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Kinks rocker, Ray Davies, has announced that Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi will be among the guests on a forthcoming album of duets.

Davies told NJ.com that the duets album will revisit Kinks classics and that the Springsteen and Bon Jovi collaborations were recorded last month. Springsteen will feature on “Better Things” and Bon Jovi on “Celluloid Heroes.”

The possibility of a Kinks reunion was also addressed and Davies hinted that it might be on the cards, depending on his brother’s health status. Dave Davies had a stroke six years ago.

Ray Davies launches an acoustic tour at the Borgata in Atlantic City tonight (Friday, 26 February). The show will feature some hidden gems, alongside new tracks from his last few solo albums, the classics and some unplayed tracks. Davies will be joined onstage by his guitarist, Bill Shanley. There is also a UK/Ireland tour scheduled for May.

Ray Davies 2010 tour dates

The Observor has produced a great series on some of some of the living legends of American music, as recalled by the stars they influenced.

In addition, photographer Jamie-James Medina spent a year taking portraits of these legends for Observor Music Monthly. The results are impressive and are presented with the articles.

The following articles are included in the series:

Jerry Lee Lewis: the hellfire pianist by Ray Davies

Chuck Berry: hail, hail, rock ‘n’ roll by Bobby Gillespie

Little Richard: the outrageous pianist by Richard Hawley

Pete Seeger: pioneer of protest by Billy Brag

Ramblin’ Jack Elliott: folk pioneer by Roger McGuinn

Etta James: blues powerhouse by Adele

Smokey Robinson: the soul of Motown by Corinne Bailey Rae

Little Anthony: the original teen dreamer by Pete Waterman

Ornette Coleman: jazz revolutionary by Seb Rochford

Sonny Rollins: sax colossus by Charlie Watts

Dave Brubeck: piano’s gentle giant by Jamie Cullum

Jimmy Scott: a voice from another world by Sufjan Stevens

Wanda Jackson: rockabilly queen by Imelda May

Kris Kristofferson: the thinking man’s outlaw by Steve Earle

Charlie Louvin: the singer of God-fearing country by Emmylou Harris

Ralph Stanley: preaching the gospel of bluegrass by Martin Carthy

T-Model Ford: boss of the blues by Dan Auerbach

Honeyboy Edwards: Delta bluesman by Paul Jones

Pinetop Perkins: the oldest living bluesman by Seasick Steve

Buddy Guy: guitar visionary by John Mayer

Les Paul: the innovator by Slash

The Living Legend series was conceived before Les Paul’s death, but the portrait and tribute remained part of the series.

It’s a busy time for Ray Davies, with the release of a choral album, ‘The Kinks Choral Collection’, a short UK tour, a single with Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde and a Kinks movie on the way.

The Kinks Choral Collection The Kinks Choral Collection features arrangements of many of The Kinks’ classic numbers, including ‘Waterloo Sunset’, ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘Shangri-La’, ‘Village Green Preservation Society’ and ‘All Day and All of the Night.’ The CD was released in the USA on November 10th and re-released in the UK with extra bonus track on December 7th.

‘The Kinks Choral Collection’ has been generally well received and for fans of The Kinks it’s an essential purchase. Terry Staunton of ‘Record Collector’ summed it up nicely when noting “…it’s a powerfully evocative record that adds fresh colours and detail to some already gorgeous musical landscapes.”

Listen to clips of ‘The Kinks Choral Collection’

Ray Davies UK tour

The UK tour commenced at the Corn Exchange on December 11th and will end at the Hammersmith Apollo on December 19th. The Crouch End Festival Chorus backed Davies on the CD and are joining him for two of the tour dates at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham and the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester.

Go here for full details of the tour.

Postcards from London - Ray Davies and Chrissie Hynde

The new single, ‘Postcard from London’, was released on December 11th, and reunites Davies with Chrissie Hynde,for whom he left the first of his three wives 30 years ago.

Temple on board for Kinks movie

Fans of The Kinks will also be interested to know that a film about the band is to be made. There are no cast details yet, but Julien Temple has been named as the director. Temple previously directed the Sex Pistols documentaries ‘Great Rock’n’ Roll Swindle’ and ‘The Filth and the Fury.’ Temple is currently collaborating with Ray Davies to plan the film’s approach before penning a screenplay. Speaking to ScreenDaily, he said:

“Love/hate, sibling rivalry is at the core. I think it’s a very rich social, cultural nexus around the Kinks. Their story is the untold story of all those big bands of the 1960s.”

To enjoy great performances from the band, head over to The Kinks video section