Universal’s 2011 Deluxe Edition of the Kinks’ second album, Kinda Kinks, finds the 12-track album supported by a 23-track collection of non-LP cuts, including both sides of the “Everybody’s Gonna Be Happy,” “Set Me Free,” “See My Friends,” and “Never Met a Girl Like You Before” singles; the Kwyet Kinks EP, which includes “A Well Respected Man”; no less than six demos, many of which are unreleased Ray Davies originals (“I Go to Sleep” saw the light of day on a previous CD reissue); alternate takes of “See My Friends” and “Come on Now”; and BBC sessions including the songs “This Strange Effect” and “Hide and Seek,” which never popped up on a Kinks LP. Like the group’s debut, Kinda Kinks is slightly uneven - Davies is showing strides as a songwriter and the band is tightening, but there are some slow patches - but adding all the bonus material to the album has the effect of strengthening the overall experience…
Universal’s 2011 Deluxe Edition of the Kinks’ second album, Kinda Kinks, finds the 12-track album supported by a 23-track collection of non-LP cuts, including both sides of the “Everybody’s Gonna Be Happy,” “Set Me Free,” “See My Friends,” and “Never Met a Girl Like You Before” singles; the Kwyet Kinks EP, which includes “A Well Respected Man”; no less than six demos, many of which are unreleased Ray Davies originals (“I Go to Sleep” saw the light of day on a previous CD reissue); alternate takes of “See My Friends” and “Come on Now”; and BBC sessions including the songs “This Strange Effect” and “Hide and Seek,” which never popped up on a Kinks LP. Like the group’s debut, Kinda Kinks is slightly uneven - Davies is showing strides as a songwriter and the band is tightening, but there are some slow patches - but adding all the bonus material to the album has the effect of strengthening the overall experience…