Page "Ray Davies" Paragraph 14

The Kinks have been called " the most adamantly British of the Brit Invasion bands " on account of Ray Davies ' abiding fascination with England's imperial past and his tender, bittersweet evocations of " a vanishing, romanticized world of village greens, pubs and public schools ".

During the band's mid-period, he wrote many cheerfully eccentric — and often ironic — celebrations of traditional English culture and living: " Village Green " ( 1966 ), " Afternoon Tea " and " Autumn Almanac " ( both 1967 ), " The Last of the Steam-Powered Trains " ( 1968 ), " Victoria " ( 1969 ), " Have a Cuppa Tea " ( 1971 ) and " Cricket " ( 1973 ).

In other songs, Davies revived the style of British music hall, vaudeville and trad jazz: " Dedicated Follower of Fashion ", " Sunny Afternoon ", " Dandy " and " Little Miss Queen of Darkness " ( all 1966 ); " Mister Pleasant " and " End of the Season " ( both 1967 ); " Sitting By the Riverside " and " All of My Friends Were There " ( both 1968 ); " She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina " ( 1969 ); " Acute Schizophrenia Paranoia Blues " and " Alcohol " ( both 1971 ); " Look a Little on the Sunny Side " ( 1972 ); and " Holiday Romance " ( 1975 ).

Occasionally, he varied the group's sound with more disparate musical influences, such as raga (" Fancy ", 1966 ), bossa nova (" No Return ", 1967 ) and calypso (" Monica ", 1968 ; " Apeman ", 1970 ; " Supersonic Rocket Ship ", 1972 ).