasons why we’re still around. As well as that, we still feel there’s a lot to do yet.” With five hit records riding the charts in 1964, the Kinks were at the forefront of the British invasion. The majority of British bands cresting the first wave found their popularity and careers fading fast a few years later. With the advent of more sensitive pop music in the late 1960’s the Kinks made the transition from rock & rollers to sophisticate pop songwriters with great success. “I think that maybe things happen for a reason,” said Davies. “A lot of the down side of what we’ve done has actually helped us creatively and emotionally by making us fight harder and not lose touch with what’s going on in the world around us. Motive is very important in anything people do. Our motive has always been important in our songwriting.”

It was during the early 1970’s that the Kinks established themselves on American radio.

Hits like 1970’s “Lola” and “Apeman”, along with the 1972 single “Celluloid Heros,” helped earn the Kinks a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in January 1990. With the New Wave rock movement in Britain taking hold of both the British and American record charts, the Kinks’ songs inspired a new generation of bands. The Pretenders’ career began with a release of Ray Davies’ “Stop Your Sobbing”, The Jam had a hit single with “David Watts” and Van Halen paid their respect to the Kinks with a version of “You Really Got Me” in 1978. While so many bands were recording obscure Kinks’ songs as well as Kinks’ classics, the Davies brothers found their popularity at an all-time high by the mid-1980’s. Ray and Dave Davies began recording and touring both with the Kinks and in solo projects. The result has been a prolific catalog of recorded material. With their current release “Phobia,” the Kinks have 30 albums to their credit and they’ve begun a year-long world tour.

Looking back on their influence and the amazing number of bands that got started by recording Kinks’ material, Davies said, “I think anybody who tries to copy what we do is flattering to us. I find it amusing apart from anything else. “What is it they say, ‘It’s the greatest form of flattery to be copied.’ ” Dave Davies lives in Los Angeles, while Ray lives in London. “England is quite a depressing place to live these days,” he said. “Particularly for the young people who are well educated and can’t get work. It’s sort of like the decay of and the aftermath. “Any creative person who’s worth his salt has to be affected by the things going on around him. So when you live in a place you pick up vibes of what’s going on and it does permeate into your work. That’s one thing that I think the Kinks do very well is we make statements about things that are actually going on.”