The Kinks are writing songs for a potential reunion album, frontman Ray Davies told BBC News. "We've started a little bit of this and that," he said. But it is too early to judge the quality.

"It depends if there's good music. We want good new music. I'd like to do it as a more collaborative thing than we used to do."

The Kinks disbanded in 1996 after a 30-plus year reign as one of the most influential bands in rock history. Davies' brother/Kinks guitarist Dave Davies suffered a stroke in 2004 but has returned to music in recent years, opening the door for Kinks activity.

The problem: Dave Davies seems to want no part of a reunion, having posted on his Web site earlier this year that "it would be like a poor remake of 'Night of the Livin (sic) Dead' " and declaring that Ray has been doing "Karaoke Kinks shows since 1996." Ray's response to Billboard at the time: "He's getting well enough to shout at me. That's a good sign."

According to the BBC, Davies has several other projects on tap, including an album with a choir and another album he hopes will include collaborations with members of Snow Patrol, Razorlight and ... Chuck Berry.

"I've never met the man but he was one of my heroes as a lyricist," he said. We'll see how it works out -- a mixture of Snow Patrol and Chuck Berry. It should be an interesting record."