"Scattered" is a song by the British rock band The Kinks. Written by Ray Davies, "Scattered" appeared as the sixteenth track from their album ''

Phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder defined by a persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected go to great lengths to avo ...

'', and was the band's final original single (only to be followed by reissues of " You Really Got Me" and " Waterloo Sunset".)

Background

On its appearance on ''Phobia'', "Scattered" is dedicated to Annie Florence Davies (Ray Davies' mother) and Carol Bryans (a friend of Davies's.) Both died due to cancer. Ray Davies claimed that "Scattered" took ten years to write. Author Thomas Kitts believes that the song was initially inspired by Ray Davies' broken relationship with Pretenders leader

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...

Release

"Scattered" was first released in Europe as a single in 1993, 21 days prior to the release of ''Phobia''. The song was then released on ''Phobia'' as the closing track (except for Japan and the UK, where "Did Ya" was added as a bonus track, making "Scattered" the penultimate track). After the release of the song " Only a Dream" as the debut British single from ''Phobia'', "Scattered" was planned to be the follow-up. Due to the underperformance of "Only a Dream", the "Scattered" single was cancelled, even though advertising for the single had been released. However, "Scattered" eventually saw release as a single in Britain in small amounts in the collectors' market during 1993. One year later,

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

dropped The Kinks. It did not chart.

Reception

Although it was unsuccessful as a single, critics have praised "Scattered" as one of the best songs on ''Phobia''. Thomas Kitts, author of ''Ray Davies: Not Like Everybody Else'', called it "one of avies'smost complex lyrics and one of avies'sbest songs of the 1990s." Rovi Staff of '' AllMusic'' cited "Scattered" as a highlight from ''Phobia''.

References

{{The Kinks singles The Kinks songs 1993 singles Songs written by Ray Davies Song recordings produced by Ray Davies 1993 songs MCA Records singles