Ray Davies: See My Friends – review

This album of collaborations came about after Davies recorded a version of "'Til the End of the Day" with the late Alex Chilton of Big Star. There are some good covers here: Mumford & Sons are pleasantly rugged on "Days", which speeds up and segues into "This Time Tomorrow", while "Lola" gets a "Hey Jude" ending from Paloma Faith. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora smother "Celluloid Heroes" in cheese, while Bruce Springsteen and Metallica do exactly what you'd expect to "Better Things" and "You Really Got Me" respectively. A shame the Chilton track and workouts with Lucinda Williams, Black Francis, Billy Corgan and Jackson Browne weren't available for review.