Ray Davies

Ray Davies & The Button Down Brass – Themes From The Exorcist & Flashpoint (1974-75) [Reissue 2017] MCH SACD ISO + Hi-Res FLAC

SACD / DSD By admin · August 18, 2023 · Comments off

Two great albums from Ray “funky trumpet” Davies – not the lead singer of The Kinks, but a heck of a groovy British bandleader from the 70s! First up is an album of Themes From The Exorcist and other films – all familiar movie themes from the early 70s, penned by artists like Michel Legrand and Lalo Schifrin – but served up here by Ray’s Button Down Brass in a very cool style – compressed funk, ala the best crime/cop modes of the time – but with lots of individual touches that make the songs very different than the original versions! Titles include “Point Blank”, “Enter The Dragon”, “Klute”, “French Connection”, “Tubular Bells”, “Cops & Robbers”, and “Beyond Tomorrow”. Flashpoint continues with some great film themes again served up in the magic Ray Davies mode – a funky big band approach that makes the record every bit as compelling as the American Cop Shows album from Henry Mancini – but maybe groovier, too. Titles include “Kojak”, “Big Boss”, “Man With The Golden Gun”, “Mr Majestyk”, “Magnum Force”, “Fist Of Fury”, and “Airport 1975”.

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Ray Davies – Americana (2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/44,1kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · August 18, 2023 · Comments off

As suggested by the title Americana, the former Kinks frontman is a cultural and musical paradox. The most emphatically English of all the British Invasion bandleaders, Britpop’s beloved father argues throughout his new album (and 2013 autobiography by the same name) that he spent much of his band’s 32-year career chasing the American Dream. The Kinks legend uses Americana to blaze a path through both America’s rock’n’roll history and his own. Its back-to-basics energy and prosaic storytelling make it his best solo album in years.

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Ray Davies – Our Country: Americana Act 2 (2018) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Studio Masters By admin · August 17, 2023 · Comments off

The continuing story of The Kinks co-founder’s journeys through America, as depicted in his 2013 memoir Americana and 2017’s album of the same name, ‘Our Country: Americana Act II’ is a concept album borne from Davies’ vision of America – how it shaped him and evolved through the years. Like its predecessor, the album was recorded at the legendary Konk Studios in London with guitarist Bill Shanley and The Jayhawks once again serving as Davies’ backing band.

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