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

Esta guay el concepto, el album suena bien, pero es un sonido que tengo muy visto, innovador para su epoca supongo

Pretty good, had listened to this previously and enjoyed it a bit more this time around.

I love Thr Kinks. I feel like they got overlooked in their prime, but you can still hear their influence in so many styles today.

Solid album. I have never listened to the Kinks before. Reminds me of the Beatles a lot. Nothing skippable but also nothing is a standout. Worthy of further listens and adding to library.

Vähä rasittavaa wanhaa rallattelua.

Hitusen tavanomaista mielenkiintosempi perus rokkilevy kyseiseltä ajalta, mutta silti peus rokkilevy kyseiseltä ajalta. Läpi kuunneltu, ei paljoa kotio vietävää.

Really enjoyed this. Particularly as I don't know much of the Kinks outside the big hits. They've got something so British about them that I enjoy and makes me a bit wistful for a time my parents would have even been a bit too young to live through. Some good stuff on here.

What a weird fuckin' album. A proper sine wave of tone. Dude just repeats 'Australia' over and over again until you have to unbuckle the belt from the semantic satiation. then you get the contemplative quiet Shangri-La goes so incredibly hard. Then you're hearing kazoos and... I don't know, man. It's a lot. It sounds a bit discount Beatles to me, and in chasing that high they don't tap into the same font of imagination they do in everywhere else. I'm a big fan of The Kink's other works, but Arthur is a bit middle of the road. Fav tracks: Shangri-La

Honestly, this felt like a bad copy of the Beatles, and I couldn't really get into it. I can see what The Kinks were going for, but the whole thing just didn't click for me. The melodies and harmonies often felt like they were trying too hard to capture that Beatles-esque sound without bringing much of their own magic to the table. The songwriting has its moments, but nothing really stood out enough to keep me interested. Even when the album tries to be clever or satirical, it doesn't always land the way it should. I also found the whole theatrical, concept-album approach a bit tiresome after a while. There are some decent ideas here, and I can appreciate the ambition behind the project, but the execution left me pretty cold. The production and arrangements didn't do much to change my mind either. Maybe it works better if you're already a big fan of The Kinks, but I just wasn't feeling it. Overall, this was a pretty forgettable listen for me. Not terrible in every aspect, but definitely not an album I'd be in a hurry to revisit.

A 4; I fully understand that it made its mark and was significant at the time, but I found it a bit mundane now! However, I loved “Yes Sir, No Sir,” “Sangri-La,” and a few other tracks - a truly respectable album, but one that, for me, won’t get more than a 4 today And it’s one more on the list for that question: “Is it really essential to listen to this before I die?” I confess that, in this case, I’m torn :-( But it’s perfect for clearing my ears of all the crap I’ve heard here. Thank goodness for that :-)

A la seconde écoute, une note de 3. 3.5 en réalité Australia et mr churchill says=4

I always thought I liked the ‘old’ Kinks albums best. Not so much a fan of their concept albums, but I was pleasantly surprised on relistening Arthur. Australia was my standout track and Victoria a nice trip down memory lane

Starts and ends with great songs. Oh, the songs in between are also great. Finding albums like this are why I decided to do this project.

724/1001 2026.10.15 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑

I really enjoyed this album,

4/5

i hate this so much please RELEASE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE yes so no sir :nerd: like this is not a nursery rhyme gang dnfed this alvum bro get out 1/10

I appreciate anyone poking fun at the British Empire. However I’m not a fan. A tad bored, but didn’t actively dislike it. 2.5/5

I wanted to like this more than I did. 3 Boolean: True?

Listening session: october 15th, while getting ready in the morning Listened to before: no Thoughts: the Kinks are classic but somehow most of this didn’t really stand out to me Favourite tracks: Victoria & Shangri-La

It's a perfectly cromulent pop record of its activist era. The songs are catchy in the moment, but I didn't come away from it with anything particularly memorable.

Best so far, but should have given Amy a 4 lol

Interesting. But probably a reason I have never heard it before.

Upbeat, fun, no big wow factor to me.

It’s like a more fun version of the Beatles until the last couple songs. Good stuff, easy listening

This album sometimes loses itself in a wall of noise but the varied nature of the tracks keeps me coming back for more. There are some real gems in here even if none of them have had staying power in the sense that there are no big breakout singles from this one.

Interesting Kinks album. Not their usual sound, mostly. Didn't mind it, but didn't really get overly excited by it either.

Very Beatles esque from the kinks. Enjoyable!

I don't know what I was expecting but it was not this! thought I was going to enjoy it more but unfortunately something about the overall sound here grated on me a bit

Highlights: Victoria

What a wonderful little record!

I'm biased here because the title track is on a mix tape I made when my son was born. The album dipped a bit in the middle but some great stuff on this.

I found this a bit irritating…. It got better but it’s not something I will listen to again I don’t think

Not sure why this irked me so much. One or two moments to lift it above the terrible, but I found it a bit smug and knowing.

Lovely to finally have a bit of Ray D and the boys after nearly 300 days and one of their best too!!!!!! Four stars. Tom.

I have now completed my list-mandated education in The Kinks. Very not for me.

Hmm. I thought I liked The Kinks. I really didn't enjoy this. It felt interminable during and forgettable after.

Pa nije loš album, okej su mi skroz. Neke pjesme imaju baš dobar gruvić. Nisu mi sve dobre, ali većina je i to je good enough! 3/5, 6/10

not my favorite kinks by any means, but it’s got some good stuff on it.

This is also for Lola !

Forgot how much I like the Kinks

Appreciate this came out at the same time as Abbey Road which overshadows it somewhat, but this is another excellent album by a band that never seems to have the streaming numbers it deserves

”Det var ändå vibe”

Enjoyable but nothing memorable.

Overall good. Not a lot of their hits but musically very good

Classic Kinks.

It gave me Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club vibes!

I thought that Victoria was a Fall song!

Again not my favorite by a band I like.

good

This seems to be a concept album. I am not too familiar with the Kinks except for their hits (you really got me, all day and all of the night, Lola, Waterloo Sunset etc). I am somewhat aware that they were a very influential band but guess mainly overshadowed by the Beatles. This album sounds like Paul McCartney was hired as a ghost writer and/or was secretly in the studio while recording. I think it is a good record with a lot of creativity but it does not really resonate with me very deeply. Maybe it sounds a bit too much 60s and outdated or I need more spins. For now I stick with 3 stars

Totally good!

Really good album. Hadn't heard this album by the Kinks before

Weird in a good way.

This is a very solid classic rock album. It's not groundbreaking, although you can hear the sounds of the music that will follow later (even Nirvana!). I definitely need to revisit this album later, because it was a fun listen.

kinda like the sound

The Good: We are certain that things are going downhill!!! The Bad: We all love Arthur, that drunken fool... The Ugly: Realizing the decline and fall refer to the album... I am not a fan of the Kinks, and this album has not done much to change that. Sure, there are diddly diddles on this vinyl, yet, somehow, they aren't enough to make me want to listen to this album again... And what's with the odd German accent song there in the middle? Guess humor has changed a lot since those late '60s So, let's flip that coin to see if it lands on 2 or 3*...

I made it half-way through this album, paused to go do something else, and then never came back to it. I don't feel like I missed anything.

4.5 Good soup, good soup.

I liked it for the most part.

One very good song and then some ok ones. Top tracks: "Victoria," "Australia"

borring as fuck

--Victoria...simple but effective riff. fun bass groove. the added horns are just icing --Yes Sir, No Sir...I think this is making fun of fascists. that's cool --Some Mother's Son...Roger Waters vibes --Drivin'...skip --Brainwashed...straightforward rocker --Australia...a surfin' California song about, well, Australia. it's cheeky but "Back in the USSR" already existed at this point --Shangri-La...60s hippy stuff. second half kicks --Mr. Churchill Says...a little chaotic at the beginning but it settles into a nice groove --She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina...a lot of this LP feels like a White Album attempt. it mostly works. mostly --Young and Innocent Days...boring --Nothing to Say...fun rocker but nothing special --Arthur...nothing--too-special yet again but there's some fun guitar work and nice harmonies

With classic Kinks you're going to get two things: astonishing pop-rock songcraft, with gorgeous melodies and hooks for days, and a merciless, pathos-ridden vivsection of the mid-century British petit bourgeouisie. Ray Davies is as masterful a short-story writer as anyone in the canon, and his accomplishments also happen to rhyme. This album is smack in the middle of a run of about four or five that contain the work that makes the Kinks special, and that work arrived after they had already shook the world with their early garage rock material, which is still inescapable on classic rock radio. Legends among legends, greats among greats, and still somehow often overlooked and underappreciated.

Okay

Nice, decent rock.

I've only heard their hits, like You Really Got Me, Layla, and Come Dancing. Many of my friends who know my taste in music have often told me I would like the Kinks. They weren't wrong!! This is great album of well-crafted satirical songs from the 60s British pop era. I like this better than the Beatles and the Who.

How is this band so good???

The Kinks! Always underrated. Great production, great songs. I agree they should have been as big as The Stones, The Who, and others.

I would say old school pop-rock. Solid album, but nothing special.

surprised again that something feels ahead of its time.

echt een leuk album, nog een keer luisteren

Three and a half out of five

I usually don't care much for concept albums but I am a fan of The Kinks. Took me a couple of listens to get into it but enjoyed how quirky and weird it was at times. Favourite songs were Victoria and Nothing to Say.

The Kinks have made some great records. This isn't one of them.

Already listened to it... Easily one of my favorite albums of all time. Every single song fits perfectly in the album; I wouldn't change a single detail. Favs: Victoria, Some Mother's Son, Young and Innocent Days.

Big fan of The Kinks. This album is good! Sounds like if The Beatles were good.

I've never really given The Kinks a fair shake. I just thought of them as the lesser Beatles I guess. But this album actually gave me a much greater appreciation for what they were doing and I'm looking forward to digging into their catalog some more. Also, Shanrgi-la is amazing!

Not too familiar with later Kinks. I guess this is a concept album. The standout is Shangri-La. Weirdly I met an Arthur today.

2.5

More British than Weetabix and Bovril.

Very enjoyable, made me happy

More interesting in concept than in execution. The lyrical content seems like something I would be very excited by: an exploration of post-WWII Britain and how the decline of the empire affects everyday people. They take a lot of interesting angles on this concept too, digging into military life, consumerism, the class divide, and more. However, the actual music is very hit or miss. On this album, The Kinks play a mix of straightforward rock n' roll and gaudy Vaudeville-adjacent sounds, and the former is definitely my preference. The incessant quirkiness of the latter type of tracks really started grating on my nerves after a while, even if I could recognize the talent and musicianship behind them. Maybe I just wasn't in the right mood during my listen, but when such a high portion of an album irritates me like this, I can't give it many props, in spite of its ambitions.

What a treat! I bloody love 1960s Kinks! They influenced so much of the music I adore! This is their second-best album (after Village Green), but one I come back to often. I have to admit, I never knew it was written as the soundtrack for a TV play, but I can totally see that. The play was never performed and recorded, but you just know the BBC would have taped over it anyway, so only live viewers in 1969 would have seen it. I can imagine the character Arthur as one of my uncles. I can remember people in my parents' and grandparents' generations who thought and acted like him. Brilliantly written, as always, by the Davies brothers, nailing the British psyche. If anyone outside the UK wants to understand the British working class and why we are as we are, it's all here. "You're in your place and you know where you are". My favourite concept album by a country mile, full of incredible songs.

Dud can't sing. Tunes are mostly fine though. I you're into the 60s you should enjoy it. 5/10

Does not grab me as much as it did when I was younger. Still enjoyable and soaked with nostalgia.

Shanghai La may be the best song of its ilk

Quirky little concept album, but the opener blows everything else following it out of the water. Rating: decent 7/10

(6 estrellas)

The story of the Kinks is truly tragic, the more I read in depth about their albums. Their preceding masterpiece, The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society, made no money, in addition to their catalog classic single “Plastic Man.” This follow-up album was supposed to be accompanied by an ambitious TV play that would coincide with the album’s release, but that also fell through due to a lack of funding. Ray Davies and the Kinks just couldn’t catch a break, it seems. That still didn’t stop them from releasing perhaps a SECOND masterpiece, though. This isn’t just rock music; it’s art with political commentary. Davies based the story's premise on his older sister, who left for Australia in the early ’60s with her husband, also named Arthur. In the story, Arthur is a well off socialite that lost a son in the war, with children ready to head off to Australia. The themes dabble in nostalgia for the supposed greatness of the crumbling British Empire, and those who attempt to hold on to it, in spite as of the changing values of a modernizing society. However, the album itself ends up being much more than meets the eye. It’s loaded with anti-war themes and anti-establishment points of view, all littered with brilliant, sardonic wit yet again. One song after another touches on these themes, making the listener realize that the “greatness” of the Empire helped create many of the problems it faced in its attempts to remain “great.” How familiar this still feels today! As for the music, it’s lovely and diverse as always. The band really got so much better here: Mick Avory is pounding harder, the guitars from the Davies brothers are jangly, melodic, and noodly - those jams at the end of "Australia" and "Shangri-La" are astonishing. Meanwhile, the production allows the band to jump between all kinds of styles, ranging from classic pop rock and military marches to soft ballads, show tunes, jingles, and so much more. You never know what they’re going to throw at you—it’s like a demented television vaudeville special from start to finish. I love this album so much, and the Kinks were truly a special band at this point in their career. They deserved so much better. Take the time to listen and enjoy the ride. It’s a truly special listen, unlike most albums made in the ’60s. Post-script: given the global context today, the direct and poignant themes of this album, along with the diversity of the compositions, seems so much stronger than ...Village Preservation Society. For that, I'm going to give this the 5 instead. Just an amazing, powerful, fun album.

Great album. Not a great one for concept albums so just took this at a song at a time. Really enjoyed as already likedThe Kinks. Like every track minus Austrilla which could take or leave.

It took me a bit to get into the album, but the concept and, especially, the sound are super-appealing.

I wasn’t impressed. Similar to the Beatles

Cute, inoffensive, easy to listen to, nothing special

A bit quirky, occasionally biting lyrics, fun and varied instrumentals! I had a good time with this!

It's pretty good.

pj and i got this the same day haha!

A masterwork. 5/5.

The Kinks... The band where every once in a while I'll hear a song and think "I wonder who that is" and it's quite often The Kinks. The band that wrote Sunny Afternoon, Lola and Living On A Thin Line. To say that's a varied mix would be underselling it. The first half listen of this album I was kinda worried. It was giving off Beatles vibes, but in the "this is the Beatles trying to sound rambunctious" way, not the genius of "Someone", "Blackbird" or "Helter Skelter" Beatles. But I gave it another go, and it really opened up. And now on the third listen... What has struck me is this album is almost the anti-Sunny Afternoon. Where Sunny Afternoon tells the story of a privileged guy living in his mansion lamenting the systems he feels are oppressing him because he can't afford to take his yacht out, this album instead is telling the story of a British everyman who has been sold the dream but then been sold out by the system. Get down on your knees, buy the hat to look like your favourite rich person, buy your dream home in the suburbs and dream of the new car, rent that TV, destroy your body, die on the front lines, but stiff upper lip you can always move to Australia. Each song has tone that conflicts with the stories being told, and on first listen that felt like a bad thing but on relistens it becomes part of the character work. Victoria with the rambunctious Beatles sound is a parody of the British officer class. Australia sounds superficially like a bad Beach Boys song, but is actually a perfectly crafted satire selling the fantasy of migration. She's Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina should be Instagram's theme song, swathes of people from pre-teen to pre-retirement, watching influencers and thinking a hat, a holiday and a filter are the key to happiness. So know your place. Go outside and polish your car. Buy the Kylie Jenner lipstick. Or sit by the fire in your Shangri La. (On a side note, I can find no confirmation of this but I am absolutely certain that Rockstar modelled the story of Red Dead Redemption 2 on this album - the main character's name is the same (Arthur Morgan), the themes and the journey are identical. Arguably the best game ever made, a brilliant story, crafted decades earlier by The Kinks.) On the first listen, this was a 3 star. But after three times listening to this, it's a 5 star. It speaks to me. We were sold a dream, and the best we can hope for is the odd piece of escapism and the delusion that we are more than a number on the factory line.

How are there 4 Kinks albums on here. Come on you don't need 4 by these guys. Also this isn't as good as Village Green.