''Return to Waterloo'' is the debut solo album by

Kinks The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, north London, in 1963 by brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They are regarded as one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s. The band emerged during the height of British rhythm ...

' leader and chief songwriter

Ray Davies Sir Raymond Douglas Davies ( ; born 21 June 1944) is an English musician. He was the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and main songwriter for the rock band the Kinks, which he led with his younger brother Dave on lead guitar and backing voca ...

. Three of the tracks on the album release were also available in near-identical form on The Kinks' 1984 release ''

Word of Mouth Word of mouth, or ''viva voce'', is the passing of information from person to person using oral communication, which could be as simple as telling someone the time of day. Storytelling is a common form of word-of-mouth communication where one pe ...

''. All of The Kinks appear on the album with the exception of

Dave Davies David Russell Gordon Davies (born 3 February 1947) is an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist and backing vocalist for the English rock band the Kinks, which also featured his elder brother Ray Davies. He was ind ...

. According to Ray Davies, Dave Davies refused to perform on the album. He later said, "Dave refused to play and so it had to be 'Ray Davies and members of the Kinks'. If he had worked with me on it, it would have been a ''great'' record, but he let me down." An hour-long musical film, ''

Return to Waterloo ''Return to Waterloo'' is the debut solo album by Kinks' leader and chief songwriter Ray Davies. Three of the tracks on the album release were also available in near-identical form on The Kinks' 1984 release ''Word of Mouth''. All of The Kinks ...

'', was also written and directed by Davies, wherein instead of dialogue, the story is told through music and lyrics. The film features

Tim Roth Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the "Brit Pack (actors), Brit Pack". He made hi ...

Kenneth Colley Kenneth Colley (born 7 December 1937) is an English film and television actor whose career spans over 60 years. He came to wider prominence through his role as Admiral Piett in the '' Star Wars'' films ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) and '' ...

, Valerie Holliman, Dominique Barnes, and (briefly) Ray Davies himself. One song which appears in the film but not on the soundtrack is "Ladder of Success".

Reception

Track listing

All tracks composed by

. #"Intro" (0:56) #"Return to Waterloo" (4:40) #"Going Solo" (3:55) #"Missing Persons" (2:53) #"Sold Me Out" (3:19) #"Lonely Hearts" (3:05) #"Not Far Away" (4:23) #"Expectations" (4:06) #"Voices in the Dark (End Title)" (4:22) Tracks 3, 4 and 5 had been previously featured on the Kinks' 1984 album ''Word of Mouth'' in minimally different takes/mixes.

Personnel

*Ray Davies – vocals, guitar, piano, synthesizer, gong, sound effects * Ian Gibbons – synthesizer, keyboards, drum and percussion programming, backing vocals *Louisa Davies – vocals "girl's voice" *Valerie Hollerman – spoken word "woman station announcer" *

Jim Rodford James Walter Rodford (7 July 1941 – 20 January 2018) was an English musician, who played bass for several British rock bands. He was a founding member of Argent, which was led by his cousin Rod Argent, and performed with them from their formati ...

– bass guitar, backing vocals *

Mick Avory Michael Charles Avory (born 15 February 1944) is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the English rock band the Kinks. He joined them shortly after their formation in 1964 and remained with them until 1984, ...

– drums * Robert Henrit – drums; extra percussion on "Voices in the Dark (End Title)" *John O'Donnell – extra percussion on "Voices in the Dark (End Title)" ;Technical *Damian Korner, David Baker - engineer

References

;Sources * {{Authority control 1985 debut albums Ray Davies albums Arista Records albums Albums produced by Ray Davies