The Kinks Kinda Kinks 2022 Reissue LP

Kinda Kinks is the second studio album by English rock band The Kinks, released in 1965. It was recorded immediately after the return of the group from an Asian tour, and was completed and released within two weeks. Although it was a rushed effort, it included "Tired of Waiting for You" which became a #1 hit on the UK Singles Charts and the album hit #3 on the UK Album Charts.

On the previous album, however, the band had used covers to fill the spaces between the Ray Davies originals, while 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. But his wistful melodicism can be heard in tunes such as "Something Better Beginning," "Don't Ever Change," and "So Long," which mingle 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 were.

...[T]his album showcased a much more sophisticated sound, Dave Davies' guitar turned down (and even switched to acoustic in a couple of spots) as Ray Davies began exploring aspects of emotions and storytelling that transcended anything in the group's prior output - "Nothin' in This World Can Stop Me Worryin' 'Bout That Girl" may have been a mouthful of a title, but it also put them right in the front of the British Invasion pack for seriousness and complexity, out in front of where the Beatles or almost any of the competition were in early 1965.