Customer Reviews

Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Poor Arthur...stuck in a dead end job, living in a little house, making ends meet (just barely). His kids are dissatisfied with their lives and with him. Arthur's beloved country, which used to be a world power, is fading in influence, and the people who are supposed to represent the citizens in government are now just venal and corrupted lackeys to the rich. Arthur finds comfort in thinking of the past where everything seemed so orderly and safe, but everything is different now; it's changed, but not for the better...hm, sound familiar?

"Arthur," unlike most other English rock albums of the day, is about real people in the real England of 1969. Not paisley hippies wearing swirly frocks, but the people that Ray Davies knew and grew up with, the people who get up and go to work each day and keep things running while the swirly-frock people twitter and glitter.

Rock music in 1969 was all about escaping, either escaping through fantasy and drugs (the Who) or through sex and drugs (The Rolling Stones) or through just being rich, arty and drugged up enough to avoid having to deal with reality at all (The Beatles). The Kinks' "Arthur" is the absolute antithesis of all that was going on in pop music in 1969, and as a result it was almost inevitable that people wouldn't understand.

Too bad for them. Ray Davies' songwriting is at its absolute best here. He is an acute observer of the human condition. He might make gentle fun of the ordinary guy who buys a hat like Anthony Eden "because it makes him feel like a lord," but he is never cruel or vindictive toward the ordinary people who make up the landscape of "Arthur." Davies is not afraid to excoriate the rich and powerful who take advantage of the Arthurs of the world, as he does in "Yes Sir No Sir," and "Brainwashed," but he's never a doctrinaire revolutionary, as so many rockers were in those days.

Davies also has something that most of his songwriting contemporaries lacked: compassion. This album is loaded with the idea that you have to cut people some slack, that you have to understand them and love them the way they are. No matter how difficult things are, family is family, and in order to make it work you have to make allowances for people, and try to do the best you can for each other. That's the underlying message of "Arthur," and it's more effective than a million "All You Need Is Love" chants, in the long run.

Oh yeah: this album rocks, too. Dave Davies is truly brilliant here; "Arthur" is a shining moment for him. His fills, his riffing, his leads, his singing: all are dead-on perfect. John Dalton, who joined the band on bass after the accident-prone and road-burnt Pete Quaife left, continues the tradition that the Kinks had of hiring butt-kicking bass players, and Mick Avory drums up everything from skiffle rhythms to jazz to straight-ahead rock.

This is one of the Kinks' best albums, but more than that, it's one of the best rock albums, ever. It sounds more pointed and relevant as the years go by, instead of less. How much art can you say that about?

On the CD nerd commentary front, this Castle Communications reissue is the one to get; it's been remastered splendidly and contains a slew of extra songs. Most of the extra songs are Dave Davies' tunes, many meant for a solo album that never quite materialized. They're well worth hearing, as is the rest of this splendid album.

By 1969 when this album was originally released the Kinks were commercially dead in terms of record sales. They hadn't had a Top 40 hit in the U.S. in three years. Their previous album, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, didn't even crack Billboard's Top 200 album chart. Arthur wasn't much of an improvement. The album peaked at No. 105 and the single "Victoria" reached only No. 62. But if we are to judge artistic merit on record sales, we would have to confer the mantel of genius on Brittney Spears and N'Sync.

While Arthur continued to eschew the rock riffs of the early-Sixties Kinks, the album was a logical progression that began with 1967's Face to Face when Ray Davies' songwriting became more personal and reflective. This album-long narrative, originally commissioned as a TV play but never produced, succeeds far better than the Who's Tommy which was released the same year.

The album contains some of Ray's best songwriting: "Victoria," "Some Mother's Son," "Shangri-La," "Mr. Churchill Says" and "Arthur." This reissue contains ten bonus tracks, but their only connection to the original release (except for the mono mix of "She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina) is that they were all recorded in 1969. Seven of these tracks were written by Dave Davies, including the previously unreleased "Mr. Shoemakers Daughter."

In the title track, Ray poses the question: "How is your life and your Shangri-la/And your long lost land of Halelujah/And your hope and glory has passed you by/ Can't you see what the world is Doing to ya?" Too many of the Kinks fans passed this by upon its first release. Here's a second chance at discovering one of a handful of Kinks masterpieces. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This is definitely one of the Kinks finest albums (just a notch below "The Village Green Preservation Society"), and it is even one of the best albums of 1969, holding its own against the fine albums of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, the Velvet Underground and others from that same year.

The ablum does have a few flaws, of course. It was the longest album the Kinks had made up until that point (clocking in at just under 50 minutes), and some of the songs could have been shorter by a bit: "Yes Sir, No Sir" and "Mr. Churchill Says," for instance, and especially "Australia," which ends with an unnecessary jam that now sounds extremely dated. But overall, the album is well-constructed. "Victoria" and "Arthur" are great rockers. Amazing slower songs include "Young and Innocent Days" and the anti-war "Some Mother's Son."

Musically, this was Ray Davies' finest effort. Though he had displayed his ability to write catchy, even beautiful, pop songs for several albums before this one, "Arthur" displayed a greater level of sophistication in his songwriting. For example, he contrasts English folk with '60s-style rock more cleverly than he had done before. This contrast is particularly evident within the span of five minutes in "Shangi-La," one of this album's highlights. Meanwhile, his lyrics are better on the whole this time around. On other Kinks albums, songs with great lyrics are often interspersed between sweet pop songs that sound great, but have really dumb words to them. Here, Davies sticks to the theme, singing of an increasingly complicated English life filled with generational differences, the turmoils associated with growing old and the difficulties faced by the working class. Though that theme lends itself to overly serious lyrics, they're delivered (for the most part) without heavy-handedness, and there's still a bit of humor to be found here and there.

The long and the short of it: every rock collection should own this album.

Also, this particular issue is all the more essential because it includes great bonus tracks like "Plastic Man" and "Mindless Child of Motherhood." The remaserted sound is great, too. It's certainly worth tracking down.

Recorded during the same period as TOMMY, ARTHUR was originally conceived as a rock opera/television movie. When the tv deal fell through, Ray Davies' decided to release the album anyway. ARTHUR came out shortly after TOMMY due to the original tv deal, so most critics thought that it was an imitation of the highly regarded Pete Townshend rock opera.

Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, ARTHUR has aged far better than TOMMY and is one of the finest Kinks albums after VILLAGE GREEN. The sound is extraordinatry, particularly when compared to the domestic Warner/Reprise release from earlier in the decade. The original master tapes were used here and they sound glorius!

The bonus tracks are a real plus, because most of them have only been available as inferior versions on the Reprise KINKS KRONIKLES(among others). MINDLESS CHILD OF MOTHERHOOD, one of Dave's minor classics, is available in mono and stereo and sound terrific. There is also previously unreleased Dave tracks, as well as, PLASTIC MAN, Ray's minor classic ode to the plastic society we live in. Highly recommended this is one of the first Kinks purchases(with VILLAGE GREEN, LOLA, SOMETHING ELSE and MUSWELL HILLBILLIES) that you should make if you are a new Kinks fan.

There's not much more to say that hasn't already been said. On this album the Kinks were about as good as the Beatles, and definitely as good as the Who. It may be the only classic rock album out there that has the distinction of being the score to a musical that never got made. It wasn't even meant to be a rock opera that stood on its own as an album, like "Tommy" or "The Wall", it was meant to be a soundtrack, so there aren't songs on it that try to explain the story- so as a result, the story is even harder to figure out than the story on those two albums, and it's not the Kinks' fault. With that in mind, every song rocks and has great lyrics, even though "Yes Sir No Sir" "Mr Churchill Says" and "Nothing to Say" have similar chord progressions. Like a whole lot of the Kinks' songs, you can start singing along because the music is so catchy, and then it hits you, "wow, these lyrics are really about something." People describe lots of albums as sort of time machines to other eras, but this is one you can truly say that about. And I'm not saying it evokes the sixties, it evokes 100 years of British history- or at least Ray Davies' version of it. His lyrics are not very poetic and complex like anything by the likes of Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, or Robert Hunter, but the subject matter of his songs is just as deep, and you always know exactly what he's talking about.

I have to reply to what one reviewer said about "Australia" being too long and too sixties- the four minute instrumental break really needs to be there as a transition between "Australia" and "Shangri-La."
Only complaint- and it's not much of a complaint- is that it could have better remastering. Sometimes the vocals get drowned out by the band, and on some songs the horns and strings get drowned out by everything. Anyhow, if you can wait until the next remaster version comes out, do that, but if you just have to hear it now, get this version of it.

somewhere along the line ,there will always be someone who says a certain Kinks album is their favorite or best. In my opinion this is my favorite. its the 1st non hits Kinks album i ever bought and i still love it til this day. shangri-la is possibly their greatest song next to Celluloid heroes. Most of the album has a laid back drunk sound to it. Ray sings a couple of songs in a strange voice [victoria and yes sir no sir]. other songs like Princess marina he sounds totally different. Drivin is an excellent feel good song with great harmonies. Australia is a funny song but has an extended boring "jam" at the end. Overall most songs are great and this version has tons of xtra stuff including King Kong which is a great lost Kinks single.

This might be a flawed concept, but it is hardly a flawed record. Critics originally slagged this album because of its proximity in time to the Who's Tommy. This is not the Kinks Tommy. This like all of Ray Davies work is more unassuming with a unparalled lyrical intimacy with his music's subjects. This album also has more of a Rock crunch than their Village green album while keeping that albums inspiration. This album contains many truly indispensible songs such as Victoria and Shangri-la. A great album with a flawed concept, but just judge it for what it is: GREAT MUSIC!

I kid you not. "Arthur" may actually be the best rock album ever produced , certainly the best of the "concept" albums. Unlike better known and more commercial concept albums, "Arthur" is actually cohesive, intelligent, and incredibly tuneful. "Shangri-La" may have the most insightful lyrics of any rock song I've ever heard and a great tune to boot. Other songs reflect the Kink's mastery of a whole panoply of musical styles, from British pub rock, to folk, to hard driving rock and gentle tunes. This import version offers a whole lot of extras that make it well worth the few extra bucks it costs. But most of all, "Arthur" stands out as an incredibly tuneful, entertaining, and rockin' excursion into -- dare I say it -- sociology and understanding the human condition. I guarantee you'll enjoy it -- you'll love of the some songs the first time you hear them, a few of the others will grow on you and just pop up in your mind when you least expect it.

I don't have to reiterate the quality and craft of this album, or this particular version (Castle/Essential ESM CD 511), many other reviewers here do that proud, but like a few of them I feel compelled to praise and honour their MUSICIANSHIP. And by that I mean their actually playing, as opposed to the timeless compositions by (mostly) Ray Davies. I actually purchased this album somewhere near it's original release because I remember that my copy came with the "cut-out" sheet of Queen Victoria. Although in my teens at the time, I already had that music "jones", and had read a fawning review somewhere. Already a Kinks fan, it was a "no-brainer", and I probably had already heard the single "Victoria" on my transistor radio as well. Ever since, I have considered "ARTHUR" my favorite Kinks album, besides the usual timeless songwriting, their playing, to quote a cliche more relevant back then, "Blew my mind"! The rhythm section of drummer Mick Avory and "new boy" John Dalton were rock-solid and complimentary in every song, but it was the guitars of the Davies brothers, especially Dave of course, that REALLY blew my mind. Listen to acoustics and electrics mesh in "Victoria", sing and twine in "Shangri-La", the slide work in "Mr. Churchill Says", and the driving leads in both of my favorite cuts, "Australia" and "Arthur" and try to deny you're in pure guitar nirvana! And the use of mostly acoustic rhythm guitars provide consistency throughout, helping to glue the concept. I would be remiss without mentioning the enjoyable keyboards of John Gosling, whether using harpsichord in a number of songs including "Princess Marina" and "Young And Innocent Days" that add to the nostalgia theme, or his driving piano underpinning Dave and Ray's riffing in "Australia", his contributions, although not as numerous, mustn't be overlooked. Pull out your copy now, and listen with a renewed appreciation, if you don't have one, what are you waiting for???

The current digitally remastered CD, with the bonus tracks, sounds great; it does justice, I believe, to one of the landmark albums of the late sixties. I can't suppress a recurring feeling of ambivalence, however, towards this band. It began for me when I went to see them play at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in the course of one of their "return to America" tours. I was looking forward to an evening of nostalgia, with a precise rendering of those "classic" "British Invasion" hits, for which I remembered them best. I hadn't listened to the interim albums. I wasn't prepared for what followed. Chaos seemed to reign on stage and throughout the auditorium. The performance seemed sloppy and disjointed (see John Mendelsohn's liner notes for "Kink Kronikles"). I remember leaving the short concert confused and disappointed. I couldn't believe they were the same band. Listening to the "Arthur" LP for the first time after that night, I felt reasonably certain that something had seriously gone wrong for the Kinks...Luckily the musical odyssey didn't stop for me there. As I gradually acquainted myself with the albums I missed, I began to reappraise the value of this seminal 60's band. A new perspective on "Arthur" emerged. From the driving opening cut "Victoria," to Arthur's last hurrah on track 12, I began to appreciate this album for its rich social commentary on Empire, instinct, war and conformity, the problems of political power, economic inequality, "brainwashing," and the mortal coil of old age and death. Yet beside the "darker implications" below the surface structure of songs such as "Yes Sir/No Sir," the maudlin and melodramatic, "Some Mother's Son," the trap of gross materialism in "Shangri-La," the psychedelic trip to "Australia," and the face of meaninglessness in "Nothing to Say," the Kinks delightfully conclude their opus with evident compassion for the brave protagonist, anti-hero, and every man, Arthur Morgan: "Somebody loves you, don't you know it?" Putting myself in Arthur's place, I'm not sure whether I know it or not, or whether I believe the Kinks when they sing "Somebody loves you, don't you know it?" Are they sincere or cynical? You decide. The bonus tracks, "Plastic Man," and "Mindless Child of Motherhood," seem to fit into the social commentary projected by "Arthur," as do "King Kong," and "The Man He Weeps Tonight," to some extent, even "Mr. Shoemaker's Daughter."