This early Kinks album plays like a garage rock masterpiece; many of the songs can coast by on sheer catchiness alone, lacking the nuance and unity of the Kinks albums that followed it. It's far from their best album, but it could be considered an early sign of the greatness that would come on the rest of their releases through the 60s. It's simpler, though, with songs like "I Am Free" working despite sounding mildly derivative. The strength of Ray Davies' songwriting carries the album through such moments: "Where Have All the Good Times Gone?" rocks hard (and would live on as a Van Halen cover), while "I'm On an Island" sounds like a dry run for their future direction. However, most of the songs, while more carefully constructed than "You Really Got Me," show a band still refining its sound and style.
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