“An angry record, a poetic record”: The song Ray Davies called his favourite performance piece
From the youthful rock rebellion of The Kinks’ early days to the profound musings on nationalism and nostalgia on albums like Arthur, Ray Davies wasted no time in establishing himself among Britain’s most profound songwriters during his journey to the upper echelon of rock and roll back in the 1960s – a position he has managed to maintain over the many decades since.
A core part of that songwriting appeal, throughout the ages, was how rooted in Britain Davies always remained, which is also perhaps why The Kinks never really broke America. While virtually all of their contemporaries were jetting off to the States to make their fortunes during the era of British invasion, Davies tended to focus his storytelling on the relatable surroundings of his working-class upbringing in London, rather than the flashy American R&B of New York and Detroit.
Take the band’s 1966 single ‘Dead End Street’, for instance; that ode to working-class alienation and kitchen-sink realism was far too downtrodden and depressing to make it into the sparkly pop charts of the United States, but its self-aware nature made it a top-five hit in the UK.
That same spirit only seemed to grow within Davies’ songwriting as it progressed, striking upon records like The Village Green Preservation Society and Arthur that were clearly tailor-made for British audiences.
That avenue of inspiration helped to make Ray Davies and the gang one of the most beloved British bands of the 20th century, but it also limited their wider appeal abroad. So much so that, even some of their more universal offerings went largely unnoticed or underrated, particularly when the 1970s rolled around, and The Kinks could no longer rely solely on the youthfulness of their rock and roll output.
Muswell Hillbillies is a perfect example of that fact. The 1971 album contained some of The Kinks’ most accessible recordings, imbued with the influences of American blues and country, but its North London namesake coupled with the rapidly declining relevancy of the band meant that it wasn’t a great success – commercially, at least – on either side of the Atlantic. Regardless, though, the LP does still contain one of Ray Davies’ all-time favourite Kinks tracks.
As he shared with Rock Cellar during a 2015 interview, “‘20th Century Man’ is one of my favourite performance pieces when I perform my music even now.” Another of Davies’ ode to his working-class upbringing, he explained, “It’s about urban renewal. They knocked down the area where my parents grew up and rehoused people.”
“I had this imaginary character sitting in the last house with dynamite strapped to his body saying, ‘You can’t come near me’ while he’s fighting off property developers,” the songwriter continued. “I put myself into character in that song. It’s a character I still feel strongly aligned to in many respects.“
Adding, “It’s an angry record, a poetic record.”
In many ways, the 1971 single was rather prophetic, looking at the endless renewal and gentrification of previously working-class areas both in London and across the UK in the 21st century. Perhaps that is why the song still remains so close to the songwriter’s heart after all these years, capturing both his personal roots and the timeless nature of his output, even if it wasn’t always appreciated by the masses.
