He wrote the soundtrack for the 1985 film "Return to Waterloo" and released the 1998 live album The Storyteller, yet Kinks frontman Ray Davies has never released a solo studio album. That's soon to change.

Over the last 18 months, Davies has finished a batch of songs he's been working on for five years and demoed a bunch of newly written material. At present, his publicist said, Davies has about 40 songs to pick from for an upcoming record, which is tentatively scheduled for release by next winter. The disc is still untitled, though the publicist said Davies is considering Why Suddenly Now?

Last August, Davies showcased a handful of the new songs with indie rockers Yo La Tengo during three shows at New York's Jane Street Theater. Although the relationship took over eight more months to develop into something substantial, in July Davies invited the group to lay down tracks with him at Konk Studios, where the Kinks recorded.

Davies and Yo La Tengo recorded four new songs: "Next-Door Neighbor" (which "rocks like vintage Kinks," according to Yo La Tengo frontman Ira Kaplan), the uptempo rocker "The Morning After," the poppy "Vietnam Cowboys" and the ballad "Creatures of Little Faith," said Davies' publicist. They also recorded a version of the Kinks' "This Is Where I Belong," which Yo La Tengo had previously covered. The track will likely appear as a B-side.

In addition to Yo La Tengo, Davies' touring guitarist Pete Matheson will play on the album. Other guest musicians are likely to appear on the disc, the publicist added.

On September 18 in Philadelphia, Davies will launch a 23-date U.S. tour, which wraps up in Seattle October 25. Along the way, he will make stops in Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

When he gets off the road, the publicist said, Davies will enter a New York studio with Yo La Tengo to work on more new material.

The Ray Davies tour, according to his publicist: