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Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

 

 
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Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
 
 
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Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) is a concept album
Concept album

In popular music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical". Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being musical improvisation or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing to narrative....
 by the English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 rock band The Kinks
The Kinks

The Kinks are an England rock music group formed in 1963, and categorised in the US as a British Invasion band. The Kinks have been cited as one of the most important and influential rock bands of all time....
, released in late 1969. The album followed a rough period for the band, with the commercial failure of the critically acclaimed concept album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society

The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society is a pop-rock album released by the England music group The Kinks on 22 November 1968....
 and its follow-up single, "Plastic Man", and the departure of founding member Pete Quaife
Pete Quaife

Pete Quaife is an English people musician, artist and author. He was a founding member and the original bass guitarist for The Kinks, from 1963 until 1969....
. Songwriter Ray Davies
Ray Davies

Ray Davies, Order of the British Empire is an English Rock music musician, best known as lead singer and songwriter for The Kinks - one of the most prolific and long-lived British Invasion bands - which he led with his younger brother, Dave Davies....
 constructed the album as the soundtrack to a planned television play which was never produced, but whose storyline had been developed in collaboration with Julian Mitchell
Julian Mitchell

Julian Mitchell FRSL is an England playwright, screenwriter and occasional novelist. He is best known as screenwriter for TV, producing many original plays and series episodes, including at least ten for Inspector Morse....
.






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Encyclopedia


Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) is a concept album
Concept album

In popular music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical". Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being musical improvisation or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing to narrative....
 by the English
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
 rock band The Kinks
The Kinks

The Kinks are an England rock music group formed in 1963, and categorised in the US as a British Invasion band. The Kinks have been cited as one of the most important and influential rock bands of all time....
, released in late 1969. The album followed a rough period for the band, with the commercial failure of the critically acclaimed concept album The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society
The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society

The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society is a pop-rock album released by the England music group The Kinks on 22 November 1968....
 and its follow-up single, "Plastic Man", and the departure of founding member Pete Quaife
Pete Quaife

Pete Quaife is an English people musician, artist and author. He was a founding member and the original bass guitarist for The Kinks, from 1963 until 1969....
. Songwriter Ray Davies
Ray Davies

Ray Davies, Order of the British Empire is an English Rock music musician, best known as lead singer and songwriter for The Kinks - one of the most prolific and long-lived British Invasion bands - which he led with his younger brother, Dave Davies....
 constructed the album as the soundtrack to a planned television play which was never produced, but whose storyline had been developed in collaboration with Julian Mitchell
Julian Mitchell

Julian Mitchell FRSL is an England playwright, screenwriter and occasional novelist. He is best known as screenwriter for TV, producing many original plays and series episodes, including at least ten for Inspector Morse....
. Mitchell recently recalled: "Arthur had a most unhappy history... we got as far as casting (excellent director and actors) and finding locations and were about to go when the producer went to a production meeting without a proper budget, tried to flannel his way through it, was immediately sussed and the production pulled. I have never been able to forgive the man."

The story is based on Davies' brother-in-law Arthur, who emigrated from England to Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
 with his wife Rose—Ray and Dave's older sister, and the subject of the song "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home" from the album Face to Face
Face to Face (The Kinks album)

Face to Face is an album released by The Kinks in 1966 on Pye Records in the United Kingdom and on Reprise Records in the United States. A major artistic breakthrough for Kinks' songwriter Ray Davies, the gramophone record represents the first full flowering of Davies' use of narrative, observation, and wry social commentary in his songs....
—in the early 1960s. The lead character, Arthur, is a carpet layer whose family's plight in the opportunity-poor setting of post-war England is depicted. The songs describe the England that Arthur once knew, the promise of life in Australia for one of his sons, the emptiness of his superficially comfortable life in his home, "Shangri-La", the resolve of the British people in World War II
World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, and the death of his brother in World War I
World War I

World War I, or the First World War , was a global military conflict which involved the Great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War I and the Central Powers....
, among other things. Many of the songs (such as "Victoria" and "Brainwashed") represent a strong return to rock and roll
Rock and roll

Rock and roll is a form of music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its roots lay mainly in rhythm and blues, Country music, folk music, gospel music, and jazz....
, which The Kinks had largely forgone during the 1966–68 period.

The album was critically acclaimed at the time of release, especially in the U.S. rock press. It was very favourably compared to Tommy
Tommy (rock opera)

Tommy is the fourth album by the English Rock music band The Who. A double album telling a loose story about a "deaf, dumb, and blind boy" who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, Tommy was the first musical work to be billed overtly as a rock opera....
 by The Who
The Who

The Who are an England Rock music band formed in 1964. The primary lineup was guitarist Pete Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon....
, the highly successful rock opera
Rock opera

A rock opera is a musical work that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are unrelated to each other in terms of storyline....
, and Hair! The musical, released earlier in the year. Arthur was a moderate commercial success and was seen as something of a turnaround from The Kinks' commercial failures of 1968. It also set the stage for their return to touring the United States in late 1969 (after a five-year ban) and for even greater commercial success with the hit song "Lola" the following year.

Track listing


All songs written by Ray Davies, except as noted.

Side 1

  1. "Victoria
    Victoria (song)

    "Victoria" is a song written by Ray Davies of The Kinks, which appeared as the opening track of the 1969 concept album, Arthur .In the satirical style that Ray Davies had become known for in his earlier works such as the Kinks 1966 hit, Dedicated Follower of Fashion, the lyrics juxtapose the paternalism aspirations of the British Empir...
    " – 3:40
  2. "Yes Sir, No Sir" – 3:46
  3. "Some Mother's Son" – 3:25
  4. "Drivin'" – 3:21
  5. "Brainwashed" – 2:34
  6. "Australia" – 6:46


Side 2


  1. "Shangri-La" – 5:20
  2. "Mr. Churchill Says
    Mr. Churchill Says

    "Mr. Churchill Says" is a song by Ray Davies of The Kinks. It appears on the album Arthur . The song is about the struggle of World War II on the people of Great Britain....
    " – 4:42
  3. "She's Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina" – 3:07
  4. "Young And Innocent Days" – 3:21
  5. "Nothing To Say" – 3:08
  6. "Arthur" – 5:27

Bonus tracks on CD reissues

  1. "Plastic Man (Mono version)" – 3:04
  2. "King Kong (Mono version)" – 3:23
  3. "Drivin' (Mono version)" – 3:12
  4. "Mindless Child Of Motherhood (Mono version)" (Dave Davies
    Dave Davies

    David Russell Gordon Davies is an English rock musician , most well known for his membership with the England Rock music Musical ensemble The Kinks....
    ) – 3:16
  5. "This Man He Weeps Tonight (Mono Version)" (Dave Davies
    Dave Davies

    David Russell Gordon Davies is an English rock musician , most well known for his membership with the England Rock music Musical ensemble The Kinks....
    ) – 2:42
  6. "Plastic Man (Stereo Version)" – 3:04
  7. "Mindless Child of Motherhood (Stereo version)" (Dave Davies
    Dave Davies

    David Russell Gordon Davies is an English rock musician , most well known for his membership with the England Rock music Musical ensemble The Kinks....
    ) – 3:16
  8. "This Man He Weeps Tonight (Stereo version)" (Dave Davies
    Dave Davies

    David Russell Gordon Davies is an English rock musician , most well known for his membership with the England Rock music Musical ensemble The Kinks....
    ) – 2:42 (Due to a publishing error, it is only one side of the stereo mix in both channels; the true stereo version can be found on The Great Lost Kinks Album
    The Great Lost Kinks Album

    The Great Lost Kinks Album is a 1973 LP of unreleased material issued by Reprise Records after The Kinks had moved to RCA. The tracks were recorded between 1966 and 1970 and master tapes were shipped to the US Reprise Label in the early 1970s to fulfill contractual obligations with that label....
    , on a German compilation CD, and on the UK iTunes.)
  9. "She's Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina (Mono version)" – 3:07
  10. "Mr. Shoemaker's Daughter" – 3:08


Song notes

  • Dave Davies has stated in interviews that he feels "Shangri-La" to be one of the best songs ever written by Ray Davies.
  • The song "Victoria" was covered
    Cover version

    In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song.In its current use, it can sometimes have a pejorative meaning — implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive version, usually in the sense of an "authentic" rendition, and all...
     by The Fall in 1988 and by One Man Army
    One Man Army

    One Man Army was a punk rock band, who formed in San Francisco, California in 1996 and separated in 2005 in music. The band was discovered by Billie Joe Armstrong while playing in an East Bay club, and their debut album Dead End Stories was the first release on Adeline Records, Billie Joe Armstrong label....
     in 2002.
  • The single version of "Victoria" failed to crack the top 40 on the American Billboard Pop Singles chart, but was a top 40 hit in both the UK and Canada
    Canada

    Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
     and charted in the top ten in Sweden
    Sweden

    Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic countries on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden has land borders with Norway to the west and Finland to the northeast, and it is connected to Denmark by the ?resund Bridge in the south....
    .


Personnel

  • Ray Davies
    Ray Davies

    Ray Davies, Order of the British Empire is an English Rock music musician, best known as lead singer and songwriter for The Kinks - one of the most prolific and long-lived British Invasion bands - which he led with his younger brother, Dave Davies....
     – Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards/Piano
    Piano

    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard instrument. Widely used in Western music for solo performance, ensemble use, chamber music, and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to musical composition and rehearsal....
  • Dave Davies
    Dave Davies

    David Russell Gordon Davies is an English rock musician , most well known for his membership with the England Rock music Musical ensemble The Kinks....
     – Lead Guitar
    Lead guitar

    Lead guitar refers to the use of a guitar to perform melody lines, fill , and guitar solos within a song structure.In rock music, heavy metal music, blues, jazz and fusion bands and some pop music contexts as well as others, the lead guitar lines are usually supported by a second guitarist who plays rhythm guitar, which consists of accompan...
    , Background vocals, Screaming
  • John Dalton
    John Dalton (musician)

    John Dalton is probably best known as The Kinks regular bass guitarist from 1969 to 1976, replacing original member Pete Quaife....
     – Bass guitar
    Bass guitar

    The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum.The bass guitar is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and Scale length, and usually four strings tuned to the same pitches as those of the double bass, whic...
    , Background vocals
  • Mick Avory
    Mick Avory

    Michael Charles Avory is an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and percussionist for the British rock band, The Kinks, joining them shortly after their formation in 1964 and remaining with them until 1984, when he left amid creative friction with guitarist Dave Davies....
     – Drums
    Drum kit

    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments, such as cowbell s, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer....
    , Percussion


Production

  • Ray Davies - Producer
  • Lew Warburton - Conductor
  • Andrew Hendriksen - Engineer
  • Brian Humphries - Engineer on "Drivin'"
  • Bob Lawrie - Album art
  • Austin Sneller - Album "Tester"
  • Recorded at Pye Studios, London


External Links