As a lifelong Kinks fan, but one who likes "real" bios (and not
dramatic-fictional bios like "X-Ray"). I was looking forward to this,
but it's really not all that. Ray Davies may be a genius, but he's a
very guarded, non-intimate one, and that comes through in his writing.
You get the feeling that his work ethic is unrivaled (he lives to write
songs) but at the cost of ever having a truly meaningful relationship
with anyone - be it family, brother Dave or the various women muses over
the course of his life. I would, however, recommend reading this book
in conjunction with listening to Ray's most recent solo effort,
WORKING MAN'S CAFE, because a lot of the songs reference very people, places
and events Ray describes during his New Orleans soujourn in AMERICANA.
