Ray Davies, live at the O2

He’s not far off 70 but when the former Kinks frontman and chief songwriter bounds on stage, he looks pretty much like he always has – tall, slim and wiry, with a haircut that can only be described as “mullet-meets-rooster”.
He’s in fine voice, too, and the first third of the set, featuring just Davies with long-time guitarist Bill Shanley, is arguably the most enjoyable segment of the evening. Opening with an early Kinks tune, the appropriately titled ‘This Is Where I Belong’, he segues into a slew of ‘60s favourites, including the quirky ‘Autumn Almanac’, Carnaby Street anthem ‘Dedicated Follower Of Fashion’ and ‘Sunny Afternoon’, along with the lesser-known ‘In A Moment’ from his overlooked Workingman’s Café album of a few years back. The highlight is a breathtaking ‘See My Friends’ (the title of his recent collaboration album), Shanley’s exquisite acoustic playing and vocal harmonies adding hugely to an already perfect song.
The full band arrive halfway through ‘Apeman’ and the pace is upped several notches. Which is where it gets a tad messy. Davies has a habit of incessantly egging on the crowds to join in mid-song, with constant exhortations of “come on”, “let me hear you”, “let me see those hands,” etc. And he introduces the band members individually at least three times. Why he feels the need to invite so much audience participation on what are some of the greatest pop songs ever written is anyone’s guess. In fairness, most of the crowd are more than happy to sing along and none of this detracts from the enjoyment of Kinks classics ‘Dead End Street’, ‘Till The End Of The Day’, ‘Tired Of Waiting For You’ and a particularly rocking ‘Victoria’. A poignant ‘A Long Way From Home’, from the Lola album, is a particular highlight as is an evocative ‘Celluloid Heroes’. Inevitably, ‘Waterloo Sunset’ and ‘Lola’ draw the most ecstatic responses although ‘Days’ is not far behind, while the encore also includes ‘All Day And All Of The Night’ and ‘You Really Got Me’.