Kinks
Arthur - Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire
Label ©  Castle Music UK
Release Year  1969
Length  1:19:26
Genre  Rock
Personal Star Rating [1-5]  
  Ref#  K-0024
Bitrate  256 Kbps
  Other  
  Info  
    Track Listing:
      1.  
      		 Victoria  
       3:40  
      2.  
      		 Yes Sir, No Sir  
       3:46  
      3.  
      		 Some Mother's Son  
       3:25  
      4.  
      		 Drivin'  
       3:21  
      5.  
      		 Brainwashed  
       2:35  
      6.  
      		 Australia  
       6:46  
      7.  
      		 Shangri-La  
       5:21  
      8.  
      		 Mr.Churchill Says  
       4:44  
      9.  
      		 She's Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina  
       3:07  
      10.  
      		 Young And Innocent Days  
       3:21  
      11.  
      		 Nothing To Say  
       3:09  
      12.  
      		 Arthur  
       5:28  
      13.  
      		 Plastic Man (*Bonus Mono Track)  
       3:04  
      14.  
      		 King Kong (*Bonus Mono Track)  
       3:23  
      15.  
      		 Drivin' (*Bonus Mono Track)  
       3:12  
      16.  
      		 Mindless Child Of Motherhood (*Bonus Mono Track)  
       3:16  
      17.  
      		 This Man He Weeps Tonight (*Bonus Mono Track)  
       2:42  
      18.  
      		 Plastic Man (*Unreleased Alternate Stereo Mix)  
       3:02  
      19.  
      		 Mindless Child Of Motherhood (*Unreleased Alternate Stereo Mix)  
       3:10  
      20.  
      		 This Man He Weeps Tonight (*Unreleased Alternate Stereo Mix)  
       2:40  
      21.  
      		 She's Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina (*Unreleased Alternate Mono Take)  
       3:07  
      22.  
      		 Mr. Shoemakers Daughter (*Previously Unreleased)  
       3:07  
    Additional info: | top
      Written as the score for a never-aired BBC television drama, Arthur is the story of late-'60s English working-class exhaustion. Perhaps not the most attention-grabbing subject for a rock album, but in Ray Davies's hands it's rich in texture and stylistic possibility. From the rousing ode to Britain's glorious past ("Victoria") to its less-than-glamorous present (that being the late '60s), Davies portrays a life of cautiously reduced expectations. Arthur once dreamed of owning his own business but has settled for a car and an indoor bathroom ("Shangri-La"). One of his sons spends his time complaining about the system ("Brainwashed"), the other dreams of moving to a new land of opportunity ("Australia"), and when they get together for Sunday dinner there's simply "Nothing to Say." The Kinks at their mighty and surprisingly tender best. --Percy Keegan
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