IMO, of course. 
No one has combined the cleverness, wit, biting satire and raw attitude better than Ray.
Just for starters, see:
Lola
Celluloid Heroes
(Wish I could Fly Like) Superman
Art Lover
A Little Bit of Abuse
Low Budget
Give the People What They Want
He may not be the greatest songwriter in pop music (although he’s definitely in the conversation,) but no one has made a career of turning a phrase like him.
You disagree. Tell me your choice.
Ray Davies is God!
One need only listen to his Working Man’s Cafe to understand his connection with the common dude!
I agree wholeheartedly!
Q
I like Davies, but there are many better wordsmiths.
If I had to pick one, I’d probably go with Keith Reid (Procul Harum)
Other options: Billy Joel, John Lennon, Jim Capaldi/Steve Winwood), Robert Wyatt, Robbie Robertson, Captain Beefheart, and Frank Zappa.
Davies is great but I’ll go with Dylan. Like a Rolling Stone, Ballad of a Thin Man, Queen Jane Approximately, etc.
He’s touring the eastern US now, you know. Get your tickets now!
I saw him earlier this year at The Warfield in SF; a fun, fantastic show. What a joy it was to shout out "Dedicated Follower of Fashion" at the top of my lungs with two thousand other people!
Besides being one of rock’s finest songwriters, he’s also one of rock’s venerable raconteurs. The MTV “Storytellers” series was made for artists like Ray, who like to engage their audience and tell a tale or two about their rock and roll (mis)adventures.
I don’t know the Kinks stuff intimately but…Pete Townshend. Didn’t we do this thread not that long ago, Kinks vs. Who? I saw the Who in concert circa 1990 and I was amazed at how many songs were really anthemic. Won’t Get Fooled Again…Love Reign O’er Me…See Me, Feel Me…Long Live Rock…it just went on and on.
Some astute doper said, IIRC, that Davies rendered wry comments about daily life while Townshend was swinging for the fence. It’s only teenage wasteland.
Different approach, though: Townsend wrote about what was going on inside; Davies wrote about what was going on outside.
For pure wordsmitherery, if not emotional impact, I’d go for Elvis Costello, and chuck in Paul Westerberg as a wild card: that guy can write.
No.
You go for whatever hits you at the moment- you’re the most vulnerable, and you let it overtake you with its feeling.
For me, it was the song “Arthur”…
For someone else it might have been “All Day And All Of The Night”.
But however and why-ever it was written, it had the sympathetic and sometime diaboltical eye of Ray Davies for a need to be put to music.
Man! I hate like hell that Ray and The Kinks were reduced to playing small clubs here in the States!!!
God Save The Kinks!!!
Quasi
I saw them at The (then) Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands in NJ in the 80s. They rocked. The early stuff with the heavy guitars was incredible in that space.
The OP wasn’t about who the better band was (pun unintended.) I did start a thread awhile back about The Who vs. Zeppelin. In this case I’m talking pure lyrics.
In terms of pure rock n’ roll essence, I must go with Little Richard:
Clear runner up is Paul McCartney (with essential “no, don’t change it” input from John Lennon):
Beyond that, all else is details.
Having said that, Ray Davies rocks as an observer of life and how he captures it. But I am not surprised he never blew up in the States - he writes British short stories; less likely for Yanks to relate to. Some songs broke through, but The Kinks never really got traction - same with The Jam / Paul Weller.
Wordsmith? Leonard Cohen.
I think you misspelled ‘Warren Zevon’.
I immediately thought of Paul Westerberg when I saw the thread title. He has a way with words.
I love McCartney and Dylan and all, but for wordcraft integrated with music I’d go with Pink Floyd. Dark Side Of The Moon is their magnum opus lyrically, of course, but they have so many gems elsewhere. One of my favorites is Learning To Fly:
There’s no sensation to compare with this
Suspended animation, a state of bliss
Can’t keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted,
Just an earth-bound misfit, I
And what, no love for Paul “Rhymin’” Simon?
*God only knows; God makes his plan
The information’s unavailable to the mortal man
We work our jobs, collect our pay
Believe we’re crusin’ down the highway
When in fact, we’re slip slidin’ away…
You know the nearer your destination,
The more you’re slip slidin’ away*
The Simon & Garfunkel song America sums up the feeling of what it was like living in late 20th Century America to me as much as anything. And his album Hearts and Bones has many songs that are practically poetry in musical form, especially one of my personal faves, René and Georgette Magritte, With Their Dog After The War.
And that’s without even mentioning his best known work such as The Boxer, The Sound of Silence, Homeward Bound.
And, although I like Ray Davies better than any of the other songwriters listed here, I think his strength isn’t so much in “turning a phrase” but in writing a whole song that hangs together, creates a character, sets a scene, tells a story.
I don’t have much exposure to Ray Davies, but Bruce Springsteen is the best rock lyricist I’ve ever heard, for much the same reasons Thudlow Boink gives.
Steve Kilbey of the Church would be my choice, tho like his band he’s well past his peak now. His lyrics tended to be rather stream-of-consciousness, chock full of imagery, and he liked to invert cliches (disclaimer: as always the music is a vital component, as Steve himself has said on several occasions):
Shadow Cabinet
Now chased by the shapes of your vows
Look at the things she allows
Junction fever must have closed down the rail
The gluttinous wind keeps on lifting the sail
Killiing in the ruins in the wake of the gale it’s
Harmony I say
Hear the difference between close and near
The way oaths and oafs interfere
Bliss comes first as a jangling flood
Pillow from the old country arrives with a thud
That night she drinks ceremony and mud it’s
Happening I say
Must be thirsty, drink, drink, sink, forget
Must be empty inside the shadow cabinet
She offered her chaos to me
Proffered herself languidly
The eldritch bitch must have muddled her spells
Tinges of Persia, I hope that it sells
Chemical nuptials and ringing the bells
It’s heavenly I say
Then one winter morning you walk through the trees
But they cut them all down for the factories
Made this pretty cabinet and gave you the keys
It’s hardly used I think
The third stanza in particular is exemplary stuff. On a Church board I used to frequent this song was the most often used source of sigs.
that’s good stuff,** John DiFool**
I’m not sure I understand the distinction. We know their lyrics via their bands (excepting, of course, any solo work). I’m not comparing drummers or anything, though Daltrey certainly delivered the “YEAAAAAAAH!” at the beginning of Won’t Get Fooled Again.
Like I said, I never followed the Kinks. They had a lot of success but for whatever reason, they didn’t appeal to me as much.
[hijack]Meanwhile, the greatest number of CDs on my shelf (17, I think) by any artist: Joe Jackson.
If you “never heard of him,” his biggest hit was Steppin’ Out
Possibly my favorite: It’s Different for Girls
I’m the Man
Friday
Don’t get me started…
[/hijack]