1. Victoria Listen Listen
2. Yes Sir, No Sir Listen Listen
3. Some Mother's Son Listen Listen
4. Drivin' Listen Listen
5. Brainwashed Listen Listen
6. Australia Listen Listen
7. Shangri-la Listen Listen
8. Mr. Churchill Says Listen Listen
9. She Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina Listen Listen
10. Young & Innocent Days Listen Listen
11. Nothing To Say Listen Listen
12. Arthur
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.
This recording was, and is still, the Kink's finest hour. Composed by Ray Davies as the score for a 1969 British TV series that never got off the ground, it, in it's own humble way ushered in a spate of lesser concept albums. It is neither a rock opera, nor a portentious retelling of the history of England. Rather, it's a collection of postcard perfect scenes of everyday life in the suburbs of post-war England. Yawn,right? Wait a minute, this thing rocks harder than the Kinks had in 5 years! As critic John Mendelsohn points out in the original liner notes, "...there's not a song in the lot, start they with harpsichords or slow military drums, that ends up anything less than great bopping rock." Ray Davies never quite matched this tiumph, though the Kinks' most successful years were still ahead of them. And what about the content? Well 'Victoria','Drivin', 'Australia', the brilliant 'Shangri-La' and the title tune all deserve to stand along Ray Davies' earlier masterpiece 'Waterloo Sunset'. That's quite an achievement and this CD would merit 10 stars if I could give 'em. I'm givin'them 5 stars. Times two. Cheers.
This is just a phenomenal CD. Like its predecessor, the classic "The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society," this CD has a very British theme. However, the instrumentation on this one is much more interesting and imaginative, and Dave Davies' guitar is much more evident than on the subdued "low-fi" (Ray Davies' word, not mine) Village Green CD
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