Kai Winding - Rainy Day (1965/2021)

Perfectly establishing the Rainy Day mood, the original "Half a Crown" is a melancholy vocal by Prevailing Winds, heard on four other tracks as well. A mod chorus like Hugo Montenegro's, which in turn sounds something like the Beach Boys, the winds here tend more toward the overcast than the typical perky sunniness. Another original, "Leave Me Alone," is Winding's typical, token bubblegum effort unbearable. "I Will Wait for You" has the sound of the Ondioline (heard throughout Winding's Verve albums of the period), although only organ is credited. Among the jumpier tunes, "Puddles" has twangy guitar, a funky blues beat, and trombones verging on "dirty sax." And in "Watermelon Man" a solid rock beat and mostly staccato organ keep things bouncing along while the trombones slide around at will. Whether Rainy Day is best saved for one remains in doubt, but at least the concept balances the many mod albums selling nothing but "Madison Avenue"'s sweetness-and-light.