Q&A: Ray Davies (Part 1)

As if “singer and songwriter from a renowned band like The Kinks” wasn’t enough, Ray Davies can now add “choral composer” to his list of fabulous occupations. The legendary leading man got together with the 60-plus member Crouch End Festival Chorus to collaborate on The Kinks Choral Collection, a revival of 15 Kinks songs—from the hit “All Day and All of the Night” to a medley of tunes from the more obscure Village Green Preservation Society album—into a breath of fresh vocal air. After a recent tour of the States with various local choruses accompanying him onstage, Davies sat down to talk with FILTER about the challenges behind arranging choral rock, how he stays true to the original vision of The Kinks, and a favorite usage of a chorus in a rock song he didn’t write.


How different is it arranging choral music as opposed to rock music? What do you have to consider in a choral number that you don’t in a rock song?

Ray Davies: This was different because there were so many performers involved. I had to plan the arrangements with the choirmaster and the vocal arranger. Then I would run through arrangements with the band and record them before the choir. There was no studio large enough to accommodate both a 65-piece choir and a six-man rock band without sound spillage. Much more planning up front.

Why did you select the Crouch End Festival Chorus to collaborate with you on this record?

I had worked with them before both on a piece commissioned by the Norfolk festival in England and more recently on the electric proms for the BBC television. Crouch End is very close to Muswell Hill where I grew up and most of the singers live in that neighborhood.

Have you ever been part of a choir before?

I was when I was at primary school. I was in the school choir. Nothing since then.
 
Did you find it difficult to arrange any song in particular for this project? What was challenging about it?

I wanted the record to be true to the songs and the music but at the same time not be too simplistic or too pretentious. No one song was more challenging than the next. I would like to say the record is not intended to be a re-recording but a different interpretation of the songs.
 
Which song was the easiest to arrange?

I have to say “All Day and All of the Night” because it is similar to the version I used to play live with the Kinks.

What are some other good usages of choirs in rock music that you like? Any that you don’t like?

I haven’t heard that many but I always enjoyed the choir on the Stones’ “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” even though it was only singing in the chorus.
 
Did you find that most of the choir members knew the majority of your work? Were any members hearing the Kinks for the first time?

Most of them knew the hits, but songs from The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society were not known to many of them.


Tune in tomorrow for more from Ray Davies.