![\"Dave](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Dave-Davies-David-Davies-Guitarist-The-Kinks-Musician-Far-Out-Magazine-1140x855.jpg\")
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Credit: Far Out \/ Alamy<\/p>\n
Given the well-known fact that all rock \u2018n\u2019 roll roads lead to the blues and R&B, it\u2019s not surprising that The Kinks<\/a> built their sound around similar influences.<\/p>\n In the 1960s, Ray Davies blended the crucial foundations of American rock \u2018n\u2019 roll with his views on British culture, taking \u201cthe culture of cowboys, Indians, good guys, bad guys\u201d and using those storytelling tropes and aesthetics to spotlight his own opinions on Britishness. <\/p>\n Songs like \u2018Waterloo Sunset\u2019, therefore, are entirely timeless because they paint a quaint, romantic picture of the well-known London destination, channelling an ethereal feeling towards a place that wasn\u2019t ever really just about London to begin with. In a way, then, it\u2019s more than just an ode to everything that England lost, recounting Davies\u2019 memories watching the sunset, and the nostalgia of yearning for how he once felt.<\/p>\n Although sonically simple, the song also anchors what Davies did best, layering the complexities of his own struggles and longing in ways that\u2019ll always feel fresh, no matter when you listen. And this is something he learned from many heroes of traditional rock, like Chuck Berry, whose songs often carry the same appeal: straightforward on the surface, but a goldmine of different themes and elements once decoded.<\/p>\n As he once said of Berry\u2019s \u2018Sweet Little Sixteen\u2019, the \u201cdifferent rhythms\u201d seem strange on their own or separately, but \u201croll along beautifully\u201d once lumped together. These roads also led him to discovering other, more experimental or less conventional types of rock, like Blondie, and all those who revolutionised the new wave scene, which Davies once called \u201cenergising and interesting\u201d to experience.\u00a0<\/p>\n But mainly, anything that seems honest and raw, where the instruments and arrangements feel intentional and create something reflective in a different way, was what ultimately inspired Davies. After all, The Kinks\u2019 quintessential distorted sound eventually paved the way for later pioneers in rock and punk to thrive, a distinctive element established mainly by Dave Davies, giving them a grittiness that worked well with their exploration of the loss of traditional British culture.<\/p>\n As such, there\u2019s also a reason why people consider \u2018You Really Got Me\u2019 to be an example of pro-punk genius, and it\u2019s because Davies sliced the speaker cone of his amp with a razor blade<\/a> to make the riff sound more raw and distorted, a bold move that unknowingly set others off on a path that was just as honest and reflective of the world around them.<\/p>\n This innovative streak is also what often draws people to Davies\u2019 influences. To become a guitar-playing virtuoso like him, you have to know where to start, and Davies, like his brother, started with rock \u2018n\u2019 roll. Namely, he was drawn to the guitar-playing prowess of legends like Eddie Cochran. \u201cIt was Eddie that brought to life the guitar hero thing in me,\u201d Davies admitted during Amoeba Music\u2019s What\u2019s In My Bag?<\/p>\n He continued, praising the high technicality of his playing, and said that he liked the \u201cswagger\u201d he carried in his voice, which came across differently to other similar musicians, like Roy Orbison. You can detect a lot of that in Davies\u2019 playing, too, particularly in the ways he adopted Cochran\u2019s rawness and groovy rhythms, reinterpreting his distinctive approach for a brand new era and beyond.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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