X-Ray: The Unauthorized Autobiography

X-Ray: The Unauthorized Autobiography by Davies, Ray. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9780879516116.

This subversively brilliant, one-of-a-kind rock autobiography ingeniously styled as a biography, is written by a nameless, faceless writer hired by an Orwellian entity called "the Corporation" to capture the essence of Ray Davies, lead singer and songwriter of The Kinks and one of the greatest rock and rollers of all time. The Kinks front man reveals his life and times to the young writer, often seemingly passing his stories directly into the writers consciousness. Carnaby Street, "Top of the Pops," the Cavern Club, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and other fixtures of the times fade in and out of this compelling narrative. Part autobiography, part social history, part psychological thriller, this elusive and daring book exposes rock stardom as the heaven, hell, and purgatory it is.