The Kinks’ Dave Davies recently sparked debates on social media due to his comments about the late Marc Bolan, the frontman of T. Rex. With the incoming criticism, the guitarist took back to Twitter to clarify his intentions with some follow-up statements.
A few days ago, Davies had shared some thoughts on Bolan. His words about the late singer’s musical skills and style were generally positive, but one specific descriptor he used for Bolan’s guitar-playing technique stirred up disapproval among fans.
The former Kinks member wrote in his first tweet:
“Marc Bolan was sexy, had good ideas, corny guitar sounds. He was amazing. He didn’t care. He showed me his new Les Paul once, and he asked me what I thought of it. I liked it, but it was him that was great. I liked his attitude.”
Reacting to the use of the word ‘corny,’ a Twitter user went:
“I was about to dispute this characterization of his guitar sound, but then I saw you are Dave Davies.”
In response, Davies changed his description as follows:
“Unashamedly natural then; tasteful, but innovative.”
Yet that did not stop the criticism from coming. When a second user took issue with the same point, the guitarist explained himself in more detail and shared another review about Bolan.
While the second criticism read:
“Funny, I read this w/o knowing what account it was and thought, ‘corny guitar sounds! Who would even say such a thi….Oh, yeah. I guess Dave is allowed to say that.’ Not a Rangemaster fan?”
The Kinks founder answered:
“I don’t mean it in a bad way. I meant it in an innocent way. It’s good to be innocent and corny sometimes. I can’t explain it. I thought they were good, T. Rex.”
In his final post on the matter, he shared:
“What I liked about Marc Bolan is that he was unpretentious and natural without even knowing it. That’s what happens with pure talent unfettered by expectations of fame.”
As much as he received negative reactions, there were also some users who agreed with Dave Davies’ points. In fact, a fan wrote under one of the musician’s tweets:
“It was a very dry, simple guitar sound. I understand your comments. And it was great!”
In another post supporting the use of ‘corny,’ it was explained:
“Yep, that electric guitar sound on songs like ‘Beltane Walk’ is playful, squawky… it is hard to find the right words for it, and ‘corny’ does seem appropriate (indeed as a compliment to it, rather than a criticism of it).”
You can find the original Twitter exchange below.
Marc Bolan was sexy, had good ideas, corny guitar sounds he was amazing He didn’t care. he showed me his new Les Paul once and he asked me what I thought of it. I liked it but It was him that was great I liked his attitude pic.twitter.com/NwwKeoQWJ5
— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) June 8, 2023
Unashamedly natural then, tasteful but innovative https://t.co/GN42aha1S8
— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) June 8, 2023
I don’t mean it in a bad way. I meant it in an innocent way. It’s good to be innocent and corny sometimes. I cant explain it. I thought they were good T Rex https://t.co/d8Dx0Bzp3A
— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) June 9, 2023
What I liked about Marc Bolan is that he was unpretentious and natural without even knowing it. That’s what happens with pure talent unfettered by expectations of fame
— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) June 9, 2023
