Other People's Lives

RAY DAVIES

This is Ray Davies' first solo album. Perhaps that's hard to fathom, but the legendary frontman for the Kinks sees the release of Other People's Lives a few months shy of his 62nd birthday, more than a decade after the last Kinks album.

It was worth the wait. The disc is rife with engaging melodies, vivid characters and Davies' wry observations about louts and losers, time and death, love and drunkenness. And in his typically ironic fashion, much of Other People's Lives ends up being ruminations about himself. (And if you think I'm taking analytical liberties, he admits as much in his generous liner notes.)

Oh, and more good news. The album rocks — not in a reckless, early Kinks way, but more in the vein of sophisticated power pop, built around a dense wall of instruments: chiming guitars (including a few bashing power chords), soaring organs, chunky piano and the occasional horn chart.

For balance, Davies includes a handful of ballads; a bouncy tune, "Next Door Neighbor," that nods to the English dancehall tradition (and is something of a companion piece to "Well Respected Man" and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion"); and one uber-British novelty song, "Stand Up Comic," that's probably the CD's weakest piece. Davies still has that smirking lilt in his voice, but also has a few other gears, like the grainy introspection heard in "After the Fall" and "Run Away From Time."

In all, it would seem that the decade-long break has served Ray Davies well. Other People's Lives is the work of an artist rejuvenated. 3.5 stars — Eric Snider

Hammersmith Odeon, London 1975

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E-STREET BAND

If you've ever wondered why all the fuss over early Springsteen concerts, Hammersmith Odeon should give you some insight. This two-disc (two-hour) set — an audio-only version of the DVD that was part of the Born to Run box released last year — finds the scruffy kid from Jersey and his six cohorts in absolutely peak form. It's as if the band is playing for its life — and in a way it was: Born to Run, released a few months earlier, was Springsteen and company's last shot on Columbia Records after their first two LPs sold poorly. All the early staples are here: most of Born to Run, "It's Hard to be a Saint in the City," "Spirit in the Night," "Rosalita" (very much a show-stopper), the "Detroit Medley" and more. The album begins with a "Thunder Road" that simmers but never boils; backed by Roy Bittan's piano, Springsteen breaks his vocals up with harmonica solos. When "Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out" hits full stride, the effect is euphoric. Tops in the unexpected delights department is "She's the One," a track from Born to Run that percolates on a Bo Diddley beat. The set's only flab is a rather laborious "Kitty's Back," which, at more than 17 minutes, is bloated with over-long solos. Otherwise, the show is masterfully paced and full of calibrated dynamics. 4.5 stars — ES

Rocket Ride

EDGUY

Nuclear Blast USA

German quintet Edguy has been releasing fun, melodic stuff — deeply influenced by New Wave of British Heavy Metal — for nearly 10 years, so they oughta be good at it by now. And they are — so long as you're the kind of die-hard genre fan that sees elements like melodramatic keyboards, crotch-squeezingly high vocals and done-to-death guitar riffs as "traditional hallmarks" and not "cheesy as fuck." That these guys are talented musicians who know their craft through and through is obvious. As is the fact that their craft is dated, well-trod territory that appeals largely to the fans who've been listening to bands that have sounded exactly like this for the last 25 years. 3 stars — Scott Harrell

Greatest Hits Redux

CRACKER

Cooking Vinyl

Pissed that their former label Virgin was prepping a greatest hits record without even asking for their input, the members of Cracker raised a certain finger in the label's direction and decided to re-record all their hits for a comp of their own. Only true Cracker junkies can probably determine the differences between these versions and the originals, and there's little to fault with the songs themselves. Cracker has always been underrated, and indie-bar-band fare like "Euro-Trash Girl" and "Low" can be awfully charming with a beer in your belly. 3.5 stars — Cooper Lane Baker

This article appears in Mar 29 – Apr 4, 2006.