Ray Davies' lyrics feature wry humor, character sketches and introspection.

Courtesy of Big Hassle

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As the frontman for the Kinks, Ray Davies was often called the "Godfather of Britpop," but when it came to his first solo studio album, he wanted it "rooted in the American experience."

Getting shot was probably not what the musician had in mind, but that's what happened when he chased after a mugger in New Orleans in 2004.

It's been 2 1/2 years since a bullet shattered Davies' leg and delayed the release of his new album, but the artist behind the hits "You Really Got Me," "Lola" and "All Day and All of the Night" can't stop thinking about one thing.

"I still wonder — something that worries me — where are my pants that I was wearing?" he said, his British voice full of comedic understatement.

No, Davies was looking for a different sort of American experience — he wanted to be surrounded by his first musical influences while writing his first full-length solo studio album.

"I wanted to think about the music that inspired me to make music when I started out, even pre-Kinks," he said in a teleconference last month to promote his current tour, which will stop at the Rialto Theatre on Wednesday.

Most of Davies' inspirations originated in New Orleans, he said, so that's where he went in 2000 to write songs.

"It was so great and so open to new musical ideas, and there weren't partitions between jazz and blues and pop and whatever type of music," he said with enthusiasm. "It was just music, and I kind of liked that."

The inspiration is clearly heard on "Other People's Lives," which was finally released in February. "Thanksgiving Day" builds momentum with the help of a trumpet and tenor sax; "The Getaway (Lonesome Train)" channels Neil Young with its slide guitar and tambourine; and the title track has a flamenco flavor with Spanish backing vocals. Other songs stick to more straightforward rock, but there are moments — especially on "Next Door Neighbour," "All She Wrote" and "Creatures of Little Faith" — that recall the Kinks.

The lyrics on "Other People's Lives" (all of which were written before the shooting) are full of character sketches, wry humor and introspection. Davies still has that keen ability to capture a character's spirit that he showcased with the Kinks on "Waterloo Sunset" and "Dedicated Follower of Fashion."

"I do go for the details," he said. "You know, it's like little things people do, habits that people have, the way they walk. I do love that sort of observation with my writing."

While the album lacks a standout single, overall it sounds very much like how one might expect the Kinks to sound in their 60s. Davies, 62, calls the album a "slow burn" that draws people back to listen again and again.

"I write for listeners who probably want to dig and delve into it and realize there's a bigger picture there, bigger story there," he said.

Though it took almost four decades for the once-prolific singer-songwriter to release his first official solo album, Davies was far from wasting time. He wrote a memoir, 1995's "X-Ray," which he supported with the "Storyteller" concerts, where he read from the book, shared stories and performed. The tour inspired the VH1 "Storyteller" series, and Davies released a book of short stories and a 1998 live recording with the same name.

But while his contemporaries — the Rolling Stones and Paul McCartney — were selling out arenas, Davies kept a low profile. The members of the Kinks never reached the level of individual fame that the Beatles and the Stones had, Davies said. These days he compares himself to an independent filmmaker who is reaching out to a different audience than the director of a blockbuster movie.

"I'm not a competitive person when it comes to my art and my work," he said. "I don't really sort of care about what other people do. My work is the important thing, and I don't target my work to reach those sorts of proportions."

For a man who is credited with heading one of the most influential and longest-lived rock bands of the 1960s British invasion, Davies remains modest about his personal musical legacy.

"You know, I never thought I'd be successful anywhere outside of north London," he said, "so it's a plus to be known in England as well as London."

Not to mention the rest of the world.