Great CD from Ray Davies
This is a really great disc from Ray Davies. When it was first released I read a couple of local reviews which said it was just ok, so I was a bit apprenhensive before I put my money down. But I'm glad I did!
There are some great songs here (some among the best Ray has ever written).Its hard to nominate the favourites; its easier to nominate the lesser tracks which in my opinion are "No One Listen" and "Hymn for a New Age". The rest are really great but I guess the stand outs are "One More Time", "In a Moment",Morphine Song", Working Men's Cafe" and Vietnam Cowboys".
I saw Ray in concert recently and he did a couple of songs from this CD and the rest were his old Kinks material. One of the older songs he did was the great "20th Century Man" which induced me to go out and buy "Muswell Hillbillies" as I had never heard the complete album before.
Now I'm going to upset a few Kinks fans here but I think "Working Men's Cafe" is better than "Muswell Hillbillies"!!
So ignore the nay-sayers and buy this CD. It's now made we interested in picking up "Other Peoples Lives".

Enduring talent..
Getting shot by muggers in New Orleans unexpectedly drove Davies back to the studio.
It seems incredible that a songwriter as respected and acclaimed as Davies should only be releasing his second solo record in 2007.
That said, "Working Man's Café" is not likely to disappoint generations of Davies fans.
Lyrically speaking, all his trademark wry and sardonic observations on life are present. As one of rock music's most lauded social commentators Ray peppers the majority of these new songs with nicely-honed and bang up-to-date assessments of the world as he sees it today: a conflicted, contradictory and globalized shopping centre mired in double standards and creeping 'Americanisation'.
You only have to listen to "Waterloo Sunset" to realise that Ray Davies has always had a tendency to wrap his disillusionment in the flag of nostalgia. He hankers for the past on this new album too, but with a brusqueness which would have embarrassed his younger self - before finally dragging himself back towards something approaching contentment.
The album captures Davies's revulsion with Tony Blair's Britain, his relocation to New Orleans, and the reflections on mortality which followed his shooting in the Crescent City (after chasing a mugger). Some of the material is mined directly from his experience.
This could be judged as the grumpy old man of The Kinks indulging in some nostalgia-driven baby-boomer whingeing.
Instead, Davies, who remains an engaging and energetic performer at 64, pinpoints the concerns of the moment from the perspective of a man who has seen England and the world beyond it change almost beyond recognition... and as far as Ray is concerned, not for the better.
The sprawling "Morphine Song", with its boisterous horn section, describes the trauma of the emergency room. Other themes, such as the encroachment of corporate power, are more familiar. "Vietnam Cowboys" rails at globalisation, on "You're Asking Me" Ray sounds genuinely peeved and rocks out accordingly, but the signature whimsical and wistful touches in his voice and music means he never slips into the angry old rocker cliché.
Probably the most radio-friendly offering is the sweetly catchy "In A Moment" which veers towards a southern soul feel with bluesy guitar, organ and electric piano chugging blissfully in the background as Ray gets things of his chest and shows he's still got plenty of great hooks up his sleeve.
There are glimpses of personal demons on "Imaginary Man" as Ray searches for life's meaning.
The beautifully sung closer, "The Real World", isn't strictly autobiographical, but it does explore the wanderlust which took Davies to Louisiana, before concluding that travel doesn't necessarily cure a lost soul.
Best of all is the pensive title track, with an Estuary-accented Davies complaining about the creeping Americanisation of England, loans, equity relief, mortgages and internet cafes, before locating his identity in a working man's café. "In case you forgot who I am", he sings, "I'm a kid with a greasy spoon firmly held in my hand". The melancholy track will likely inspire nostalgia for old Kinks tunes.
Full of brisk, occasionally noisy rock, it's a great gust of an album that affirms Davies's enduring talent.

Very good, but not great
I decided to give this CD over 50 listens before writing my review. The good news is it never got boring over the course of 50 plus listens. The not so good news is I'm convinced (unlike many of the reviewers on this site) this is not quite as good as the previous Other People's Lives. That in itself is not a bad thing, but I do think there has been a tendancy to overrate this effort in comparision.

I miss the diversity of OPL. The songs on Working Man's Cafe at times seem underdeveloped and lyrically weak. This diminishes an otherwise beautiful song like One More Time. The lyrical subtlety of Davies seems to have been replaced by heavy handedness. On songs like Vietnam Cowboys it works brilliantly. This song demonstrates all the Davies strengths of memorable melody combined with social commentary that is both serious and humerous.

Some of the ballads are really strong on this CD highlighted by the closer, The Real World. Other songs such as In A Moment, Imaginary Man, Your Asking Me and Hymm For A New Age provide repeated listening pleasure. The "deluxe" version offers 2 worthwhile bonus tracks, Wrong Side of the Law and I, The Victim.

I would definitely recommend this CD, but still would choose Other People's Lives first if you had to make a choice. Its hard not to give the nod to a CD that contains one of Davies best songs ever, Over My Head. Overall production and musicianship is outstanding throughout Working Man's Cafe. Nonetheless, it would still be interesting to hear some of Davies' new songs in more of a Kinks context.

Thanks Ray
Ray, just in case you check these reviews out like most good writers, I want to thank you very for a very, very fine record. Like you I wish more people would hear it.

IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS
For me, the best CD of the decade. After 6 months (I got the import of it last fall), I am still listening, discovering and loving Working Man's Cafe.
Thanks Again Ray. (BTW - catch him in concert if you can, a great show)