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Born in London in 1950,
Rhett Davies' father Ray Davies (not to be confused with the same-named
Kinks member) was one of the U.K.'s top trumpet players and mentored his son on the instrument. Young Rhett also listened to the family record collection, which included releases from
Gerry Mulligan,
Chet Baker, and
Burt Bacharach. He once met the composer at a session for the movie soundtrack to What's New Pussycat.
After doing some hitchhiking and opening a record shop,
Davies became a recording studio intern/engineer at Island Studios. His first full session was on
Brian Eno's 1973 LP, Taking Tiger Mountain (by Strategy). An appreciative
Eno granted
Davies a royalty on that album and his subsequent innovative releases with
Davies. The two pioneered the "playing the studio like an instrument" concept: tape loops in pop music and using a rhythm box to lay down the beat during basic recording, then adding a live drummer later.
In 1990, Ray Davies left the music business to pursue other business interests, while still privately creating music.
Some
Rhett Davies-related CDs are As Time Goes By,
Mamouna by
Bryan Ferry, More Than This: The Best of Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, Popular Favorites 1984-1992: Sand In the Vaseline,
More Songs About Buildings and Food by
Talking Heads, Time Capsule: Greatest Hits by
the B-52's, Ambient 1: Music for Airports,
Another Green World, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy), Before & After Science,
Music for Films by
Brian Eno, Dire Straits by
Dire Straits,
Selling England By the Pound by
Genesis,
Avalon by
Roxy Music,
Legend [1985], Natural History: The Very Best of Talk Talk, Discipline, Beat, The Compact King-King Crimson, the movie soundtrack to 9 1/2 Weeks, Welcome Home,
Everything's Different Now, Coming Up Close: A Retrospective by
'Til Tuesday,
Sneakin' Sally Through The Alley by
Robert Palmer, and the second TV soundtrack volume Miami Vice II. ~ Ed Hogan