It’s about that time. Ray Davies has seen fit to cash in his not inconsiderable chips with a de facto Best Of, featuring a cast of notables trawling through his back catalogue. Pity then that the result is a frustrating record which cedes too much ground to marquee names not fit to kiss his hem.
See My Friends sways and staggers from the sublime to the ridiculous in the space of the first two tracks. We get Davies and Springsteen trading chops on a muscular ‘Better Things’ (Ray’s laconic delivery contrasted by Bruce’s Harley Davidson roar) swiftly followed by Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora on ‘Celluloid Heroes’, a nice tune ruined by squally guitar and JBJ’s cornball vocals.
Far better is a folk arrangement of ‘Days’ with Mumford & Sons that damn near steals the song back from the late Kirsty MacColl – or would do if it didn’t unexpectedly morph into ‘This Time Tomorrow’ after a few verses. Elsewhere, a blind date with Metallica for ‘You Really Got Me’ is taken at a Keystone Cops speed that rashly dispenses with the stop-start dynamics of the original.
The album is not without a couple of reasons to be cheerful, mind. Lucinda Williams’ reading of ‘A Long Way From Home’, testifies that these two world-weary voices always belonged together. There’s a rocking ‘Til The End Of The Day’ with the late Alex Chilton, plus a fair and fragile ‘Tired Of Waiting’ with Gary Lightbody. There’s also a comely acoustic amble through ‘Waterloo Sunset’ arm in arm with Jackson Browne – but let’s face it, you’d need to be tone deaf and brain damaged to mess that one up.
See My Friends is a noble enterprise, but one bogged down by too many mediocre house guests playing uninspired arrangements of fantastic tunes.
Key Track: ‘Tired of Waiting’