Monday, February 20, 2012

The Kinks - 1969 - Arthur or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) extends the British-oriented themes of Village Green Preservation Society, telling the story of a London man's decision to move to Australia during the aftermath of World War II. It's a detailed and loving song cycle, capturing the minutiae of suburban life, the numbing effect of bureaucracy, and the horrors of war. On paper, Arthur sounds like a pretentious mess, but Ray Davies' lyrics and insights have rarely been so graceful or deftly executed, and the music is remarkable. An edgier and harder-rocking affair than Village Green, Arthur is as multi-layered musically as it is lyrically. "Shangri-La" evolves from English folk to hard rock, "Drivin'" has a lazy grace, "Young and Innocent Days" is a lovely, wistful ballad, "Some Mother's Son" is one of the most uncompromising antiwar songs ever recorded, while "Victoria" and "Arthur" rock with simple glee. The music makes the words cut deeper, and the songs never stray too far from the album's subject, making Arthur one of the most effective concept albums in rock history, as well as one of the best and most influential British pop records of its era. [Castle's 1998 CD reissue of Arthur contained ten bonus tracks, including mono and stereo versions of the non-LP singles "Plastic Man," "Mindless Child of Motherhood," and "This Man He Weeps Tonight," mono versions of "Drivin'" and "She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina," the B-side "King Kong," and the previously unreleased "Mr. Shoemakers Daughter."]  
 



Listen: HERE

4 comments:

  1. You never mentioned "Australia" one of the best songs on the album which features some of Dave Davies best guitar work.

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  2. You know, I completely agree with you and it is one of my favourite songs on the album, so I have added the song from youtube to the piece! ;)

    Thanks for the comment.

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  3. The best rock album of all time. Not a weak song! 1 Shangri-La, 2 She's Bought a Hat... 3 Victoria 4 Arthur 5 Some Mother's Son 6 Australia 7 Nothing to Say 8 Mr. Churchill Says 9 Young and Innocent Days 10 Drivin and Brainwashed to boot!

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  4. Absolutely no argument there! :)

    Thanks for the comment.

    ReplyDelete