The "not very nice" reviews page.
Welcome to the nasty reviews page! Hmmm, I think they're pretty bad...but it must be noted that they both appeared in Vox...also known as the monthly NME...may have something to do with it!! Anyway, enjoy, or at the very least, don't get too worked up ;)
"The Kinks: To the Bone-
This mostly acoustic browse through the Muswell Hillbillies' back pages
perfectly displays the best and the worst of The Kinks live. These
"unplugged" sessions reaffirm that Ray Davies is a songwriter of great
subtlety and insight ('Celluloid Heroes', 'The Village Green
Preservation Society', 'Better Things'), but when kid bro Dave cranks
his Les Paul up to 11, all we get is a sad metal bombast ('You Really
Got Me', 'All Day And All Of The Night').
While 'Lola', 'Dedicated Follower Of Fashion' and 'Sunny Afternoon' are
timeless, the sound of audience sing-alongs coaxed by Ray himself,
frequently in an offensive Jamaican accent, sends fingers stabbing at
the eject button."
VOX magazine, May 1997.
"KINK-AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY...
Dave Davies tells his story as the less creative but more boisterous element of The Kinks. The Oasis comparison is obvious-Dave seems to have been Liam Gallagher without the voice" Ouch! I'm sorry, but I'm not saying a word..."Here, in anecdotal cab-driver speak ('she was a whore, but she had a heart of gold') he cronicles a string of piss-ups, punch-ups, a riotous decade misspent among London's demi-monde of pimps, promoters and wastrels. Fun moments-he rather scuppered The Kinks' chances of an American breakthrough when he offered the opinion, on air, that the radio DJ interviewing him was a 'f**king useless c***; suspected The Who of nicking all The Kinks' ideas; and relates that the David Watts, immortalised by brother Ray, was a flamboyant, aristocratic homosexual. Amusing to think of all those fiercely hetero mod boys singing along, wishing they could be like..."
So ends that review, however, it may be of interest to note that the next review begins..."Ranking slightly higher up the echelon of 20th century musical genii than Dave Davies is Louis Armstrong."
