Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)
Studio album by The Kinks
Released	Length = 49:18 Reviews = </gallery> </gallery> </gallery> </gallery> </gallery> </gallery> </gallery> </gallery>neygoround, Part One]] (1970) The cover of The Kinks Arthur album. ... A Studio Album is an album of regular studio recordings. ... The Kinks were a British rock group that rose to fame during the original British Invasion, and recorded and performed for over thirty years. ...

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) is a concept album by English rock band The Kinks, 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, its follow up single "Plastic Man", and the departure of founding member Pete Quaife. Songwriter Ray 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. 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 Beach Boys Little Deuce Coupe album, one of the first concept albums In popular music, a concept album is an album which is unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical (Shuker 2002, p. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Kinks were a British rock group that rose to fame during the original British Invasion, and recorded and performed for over thirty years. ... The Kinks are the Village Green Preservation Society is a pop-rock album released by the British music group The Kinks on November 22, 1968. ... Peter Quaife Peter Alexander Greenlaw Quaife, (born on December 31, 1943), is an English musician. ... Raymond Douglas Davies, CBE (born June 21, 1944 in Muswell Hill, London) is a British rock musician, best known as lead singer and main songwriter for The Kinks - one of the most influential British Invasion bands - which he led with his younger brother, Dave. ... Julian Mitchell (born May 1, 1935) is a British screenwriter, especially for TV. He was screenwriter for many Inspector Morse episodes. ...

The story is based on Davies' brother-in-law Arthur, who emigrated from England to Australia with his wife Rose in the early 1960s. The lead character Arthur is a carpet layer, and he and his 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 and the death of his brother in World War I, among other things. Many of the songs (such as "Victoria" and "Brainwashed") represent a strong return to Rock and Roll by the Kinks, which they had largely forgone during the 1966-1968 period. Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Combatants Allied Powers: France Italy Russia Serbia United Kingdom United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria Germany Ottoman Empire Commanders Ferdinand Foch Georges Clemenceau Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Herbert Henry Asquith Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Paul von Hindenburg Reinhard... Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ...

The album was critically acclaimed at the time of release, especially in the US rock press. It was very favorably compared to Tommy by The Who, the highly successful rock opera 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 US in late 1969 (after a five year absence), and for even greater commercial success with the hit song "Lola" the following year. In their special issue commemorating the year 1969, Guitar World magazine ranked it as one of the greatest albums of the year. Tommy (1969) is the first of The Whos two full-scale rock operas (the second being Quadrophenia), and the first musical work explicitly billed as a rock opera. ... The Who are an English rock band who first came to prominence in the 1960s and grew in stature to be considered one of the greatest rock n roll bands of all time [1][2] [3] [4]. Except for periods of retirement from 1983 to 1988 and from 1990 to... The Whos Tommy, the first album explicitly billed as a rock opera A rock opera or rock musical is a musical production in the form of an opera or a musical in a modern rock and roll style rather than more traditional forms. ...

Track listing

All songs written by Ray Davies, except as noted.

1. "Victoria" – 3:40
2. "Yes Sir, No Sir" – 3:46
3. "Some Mother's Son" – 3:25
4. "Drivin'" – 3:21
5. "Brainwashed" – 2:34
6. "Australia" – 6:46
7. "Shangri-La" – 5:20
8. "Mr. Churchill Says" – 4:42
9. "She Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina" – 3:07
10. "Young And Innocent Days" – 3:21
11. "Nothing To Say" – 3:08
12. "Arthur" – 5:27

Shangri La is a song written by Ray Davies of The Kinks. ... Mr. ...

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) – 3:16
5. "This Man He Weeps Tonight (Mono Version)" (Dave Davies) – 2:42
6. "Plastic Man (Stereo Version)" – 3:04
7. "Mindless Child of Motherhood (Stereo Version)" (Dave Davies) – 3:16
8. "This Man He Weeps Tonight (Stereo Version)" (Dave Davies) – 2:42
9. "She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina (Mono Version)" – 3:07
10. "Mr. Shoemaker's Daughter" – 3:08

David Russell Gordon Davies (born February 3, 1947) was a singer and guitarist with the British rock band The Kinks, which he founded with Pete Quaife in 1963. ... David Russell Gordon Davies (born February 3, 1947) was a singer and guitarist with the British rock band The Kinks, which he founded with Pete Quaife in 1963. ... David Russell Gordon Davies (born February 3, 1947) was a singer and guitarist with the British rock band The Kinks, which he founded with Pete Quaife in 1963. ... David Russell Gordon Davies (born February 3, 1947) was a singer and guitarist with the British rock band The Kinks, which he founded with Pete Quaife in 1963. ...

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 by The Fall in 1988. 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, and charted in the top ten in Sweden. In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ... The Fall are a British rock music group, formed in Manchester in 1976, and named after Albert Camuss novel. ...

Personnel

• Ray Davies – Vocals, guitar
• Dave Davies – Guitar, harmonica, keyboards, vocals
• John Dalton – Bass guitar, background vocals
• Mick Avory – Drums

Raymond Douglas Davies, CBE (born June 21, 1944 in Muswell Hill, London) is a British rock musician, best known as lead singer and main songwriter for The Kinks - one of the most influential British Invasion bands - which he led with his younger brother, Dave. ... Ercole de Roberti: Concert, c. ... Different kinds of guitars The guitar is a fretted and stringed musical instrument, used in a wide variety of musical styles, and is also widely known as a solo classical instrument. ... David Russell Gordon Davies (born February 3, 1947) was a singer and guitarist with the British rock band The Kinks, which he founded with Pete Quaife in 1963. ... Wikibooks has a book on the topic of Harmonica A harmonica is a free reed musical wind instrument (also known, among other things, as a mouth organ or mouth harp, Hobo Harp, French harp, tin sandwich, lickin stick, blues harp, simply harp, or Mississippi saxophone), having multiple, variably-tuned brass... Piano, a well-known instance of keyboard instruments A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. ... John Dalton (b. ... Martin EB18 Bass Guitar in flight case. ... Michael Charles Avory (born February 15, 1944 in London, UK) was the drummer for The Kinks from their formation in 1963 to 1984. ... A drum kit (or drum set or trap set) is mostly a collection of drums, cymbals and sometimes other percussion instruments arranged for convenient playing by a single drummer. ...

Production

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