Do we have a treat for you this morning! When we first received the new Ray Davies record here at our swanky Culver City offices, we loved the new version of “Celluloid Heroes” so much that we just had to ask our friends at Decca Records if we could give it to our readers for FREE as a legal download for a week to coincide with Ray's Saturday show at the Orpheum.

We've always thought that “Celluloid Heroes” (originally on The Kinks' 1972 album Everybody's In Showbiz) is one of the greatest Los Angeles songs every written, and we encourage you to download this fantastic new version, put it on your iPod, and go for a leisurely stroll down Hollywood Boulevard. We dare you not to smile, be moved, and fall in love all over again with the subtle genius of Ray Davies.

LAWeeklyEXCLUSIVECelluloidHeroes.mp3 (EXCLUSIVELY available to WCS readers 11/12/09 – 11/19/09, courtesy of Ray Davies and Decca Label Group)

The recording is one of many outstanding tracks on Ray's just-released album, The Kinks Choral Collection, a reimagination of hits and cult cuts (including a mini Village Green suite, yeah!) where the head Kinkster is backed by London's Crouch End Festival Chorus.

Ray Davies is playing Saturday night at the Orpheum, 842 S. Broadway. Go tell him thanks for his gift of music, EXCLUSIVE to WCS readers!

(The poignant lyrics to LA classic “Celluloid Heroes,” after the jump)

“Celluloid Heroes” (Ray Davies)

Everybody's a dreamer and everybody's a star,

And everybody's in movies, it doesn't matter who you are.

There are stars in every city,

In every house and on every street,

And if you walk down Hollywood Boulevard

Their names are written in concrete!

Don't step on Greta Garbo as you walk down the Boulevard,

She looks so weak and fragile that's why she tried to be so hard

But they turned her into a princess

And they sat her on a throne,

But she turned her back on stardom,

Because she wanted to be alone.

You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard,

Some that you recognise, some that you've hardly even heard of,

People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,

Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain.

Rudolph Valentino, looks very much alive,

And he looks up ladies' dresses as they sadly pass him by.

Avoid stepping on Bela Lugosi

'Cos he's liable to turn and bite,

But stand close by Bette Davis

Because hers was such a lonely life.

If you covered him with garbage,

George Sanders would still have style,

And if you stamped on Mickey Rooney

He would still turn round and smile,

But please don't tread on dearest Marilyn

'Cos she's not very tough,

She should have been made of iron or steel,

But she was only made of flesh and blood.

You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard,

Some that you recognise, some that you've hardly even heard of.

People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,

Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain.

Everybody's a dreamer and everybody's a star

And everybody's in show biz, it doesn't matter who you are.

And those who are successful,

Be always on your guard,

Success walks hand in hand with failure

Along Hollywood Boulevard.

I wish my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show,

A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes,

Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain

And celluloid heroes never really die.

You can see all the stars as you walk along Hollywood Boulevard,

Some that you recognise, some that you've hardly even heard of,

People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame,

Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain.

Oh celluloid heroes never feel any pain

Oh celluloid heroes never really die.

I wish my life was a non-stop Hollywood movie show,

A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes,

Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain

And celluloid heroes never really die.

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