Arthur (or the Decline and FAll of the British Empire) - The Kinks (1969)

 

Arthur, or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire was released ot relatively poor sales and poor reviews in their native England but it did a little better in the USA and it's stood the test of time and is rated as one of the great albums of its time by many people today -- including myself: I consider it the best Kinks album.

Of course, calling it the best Kinks album is high praise, coming from me, as I consider Ray Davies to be the finest English songwriter of the 1960s...and maybe the finest English songwriter bar none.

Arthur tends to be rated lower than Village Green Preservation Society by some critics and I guess the other album is a bit more subtle in terms of theme...but it just lacks a few kick-ass tracks that Arthur does not. Those kick-ass tracks being, of course, the hits "Victoria" and "Shangri-La." 

I don't go in much for concept albums, but this is a rare exception that proves the rule: I love the concept and narrative here, as it follows Arthur, a typical English working class bloke, born in the grand age of Queen Victoria, living through two world wars and a Great Depression until he finally finds himself middle-aged and cocooned in modern comfort: a home in the suburbs with televison and a garden,  where he can fantasize about being part of an upper-class system that had always locked him out. 

England's class system  and the shifting fortunes of the British empire and the rapid cultural and societal changes of the 20th century  is a big theme throughout, with a striking repeated lyrical motive: wherever you are, you're there and there you are: the idea that there is really no leaving the caste you were born in; although the theemes and literally every single song is as English as one could possibly imagine, yet, I can totally relate; and thus it transcends it's seeming parochialism. It is truly emotional experience listening to this album.

Maybe the themes are a little too obvious for an English person which is why American rate the album higher than the British but for me, it's one of the most enjoyable albums I've ever heard and its probably in my Top 20 albums of all time.

5/5

Here's Ray Davies'  ode to the old Empire where The Sun Never Set and the Queen who ruled "overall, from Canada to Cornwall..."


Spotify Link: https://open.spotify.com/album/00ao0DAIYS0BNEbnbH0UCf?si=56922ea112b8446a

I have an old West German PRT version of this is which is probably about the best version you can get on CD. Later "deluxe" editions have the album in mono and plenty of great bonus tracks, but for me, the album doesnt sound as good in mono in stereo (not that it sounds that great anyway: this is The Kinks, after all); some of the bonus tracks are worth getting, but the sound of the deluxe editions is brickwalled and unlistenable to me.

Coming Up:


A.M. Wilco

A.T.O.M. - Carbon Silicon

ABBA - ABBA 

ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits

Abbey Road - The Beatles

Achtung, Baby! U2

Actually - Pet Shop Boys

Adult/Child- The Beach Boys

Aerosmith's Greatest Hits

After The Gold Rush - Neil Young

Afterglow - Crowded House

Aftermath (UK Version) - The Rolling Stones

Against The Odds: 1974-1982 Blondie (three disc version)

Aimee Mann Live at St. Ann's Warehouse

Aiming For Your Head - Betchadupa

The Album -- ABBA

The Album That Never Was - The Kinks

All Four One - The Motels

All Over the Place - The Bangles

All Summer Long -- The Beach Boys

All the Great Hits -- Diana Ross

All Things Must Pass -- George Harrison

All This Useless Beauty -- Elvis Costello & the Attractions

All-Time Greatest Hits - Neil Diamond

Alluvium -- Eddie Rayner

Almost Blue -- Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Almost Summer - Celebration

Alpha Mike Foxtrot -- Wilco*

The Alphabetchadupa - Betchadupa

Altitude - ALT

American Idiot Green Day*

American Prayer -- The Doors

Amnesiac Radiohead*

And I Feel Fine...The Best of the IRS years (1982-1987) - R.E.M.

Animals - Pink Floyd

Anodyne - Uncle Tupelo

Another Life - Another Life

Another Music in Another Kitchen: The Buzzcocks

Another Side of Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan

Anthology: Diana Ross & The Supremes

Anthology: Smokey Robinson & The Beatles

Anthology 1: The Beatles

Anthology 2: The Beatles

Anthology 3 The Beatles

Anthology: North South, East West - Tim Finn

Apple Venus: Volume One -- XTC

Apollo 18 - They Might Be Giants

The ArchAndroid: Janelle Monae

Are the Village Green Preservation Society -- The Kinks

Are Well-Respected Men - The Kinks

Armed Forces -Elvis Costello & The Attractions

Around the World in a Day - Prince

Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) - The Kinks

At My Piano - Brian Wilson

Autoamerican - Blondie

Automatic for the People - R.E.M.

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