Sean Anderson - 1/22/2010

So it's here after only eighteen months. And, in rather unfitting words, it's ... fantastic! It is neither no better nor no worse, in my opinion, than Other People's Lives, as it's a completely different album: unique sounds and unique lyrics. It does seem that Working Man's Café is much more personally introspective in comparison to Ray's first studio solo release, with most of the lyrics in first-person.

Vietnam Cowboys is probably the best way possible to begin the album. And those opening chords are probably the best way possible to begin the track! The addictive rhythm, topped with thoughtful lyrics, conceal aspects such as disgust, irony and sarcasm regarding the western world's influence and involvement in other countries and the obsessive trend of globalisation. This song sums it all up perfectly. In fact, it does its job so well that it deserves a longer track on the album; the original live take, circulating on the Jane Street concert bootleg, was almost six minutes long. The CD, including two bonus tracks, still has enough room for more - or longer - songs.

I love what seem to be snide lyrics on You're Asking Me. He conveys his frustration at someone (or people in general?) nagging him on trivial matters that he supposedly ought to know because he's been there and done that. 'If you're asking me, don't take my advice.' Musically, he's tut-tutting and moaning that he'll tell us due to our persistent asking, but he shouldn't be held responsible for what goes on in our lives. Coupled with a charming melody and a sharp twist in the tale at the point of the agitated outburst ('If that's what you really want, then GET A LIFE, GET A LIFE!') this song is fascinating and affecting, certainly a stand-out on the album. One of my favourites, anyhow.

I'm fond of how Ray almost contradicts his previous track in Working Man's Café, where Ray proves that he actually has plenty to say. Painfully, he reminisces about the former character of the old country he once knew and asks us to consider if we have lost this in the modern world of retail outlets, international brands and technological wonders. 'It's really good to see us come so far, but haven't we forgotten who we are?' As a fifteen-year-old, this may be the only world I've ever known, but Davies still manages to provoke thoughts of yesteryear. Overall, the title track is a wistful and beautifully performed song that provides the basis of the album's theme.

Morphine Song, superficially, is a light-hearted song, the comedy of the album. 'Yeah, all fall down, someone help me off o' the ground.' When this track first previewed on MySpace, from the laughable, high-pitched opening lyrics, I thought, Here we go!, chuckling to myself. In fact, on a deeper listening level, this 'funny' song is not what it seems. Underneath, the upbeat tune and trivial lyrics lies a grim story of an intensive care unit, its despairing patients and the insensitive staff that work on it. Davies has created this song cleverly: the portrayed woozy, hazy insignificance of the events symbolise the dimming effect of morphine perfectly. On a deeper level, this song could be a reflection on society itself - perhaps we are failing to notice that we are losing our character because the world around us that provides us with our desires is really sedating and pacifying our mind to an extent where real matters become trivial to us. I know what you're thinking, but don't knock me, because it's the sort of thing one might think about lying in hospital!

In a Moment is another of my favourites from Working Man's Café. I love that bit of jazz on this track. It's certainly a distinctive sound and I've never heard Ray do something with this much soul before. In a Moment, I think, has the potential to brighten up a bad day. The lyrics set off at a slow and laidback pace that sees a man taking a walk having a good old think about his life. At times, they suggest times of hardship - 'something apocalyptic', 'momentary loss of faith', 'any second, love can turn to hate', 'fleetingly it went from wrong to right, in my hesitation I lost you' - but things eventually look up for our man. He tempts our contemplation with the line, 'Do we see the moon or the sunlight?' - does this ring a bell? (Glass half-full or half-empty?) - and reassures us, finally, with, 'In a moment, hope will find a way.' I shouldn't think myself going too far when I label this a breathtaking track.

Peace in Our Time, in juxtaposition with In a Moment, shows us a man whose every last ounce of hope and optimism has been wringed out by his dissatisfied partner. Ray's growl reflects the anger of the song almost frighteningly: 'The living room's a wreck from all the rows!' The following line is almost inaudible with the exploding anger. Now the lid is off the bottle, our relieved man regrets that he has let any of this happen. He has realised that the key to a happy life is reconciliation and, 'Don't want to be a Buddhist, but I need some peace and harmony,' has to be one of my favourite Ray Davies lines ever. From the first time I heard it, it has brought a smile to my face. I'm convinced that the narrator of this track is the same as from Creatures of Little Faith from the first album. That track was his turn to do wrong and beg for change and, in Peace in Our Time, his partner has ripped him to shreds, prompting him to review his life and start afresh. Arguably, it could be said that Ray, as he has done on several other occasions, is using a small-scale timeline and story to project it onto a larger scale: without doing a great deal of 'Bible-bashing', I think that this is a message to the world that war only destroys and achieves nothing: 'All we deserve is some peace in our time, I don't need no sympathy, just some peace of mind ... put it back together; otherwise, we're gonna fall apart ... unconditional love's the best ...'

A further firm favourite of mine is No One Listen. It was great when I heard it performed live in Nottingham and the studio version sounds just as great. The quick, hard-hitting opening notes - that marvellous bam-bam-bam-bam - tell me that, straightaway, this song's going to have lots of energy and oomph.