"Scattered" is a song by the British rock band

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

. Written by

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

, "Scattered" appeared as the sixteenth track from their album ''

Phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, 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 ...

'', and was the band's final original single (only to be followed by reissues of "

You Really Got Me "You Really Got Me" is a song by the English rock band the Kinks, written by frontman Ray Davies and released as their third single in 1964. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead B ...

" and "

Waterloo Sunset "Waterloo Sunset" is a song by English Rock music, rock band the Kinks. It was released as a single on 5 May1967 and featured on the album ''Something Else by the Kinks'' later that year. Written and produced by Kinks frontman Ray Davies, "Wat ...

").

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.

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 Pretenders may refer to: Film * ''Pretenders'' (2018 film), an American drama film * ''The Pretenders'' (1916 film), a lost American silent film * ''The Pretenders'' (1981 film), a Dutch film Literature * ''Cemetery Girl – Book One: The P ...

leader

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American-British musician. She is a founding member of the rock band the Pretenders and is the band's lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter; she and drummer Martin Chambers are the ...

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 reco ...

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 AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

'' 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