This Is Where I Belong: The Songs of Ray Davies & The Kinks

by

Various Artists

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It seems to be a requirement for music snobs to have their favorite neglected genius, the one who wrote better songs than Lennon and/or McCartney and/or both but never got the credit he or she deserved. Typically most of said snobs tend to pick Lou Reed. Well, I say good choice, no harm in that one, but I am going to have to go with Ray Davies. Sorry Lou. Ray's songs seem a bit more universal, a bit more touching, a bit easier to connect to. As much as I love "Heroin" and "Sweet Jane," I more often find myself with "Big Sky" or "This is Where I Belong" on the player. I guess it's just a matter of taste.

When I discovered this compilation, the name tipped me off that it would be good. If Ryko had called it "All Day and All of the Night," for example, or "You Really Got Me," it would have conjured up images of Van Halen or some other inane, dated hard-rock group grinding out yet another cover of the earliest stuff. "This is Where I Belong" is not only a great song from the classic mid-period years but it is also an obscurity. Somebody knew what they were doing over at Ryko, so I had to invest the $14 it cost at the time to find out whether it was any good.

And it was. These artists show exactly why Ray's music is so special...it is completely timeless. The glory of "Big Sky," my favorite Kinks song, is captured magnificently here by Matthew Sweet. Jonathan Richman shows us exactly why "Stop Your Sobbing" hasn't lost any of its charm- its simplicity allows the message- one of coping with sorrow of any kind- to come through clearly. Fountains of Wayne take another obscurity, "Better Things," and maintain its feel as a powerpop gem while making sound like it was written yesterday. None of the wit or wisdom is lost in any of these translations. Yeah Cracker doesn't sound like Cracker here but so what, you want to hear Cracker in their purest form then put on "Kerosene Hat." Nothing on here disappoints.

A worthy complilation for one of the best songwriters ever. It may even be desert island stuff for me.