Ray collaborates with a formidable selection of artists on tracks from his songwriting career, revisiting his back catalogue and crafting new versions of his classic songs - everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Metallica features on a diverse collection of material.
"This project came about almost by accident," said Davies, which was kick-started when he recorded a version of “'Till The End Of The Day” in the summer of 2009, with Alex Chilton. "With some tracks, I had to appreciate the style of the other artists, otherwise it would have sounded unbalanced. And I wanted the album to work as an entire listening experience, but each track had a life of its own.”
Ray traveled wherever the music took him: Oslo via Denmark, Germany and Belgium to record with Metallica, New York to record with Jon Bon Jovi, New Jersey for Bruce Springsteen, Chicago for Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins and his own north London base, the legendary KONK studios, for much of the rest. "This record is well-travelled already," said Ray.
Paloma Faith, Jackson Browne, Black Francis of the Pixies, Lucinda Williams, Amy MacDonald and Spoon also feature on the record, which follows Ray's acclaimed tour of North America and the UK, plus a stand out set on Glastonbury's Pyramid stage this summer.
Waterloo Sunset (feat. the Crouch End Festival Chorus) - The Kinks Choral Collection (feat. the Crouch End Festival Chorus) Ray Davies – Waterloo Sunset
Glastonbury Festival – June 27, 2010
“About a year ago, we had the honor of playing with Ray Davies at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concert in New York,” Metallica posted on their website. “It was the first time we had ever met Ray, and was definitely one of the highlights of our night. Fast forward a few months to the tuning room before the show in Oslo on April 14 and there we were recording with Ray!!! How cool is that?”
Ray Davies with Metallica – recording You Really Got Me (partial)
Telenor Arena - Oslo, Norway – April 14, 2010
Metallica and Davies ended up laying down a new version of “You Really Got Me,” which they had also performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame show. “Turns out that Ray has been planning to put out a record of collaborations on classic Kinks songs with a wide variety of today’s musicians and, lo and behold, we were actually asked to be included in this stellar group spanning many genres and styles,” the band said.
The tracklisting for 'See My Friends' is:
01. Better Things - Ray Davies & Bruce Springsteen
02. Celluloid Heroes - Ray Davies, Jon Bon Jovi & Richie Sambora
03. Days/This Time Tomorrow - Ray Davies & Mumford & Sons
04. Long Way From Home - Ray Davies, Lucinda Williams & The 88
05. You Really Got Me - Ray Davies & Metallica
06. Lola Ray - Davies & Paloma Faith
07. Waterloo Sunset - Ray Davies & Jackson Browne
08. 'Til The End of The Day - Ray Davies, Alex Chilton & The 88
09. Dead End Street - Ray Davies & Amy Macdonald
10. See My Friends Ray Davies & Spoon
11. This Is Where I Belong - Ray Davies & Black Francis
12. David Watts - Ray Davies & The 88
13. Tired Of Waiting - Ray Davies & Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol)
14. All Day And All Of The Night/Destroyer - Ray Davies & Billy Corgan
The Kinks - You Really Got Me - The British Are Coming, Vol. 1 The Kinks – You Really Got Me
The Beat Room – 1964
The Kinks – Lola
BBC – Top Of The Pops - 1970
The Kinks – All Day And All Of The Night (live)
