Live at the Bottom Line

Live at the Bottom Line

If main songwriter Ray Davies was the brains of the Kinks, brother/guitarist Dave was its heart and soul. The younger Davies arguably invented heavy metal with his metallic, bar-chord-crunch guitar style and his brashness fueled the band's energetic live shows. This lively 1997 club show reinforces those notions, as Dave plows through 27 songs with a pace worthy of the Ramones. Smart enough not to let his tumultuous, decades-long rivalry with brother Ray get in the way of his taste, the younger Davies fills fully half of the set list with versions of his older brother's songs, be they familiar ("She's Got Everything," "All Day and All the Night," "You Really Got Me"), cult faves ("David Watts," "I'm Not Like Everybody Else"), or obscurities ("Look Through Any Doorway"). A handful of vintage covers pay homage to Davies's own musical roots, while his own songs stand in gutsy contrast to his elder brother's often ornate constructions, delivered in a voice that's reedier, but instantly familiar. Gritty, humorous and heartfelt, this live recording pays tribute to one of rock's most influential, if consistently underappreciated, talents. <i>--Jerry McCulley</i>