Waterloo Sunset Stories

Rating:
Summary: Ray tries to open up a bit more
Review: I agree with the earlier review that this book is a bit more autobiographical of Ray Davies than X-Ray was. It seems by creating an new character Les, he was able to open up a bit more of how he felt about the music industry, his realtionships and how he incorportated songs into his life. If Les is supposed to be Ray, we learn more about the American years of the 70's and 80's when Ray was living in New York (X-Ray pretty much ended in 1973). I think Ray's strongest message to his fans is that while he is a complex person, you can learn anything about him through his songs. The hits, the concept albums, and all of his stories all come in the lyrics he writes so perfectly, but yet so subtely that we might not understand the meaning until after several times listening. It's a pretty good book and mostly an easy read. Not quite as confusing as X-Ray, but also not as straightforward as Kink by Dave Davies.

Rating:
Summary: Ray tries to open up a bit more
Review: I agree with the earlier review that this book is a bit more autobiographical of Ray Davies than X-Ray was. It seems by creating an new character Les, he was able to open up a bit more of how he felt about the music industry, his realtionships and how he incorportated songs into his life. If Les is supposed to be Ray, we learn more about the American years of the 70's and 80's when Ray was living in New York (X-Ray pretty much ended in 1973). I think Ray's strongest message to his fans is that while he is a complex person, you can learn anything about him through his songs. The hits, the concept albums, and all of his stories all come in the lyrics he writes so perfectly, but yet so subtely that we might not understand the meaning until after several times listening. It's a pretty good book and mostly an easy read. Not quite as confusing as X-Ray, but also not as straightforward as Kink by Dave Davies.

Rating:
Summary: Clarification of previous review
Review: Please note that my previous review printed below was of the British edition of this book. I understand that the American edition is a reworked version. Therefore, I may have to take a look at the new edition to see if I rate it higher.

Rating:
Summary: Clarification of previous review
Review: Please note that my previous review printed below was of the British edition of this book. I understand that the American edition is a reworked version. Therefore, I may have to take a look at the new edition to see if I rate it higher.

Rating:
Summary: Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub for Bookreporter.com
Review: The Kinks were part of the second wave of what was called "The Second British Invasion" in the 1960s, referring to what amounted to a wholesale takeover of the American music charts by British bands who repackaged American rhythm & blues and sold it back to white youths in the US. Watching it happen was kind of like watching Eskimos buying ice, but that's another story.  

The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and an all but forgotten band named The Dave Clark Five were part of the first wave. They opened the door, and The Kinks came blasting through with a killer single titled "You Really Got Me." The song, featuring a three chord change-up lifted from "Louie, Louie" was the first of many hits for the band. It was also one of their few lucky breaks; they were hounded by immigration problems, nervous breakdowns in and around the band, and internal dissension that has simmered for decades.  

A good deal of the dissension in The Kinks was of the sibling variety, occurring between Dave Davies, the guitarist, and Ray Davies, the lead singer and writer of the overwhelming majority of their songs. Accounts of this are set forth in Ray Davies's autobiography X-RAY, which is quite entertaining even for those unfamiliar with the band. Ray Davies has now published a...novel?...collection of stories?...entitled WATERLOO SUNSET that, like his music, tweaks and toys with conventions of the medium in which he is working.

WATERLOO SUNSET, bearing the same title as The Kinks' classic tune of angst and nostalgia, is divided into two parts. The First, "Waterloo Sunset," is a series of vignettes dealing with Les Mulligan, an aging rock star who is attempting to jump-start his fading career. The narrative jumps back and forth in time and space as occurrences and places remind Mulligan of lovers and experiences of the past. At the same time, Mulligan finds himself out of touch, out of time, with contemporary music. A label is interested in him, but wants a "cutting edge" sound from him. He tries reworking some unfinished songs, but memories and a simmering madness, which threatens to boil over at any moment, keep getting in his way. Meanwhile, his erstwhile agent has his own problems.  

Davies's story here is obviously painfully personal, and implicitly raises the issue of when, at what point, does a contemporary recording artist become a parody of himself. This is something that Davies, during his career, has struggled against; and has ultimately refused to do. Few, however, want to hear his new work. Where is the next "You Really Got Me"? Davies doesn't have one.  

The second part of WATERLOO SUNSET is titled "Stories." This is not quite accurate. There are, indeed, short stories; but there is also a screenplay titled "Celluloid Heroes," after another classic Davies tune. Both stories and screenplay play and toy with principals introduced in the "Waterloo Sunset" portion of the book. Some stay true to character, some do not; what connects all of these offerings, however, both with each other and with the first part of WATERLOO SUNSET is a thin edge of sadness, of depression, of opportunities come and gone, of better times faded and lost.

It is not necessary to be familiar with Davies, or The Kinks, to appreciate WATERLOO SUNSET. Davies is a fine wordsmith and he has an ability to communicate, to gently and subtly touch multiple nerves with a few words. And, recent commercial failures notwithstanding, he is too talented to be considered a failure in any medium, whether it be music, literature, or whatever other form his art may take in the future. WATERLOO SUNSET is proof of this.      

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub


Rating:
Summary: Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub for Bookreporter.com
Review: The Kinks were part of the second wave of what was called "The Second British Invasion" in the 1960s, referring to what amounted to a wholesale takeover of the American music charts by British bands who repackaged American rhythm & blues and sold it back to white youths in the US. Watching it happen was kind of like watching Eskimos buying ice, but that's another story.  

The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and an all but forgotten band named The Dave Clark Five were part of the first wave. They opened the door, and The Kinks came blasting through with a killer single titled "You Really Got Me." The song, featuring a three chord change-up lifted from "Louie, Louie" was the first of many hits for the band. It was also one of their few lucky breaks; they were hounded by immigration problems, nervous breakdowns in and around the band, and internal dissension that has simmered for decades.  

A good deal of the dissension in The Kinks was of the sibling variety, occurring between Dave Davies, the guitarist, and Ray Davies, the lead singer and writer of the overwhelming majority of their songs. Accounts of this are set forth in Ray Davies's autobiography X-RAY, which is quite entertaining even for those unfamiliar with the band. Ray Davies has now published a...novel?...collection of stories?...entitled WATERLOO SUNSET that, like his music, tweaks and toys with conventions of the medium in which he is working.

WATERLOO SUNSET, bearing the same title as The Kinks' classic tune of angst and nostalgia, is divided into two parts. The First, "Waterloo Sunset," is a series of vignettes dealing with Les Mulligan, an aging rock star who is attempting to jump-start his fading career. The narrative jumps back and forth in time and space as occurrences and places remind Mulligan of lovers and experiences of the past. At the same time, Mulligan finds himself out of touch, out of time, with contemporary music. A label is interested in him, but wants a "cutting edge" sound from him. He tries reworking some unfinished songs, but memories and a simmering madness, which threatens to boil over at any moment, keep getting in his way. Meanwhile, his erstwhile agent has his own problems.  

Davies's story here is obviously painfully personal, and implicitly raises the issue of when, at what point, does a contemporary recording artist become a parody of himself. This is something that Davies, during his career, has struggled against; and has ultimately refused to do. Few, however, want to hear his new work. Where is the next "You Really Got Me"? Davies doesn't have one.  

The second part of WATERLOO SUNSET is titled "Stories." This is not quite accurate. There are, indeed, short stories; but there is also a screenplay titled "Celluloid Heroes," after another classic Davies tune. Both stories and screenplay play and toy with principals introduced in the "Waterloo Sunset" portion of the book. Some stay true to character, some do not; what connects all of these offerings, however, both with each other and with the first part of WATERLOO SUNSET is a thin edge of sadness, of depression, of opportunities come and gone, of better times faded and lost.

It is not necessary to be familiar with Davies, or The Kinks, to appreciate WATERLOO SUNSET. Davies is a fine wordsmith and he has an ability to communicate, to gently and subtly touch multiple nerves with a few words. And, recent commercial failures notwithstanding, he is too talented to be considered a failure in any medium, whether it be music, literature, or whatever other form his art may take in the future. WATERLOO SUNSET is proof of this.      

--- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub