Ray Davies

by Thomas Kitts

Ray Not Like Everybody Else is a critical biography of Ray Davies, with a focus on his music and his times. The book studies Davies’ work from the Kinks’ first singles through his 2006 solo album, from his rock musicals in the early 1970s to his one-man stage show in the 1990s, and from his films to his autobiography. Based on interviews with his closest associates, as well as studies of the recordings themselves, this book creates the most thorough picture of Davies’ work to date. Kitts situates Davies’ work in the context of the British Invasion and the growth of rock in the '60s and '70s, and in the larger context of English cultural history. For fans of rock music and the music of the Kinks, this book is a must have. It will finally place this legendary innovator in the pantheon of the great rock artists of the past half-century. Thomas M. Kitts, Professor of English and Chair of the Division of English/Speech at St. John’s University, NY, is the co-editor of Living on a Thin Crossing Aesthetic Borders with The Kinks, the author of The Theatrical Life of George Henry Boker , articles on American literature and popular culture, reviews of books, CDs, and performances, and a play Gypsies. He is the book review editor of Popular Music and Society and the editor of The Mid-Atlantic Almanack .

Genres: Music, History, Biography

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Thomas M. Kitts, Professor of English and Chair of the Division of English/Speech at St. John's University, NY, is the author of Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else (2008),The Theatrical Life of George Henry Boker (1994), Gypsies (a play, 1987, 1994). articles on American literature and popular culture, and reviews on performances, CDs, and books. He is the co-editor of Living on a Thin Line: Crossing Aesthetic Borders with The Kinks (2002), book review editor of Popular Music and Society, and editor of The Mid-Atlantic Almanack."

Reviews

[The American Conservative]

'There are several books about the Kinks already, but these are mostly written by rock journalists. Kitts, by contrast, is a professor of literature at St. John’s University in New York. He gives Davies’s lyrics serious scrutiny without neglecting to consider the ways they are amplified, undercut, or elaborated by the music. He also looks beyond Davies’s recorded output to consider the singer’s experiments in film, fiction, and theater. I have my occasional disagreements with his conclusions, but that is inevitable. The depth and breadth of the study are worlds away from the typical pop-star biography and more in line with the other academic work Routledge publishes.'

Read the full review, "44 Years of 3-Minute Poems," on our website:
http://www.theamericanconservative.co...

[Diskojoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I know the whole story of Ray Davies & The Kinks from being a fan for over 30 yrs. (shock! horror!), I did appreciate the author's insights and analysis of Ray's songs, especially the post 1970 work, which usually gets downgraded from critics in comparsion to the classic Kinks era of 1964-70. It's a valuable addition to the slim canon of Kinks books.

[Elena Woontner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent scholarly study on Ray Davies' body of work, not an easy feat; although some parts are influenced by the author's perception, it is much more objective than other works on the subject.