In the seventies and eighties, Ray Davies was cut off from the inspiration of so much of his best work: namely, his marriage and home. This was one of the negative repercussions of America lifting its embargo against the Kinks touring. Be careful what you wish for.
And yet. He was still a great songwriter. And as such, he still sometimes wrote great songs. This is one of them, filled with bitter humor and a kind of holiday spirit.
Merry Christmas, friends.
2 comments:
I imagine the breakup of his marriage to Rasa including their two daughters is what you're referring to here. Apparently she was a major influence on the early Kinks sound during their nine years together as a backup singer and major collaborator - Waterloo Sunset and Sunny Afternoon come to mind. She should have had more public notice but I don't believe Ray was an especially nice man. A great performer and writer but not especially generous.
Yes, he remained a great songwriter and 'Father Christmas' is a wonderful singalong song.. one of those earworm ones that's haunted me all day.
There are some amusing stories about why they were banned. One of them being that a music union official got punched by Ray after he made a number of insulting remarks. 'You'll never work in this town again.'
Yeah, my belief is that having a restricted touring schedule, as the Kinks did for several years, put a damper on their career but was also something of a vacation. He could spend more time with Rasa and their kids. He also collaborated more with her, which made the music better. When the band was able to tour in the big American market and had an unexpected hit with "Lola" the rock star lifestyle beckoned, along with everything associated with it. He would have been better off seeking more of a balance, but people don't always choose wisely.
Yeah, it's a great hard rock song about Christmas and how, sadly, not all of us are equally blessed. Not a lot of those.
Whether he actually punched a union official is ambiguous. Someone like that would certainly be in a position to retaliate if it did happen. And their scene was pretty volatile in the early days.
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