Arthur - Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire

The Kinks

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 2, 1990)
• Original Release Date: October 10, 1969
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Reprise / Wea
• ASIN: B000002KON
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,703 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording
Written as the score for a never-aired BBC television drama, Arthur is the story of late-'60s English working-class exhaustion. Perhaps not the most attention-grabbing subject for a rock album, but in Ray Davies's hands it's rich in texture and stylistic possibility. From the rousing ode to Britain's glorious past ("Victoria") to its less-than-glamorous present (that being the late '60s), Davies portrays a life of cautiously reduced expectations. Arthur once dreamed of owning his own business but has settled for a car and an indoor bathroom ("Shangri-La"). One of his sons spends his time complaining about the system ("Brainwashed"), the other dreams of moving to a new land of opportunity ("Australia"), and when they get together for Sunday dinner there's simply "Nothing to Say." The Kinks at their mighty and surprisingly tender best. --Percy Keegan

Product Description
Limited Edition Japanese pressing of this album comes housed in a miniature LP sleeve. 2007. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An opera? No. A masterpiece? You betcha!, April 21, 2001

By	David Kinney (San Francisco, Ca. United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This recording was, and is still, the Kink's finest hour. Composed by Ray Davies as the score for a 1969 British TV series that never got off the ground, it, in it's own humble way ushered in a spate of lesser concept albums. It is neither a rock opera, nor a portentious retelling of the history of England. Rather, it's a collection of postcard perfect scenes of everyday life in the suburbs of post-war England. Yawn,right? Wait a minute, this thing rocks harder than the Kinks had in 5 years! As critic John Mendelsohn points out in the original liner notes, "...there's not a song in the lot, start they with harpsichords or slow military drums, that ends up anything less than great bopping rock." Ray Davies never quite matched this tiumph, though the Kinks' most successful years were still ahead of them. And what about the content? Well 'Victoria','Drivin', 'Australia', the brilliant 'Shangri-La' and the title tune all deserve to stand along Ray Davies' earlier masterpiece 'Waterloo Sunset'. That's quite an achievement and this CD would merit 10 stars if I could give 'em. I'm givin'them 5 stars. Times two. Cheers.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Own this for the good of mankind..., April 22, 2000

By	Monkey Knuckle Asteroid (the quitters never win department....) - See all my reviews

I've struggled long and hard to decide which Kinks album would qualify as my favorite. There are quite a few to choose from. There's the lovely quietude of 'Village Green' and 'Something Else' and there's the strangeness of 'Percy,' the transition of 'Face to Face' and the last good gasp of 'Lola'

But Arthur crushes them all in its giant maw...

From the first song, where you hear Dave whooping with joy in the background to the last defeated rave-up, this album is pure greatness and it should be requisite law that every house should have it.

What makes this album their best, other than it being a concept album (and we all know that concept albums make the best albums), is that it is a album of 20 songs, most of them songs within songs. It's rare for an album to cover so much terrain and still come in under an hour.

Besides which, this is the Kinks at their shining hour of greatness, all their successes and defeats behind them and nothing as good as this in their future. Ray's writing is more genius than its ever been before. The Kinks' playing has never been so tight and together.

Plus it has 'Shangri-La.' Which is possibly one of the 10 best songs ever written...

So share with the Kinks the joy of conquering the muscial frontier and weld your CD player shut as soon as you put "Arthur" in it....

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shangri-la - Arguably Best Rock Song Ever, December 30, 1999

By	Dan Lauber "Dan" (USA) - See all my reviews

If you like tuneful rock music with intelligent lyrics and a strong hint of British pub, then you're going to love Arthur.... Its biggest treat has got to be the tune "Shangri-La," arguably the finest rock song ever written. "Shangri-La" is rock and roll at its very best -- a tuneful, rockin' song that really has something to say. It's one of the few rock songs to actually pay attention to the lessons of sociology. Its insights into the human condition are astounding -- just ask anybody who carries a mortgage. Almost as good is the sprawling "Australia" where they "surf in the sun on Christmas day." These are rock anthems at their best! Yet much of the album offers tender, touching songs that will break your heart.

Now it can be safely said that the tunes may not appeal to everyone. There is a strong element of British pub music present -- and while it may not be everyone's cup of tea (sorry about the pun, Kinks devotees) the lyricism and tunefulness of this masterpiece simply cannot be denied. With this album, Ray Davies shows that he belongs up there among popular music's elite along with Bruce Springsteen, as the finest rock composers and lyricists of the rock genre.

Grab this album as soon as you can. While it may not be widely known, it illustrates all that rock and roll can be. Enjoy!