Working Mans Cafe

2007 release of the second solo album by the founder and former frontman of the Kinks, one of the best albums of his incredible career. His first, Other People's Lives, was a lifetime in the making, while this album happened relatively quickly. It was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee and mixed in North London at Konk Studios, featuring 10 stellar songs co-produced with Ray Kennedy. They assembled a crackerjack band of top musicians who breathed life into a wonderful collection of songs. The album is infused with a transatlantic sound befitting Ray's close ties to the American south coupled with his well respected Englishness. From the first upbeat notes of the lead track 'Vietnam Cowboys', it is clear Ray has never sung better. The album presents a wistful, humorous and poignant look at life in the 21st Century, just what we have come to expect from one of Britain's greatest songwriters. Highlights are many and include the Preservation Jazz Hall sway of 'Morphine Song', the painful longing of 'Imaginary Man' and the haunting emotion of 'One More Time'. Brimming with variety, 'Voodoo Walk' is a steamy stroll on the rock side. 'You're Asking Me' and 'In a Moment' offer incredibly affecting pop while 'Working Man's Café' revisits familiar Davies territory, that yearning for an era gone by. V2.