''The Kinks Choral Collection'' is an album, released 15 June 2009 in the UK and 10 November 2009 in the US, by

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 voc ...

and the

Crouch End Festival Chorus Crouch End Festival Chorus (CEFC) is a symphonic choir based in north London which performs in a range of musical styles, including traditional choral repertoire, contemporary classical, rock, pop and film music. Led by musical director David ...

. The album features new studio recordings of Ray Davies' compositions, all but one of which were originally recorded by his band

The 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 rhyt ...

. The collection begins with versions of seven Kinks singles including some of the less well-known singles (including the non-charting "

Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place in Asia's Kunlun Mountains (昆仑山), Uses the spelling 'Kuen-Lun'. described in the 1933 novel '' Lost Horizon'' by English author James Hilton. Hilton portrays Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, ...

" and "

Celluloid Heroes "Celluloid Heroes" is a song performed by The Kinks and written by their lead vocalist and principal songwriter, Ray Davies. It debuted on their 1972 album ''Everybody's in Show-Biz''. The song names several famous actors of 20th century film, ...

") as well as some of their most successful (including "

You Really Got Me "You Really Got Me" is a song written by Ray Davies for English rock band the Kinks. The song, originally performed in a more blues-oriented style, was inspired by artists such as Lead Belly and Big Bill Broonzy. Two versions of the song were ...

" and "

Waterloo Sunset "Waterloo Sunset" is a song by British rock band the Kinks. It was released as a single in 1967, and featured on their album '' Something Else by the Kinks''. Composed and produced by Kinks frontman Ray Davies, "Waterloo Sunset" is one of the ...

"). It then features a version of the title track from Davies' 2007 solo album '' Working Man's Café'', versions of six album tracks from The Kinks' 1968 album '' The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society'' and closes with a version of another well-known Kinks single " All Day and All of the Night". The album entered the

UK albums chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

at #28 which was its peak position. It was re-released in the UK on 7 December 2009 as a special edition featuring Ray's Christmas single "Postcard from London", featuring Chrissie Hynde.

Track listing

References

External links

The Official Ray Davies Web Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinks Choral Collection, The 2009 albums Ray Davies albums Decca Records albums Albums produced by Ray Davies