Bug

Almost Transformed
by: clint poole

For those of us who have endured the heated battle of sibling rivalry, we understand there is no limit to what this competition will make us do. For Dave Davies, the lesser know brother and former band mate of Kinks front-man Ray Davies, living in the shadow his brother cast as a major contributor to the British rock invasion, has launched Dave on a quest to gain his own artistic credibility.

Although Dave Davies strongly contributed to the Kinks' songwriting, it was his brother Ray Davies, stark-raving mad drunken rages and all, that gained the majority of the artistic recognition for the bands work. What has resulted is Dave Davies' (confused yet?) multi-decade solo career with extensive touring in Europe and Asia (no truth to the rumor he was opening for David Hasselhoff), during which he has been trying to establish his own fan base beyond the family name (please note: his anthology album title was Unfinished Business).

His latest attempt is Bug, a diverse collection of tracks that reveals both the strong influence of his previous life as a 70's rocker, and a touch of today's thriving British club scene, in an attempt to reflect the transformation of Dave Davies the artist. While the album struggles to deliver an innovative, new Dave Davies, it does manage to produce honest tracks that are laden with the sincerity and character only a person who has traveled such a long, winding road can deliver.

As a whole the lyrics and subjects are light-hearted and swift, the exceptions being the power ballads "Rock You, Rock Me", and "Flowers in the Rain", which appear to be the writer's attempt at retrospection. The majority of the album is reminiscent of his earlier work, with power guitar riffs and simple beats. However, the album closes with two house/electronica tracks that suggest Davies has been spending time with the kids in the UK clubs.

While listeners will not find a reinventing of an artist on Bug, the album does deliver the honesty and soulfullness fans of Dave Davies have come to enjoy. If you're a long-time Dave Davies fan this album won't disappoint, but if you're looking for something powerful, fresh and innovative, you should quickly move along.