David Watts

The Kinks, rockin' out on "Ready Steady Go"!

One of my all-time favorite rock bands is The Kinks. That's mostly due to the clever songwriting of singer/guitarist Ray Davies, whose work evolved from unearthing several of the bedrock riffs of rock 'n roll, (You Really Got Me, All Day & All Of The Night, Till The End Of The Day, etc.), into some seriously artful and sometimes vaudevillian storytelling. Like most good songwriters, Davies developed a knack for populating his songs with colorful characters, be they a 'dedicated follower of fashion', a self described 'art lover' or an accommodating transvestite named Lola.

In this case, our tale concerns a young fellow named David Watts. Every one of us has gone to school with a David Watts; the boy that the other boys wanted to be, and the boy that the girls wanted to be seen with, or more simply, to be with. To be sure, there's another side to all that envy, which is less than pleasant, but that's all part of it.

I could not find a video of The Kinks performing the song that I liked enough to post, so in the interest of bringing things more up to date, here's Ray Davies, backed by The 88's, performing "David Watts" on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Enjoy!

The Kinks, for all purposes, are no more, due to instability between Ray and his brother, Dave Davies, along with the recent passing of The Kinks' original bassist Pete Quaife, and Ray's frequently quoted desire to continue to write and perform new material and "not be a nostalgia act". I really wish that a solid band could form behind Ray, much as Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys has had assistance from younger blood in bringing his unique musical vision to life. I hate to think what fine music we might be missing out on.

The Jam

Nonetheless, the music that Ray Davies wrote for The Kinks lives on. A strident cover version of "David Watts" was a very successful single for The Jam in 1978.  Although The Jam were often wonderful, and I very much like them and their cover of the song, it's just not different or unique enough to make to much of a fuss over. Call me particular, but to cover a song as identifiable as "David Watts", which is centered on a riff that I feel is as unique as The Beatles' "Taxman", something a bit different is required to really stand out. And I think I've found it.

Meet Mikaela Davis. Mikaela is a young harpist from Rochester, New York. She has an eponymous album out that you can listen to and buy on Bandcamp.

The harp, being one of the more challenging stringed instruments, like the pedal steel, requires a specialist. Unless you're extraordinarily versatile, like Jerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead was, the steel and the harp are instruments that one masters over many years. For a relative youngster like Mikaela to play as well as she does, while singing lead, demonstrates a remarkable talent.

Mikaela is accompanied here by Cian McCarthy on sitar and back-up vocals, and Alex Cote on drums. This... is different.

So, how much of The Kinks' catalog is still available? According to Amazon, as much as you're willing to pony up for. Much of their earliest work is finally getting proper treatment for current and future generations to enjoy. If you have none of their music, I will heartily recommend this comprehensive import boxed set, although it is a tad spendy. Barring that, treat yourself to a solid "Best of" that's more affordable. 

And please do support indie musicians like Mikaela Davis. They are the future.