Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire)

In a quiet period for Kinks' singles compared to 64-67, this album is something of a surprise. The Kinks compound their concept album 'The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society' with this summary of what it means to be English.

The album has a distinctive sound with drums to the fore and most songs comprise of several distinct parts with shifting rhythms. For example, there's 'Australia' which begins up-tempo and part tongue-in-cheek and ends as a slower paced jam with superb guitar soloing and a full brass section, with the final burst of wobble board seeming to indicate the completion of this journey.

Then there's 'She's bought a hat like Princess Marina'. This one begins slow and shifts gear twice, ending as a fast paced skit that sounds like Chas and Dave doing skiffle.

Behind all the fun though, this album makes some serious points, from the anti-war sentiment of 'Some Mother's Son' to 'Brainwashed', which is as true today of the British public as it was in the 60s - people may have a little more money these days but the same disatisfaction still festers. All in all, this album blows apart the ethos of materialism and leaves us with an old man assessing the worth of his life, via the happy youthful exuberance of 'Driving' to the melacholic 'Young and Innocent Days'.

The final song is 'Arthur', where the band repeatedly concludes "Arthur, we love you, and want to help you, somebody loves you, don't you know it". All in all, 'life is what it is and there's nothing we can do to change it'.

This is a truly great album for Kinks fans wanting to look a bit deeper and I would imagine that the glut of bonus tracks adds little to this already perfect symphony.

'Arthur' was originally conceived as a musical television drama, but when the drama never materialised, Ray Davies went ahead and released the music in the form of a concept album. The basic story relates to Ray's brother-in-law Arthur who emigrated to Australia some years previously.
Generally, the music here has a much more 'modern' feel than previous Kinks albums, mainly due to its very rich production and the typical Kinks sound augumented by horns. In many ways 'Arthur' is much more suited to the ideals normally associated with concept albums than 'The Village Green Preservation Society' because it does seem to be much grander in scope.
The songs are generally strong despite the fact that 'Victoria', 'Shangrila' and 'Australia' tend to stand head and shoulders above the rest. Many of the other songs such as 'Yes Sir, No Sir','Some Mothers Son' and 'Mr Churchill Says' relate lyrically to the war years.
There are aspects to 'Arthur' which shows the Kinks moving forward from their previous work. There seems much more sophistication in terms of musicianship, production and general song structure (particuarly in the way a number of the songs have different sections) yet there are times when the sheer scope of the album makes some of the songs sound a little forced as though Ray was thinking of the overall concept well above the merits of the individual songs. This certainly doesn't make 'Arthur' a bad album and it's certainly not overblown anywhere near the degree of The Who's contemporary concept album 'Tommy', yet it doesn't sit quite as comfortably as 'The Village Green Preservation Society'.
There are a number of extras to 'Arthur' (including 'Plastic Man') which are quite pleasant without really being essential.
Overall, 'Arthur' is still one of the Kinks best, however.

Ray and Dave Davies and band put together this catchy bunch of tunes for a late 60's BBC TV special on the state of Old Blighty. Though the show was never aired, BBC's loss was our gain. As either a 'concept' or just plain rock album, 'Arthur Or The Decline and Fall of The British Empire' is not as innovative and varied as 'Something Else' or 'Face to Face', or that 'other one', but it's still darn good and would still make a great soundtrack now, if anyone at the Beeb wants to try their hand at some creative programming. It flows better I think, since it uses or re-cycles song forms and rock guitar licks more intentionally. The best songs are classic Kinks- 'Arthur', 'Shangri-La' and 'Victoria' ( later brilliantly updated by the Fall) and the lesser ones are a lot of fun to listen to in their all their sunset melancholy. I have the previous Castle re-issue with pretty much the same bonus cuts and would trust that the Sanctuary edition matches or excels that one in re-mastered sound.