Dead End Street / Big Black Smoke

The single paired Dead End Street, 3:20, with Big Black Smoke, which MusicBrainz gives as 2:32 on the UK single and which runs 2:37 on The Kink Kronikles. Both are by Ray Davies and were recorded at Pye Studios on October 21 and 22, 1966 with Shel Talmy producing. Big Black Smoke is about London, the Big Smoke, and, according to Wikipedia, recreational use of Drinamyl. Its players were Ray Davies on vocals and acoustic guitar, Dave Davies on electric guitar and backing vocals, John Dalton on bass and Mick Avory on drums.

Other pressings include a Dutch Pye 7N 17222 on December 2, 1966 and a German Pye HT 300 040 P. Neither side is on a Kinks studio album of the time; the A-side appears on The Kink Kronikles, produced by Ray Davies, released by Reprise in March 1972, which reached number 94 on the Billboard 200 and was rated five stars by AllMusic and an A by Christgau. An alternate October 1966 take of Dead End Street is in the 2008 box set Picture Book.