Alex Lake/Stem AgencyIt’s the news Kinks fans have been waiting for. Ray Davies, who’ll release his latest solo album, Our Country: Americana Act II, this Friday, June 29, says he’s hoping to arrange a reunion project involving his old band mates.
In a recent interview with BBC Radio London, the 74-year-old rock legend says, “I’m trying to persuade the boys to get together again to make a record.”
Asked about the difference between making a Kinks record and a solo album, Ray quips that there is “more violence involved” in making a Kinks album — a reference of course, to his infamously contentious relationship with his brother Dave, the group’s lead guitarist.
Ray compares the volatile chemistry in The Kinks to successful sports teams, noting, “I think the best football teams are on the verge of cracking.”
Meanwhile, the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer says he not really interested in touring behind Our Country: Americana Act II, and would rather present the record to the public via a series of special performances. The album’s a sequel to his 2017 concept album, Americana; both records are companion pieces to Ray’s 2013 memoir, also titled Americana.
“I want to do this as an event,” he tells Radio London, “because I’ve got [the U.S. alt-country band] The Jayhawks playing with me, and on the song ‘Our Country’ I’ve got the Crouch End Festival Choir. So it’s a choir event, theatrical event. [I also have] readings on the record from the book.”
He adds, “I’d really love to find a way of doing it without exhausting myself.”
Davies reports that he plans to make a third Americana album, and he’s also working on a concert video documenting his September 2017 show in London’s Hyde Park.
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