Kinda Kinks

Digitally remastered and expanded deluxe two CD edition of the British band's 1965 album including a plethora of bonus tracks. 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. Davies' lovelorn songs had yet to fully flower into elegies for disappearing lifestyles and values, 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 'n' Roll band of the highest order.