Swinging Kinks Tribute from Larry Page and raving Ray MacVay
Label: Pye
Year of Release: 1965
This is a baffling but very sought-after single from the prolific easy listening master Ray MacVay, who we last mentioned just over a year ago. Ray was perhaps more daring than many pseudo-James Last characters in the work he took on, attempting reggae, rock and country as well as the pop tunes that loaned themselves best to a nice and easy arrangement.
This, however, appears to be a Kinks kash-in. While the repetitive central riff on side A does owe a small debt to Ray and Dave Davies, the band don't get a songwriting credit, and it seems that MacVay and Larry Page - who does get credited - were just using their sound as a springboard.
The end result sounds like a cross between a late night chat show theme and The Kinks, which is no bad thing. Indeed, I'm slightly surprised nobody has dug this one up to use on a television programme at any point in the last fifty years. It's also found some favour as a turntable hit with the mod club crowd, which has pushed up the asking price of copies over the years.
