The Smiley Smile Message Board

Longtime fan of Raymond Douglas Davies, just curious as to what other fans think are his best albums? I must admit I wasn't turned on by his last album, Americana. Volume 2 is coming soon, not sure what to expect. Is this going to be like Preservation Act 1 and 2? I that instance, I thought Act 1 had the better songs, but Act 2 had a lot more plot development. Overall, i'm not that big a fan of the concept albums, I prefer just a collection of songs, where any of them can stand on their own. I guess there was sort of a concept behind Village Green Preservation Society, but I couldn't tell you what it was! It just sounds like a collection of songs to me.
The last album of Ray's that really knocked me out was Other People's Lives. I need to play that one again.

Davies solo stuff or entire catalog? Not much different, really. I like Other People's Lives and Storyteller. That bit about the solo in You Really Got Me was hysterical. I actually like Americana, but one of my favorite Kinks albums was Give The People What They Want, so you have to consider that. Even though he song-name-drops like Mike Love when he wrote Destroyer.  :lol

Nice to meet another fan of the Arista years. Those albums tend to get dissed these days by hardcore fans, but I love them, that's the stuff that was popular when I was growing up. State of Confusion is my favorite, but they're all good.
It always amazes me how an album like VGPS can completely bomb upon release, and end up on some many fans favorites list.