The emergence of what is being touted as Kinks’ mainman Ray Davies’ first official solo album is quite timely, given that the sound of mid-period Kinks permeates much of to-day’s hot “new” acts. Davies has long proven himself to be adept at depicting the quirks and foibles of other people’s lives, so this album proves that he has lost none of his gifts and is operating right at the top of his game.
The title track is a vicious attack on the tabloid media, while ‘Creatures of Little Faith’ fits sonically into the canon of fresh Irish singer-songwriters. Several of the tracks, such as ‘Run Away From Time’, ‘Next Door Neighbour’ or ‘After The Fall’ would chime neatly with any vintage Kinks album, while ‘Things Are Gonna Change (The Morning After)’ has touches of REM that give it a contemporary resonance.
His penchant for painting pictures of quintessentially English lives come to the fore most on ‘Is There Life After Breakfast?’, about making a cup of tea to help ease the pain of departed love, although ‘The Getaway (Lonesome Train)’ could be a Dire Straits outtake.
Davies’ whimsy can occasionally irritate, as on on ‘Stand Up Comic’, but otherwise Other People’s Lives could well be described as a concept album. But having written the very first one, who else is as entitled to dabble in such waters?