Ray Davies is apparently not amused. According to Rolling Stone, the Kinks legend believes a brutally exhaustive new fan-written book will torpedo the market for his own upcoming project.
The culprit? The Kinks: All Day and All of the Night The Day-By-Day Story Pt 1: 1940-1971—a forensic chronicle co-authored by Andrew Sandoval and Doug Hinman that traces every recording session, concert date, TV appearance, and writing session from the Davies brothers' birth through the legendary Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround era.
The detail is remarkable. Turn to page 150 and you'll learn that Kinks bassist Pete Quaife tried to fly back to England from Los Angeles with a gun on July 25, 1965—only to have it confiscated by U.S. customs. Flip to page 182 and discover the band played Memorial Hall in Cheshire on January 1, 1966, with opening acts the Notions and the Pack of Cards, then lip-synched "Till the End of the Day" on Top of the Pops five days later after a noon-to-6 p.m. rehearsal.
Sandoval, a Grammy-nominated reissue producer and former Monkees reunion tour architect, is no casual fan. He has already written definitive day-by-day books on the Monkees and the Bee Gees. His Kinks obsession dates back to 1980, when his older brother came home from seeing the Davies brothers literally fighting on stage at the Hollywood Palladium and couldn't stop talking about it.
The book's scope has landed in Davies' camp. Whether the Kinks icon will actually release his own tell-all to compete remains unclear—but two decades of meticulous research from a devoted superfan are now required reading for anyone serious about the band.
