Rating : - The audiophile is wrong
Sanctuary didn't "blow it" with this reissue; quite the contrary, this is the best version of this album ever committed to CD for one simple reason: It's the rare original mono mix, which is a lot punchier and brighter than the original stereo mix -- and which also accounts for the alleged crude "fade-outs" (a characterization I would dispute) referenced in another review. But beyond that, the mono mix had been next to impossible to obtain for years -- at least on a clean LP copy; why not reissue it for those interested? (Who cares about some stupid Japanese version anyway. Stereo versions of this album -- including Reprise's still-in-print U.S. CD --are all over the place.)

As for the music, I'll just second what's already been written. No album with songs like "Love Me Till the Sun Shines," "Waterloo Sunset," "Death of a Clown" and "David Watts" should be absent from any serious rock 'n' roll collection. Eight cool bonus tracks (including some Dave Davies solo singles and non-LP Kinks tracks), too.