In 1999, the entire Kinks album collection started to get the remastered treatment. In addition to these releases, a two-disc retrospective of guitarist Dave Davies' work over the last 36 years was put together. Dave has always survived in the shadows of his domineering older brother, guitarist, singer, and songwriter Ray Davies. Ray's contribution to the success of The Kink's music is very similar to Pete Townshend's contribution to The Who. But what "Unfinished Business" proves is that Dave's songwriting, playing, and singing with and without The Kinks is just as powerful as his brother's... and very underrated.
Digging in the archives to find "I Believed You" is a pure treasure on this release. Recorded in 1963, this acetate features Dave and Kink's bassist Peter Quaife recording as The Ravens (not to be confused with the current Superbowl champs). It's great to here this early and rough recording that shows what The Kinks were yet to become. Speaking of great Kink songs, "You Really Got Me" and "All Day and All of the Night" are generously included here. Regardless if these Ray Davies' songs were thrown in to help boost the sales of this collection, these recordings are essential listening to appreciate Dave Davies' brilliant guitar playing. Another early Kink's jem is "Milk Cow Blues". Sung with passion by Dave and Ray, this 1965 tune shows Dave's early desire to play pure blues licks. Dave's writing showed great maturity on 1977's "Trust Your Heart" from The Kink's "Misfits" album. This maturation extended on into 1984's "Living on a Thin Line". Easily surpassing most of Ray's contributions to the under-appreciated "Word of Mouth" cd, the song deals with fragile balance of the world and all of our lives; "All the stories have been told, of kings and days of old, but there's no England now. All the wars that were won and lost, somehow don't seem to matter very much any more".
Disc two focuses on Dave Davies' solo releases; the majority coming from his early 80's output. This cd starts off with the wonderful "Unfinished Business". Recorded in 1996, the song is a beautiful display of Davies' high registered voice along with multi-layered electric and acoustic guitars. This particular song is probably my favorite from the entire release. I was fortunate enough to purchase the three albums that Dave Davies released between 1980 and 1983. The best of the bunch, 1980's "AFL1-3603" has a generous three tracks featured here. The most interesting would probably be "Imagination's Real". Stricking a nice balance between hippie idealism and a new wave instrumentation, the dreamy melody is extremely catchy. A newly recorded "Death of a Clown" shows Davies ability to write a folky acoustic tune that would make Bob Dylan proud! Originally released as a solo single in the 60's, the newer version sounds fresher and "cleaner". The pessimistic lyrics plead; "Won't someone help me to break up this crowd, let's all drink to the death of a clown". Disc 2 finishes off in great style with three tracks recorded live in New York from 1997. "Gallon of Gas Blues/You're Looking Fine" shows off Dave's ability to play a raw and powerful rock song. Starting off with a great blues jam along accompanied hammond organ, the song then shifts gear into a rauscous rocker. This sound is reminiscient of The Kink's 1979 live release "One for the Road". With The Kinks on a long hiatus, I hope that Ray and Dave could put aside their differences for at lease one more tour and album. Both brothers still have the ability to write and jam with the best of them.
I'm still waiting to see if Davies' solo albums will be released on cd sometime in the near future. Although he never achieved the attention that his older brother Ray has received over the years, Dave Davies is one of those rare talents that can be appreciated by any fan of rock and roll. This cd, as well as other recordings, can be purchased through his website. If you enjoy The Kinks' music, give solo-Kink Dave's music a try sometime!
