The Kinks – Arthur (Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire)
PolyTel Elite – 512 618-2/ 1992
Original 1969
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Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire), often referred to simply as Arthur, is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Kinks, released on 10 October 1969. It was the first Kinks album to feature bassist John Dalton, who replaced Pete Quaife after the latter's departure. Kinks frontman Ray Davies constructed the concept album as the soundtrack to a Granada Television play and developed the storyline with novelist Julian Mitchell; the television programme was never produced. The rough plot revolved around Arthur Morgan, a carpet-layer, who was based on Ray and guitarist Dave Davies' brother-in-law Arthur Anning. A stereo version was released internationally with a mono version being released in the UK, but not in the US.
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01. The Kinks - Victoria (3:42)
02. The Kinks - Yes Sir, No Sir (3:48)
03. The Kinks - Some Mother's Son (3:28)
04. The Kinks - Drivin' (3:23)
05. The Kinks - Brainwashed (2:37)
06. The Kinks - Australia (6:49)
07. The Kinks - Shangri La (5:22)
08. The Kinks - Mr. Churchill Says (4:45)
09. The Kinks - She's Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina (3:10)
10. The Kinks - Young And Innocent Days (3:23)
11. The Kinks - Nothing To Say (3:10)
12. The Kinks - Arthur (5:26)
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The Kinks – Percy
Castle Classics – CLACD 164/1989
Original 1971
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Review by Bruce Eder
Ray Davies and company had already participated in one failed television musical when the movie Percy came along -- it wasn't as original as Arthur, nor did Davies have nearly as much to do with its creation, but he still outdid himself given the material at hand. Directed and co-produced by Ralph Thomas, who had been responsible for some brilliant thrillers (The Clouded Yellow, Above Us the Waves) and very popular comedies (Doctor in the House) in past decades, Percy was the story of the world's first penis transplant (it was probably inspired, or at least justified, by big-budget efforts of the period like Myra Breckinridge). Although virtually unseen in the United States, it was still popular enough to yield a sequel (Percy's Progress), but its real impact came from its soundtrack. Davies wrote some hauntingly beautiful ballads and some solid blues and country as well -- "God's Children" and "Animals in the Zoo" have turned up on some career anthologies, but there's a lot more to Percy than those two tracks. "Completely" is as fine a slow blues as the band ever recorded, with a sizzling performance by Dave Davies, and "Dreams" is a pretty solid rocker, even up alongside "Animals in the Zoo." To this day the album has never appeared in the U.S. catalog -- recorded at the tail end of their contract with Pye Records in England and Warner/Reprise in America, and connected with a movie that was never going to see much exposure in the U.S.A., Reprise passed on it at the time.
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01. The Kinks - God's Children (3:16)
02. The Kinks - Lola (4:44)
03. The Kinks - The Way Love Used To Be (2:14)
04. The Kinks - Completely (3:41)
05. The Kinks - Running Round Town (1:06)
06. The Kinks - Moments (2:56)
07. The Kinks - Animals In The Zoo (2:21)
08. The Kinks - Just Friends (2:36)
09. The Kinks - Whip Lady (1:19)
10. The Kinks - Dreams (3:44)
11. The Kinks - Helga (1:55)
12. The Kinks - Willesden Green (2:26)
13. The Kinks - God's Children - End (0:30)
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