Dave Davies’ Kinks Playlist

Dave Davies of The Kinks was asked on Twitter to pick a song from the band’s repertoire that’s new for your playlist.  National Geographic’s David Beard recently asked Davies:

“Dave, if you had to pick one today (know it could change tomorrow) which @TheKinks song is the most relevant today? Strangers? A Face in the Crowd?”

— David Beard (@dabeard) March 22, 2022

A Face In The Crowd was written and sung by Sir Ray Davies, as Dave Davies didn’t write or sing many of the band’s tracks. It was never one of the big hit singles (below) but it’s the younger Davies’ top choice.

However, the few songs he did create ― including Strangers ― are favourites of Kinks fans.

Dave Davies: “I think Strangers is more relevant we have to be kinder to each other, more understanding.”

— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) March 22, 2022

In 2015, Davies told L.A. Record that while “Strangers” might sound melancholy, it’s actually an optimistic song:

“It’s giving up something to get more. The guy in the song, the protagonist or the singer or me or whatever, he’s trying to say, ‘Alright, I’ve had enough—but what are you doing? Maybe we can find out what life’s about together.’ Which in a way covers a lot of different aspects of the human mind and being, really. Because it could be about all of us. Maybe we’re all intimately connected at some level? Not just a boy and girl or two guys that meet and try and make a go of it.”