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Working Man's Cafe | 
| Artist: Ray Davies
Label: New West Records
List Price: $16.98
Buy New: $8.34
You Save: $8.64 (51%)
New (44) Used (8) from $8.34
Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 32587
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.2
MPN: 6136
UPC: 607396613625
EAN: 0607396613625
ASIN: B0010ZOCIU
Release Date: February 19, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: NEW - FACTORY SEALED - SHIPPED FIRST CLASS
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| Tracks:
| • | Vietnam Cowboys (4:12) | | • | You re Asking Me (3:22) | | • | Working Man s Cafe (3:41) | | • | Morphine Song (4:18) | | • | In A Moment (4:29) | | • | Peace In Our Time (4:39) | | • | No One Listen (3:13) | | • | Imaginary Man (4:09) | | • | One More Time (4:28) | | • | The Voodoo Walk (4:24) | | • | Hymn For A New Age (3:42) | | • | The Real World (5:06) | | • | Angola (Wrong Side Of The Law) (4:29) | | • | Vietnam Cowboys (demo) (2:52) | | • | The Voodoo Walk (demo) (4:25) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
2008 must be an interesting year to have an outsider's view on the US and its role in the world, and when Ray Davies sings "everywhere I go it looks and feels like America," it's hard to miss a bit of the bitterness in the observation. His second studio solo album in three years, Working Man's Cafe feels like exactly the album a 60-something rocker would craft--assured and direct yet searching and restless, a glimpse into the head of a man who's comfortable in his skin but still wonders how he fits into a world that seems to be turning faster and stranger as the years pass by. Davies has cultivated this contraposition of bitter and sweet, of intertwining comfort and conflict throughout his years leading the Kinks, and now continues into what looks to be a fruitful solo career. There's a bit of George Harrison in the melody and sentiment of "One More Time," acknowledging the widening gap between powerful corporations and the overtaxed little guy, while still envisioning the possibility of a brighter future. And the title track's half-acidic, half-nostalgic take on modern homogenization follows the classic Davies approach of reporting what he sees around him with one eye toward a fading past: "I bought a pair of new designer pants where the fruit and veg man used to stand." It's nice to note that, 40 years on, the songwriter that skewered '60s Brits with "A Well-Respected Man" and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" still wields a sharpened pen and pulls no punches. --Ben Heege
Product Description
Working Man s Cafe a new studio album by legendary musician and Rock n Roll Hall of Fame member Ray Davies (founder, singer, songwriter of The Kinks), features 12 new songs written by Davies, and co-produced with Grammy Award winning producer/engineer Ray Kennedy (Lucinda Williams, Steve Earle). Recorded in Nashville, Working Man s Cafe is Davies second solo album, following his solo debut Other People s Lives, released in 2006.
Working Man s Cafe, focuses on the plight of the worker, the every day man around the world. It is Davies American record (many of the songs were written and all produced in the US) describing the changes he s seen in this country since he first started visiting in the 60s. In a recent four star Mojo Magazine review Davies is described as having a tourist s blend of enchantment and bafflement when writing about the United States
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 SHINING ON BRIGHTLY February 21, 2008
J. Gambino
7 out of 13 found this review helpful
Few singer songwriters have the ability to truly look beyond their own perimeters. In contrast, Mr. Davies has the rare skill to consistently craft infectious, thoughtful and insightful songs about the human condition at large. While the mediocrity of mankind has not escaped him, the critical observations in his music are constructed within the context of compassion and humor. With age and wisdom, he may now view particular aspects of life with some resignation...but never bitterness.
"Working Man's Cafe" is a strong follow up to his superb, meticulous first true solo effort "Other Peoples Lives" released in 2006. I have been listening to the import version of WMC for a few months now but also purchased the U.S. release because it contains two additional excellent new songs as well as alternate versions of other tracks. The music on this collection feels quite visceral and spontaneous. It would be well suited for live performances. The sound is clearly 21st century, yet there are scattered shards within that make one reminiscent of the classic Kinks albums such as "Arthur" and "Something Else". This CD is smooth listening from start to finish and your favorites are likely to shift with time. Vocally Ray Davies is as strong as ever and much attention has been given to the sound quality and arrangements. The title cut along with: "Imaginary Man", Vietnam Cowboys and especially "In a Moment" get honorable mention but all the songs are memorable in their own way. Uninitiated listeners not familiar with this performer's body of work should find this collection very enjoyable even if they lack the proclivity to ruminate over the lyrics like some of us might.
I will always remember the Kinks with great appreciation and fondness even with the occasional uneveness of some of their albums. With this second impressive solo effort; Ray Davies has fortified his stature as a valued independent artist in his own right. I no longer lament for a Kinks reunion...but instead...only hope this performer maintains his zest for life and music so we can continue to be so royally entertained for many more years to come.
 Enduring talent.. June 17, 2008
hal st soul (between London and Los Angeles)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Getting shot by muggers in New Orleans unexpectedly drove Davies back to the studio.
It seems incredible that a songwriter as respected and acclaimed as Davies should only be releasing his second solo record in 2007.
That said, "Working Man's Cafe" is not likely to disappoint generations of Davies fans.
Lyrically speaking, all his trademark wry and sardonic observations on life are present. As one of rock music's most lauded social commentators Ray peppers the majority of these new songs with nicely-honed and bang up-to-date assessments of the world as he sees it today: a conflicted, contradictory and globalized shopping centre mired in double standards and creeping 'Americanisation'.
You only have to listen to "Waterloo Sunset" to realise that Ray Davies has always had a tendency to wrap his disillusionment in the flag of nostalgia. He hankers for the past on this new album too, but with a brusqueness which would have embarrassed his younger self - before finally dragging himself back towards something approaching contentment.
The album captures Davies's revulsion with Tony Blair's Britain, his relocation to New Orleans, and the reflections on mortality which followed his shooting in the Crescent City (after chasing a mugger). Some of the material is mined directly from his experience.
This could be judged as the grumpy old man of The Kinks indulging in some nostalgia-driven baby-boomer whingeing.
Instead, Davies, who remains an engaging and energetic performer at 64, pinpoints the concerns of the moment from the perspective of a man who has seen England and the world beyond it change almost beyond recognition... and as far as Ray is concerned, not for the better.
The sprawling "Morphine Song", with its boisterous horn section, describes the trauma of the emergency room. Other themes, such as the encroachment of corporate power, are more familiar. "Vietnam Cowboys" rails at globalisation, on "You're Asking Me" Ray sounds genuinely peeved and rocks out accordingly, but the signature whimsical and wistful touches in his voice and music means he never slips into the angry old rocker cliche.
Probably the most radio-friendly offering is the sweetly catchy "In A Moment" which veers towards a southern soul feel with bluesy guitar, organ and electric piano chugging blissfully in the background as Ray gets things of his chest and shows he's still got plenty of great hooks up his sleeve.
There are glimpses of personal demons on "Imaginary Man" as Ray searches for life's meaning.
The beautifully sung closer, "The Real World", isn't strictly autobiographical, but it does explore the wanderlust which took Davies to Louisiana, before concluding that travel doesn't necessarily cure a lost soul.
Best of all is the pensive title track, with an Estuary-accented Davies complaining about the creeping Americanisation of England, loans, equity relief, mortgages and internet cafes, before locating his identity in a working man's cafe. "In case you forgot who I am", he sings, "I'm a kid with a greasy spoon firmly held in my hand". The melancholy track will likely inspire nostalgia for old Kinks tunes.
Full of brisk, occasionally noisy rock, it's a great gust of an album that affirms Davies's enduring talent.
ray davies is back December 5, 2007
Mathieu B. Prevost (warwick, new york United States)
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
he's back and it couldn't happen fast enough for me. there is nothing tentative about this collection. ray has found his footing and everything here is confident and fun. working with ray kennedy in nashville (again) he has crafted a collection with strong songwriting and some truly fine playing. there's something for everyone here. i've always found it difficult to separate ray from his band but there's really no need to. this reminds me of a kinks record, only with a fatter production. great songwriting.
great album December 14, 2007
Lanny J. Dante
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
Ray Davies gets better with age - every song is good - especially PEACE IN OUR TIME and ONE MORE TIME ... its time to induct Mr. Davies into the rock n roll hall of fame for his ability to write incredible songs. Rumors have it that the original kinks are secretly recording new songs...
The time is right for a new kinks album - God save the kinks !!!!!
 Better Things February 26, 2008
Michael Stout (Portland, Oregon United States)
4 out of 16 found this review helpful
I wonder if the people who gave this five stars can hear the difference between Working Man's Cafe and Arthur or Face to Face. The critic Robert Christgau once called The Kinks 'cultural reactionaries long past their prime'. I took issue with this at the time I read it, at least in regards to their 80's work, but with this album I start to wonder if Christgau had a point.
While his peers of the 60's were screaming for peace, change and global unity, Ray Davies wrote songs about saving china cups and little shops. Well, more or less change and unity have now come via the marketplace and Ray's peers have had second thoughts about their demands as they watch jobs go overseas. Therefore, I suppose Ray Davies has first rights to bellyache about globalization but that doesn't make this CD any more fun to listen to.
Working Man's Cafe is far better than Other People's Lives, but that is not saying very much. Some of the tunes start out are fine, but only end up being pleasant, as opposed to memorable. I'm grateful that Ray still has the drive to write and record. I wish he'd done something a little more palatable which would dispel Christgau's 'past their prime' point, because with Working Man's Cafe, the cultural reactionary tag sticks all too well.
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