Ray's Americana signing October 25

[HollyH]

At the Union Square Barnes & Noble, 7 pm. I'll be there. Anybody want me to get a book signed for you?

[uncleson]

Just got my copy of Americana!

[HollyH]

Great event! Ray looked a little tired but he was, as ever, articulate and charming. I got my book signed! We weren't allowed to pose for photos with Ray, but our dear friend Complicated Life's son snapped one of me talking to Ray -- now I've got to download it from my phone.

We also had a lot of fun hanging out in the bookstore for 6 hours beforehand. All the usual suspects were there. We even had a singalong for awhile, which must have baffled the Barnes & Noble staff.

Kinks fans are the best!

[gary]

Wish I was still a New Yorker.

I will be eagerly watching the board for reviews of the book from Holly and others, as I might not get to it myself very soon.

[HollyH]

Here is Ray being interviewed before the signing.

[HollyH]

As for the book, I just finished it and it's an absorbing read. Some of it is straightforward reminiscence about the Kinks' American tours and their dealings with American records companies. A lot about Clive Davis in particular. He deals in a roundabout way with the ban, but only as the prelude to their 70s and 80s "reconquest" of America. He then frames the whole thing with his New Orleans shooting as an eye-opening view of what the reality of America is. What he's really interested in, though, is himself and whether he could ever truly find a home. I believe that theme has been mentioned in one or two of his songs.

The writing is often lyrical with some well-drawn character thumbnails. However, his storytelling structure is sometimes awkwardly imposed on the material, and he sure could have used a better proofreader/copyeditor. (I volunteer, Ray!!)

He also rehashes some well-known episodes -- well-known to us Kinks fans at least -- in order to justify his own odd behavior. In some cases he seems to do this to refute things Dave has said either in Kink or in interviews. It's his day in court, so to speak. I did wonder while I was reading it whether the book would even make sense to somebody who didn't know the whole backstory, or to somebody who didn't care about the Kinks. Of course I am too deep in the minute trivia of band history to ever be able to recapture that innocence, but if I had been paid to edit the book I think I might have at least tried to give it a little more context.

To sum it up, I'd say there's a slight weirdness to the whole enterprise, even though it's not as deliberately weird as X-Ray. But then, I'd expect no less of Ray.

[gary]

No, I want to be Ray's copy editor! (Ever since the liner notes for Other People's Lives.)

Thanks for this review, Holly. I missed it until now. I'm sure you're right on target, but I wasn't expecting a masterpiece anyway. I've got to get to this soon.

Here's an interesting blog review of the book. There are some inaccuracies that are corrected by commenters, but it's still interesting.