The Kinks
Kinda Kinks (Deluxe Edition)
(Sanctuary Records)

Long a standard-bearing  Mod template, Kinda Kinks nonetheless falls a little short when compared to the band’s later output.   Though still firmly routed in the blues derivations of their raucous debut, Kinda Kinks lacks the muscle of its immediate successor, Kinks Kontroversy, and the idiosyncratic originality of Face To Face and Something Else.  Yet, taken track by track, there are more than enough stone classics to merit both the obsessive and casual fan to pick up this new two-disk reissue.

“Nothin’ In This World Can Stop Me Worryin’ Bout That Girl,” which gets its retro bonafides from the Rushmore soundtrack, is buffered by one of the best early Kinks songs, “Tired Of Waiting For You” (which uses the already tired whole step progression of “You Really Got Me” to excellent effect) and “Got To Get My Feet On The Ground,” which points to the highly personal lyrical direction that Ray Davies would use on some of his most poignant songs.

Kinda Kinks, though, was actually a quickie cash-in on the success of the band’s first hits, and is short even by mid-60’s standards.  Therefore, the bonus disc makes for essential listening, and far surpasses the Pye/Castle reissue from the UK a few years back.  Not only is the whole package remastered from the original tapes (not true of the Castle version), but the second disc is twice the length.  Included are mono single versions of a dozen tunes (the epic “Set Me Free” and “See My Friends” as well their early corker “A Well Respected Man”); as demos of excellent tunes that never saw release on proper Kinks albums; several live BBC tracks from the era; and the entire Kwyet Kinks EP, which contains another top track, “When I See That Girl Of Mine.”