The Kinks - Kinda Kinks (2022 Repress)

Kinda Kinks, the band's second release, is more or less of a piece with its predecessor. On the previous album, however, the band had used covers to fill the spaces between the Ray Davies originals, and here the tracks are almost all penned by Davies (with the exception of their version of 'Dancing in the Street'). Davies' lovelorn songs had yet to fully flower into elegies for disappearing lifestyles and values (Something Else, three years later, effectively marked that change). But his wistful melodicism can be heard in tunes such as 'Something Better Beginning', 'Don't Ever Change' and 'So Long' which mingle quite nicely with the pop propulsion of 'Tired of Waiting'.

With the focus so squarely on the singing songwriter, it's almost easy to forget how powerful the rest of the ensemble was - a tight little rock and roll band of the highest order.