See My Friends
The highlight of this collaborative set is “Days/This Time Tomorrow,” a medley of Kinks classics. Done pub-chorale-style with banjo and upright piano, it pairs Ray Davies with Mumford & Sons, tipsy folk rockers who share with Davies a profound Englishness. For every dud (the world needs no more “You Really Got Me” covers), there are three gems (Spoon’s title cut, Jackson Browne’s “Waterloo Sunset,” Black Francis’ “This Is Where I Belong”). Most, go figure, are with Americans, and none are more poignant than the late Alex Chilton singing “‘Til the End of the Day.” But Davies’ songbook is so deep, this could be a box set.
Listen to “Days/This Time Tomorrow”: