Ray Davies - Shangri-La

[EatSleepSkiRepeat]

That was amazing. I love how they are having these old acts play in such cool venues now. The producers recognize that their aging baby boomer audience doesn't want a rock show feel anymore so they do all this crazy choir grand hall things and it's awesome. Really makes me want to see these old bands play out again, never having lived through their heydays.

[facubeatle9]

q buena version!

[ragozhin]

come to think of it- its a perfect song for the 99%ers...

#OCCUPY KINKS

[ragozhin]

again needs a choir to replace his brother- come on guys- make up! This song is brilliant!

[TheKardiacKid]

This should be the British National Anthem. Everything in it is awesome, but at the same time, a little bit s**t.

Dare I say it…

Better than 'Imagine'.

[joof68]

kinks forever,this is one of my most fav songs,so glad i found this

[alv3rta]

God, I love Ray Davies.

[chipzigrossi]

god save the kinks!

[chipzigrossi]

god save the kinks!

[michsegal]

listen to this over and over and over and over and over and over...seeing Jill sing at the end is the best, too. Best of the best. Long live The Kinks!!

[445sd]

THE BEST ROCK OPERA OF ALL TIEMS!!!

[Yogs3]

Wow!!!!!!!!....what a fantastic version. Absolutely magic, from possibly the most underated songwriter ever.



[conmaesta]

One of the best British songwriters ever, and band of course

[646tonny]

I think was the best song i hear by mr ray davies is was excellent performance a great women chorus and the people who remember this decade 1970

[sharonra2000]

intensely ecstatic, this version is impeccable!!

[davlinful]

The song after which my house was named way back in 1972.

A truly great song from a truly memorable night in London.

[charlysaenz]

Ray managed to do everything he wanted during his life, he was up, way down, even messed with those mad, beautiful bizarre theatre plays in the 70s... He's one of those few FREE artists ever. Thanks for playing!

[bushidobonce]

Close to musical perfection, must get the DVD, listen to the crowd , you can always tell when its genuine applause and the wonderful Angels from North London, superb stuff, dont worry about who is best or isnt just enjoy this mans unique talent, long may he write and perfom.

[braybeatles]

@bushidobonce, So brilliantly said. Ray Davies, what a writer.

[g7npl]

The kinks were simpley brillenent nice to see ray still looking well.

[fipskuul]

For me, the best part of Shangri-la is the middle section, which signals the transition to the harder rocking part. And, they cannot successfully play it here. Too bad, the result of that section alone alters the perception of the rest too. At least for me....

[cruciatesandligament]

My favourite Kinks song ever. Just gorgeous, so beautiful, genius of a song. Great lyrics. Ray Davies is a legend.

[190454]

ray davies.what a musician a fantastic bit of work absolute poetry

[acm7673]

The original version is a masterpiece (though I enjoyed this one, as well).

[CaptainCosmo0]

who did the camera work for this?

[HitParadeTV]

Ray Davies, what a fucking guy.

[budgethemusicsponge]

Possibly the greatest songwriter of all time?

[jdodd82]

@budgethemusicsponge hear, hear. i would argue that it's true!

[evanrkg]

I wish the bass was more prominent... one of the best parts of the album mix was that aggressive, thick heavy bass line.

[friedemike]

I don'-t know.. seems fake now

[soulhealer20]

Brilliant! Brilliant! Brillant!

[Davidindigitaland]

Ace

jem

PEACH

[josheinrich]

this video almost brought me to tears

[Soojian]

This is incredible! Is there no end to Ray's talent. Omggggggg.

[fwzzybird]

this is brilliant! i've always loved this song since the first time hearing it but this is just absolutely gorgeous!

[TheJohnfirth]

WOW! thats all I can say.Ray Davies has written some great songs over the years but that performance and arrangement is pure genius

[SillySiren]

i actually prefer this version to the original

[topefisher]

QUALITY

[Lisihaldir]

W

O

N

D

E

R

F

U

L

[ScienceLoveMusic]

This is a great song, and a pretty good performance, but the midsection is weak. With all those musicians, it still doesn't have the rocking power of the original. Just sayin'.

[TheCrippledSilence]

Agreed, though the beginning and end are pretty strong. They need a stronger rhythm section (bass in particular it seems) to really bring the mid-section. Plus it'd help if he actually belted out. But overall, pretty impressive.

[mikeincalifornia]

Good point, a little weak in the middle. What it needs is one of brother Dave's stinging solos. Even so it approaches perfection. God bless the Kinks.

[iateurcat1823]

@mikeincalifornia hey man he's getting old give him a break this is easily this song at its best.

[LANE211]

My favourite song of all time.

[rocktenniscat]

Brilliant. Heart tugging - my grands had a little privy in the backyard at their Norfolk home.

Ray just nails it, eh?

GodSaveTheKinks

[nick1137]

great now if we could just get dave in there

[elstero]

Guter alter Song from Arthur ....

Einfach nur gut!!!

[akkarhu]

Liked the song when it came out a long time ago. Now... probably THE most incredible composition by Ray and the rest of the KINKS. Really hits home. Wow!

[BeLiketheSquerrl]

probably my favorite song on arthur

[gerlend]

I going to see him today!

[evanrkg]

one of the best songs ever in rock history

[thestevo46]

i have 'arthur' and all the kinks and ray's stuff including working man's cafe,yes,this is an outstanding song,the song is where im at now....

[bennylied]

Listen to the original and tell me this is not one of the best songs ever.

[thestevo46]

too true mate

[evy100]

the best

[idiotaviento]

see you in october, ray!! ♥

[kirkwallboy]

The Arthur album is, in my humble opinion, one of the best ever collections of songs ever. Got it in '84, when touring the Highlands of Scotland in the sun. Forget concept album, each song is a peach in it's own right.

[malpo3377]

what a great song, and what a truly ORIGINAL genius. his influence is immeasurable.

[SillySiren]

my favorite kinks song

[Psycholicon]

The Kinks were always 10 years ahead of their time.

[Mahalo00o]

I got chills! I love Ray Davies!

[organaphus]

This song is brilliant on the new choral album, Ray has still got it!

[Benhallned]

I could not agree with you more, the entire CD is just fantastic and I Can't stop listening to it, i have been a Kinks fan since I first heard them in the !960's and I saw Ray when he last toured Australia,.

[SmithersJones87]

He was obviously before my time, but christ he is a genius. Love this song, and the lyrics are among the best I've ever heard, they just ring so true in that world of safe old surburbia...

[crisp99]

what a wonderful way to put it, cheers

[westlakesteve]

@SmithersJones87 I love your comment. I feel the same way about this song now, as when I first heard it in 1970.

[deanyrockinaround]

this is great!!!

[madalynschair]

I love Ray Davies.

[kinksfan66]

Ray is a brilliant songwriter, and this is an excellent live version. Great song with poignant lyrics about the complacency that sets in in this rat race called life

[zebrafinkennest]

beautiful song...

for my love sv♥

[littlebeaarr]

i love this song and this versionn.

[musicjunkiefive]

this is absolute heaven::

[librastars]

I love you, Ray! Keep going!

[Georgec1994]

Ray needs a knight hood or some inportant tittle great man, im 14 and love it. Music like this turned me into a Mod

[buxtonwaterr]

Ray Davies is a CBE which is abit good

beautiful song though =D

[coolitababy]

First time live? Amazing. Great song....one of my faves, anyway.

[aidanmcdonnell1]

Amazing version, top quality

[LEFWWFC]

What a legend.

[ZucchiniBrothers]

Incredible version and camera work! This should be officially released it's so good! Sadly, alot of these great performances never see the light of day. You can tell Ray likes it.

[giusenap83]

grande versione

[jantjeharing]

In 64-71 we DUG the kinks 45s hits on the pop radio in Europe. They were BIG in U.K. Ray is THE song writer of that era. This was about his 1st 45 that didn't chart that well...it was " too good"....

[dianapancakes]

this almost made me cryy.

[alphuez]

Superb -- just off the scale good in all levels.

Thanks much for posting!

[modsfolk]

名曲♪

[warriors95roma]

all day and all of the night?

till the end of the day?

you really got me?

have you forget them?

[tunetastic27]

arthur is the best kinks record

[pretorious700]

Great audio-great song too

[misstrejo]

this song is probably my favorite kinks song!!!

[Blengioluca]

Fantastico

[frankophille]

just fantastic, absolutely fantastic

[wonderinstar40]

Justice to the kinks!! The Best Ever.....

[donttrustany1]

long live the status quo ;)

[neil291262]

A magnificent version of one of the best ever (and little known) Kinks tracks. Tremendous lyrics.

[DejaVuSu]

Sooooooooooooo Beautiful thecatkeaton!!

Thank you...Lola for the great share!! :)

[number1kinksfan]

theres my rabbit teeth! yay! :)

[fredmila]

My favourite Kinks songs:

1- Shangri-la

2- Dead end street

3- I just can't go to sleep

no..er... You really got me before...no...All day and all of the night.. oh it's too difficult to decide

[aljc100]

I agree - trying to list your favourite Kinks songs will only make your head hurt - they're all brilliant!

[misstrejo]

ahh yes, it is very difficult to decide with the kinks, i love ALL OF THEM!! here's mine:

1. shangri-la

2.lola

3.apeman

4.victoria

5.apeman

6.waterloo sunset

[ohitsmagical]

apeman's not great enough to warrant two entries on a top 6 kinks songs list.

[taxmonkey123]

God save The Kinks!

[gagoodzas]

Remember reading of Ray doing this show and wishing I could have been there. Now seeing the video just confirms another great event from him. For whatever reason, I hadn't listened to this song in years, and forgot how much it meant to me. Ray's lyrics are so meaningful to so many. Wow, just look at that women's expression in the audience, it tells it all.

[michsegal]

OMG! Girl at 4:40, I met you at the Sit n Bull in MA, for a Dave show! You go girl! Got tix to see Ray here in FL Oct. 29th. Can't wait!!!

[Kullervo1920]

A solid 2 1/2 - 3 stars. Ray up to his usual good-humoured antics. And in astonoshingly good voice. But the 945 voice choir is overkill and turns this great anthem into s'thing, um, sucky. You keep all of your smart modern singers, I'll take Raymond, David and good ol'Peter Greenlaw Q. Along with an old-fashioned multi-track tape machine.

[Sturmvogel5]

Super - excellent - beautiful 5***** THX

[brainwashedbypop]

Dang! No idea this existed. Not half-bad for never performing it live! Great song from a great album - thanks so much for posting.

[junieberri]

WOW!!!!

what a great tune for the 1st time ever played live!!!!!

put in out on ITUNES Ray!!!

[davidroot8]

fantastic

[ANIMA52]

so great 5*****

[WernerFinck]

phantastic, where can I buy the record?

[Adfumbler]

Damn!! My all time favourite Kinks song!! I love it. Thanks for posting this video!!

[xdc020]

Incredible...goosebumps....and theres a hottie in the choir whos loving it lol

[ClickUserName]

and the camera just can't get enough of her.

[alphuez]

:-)

Had no problem with that part either -- you?

More seriously: just great, great stuff... from a master.

[Kinksforever]

this made me goose flesh damn legend

[Graftauber]

Gods name is Ray Davies.

[cinevita]

Chills.  This is fantastic. Worth the wait! Ray is a genius.

[kinkkinda]

a wonderful song of the kinks, i love ray and the kinks. thanks

[tacako1930]

thanks for the great vid sending for me . and yea he was born on June 21 , 1944 . ray rocks in here !!! you know i'm right ?  :-*)

[kinkkinda]

you know many things about the Kinks. I don´t know what I have to say about this. I think you are a Kinks-fan.

[tacako1930]

so so im happy !  :-*)

[RSammy]

that's the back of my head at 0:59!

[scarecrowwidow]

this gave me goosebumps

[wally4taiwan]

fucking brilliant

[helmutgie]

Ray must release it on cd and dvd, with the choir one of his best songs and the best video on "you tube"!

[4barkilla]

THIS SUCKS THEY RUINED AN AWESOME SONG

[taxmonkey123]

Fucking awesome. One Ray's best creations, and that's not saying a little.

[jdodd82]

best video on youtube?

[poliquasar]

GREAT! I think that the choir sounds very good here.

Anyway I still prefer the original version.

[KKfromNJ]

Hey you at 3:18, Yeah you Nicole :-)

HA HA

[quadrophenia0901]

Ray Davies is a living legend, unlike a lot of musical gods from his era. I saw him last month at Hampton Court Palace. He had the 'north London angels' with him then, and trust me, they sound a lot better live...

Never die Ray!!!

[scone9]

fantastic what an amazing song .. ray should relese it on cd or dvd.

[quadrophenia0901]

He did, it's on a CD. Arthur or the decline and fall of the British empire...

[idriveaprius]

the choir did this song an injustice

[StuartPitt]

Nice!!!

[juliefinkel]

RAY DAVIES is GOD!

[HabibTh]

love that he's doing this song now-his voice literally doesn't sound much different since 1969!

[maryfran2008]

Great live performance and arrangement of the song! My hat is off to you Ray. One of the last rock 'n' roll genuises left.

[cpkelley]

great song!! i enjoyed the guy impersonating a goldfish at 2:10....kidding. my favorite kinks song by far.

[Zeitgeist74]

lol

[ginonix]

jesus, the bbc just totally gayed it up. the choir make it sound like a shitty, stuffy hymn and they wont even let the drummer use actual sticks? the one time ray davies ever does this song live and it doesnt even have a horn section. ray was excellent though, as always.

fuck choirs

[bloodnokian]

Those sticks are called boomsticks and are actually really good because you can adjust the bands on them to get a full drum sound or quiter down to brush style playing.

One of my all time favourite Kinks songs, glad to see it on the advert and recognised at last as genius.

[ginonix]

i know what rute wands/tala wands are, i play drums. its just pointless to use them when you're in such a big open live setting like that.

[maryfran2008]

It was probably cheaper to get a "groupie choir" together than to pay an actual brass ensemble to do it like the original recording... Go figure - poetic license LOL Interesting comment though, and yes, Ray as usual is fantastic!!!

[TheModfather32]

i dont think ray would do as the bbc say...

im sure this was his decision, and i think it works anyway

[fizzlebar]

this video makes me wish i were there. there was a moment when ray was intoducing the song,

when he mentioned that this was virtually the first rock opera, that he almost blushed.

it was touching, that such an icon would be genuinely modest. this is one of my favorites.

as i said, i wish i had been there.

[drgrl]

Ray Davies is nothing less than a treasure. a talent that remains as relevant as ever.

[saguaroboy]

humor, irony, insight, innate artistry, master of melody enhancing the sentiments, I could go on and on. Ray is a stone-cold genius.I like the "Arthur" album- but this song, for me, is best enjoyed on the "Kink Kronikles"- probably the best "themed" rock compilation of all time- each song considering home and how you fit in. Thanks for the post- it made my evening in shangri-la more joyful!

[brotzmannsax]

Wow, great song, excellent emotional version and fabulous choir, I'm very moved, thanks for sharing!!!

[Coldacre]

that was bloody amazing. hair-standing-up-on-back-of-ne­ck type amazing.

[silverclive]

Absolutely brilliant, can't stop playing it. One of my all-time Kinks favourites. The choir is superb. This concert must surely be aired again or put on general release? Saw Ray in concert for first time last year was truly impressed. Hope he does another UK tour this year. Haven't seen any info about one yet though.

[podigdug]

Awesome!!

[orkneyfellow]

From one of the finest albums ever made. Ever!

[501625abc]

Saw him last night in Philly.

Just friggin' awesome!!

Enjoy yourself Boston!

It was almost like a religious experience!!!

Everyone will be singing every song.

[askmisspat]

he (they)were unbelievable last night-you could tell Ray loved the audience, he just kept coming back!

[kringles4]

You are so right, and the people all around me were talking about this video! True story....also got a chance to touch Ray about three times....I can die a happy man :)

[SeriousGunz]

Lucky Lucky SOB

[kringles4]

ha ha, I know.....

[tauntonitalian]

Joe, very mellow and soothing song. I like it!!! Your brother, Jim

[kringles4]

Goosebump city on this!! Thank you so very much. My wife and I are going to see Ray in Boston tonight front row.

thank you so much for posting...

Ram on Joe.

[askmisspat]

how can anyone not love this version???! Can wait to see him in Philly tomorrow!

[kringles4]

Incredible version, the version I always dreamed of! Going to see him in Boston tonight front row....I hope its a similar version to this with an orchestra.

Ram on Joe.

[olgaicannot]

Lovely song. Makes me cry. :')

[Soccerballiz]

This sent shivers up my spine! My favoritesong in the universe. This was not the 1st time he did Shangi-La though. Ray playedthisa few years ago in Madison WI. I peed my pants. Ilove that Olga Rucco was shown in the crowd singling along. Shedeserves it!Ialways thought that I was the most dedicated Kinks/Ray fan on Earth but Imust admit, Olga wins.I'm sort of the silent Kinks/Ray fanatic and then I saw this and had to comment. Peed my pants again. Xo Soccer ball Liz

[Zeitgeist74]

My favorite Kinks song. EVER!

[fergal24kinney]

if anyone has this set on mp3 i will be forever indebted to them

[Graftauber]

God, your name is "Ray Davies".

[kenrg]

Excellent, thanks so much for posting this. When the chorale started, I was worried, but this was so perfect and so moving, as Ray always is. I'll be seeing him in SF on the 28th of this month and looking forward to it.

[kinksboss1]

I'll be there at the Warfield too! the new album Working mans cafe keeps sounding better

[davray21]

wow aint he good does anyone have the whole ray davies show

[KoroOutbreak]

Amazing song and amazing performance. The singers really did the brass section justice. Loved how so many of them were teary eyed as they sang. Very touching.

[ragenl0ve]

magnificent!i wish the genius of the kinks was more acknowledged and appreciated