Kinda Kinks (1965)
1965’s bravura collection of rough-hewn garage and blues-based rock Kinda Kinks would constitute a spectacular achievement for just about any artist, and suffers only in comparison with this band’s later bursts of astonishing inspiration. Taken on its own terms, this assemblage of spot-on covers and riveting originals (including Ray’s timeless “Tired Of Waiting For You”) sits agreeably alongside Beatles For Sale and Out Of Our Heads as a testament to a great band mastering the tools of its trade, before reinventing that trade entirely.