Never a riff hog, played to the song. Hundreds of perfect moments doing just what’s needed. Wrote some great songs too. My kind of musician.

Dave is one of the great innovators - totally unique and raw - very musical coupled with great power - real rock n roll guitarist and very beautiful and magnetic - he was also great backing singer and he always looked happy on stage with his way out outfits - for me he was my favourite guitarist among many - he captured rock n roll in every way - colour flair fashion - he was extremely versatile and always served the song - a massive influence and example of what rock n roll is all about - it's disgraceful that he has so often been forgotten when he made such a massive contribution to the golden age of rock n roll

Truly a team player! An amazing talent and fully underrated. I love Dave Davies guitar work! Kudos Dave!!!

Dave Davies is a genius. His astounding lead on "All Day and All of The Night" sums up rock and is my favorite lead, on my favorite song of my favorite band.

Try listening to “Perfect Strangers” from the UK Jive CD. Or “Close To The Wire” from Phobia. I personally love “Creeping Jean”, “This Man He Weeps Tonight”, “Mindless Child of Motherhood,” “Strangers”, “Rats”…..I could go on and on!! Dave Davies’ best songs rival his brother’s best work, IMHO.

It's a great observation that you make here that he never had an instantly recognizable sound simply due to the chameleon nature of the Kinks' music. But not only was/is Dave Davies a great rock guitarist (and a pioneer, at that) but he could play some way tasty country licks when the Kinks went through that phase in the early 1970s. He always served the song. Likewise, the Kinks drummer Mick Avory is also a completely ignored musical figure. But listen to all the phases that the Kinks went through, and his drumming is always rock solid but has personality. And, like Dave Davies, he always served the song, put the song first. God Save The Kinks. Great video. Well done.

@StrangeDevice

3 ай бұрын

Thank you so much! And I agree with all of that. Even I had never looked into the arc of Mick Avory’s drumming until I started going through live footage from over the years and you’re right. Thanks!

I've always thought The Kinks are one of the most influential bands of all time. You can trace a direct line from their stuff to the Rock and Punk of the 80s and 90s much more so than Beatles or Stones

@harlanginsberg7269

3 ай бұрын

They also obviously influenced heavy metal a bunch. Power chords and distortion. Van Halen did alright playing their stuff.

Your right, of course. Dave was a great quitarrist, as many others, but apart from that he was an innovator, and there's not so many of those. He was essential for the Kinks in their greatest moments, not only playing beautiful guitar to enhance the recordings of Ray's composition, but with unvelivable choruses song in a key not yet known to man.

Dave Davies survived the tunnel visions and was a part of the big picture of the many tastes passing through the pallets of all the generations that knew and know the kinks. There is always an unsung hero.The band always delivered as a whole with great music and storytelling. Sometimes you fall through the cracks and that dose not mean that its a bad thing, you are remembered in a different way under a different light.

Dave is way up there officially Legend 🙌

Dave's iconic riff in You Really Got Me captured teenage angst as well as my generation's angst in a way never heard before. The primal scream of rock and roll.

@uncascrooge2699

3 ай бұрын

It was, and then he ratched it up another notch with "All Day and All of the Night", which Marky Ramone claims is the first punk song.

Dave also was the perfect complimentary backup singer to brother Ray's voice.

@StrangeDevice

Ай бұрын

100% agreed!

I've also thought about this a lot, and I am convinced that the reason Dave Davies is never given his due is that, to this day, people are convinced that Dave did not play the early famous solos on the Kinks records, but that Jimmy Page did. It is frustrating and fascinating that 60 years after the fact, this urban legend still persists so strongly. Despite all evidence to the contrary, people want to believe Jimmy Page played the lead on Your Really Got Me and All Day and All of the Night because it fits neatly into a narrative that they think makes sense. Many people accept the Page story as long-accepted fact. Hell, the BBC did a Rock documentary not long ago that credited Page with the solo until Dave threatened to sue them. Over the years, the people that would know have attested that Dave played the solos, including everyone in the band and in the studio during the recording. As far as I can tell, Jon Lord, later of Deep Purple, is the sole source for the Page rumor. Lord also said he played piano on the record, though every reliable source says it was Arthur Greenslade. Personally, I have grown to loathe Jimmy Page over the years because he was so late in acknowledging that he did not play lead on these records. And never have I heard Page praise Dave's innovative guitar sound that so obviously influenced him and every rock guitarist that followed You Really Got Me.

@StrangeDevice

3 ай бұрын

Well said! Everything I’ve seen suggests that it’s not true. Also, it just doesn’t sound like a Jimmy solo and does sound like what Dave was doing at the time.

@yaz08

3 ай бұрын

There is a clip of the Kinks playing You Really Got Me for Shindig that was recorded a couple of months after the record was released. You can watch Dave play the solo practically note for note, yet some people still want to believe it wasn't him. kzread.info/dash/bejne/X2Z7z9yylci-nrQ.html

@StrangeDevice

3 ай бұрын

@@yaz08 Exactly!

@andrewtaylor2514

Ай бұрын

Fair assessment of Jmmy Page, but by this point I think everyone knows the solo is Dave Davies - the question is more whether Page is responsible for the iconic riff. This is probably not correct, but given that Page is a riffmaster and not really a great soloist it is somewhat plausible, and therefore frustrating for the Kinks.

Dandy Dave

Dave underlines what Ray writes about. He can be flashy and rock god-ish but he knows that what he does best is to serve the song, first and foremost....like all great guitars players should do...

Classic Riffs! A true guitar Hero. ✌️😎🤘

@StrangeDevice

3 ай бұрын

Agreed!!!! Thx!

@davedillon1372

26 күн бұрын

@@StrangeDevice Wouldn't it be nice for the Davray team to get out & Do it again, do it again, do it, do it DO IT A-GAIN‽ One last 'One For The Road' Tour? Ie, a 'Two'- "For The Road"? If Hilton Valentine could do it after a Decade on LSD supposedly as he said he'd forgotten how to play the Gtr. Re 'The Ark' Reunion lp of '83, he had to relearn how to play. As of now: Eric, Price & Steel are 3/5 still alive & Steve Grant may probably be able to continue in role as Gtrist & as purists- Price can do Bass chords just like Chas or Doors on Break On Thru. That was the original known Animals Band w/S. Grant & Zoot Money. The encore- House was by 'just' the Animals- no overproduced nonsense like Chic singers as a bright idea by a young Producer. ''The Night!'' oh please no! Ringoid is setting up another All ★ Band as I hear it. Those things are Life savers for a lot of players who are the last one OR two of some great Groups. Canned Heat found their Taxi Driver was a Big name in the Blues & put him back on the Stage &/or an Lp with The Heat backing him. A Class Act.

Not alot of people talk about The Kinks being banned from entering the U.S. between 1966-1969. These guys inspired the fights of the Gallagher bros too. Great band.

@StrangeDevice

3 ай бұрын

Absolutely true. After a run-in with the musicians’ union. I didn’t list that as a possible reason for Dave’s lack of recognition in the U.S. since they returned in 69 and had several MTG hits in the ‘80s, but you’re right: losing out on that U.S. market in the late ‘60s for sure cut them out of a lot pivotal moments in rock in this country. Thanks for the comment!!!

Don’t forget the significant go that Dave made of making a mark as a solo artist during the 60’s. It started promisingly, but petered out in part due to Dave’s personal choice, due to his feeling of not being given the production value he was due, but it seems also partly due to feeling that supporting his older brother was where he ought to be. It’s complicated.

@lucyfoster4082

3 ай бұрын

Not sure why this didn’t chart as well as Death of a Clown or Susanna’s Still Alive-it’s quite catchy kzread.info/dash/bejne/Yo2AxNyoXdTVj9o.html

Dave never got the street credit he deserved as a guitarist. He created some awesome and innovative riffs.

Great lyrics, great songs. Some tunes are vehicles for lead guitars. Some songs are the total package.

Dave Davies is a great and innovative guitar player! I always loved his riffs and solos!...Saw the Kinks in concert in 1983 and Dave was shredding like a true master guitar player!!! long live DD

@StrangeDevice

20 күн бұрын

That must’ve been so awesome to see!

Listen to his work on the album Lola vs the Power Man.

@riodejaneiro664

3 ай бұрын

Frickin predictive texting! Lola vs Power Man,

@carspiv

Ай бұрын

@@riodejaneiro664 Don’t you just HATE that? I read your original post and cringed and saw that someone had replied. Glad it was you, before all of the Karens started to pounce on you. By the way, Lola Vs. Powerman is a VERY great album.

@riodejaneiro664

8 күн бұрын

@@carspiv It was made as a protest to the powermen at the record lable. As a result the label didn't push the record ( childish bs). It was largely overlooked and quickly ended up in the bargain bins. I felt it was one of their best.

@carspiv

8 күн бұрын

@@riodejaneiro664 It is also a linear STORY! From saying goodbye to his crying mother to “The Contenders” manifesto, followed by Dave’s idealistic, wide-eyed optimism about facing the big bad world with “Strangers”, resistance to selling the music is encountered with “Denmark Street” with the resulting empty pockets and empty bellies of “Get Back In Line”, all the work pays off when the big hit comes! “Lola” saves the day! Then, “Top of The Pops” recounts the ensuing whirlwind of fame, followed by the sobering realization that YOU’RE not seeing money for that success, but it seems that everyone in “The Moneygoround” is! Then, it’s time to hit the BIG time and “expand the market”. “This Time Tomorrow” brings you to the supposed land of milk and honey, only to encounter an old friend who has apparently sold out, and you’re still “A Long Way From Home.” Dave’s idealism and hope have been destroyed by the big bad world and the “Rats” have replaced those “Strangers”, making necessary the realization that it’s every man for himself out there. Ray’s getting damned tired of all the wheeling and dealing and backstabbing and wonders whether he’d just be better off swinging up and down in a coconut tree on a distant shore like an “Apeman.” But he’s still got some fight left in him and he unloads with both barrels. “Powerman” has his money, but there are other things more important than that: His gal and his faith. Well, it’s time to regroup and reenergize because you’ve got your OWN family now, complete with crying baby. You’ve “Got To Be Free” and you’ve got to keep working to find a better way and a better life for you and your loved ones.

Dave is Underappreciated! Sure, Ray gets most of the spotlight and glory, but put any other guitarist in the Kinks and it’s a completely different band. I love the edge he added. It’s one of the things I love most.

@andrewtaylor2514

Ай бұрын

And one of the great high harmony singers in rock history.

Dave was brilliant at coming up with cutting edge sounds that were the backbone rhythm of songs . He created the raw sound of had rock guitar . Unfortunately his lead solos we not at the same level of performance as Beck , Page , Clapton , or Peter Green . I think that is why he is often not mentioned in those circles .

@StrangeDevice

3 ай бұрын

Fair play, for sure. Very “human” solos, though. Full of emotion. Thanks for watching and for your comment!!

@JustineLaLoba

3 ай бұрын

I'll take Dave's solo from All Day And All Of The Night' over anything Clapton has done.

@TooLooze

3 ай бұрын

Dave is more interested in portraying emotions than being melodic.

Good insights into Dave’s playing and role in the Kinks. They were a great band. Thanks so much for making this.

@StrangeDevice

Ай бұрын

Thank you for the super nice comments! 🙏🙏🙏

He had the beefiest leads on that gold top LP. What a hell of a tone DD produced!

@StrangeDevice

2 ай бұрын

So evil and nasty and dirty. What an amazing breakthrough! Thanks for watching!

Nice tribute, and well deserved. While I love Dave's guitar, I'm most drawn to the magic of the sibling vocal dynamic. There are many great examples of this, and theirs is amongst the best.

@StrangeDevice

Ай бұрын

Well said!

Nice seeing some of the Dead End Street video. Many so called experts consider it the first narrative music video. Chalk up another first for the greatest band in music history. 😊

@StrangeDevice

2 ай бұрын

Thanks!

Thoughtful and well done. Thanks mate.

@StrangeDevice

3 ай бұрын

Thanks so much!

Dave Davies should be considered right up at the top. His most impressive work seems to be on the most obscure tracks. Check out the intro solo on "Where Do You Come From?" on his first solo album. And his playing on "You Really Got Me" was groundbreaking, arguably the most influential song ever. I did a deep dive into that claim a few years ago on my channel. You can see it here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/Y4uGlM2Tk9KsoJM.html

The greatest peoples band ever

@StrangeDevice

3 ай бұрын

Well said!! Thanks for watching!!!

Very nicely put. The Kinks are probably my favorite band of all time and I get why they aren't more widely recognized as being as great as they were, they just did not fit nicely in a box. The genius of Sir Ray can never be debated, but Dave wrote some of their best songs without question.

@StrangeDevice

20 күн бұрын

I agree with everything you say!! Thanks for watching and for the kind words!

the gibson flying V ...... Dave not only was the first to use in on TV but ( maybe the first to own one in Britain ) look how he held it He created more than just music.

Dave Davies is a great guitarist. A few favorites of mine are Headmaster from Schoolboys, Imagination's Real from Dave's solo record and I'm Not Like Everybody Else live. Oh, and how about Waterloo Sunset? These are just a few of many examples of musical excellence. The way the Kinks have been undervalued, snubbed and ignored is a total disgrace. But You Really Got Me and Waterloo Sunset will always have a prominent, undeniable place in music history. And that has a lot to do with the genius of both brothers Davies. And it could be worse. At least they weren't denied their rightful place in the R&R HoF like poor Johnny Rivers.

I think one of the reasons why Dave is not up there with the other guitar greats is that The Kinks being banned from the US from 65-69 did not give them the exposure that they needed to stay current. By the time the ban was lifted in '69 and they started touring again, music and the times had changed considerably. Plus, Ray's songwriting became more introspective, reflective and softened during that period and I think that Dave (where and when he could rock out in such songs as Love Me Till The Sun Shines, I'm Not Like Everybody Else, Wicked Annabella, King Kong and other heavy guitar based songs from that era) were far and few in between and people don't realize that his guitar playing on the more softer rock songs were just as amazing. That said, the hard rock sound they employed in the early period was virtually non-existent until Arthur and Lola and that was years later. Plus, he's such an innovative guitarist and can adapt to any kind of musical genre - hard rock, baroque, country, dance hall - that his sound was very hard to define. It wasn't until the late 70's that he was able to play songs that exemplified the hard rocking sound of the early days and by then they were entering their later chapter and had to reinvent themselves for arena rock. He's still my favorite guitarist of all time and his descending guitar riffs on songs such classic 60s tracks such as Waterloo Sunset, Big Black Smoke, Dead End Street, Sunny Afternoon and Polly are so underrated and defined the sound of that era.

@StrangeDevice

Ай бұрын

Great analysis!! Thanks for contributing!!! 🤘🎸🤘

He said 'If Jimmy Page's Ego is that desperate for those Five notes (as he's claimed) he can have them. I know better.' Their Live Lp-'One From The Road' is one of the best Live lps ever made. I passed on getting my Ray Davies Fillmore Poster signed "Okay, one only each." outside & post show. I'd brought the DVD PROGRAM for him to sign & I could' ve gotten both signed as I stopped next to the Taxi's back door & said as I produced that program - what it was & he looked at me knowing he was going to sign something a 'True' Fan brought as I said what I thought about that great Live release. He assumed he had already signed 'My'/'Our' Poster - which the Fillmore had ran out of because they'd oversold the show to be sure to get the Gig (!), but he looked at me like he was going to go ahead & sign a 2nd thing for this 1 Guy- not the end of the World. I COULD'VE HAD THE POSTER SIGNED AS WELL - HE SAW IT & I guess he assumed I'd gotten it signed 1st then the DVD'S Program. Ray's show was w/a large band & little room to move in & the tape on the floor by the bench along the wall was further out to accommodate the crowd! As soon as the long Set was done, I was at the stairs & got a Poster then went back in for 'the encore'- which was the shorter Set of 5-6± MORE Songs. I'd come to hate Lola years before but I think it's part of every show he'd do & they came back on the Stage & did, I think it was, 3 more Songs including a good Lola & they'd actually run out of Posters at some point! Hmm. ✓ RAY & DAVE - like Jay & Michael Aston of Gene Loves Jezebel.✓ If Brothers don't fight, it's not a Band of Brothers ‽

@davedillon1372

26 күн бұрын

Btw-Dave's LP 'Living On A Thin Line', Kinks' 'Muswell Hillbillies', 'Everybody's In Showbiz' (ie- Celluloid Heroes) were remastered, & rereleased w/extras even though we're unworthy of such Goods.✓

If you read Ray & Dave's bioghraphies & autobiographies, the group was really Ray Davies/Davis & the Kinks - they were his backing band, his e,ployees. Ray completely dominated

@StrangeDevice

Ай бұрын

Agreed.

@adolforodolfo6929

8 күн бұрын

Of course Ray was the dominant figure, but to describe the Kinks simply as his backing band is going too far. Ray didn't write Dave's guitar parts.

Yes I agree

@StrangeDevice

3 ай бұрын

Given your account icon, that's high praise LOL!! Thanks for watching!

UNDERRATED

You mentioned Dave, George Harrison and Keith Richard in the same sentence - I don't really think the comparison is valid, but I have always thought that Dave is the most versatile and natural (if that's the right word) of the three; doesn't mean he's "better" because they each have their own style, and what matters is playing what's right for the song.

kzread.info/dash/bejne/n3-b06qbc5zSlrg.html Just listen to the first minute and a half of this as Dave solo's and I'll let that speak for him.

Ive always felt that he WAS actually highly acclaimed amongst those who care to know. But its simply hard to become more known than the band itself. Its the Kinks themselves who are underrated. But those who know the kinks love Daves guitar playing and know that it was essential to the ki nks success throughout their career...

@bobmatsudaira3956

2 ай бұрын

..also he did play the lead bits on you really got me. Page himself has said that over and over.

@StrangeDevice

2 ай бұрын

Well said!

❤❤❤

DITTO!

While I like Dave's playing, you didn't even mention Jeff Beck who's playing was on another planet.

Dave Davies was a solid, competent guitar player, but he didn’t have quite the technique or innovation of others like Hendrix, Beck, Zappa, Fripp, Barre, Page, Van Helan etc. The real genius of The Kinks is in the songwriting, which was mostly Ray, although Dave always had one or two good (sometimes great) songs for each album.

@TooLooze

3 ай бұрын

Music is about soul; not technique and music is never a competition. Dave just took his own route; Ray is indeed a genius; his composition catalog is second to none.

@williamfarr8807

3 ай бұрын

I agree that music is not a competition! I also agree Dave is a fine guitar player and his playing is perfect for the Kinks’ songs (just as Dylan’s voice and guitar technique are lacking in some respects but perfect and definitive for Dylan’s songs). I have been a huge Kinks fan since the 1960s and was fortunate to have seen them a couple of times in the 1970s. Technique is not everything, but technique and innovation, or originality, are a couple of real and significant ingredients that make a musician great, along with elements such as “sole” or passion. It’s not one or the other but, a combination of several elements that make one great. I certainly don’t think the guitarist noted above were lacking in “sole”, and I think it can be said with some objectivity, they had more technique and were more innovative than Dave.

@sjames1955

3 ай бұрын

I'm sure you don't want to disrespect Dave. And those are some pretty impressive names you refer to. But Dave Davies changed music forever with his work on YRGM. Exactly how many times do you need to do that to get credit as an innovator? Just sayin'​@@williamfarr8807

I heard Jimmy Page played the solo on You Really Got Me.

@StrangeDevice

3 ай бұрын

Yeah I read up on it before making the video and it’s apparently not true. The Kinks say that Jimmy was visiting in the studio when they recorded and he wasn’t too impressed with Dave’s solo, but never recorded one of his own on the track.

@2011littlejohn1

3 ай бұрын

@@StrangeDevice So I stand corrected. This song always reminds me of seeing a band play in Slough one evening and their joyous faces when they cranked up the volume for the solo.

@NewFalconerRecords

3 ай бұрын

Jimmy Page did play on some tracks on their first album. He added some great rockabilly licks on a song called 'So Mystifying" And he actually DID play the solo on 'You Really Got Me' on a strange album called "Kinky Music" by the Larry Page Orchestra. It was an instrumental album of early Kinks music and Page was the main session guitarist on that record. I've covered that in this video kzread.info/dash/bejne/anhkqM2QdMXXm6w.htmlsi=9xQ4J2lpyOuJj2wv

@2011littlejohn1

3 ай бұрын

@@NewFalconerRecords Many thanks.

@cojaysea

3 ай бұрын

Jimmy Page played guitar on Love Chronicles by Al Stewart. I think page made a lot of guest appearances on different albums we just don’t know it .

How do you narrate a video on Dave Davies without learning how to pronounce his name? It's "day-vees" not "day-vis." This drove me crazy throughout your video.

@StrangeDevice

8 күн бұрын

I truly appreciate you watching and commenting but I painstakingly researched the pronunciation and watched and listened to several interviews where the brothers said it’s “Day-viz” with a short “i” and a “z” sound. This is the one thing I made sure to confirm over and over so as to avoid getting called out on it.

@Rob-vy4bu

8 күн бұрын

@@StrangeDevice Oh, I see. Freakin' Brits and their silly pronunciations.

@adolforodolfo6929

8 күн бұрын

@@Rob-vy4bu Yep, sorry. The surname is spelt two different ways this side of the pond, "Davis" or "Davies", but either way we pronounce it with a short 'i', "Day-viz".'

@Rob-vy4bu

8 күн бұрын

@@adolforodolfo6929 You Brits just love tripping up us Americans, don't you? Anyway, I suddenly feel like I've been lied to by American deejays for the last 40 years.

No comparison with George Harrison and Dave Davies. Paul McCartney is/was a better guitarist than Harrison. His lead work is all over Beatles records. Dave's lack of recognition stems directly from the Kinks' "overnight success" with YRGM and ADAAOTN. The established rhythm & blues scene ( Jimmy and Eric, etc) were jealous of the fact that a practically unheard of band could come up with that sound and style while they did not. The Kinks petulent personalities compared with green eyed envy of others and you have your b.s. Kontroversey about who played what. Jimmy Page wishes to hell he played that solo.

@Chrismco64

Ай бұрын

Agreed!…they deliberately ignored the obvious genius of the Kinks …pretended they weren’t there …but looking back brilliance is undeniable!