NMC #137 (DAVE DAVIES, JOHN ELEFANTE)

[Jon]

by "I could have done Fates Warning & Joan Jett, but no. I'm going solo!" Jon

Dave Davies--I Will Be Me (June 2013)

He was a member of The Kinks.

1. Livin' In The Past

2. Midnight In L.A.

3. Energy Fields

4. The Actress

5. You Can Break My Heart

John Elefante--On My Way To The Sun (May 2013)

He was a member of Kansas.

1. This Is How The Story Goes

2. On My Way To The Sun

3. The Awakening

4. We All Fall Short

5. This Time

[RJhog (Admin)]

I thought about picking up that Elefante disc.  Good thing I didn't.  And I must say, I'm not expecting much out of the Davies album.  But I'll certainly give it a listen.  And I was expecting Starship.

[Scott]

Davies was released in 2014? Your good Jon... Damn good!

[Jon]

what are you talking about?

[Scott]

very sneaky!!!

[Scott]

DAVE DAVIES ... Two Thumbs turning the vocals down on the sound board  

I really like that first song.  Nice geetars, cool riffageand I will give him a vocal pass as it is as expected...  I like the feel of the second track too, but here his vocals get in the way and take away from the song.  I gotta say that the song writing is pretty golly-gosh-darn-flippin-good (with the exception of Energy Fields which was just weird).  Its the vocals that spoil this.  But, heres the good news.  I have until June 2014 to get this to grow on me...

[Niels (Mod)]

DAVE DAVIES - 2.5 out of 6.

I know, Dave Davies was an important member of Kinks, and that there wouldn't had been a Kinks without him, but......Ray Davies is 90% of that band imo, and you can almost always hear, when it's a D.Davies-song, because then it's not nearly as good as the best Kinks-songs. Neither Ray or Dave are great singers, but again, Ray is a way better singer than Dave. I like Kinks very much, but since 1970, there have not been that many hits. Wait a second! I'm on track two now, and it DOES actually sound like a Ray Davies-track. Not one of the best, but still. First track was crap. Second track is actually not bad at all. Track three is not very good. a typical D.Davies-track. Track four is better, but there's no reason what so ever for me to purchase this album. Track five, and I'm SO tired of his voice now, that I'm counting the seconds until this is over. Okay, the tracks starts bad, but is actually pretty good. This was a tiny bit better, than I had expected. They should get Kinks started again, instead of making these minor okay solo-albums. They might just have one more album in them.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Dave Davies (Thumbs Even)

This isn't nearly as bad as I was expecting.  Yes, the vocals are not very good.  He sounds like Lemmy minus the 100 years of JD and cigs.  But it's not really a difficult listen.  Some of the songwriting is good, some isn't.  Sometimes the verse is good and the chorus blows.  But it's okay really, just not a purchase for me.

John Elefante (Thumbs 3/4 Up)

This is much better vocally.  This sounds like Kansas, especially that first song.  Why do prog artists take 11 minutes to tell a 4 minute story?  The melody and hook of that first track is really good, but the 7 extra minutes of this that and the otherthing hold it back a bit, but not totally.  The Awakening has a pretty good hook too.  Strong, emotional story on "This Time".  I like the guitar work when it appears.  

This is really pretty good.  I had it in my wish list for a bit, then deleted it.  I'm gonna think about it a bit more.

[Niels (Mod)]

Sigh! And here I thought, that you at long last understood what Prog was about, RJhog. I must say, that I'm dissapointed.

[RJhog (Admin)]

I think I hit it on the nail...prog artists take 11 minutes to say what could be said in 4 minutes.  

[Niels (Mod)]

Now you need to listen to "Thick As A Brick". That song is 40 min. long.

[Niels (Mod)]

JOHN ELEFANTE - 2.5 out of 6.

Hey, this is Prog!! This is much better, than I had feared. He sings a bit like McCartney. Why does the album has such a lousy cover? First track is VERY good. If the rest of the songs are just as good, this might be a purchase. It is a LITTLE too on the poppy side though and the violin irritates me a bit. Violins does not belong in Prog. Pianos does, and the paino here sounds good. What's this with these Prog-dudes: Why are most of them so religious? Second track is certainly not as good as the first one. There's an irritating 80's feeling over this track. Hmm, I don't mind, that Neal Morse is so religious (weel, just a bit), because he plays some of the best Prog out there, but on track three, I'm a bit annoyed about "singing praises" and that crap. It's not BAD, but I need some guitars and better music. Track four and here's the violins again, and the McCartney-voice again. Listening to this I feel like saying....HALLELUJA, I CAN SEE THE LIGHT AT LAST!!! I can't stand this religious praising. Track 4 sounds like McCartney would had sounded if he was a re-born christian. Thank God (!) he's not. Last track, and overall the music is not bad. Best track is EASILY the first track. But those lyrics makes me subtract at least 1 "star". Now, I feel like listening to some Black Sabbath.

[RJhog (Admin)]

Niels, do you realize that you just thanked God for somebody NOT being born again?