As The Kinks prepare to release the second volume of their compilation series The Journey this Friday, November 17, frontman Ray Davies addressed the possibility of the reunion that fans have long hoped for in a new NME interview.
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During the last several years, both Ray and his brother, founding Kinks guitarist Dave Davies, have revealed in interviews that they are open to doing a reunion project and have even worked on some new tracks together, but no definitive plans have been announced to date.
[RELATED: The Kinks Will Continue Their Epic Anthology Celebration with The Journey – Part 2]
Regarding the potential Kinks recording project, Ray Davies told NME, “Well, it got shelved because of… other issues. But there’s still material there,” adding that he intended to revisit the recordings “when I get time.”
The 79-year-old singer/songwriter went on to explain that he has been amassing “home demos” featuring potential Kinks songs since the 1990s and that Dave and original Kinks drummer Mick Avory have added parts to some tracks while noting that much of the material is “in bits.”
“We’ve got loads of songs there in pieces,” he added.
Asked how many songs he has, finished or unfinished, Ray said, “About 20,” then revealed that he actually was fairly close to completing a full album.
“There are about two or three songs I want to finish,” he said, “and when they’re finished, I’ll put the whole thing together.”
Meanwhile noting that he and Dave, with whom he’s had a historically volatile relationship, have had a hard time getting on the same page about things, he told NME that a full-fledged Kinks reunion is “in the lap of the gods.”
Ray told NME that he had plans to meet with his brother soon. As for them agreeing to move ahead with a Kinks project, Ray noted, “You’ve gotta be careful because he’ll run off in one direction and I’ll [run] in mine… He’s like that. He stays in control … I’m just a well-meaning big brother.”
He also said he was open to doing a reunion concert, but he would only be interested if a show could be organized “that gives us the credit we deserve.”
Dave Davies, who was interviewed separately by NME, also addressed the contentious relationship he has with his brother.
“We’re just different animals,” he lamented. “We found ourselves at a very young age being in each other’s faces. And we had to work with it somehow.”
The Journey – Part 2 is the second in a new compilation series celebrating the 60th anniversary of The Kinks’ formation. Like The Journey – Part 1, which was released in March, the new collection features newly remastered versions of songs from various albums, as well as a few previously unreleased tracks that are arranged thematically rather than chronologically.
The Journey – Part 2, which can be pre-ordered now, is available as a two-CD or two-LP set, and via digital formats.
Photo by Don Paulsen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
