Alongside inspiring the Britpop era, listen to You Really Got Me and compare it to Nirvana. The ability to deliver sugar sweet melodies and buzzsaw guitars in rock music owes a debt to this record. The story behind the music is equally appealing. The sibling rivalry between Ray and Dave Davies still exists to this day with Ray quipping "I'm Ray, just in-case you thought I was the other one" (the other one notably cancelled his Academy 3 show just over a month ago). Tonight is as much about the new songs as it is about the old classics. After The Fall, a song written and recorded four years ago but released on his new album next February, has allusions to the war and moving on to a better place. Next Door Neighbour is a more traditional character based tale that musically is a close relative to Sunday Afternoon, while Thanksgiving Day dispels the myth that Davies only writes songs about England. "It's good to be back in Manchester, home of my favourite football team... Altrincham. Are they in the Premier League now?" he asks much to the bemusement of the plethora of City and United fans. Parts of the cult classic, Village Green Preservation Society, are given a welcome airing to coincide with its recent re-mastering and re-release. The album’s title track, Picture Book and Johnny Thunders are all given the semi-acoustic treatment, before the aforementioned Sunny Afternoon kick started a series of the Kinks’ biggest hits including Dead End Street, Days, Lola, Tired Of Waiting For You, You Really Got Me and Waterloo Sunset. Ray Davies delivered something for everyone at the Bridgewater Hall, from obscure tracks to the classics and a clear indication with his new material that he's still one of the UK's best songwriters. | 
