Sun. April 6

 "Working Man's Cafe" is such an appropriate title for a Ray Davies album. He's probably had it in his head for years, ever since the he started writing socially conscious songs in the late-'60s for his cherished, but defunct band, the Kinks. Now on his own - but with a band at the Orpheum Theatre Sunday April 6 - Davies continues to explore the plight of his beloved "ordinary" people. Yes, Davies may have a tad more in his bank account than the people he considers in song, but he's one of them.

 He's the observer, the tart critic. "Working Man's Cafe" starts with "Vietnam Cowboys," where Davies sings, "Economic meltdown, nobody said it would last forever,"  about globalization and its effect on the common folk, This album is particularly keyed to the world of 2008 and, yet like much of Davies' work, it doesn't hide its affection of a world gone past. (The best parts of that world at least.) The album is a melodic, mostly mid-tempo affair; the title track is particulalry wrenching - Davies makes you miss the apple sellers and street merchants who've been plowed under by development. He searches for that illusive working man's cafe - there used to be one, certainly - amidst the gleaming new malls. Davies' music never sounds more trenchant than when we're going through tough economic times or in the midst of an ill-conceived war, which is to say he's right in his element again. I remember hearling his bluesy, (and I thought gimmicky) lament "A Gallon of Gas," back during the gas crisis years of the '70s and thouhght, "Way too specific, too trendy." Well, he could certainly play it this year and find an audience nodding their heads in complete agreement

If last year's Orpheum show is any indication, he'll mix a half-dozen of the new ones in with Kinks classics and obscurities. (He's always prided himself on playing both the hits and non-hits; he knows Kinks fans are obsessives and they love these little live journies to places they thought they'd never hear again. "Afternoon Tea" anyone?) And, don't forget, Davies' love of music-hall type theater. He's not forgotten the grand gesture, the crowd-pleasing rocker ("You Really Got Me," "All Day and All of the Night." and, forever, "Lola") and the knowledge that people come to be entertained but are there for more than entertainent, too. They want their emotions engaged on all levels. I remember him telling me once, wistfully, that Kinks shows were the only ones he knew where someone could leave "over the moon with enjoyment and still be disappointed." (Disappointed by the songs not played.) And Davies was like that, too. Maybe that's the bane of having such a rich catalog. One question as this show approaches: Will he play "Everybody's a Star (Starmaker)." the fairly obscure song plucked from the "Soap Opera" album that's now all over the TV as a Converse sneaker ad? I kind of hope so. I liked the song then, and I smile when I hear it on TV now. Sure, I grasp the irony of it selling sneakers - and I'm sure Davies does too - but those are just the ironies we live with. The show starts at 7:30. Tickets range from $45-$35.

1 Hamilton Plaza, 617-931-2000 www.ticketmaster.com