KINKS Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire 12" Vinyl Orig. USED

$

28

The Kinks

Arthur Or The Decline Of The British Empire
12" Vinyl LP Original US 1969 Pressing Stereo Gatefold

Item Description:

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) extends the British-oriented themes of Village Green Preservation Society, telling the story of a London man's decision to move to Australia during the aftermath of World War II. It's a detailed and loving song cycle, capturing the minutiae of suburban life, the numbing effect of bureaucracy, and the horrors of war. On paper, Arthur sounds like a pretentious mess, but Ray Davies' lyrics and insights have rarely been so graceful or deftly executed, and the music is remarkable. An edgier and harder-rocking affair than Village Green, Arthur is as multi-layered musically as it is lyrically. "Shangri-La" evolves from English folk to hard rock, "Drivin'" has a lazy grace, "Young and Innocent Days" is a lovely, wistful ballad, "Some Mother's Son" is one of the most uncompromising antiwar songs ever recorded, while "Victoria" and "Arthur" rock with simple glee. The music makes the words cut deeper, and the songs never stray too far from the album's subject, making Arthur one of the most effective concept albums in rock history, as well as one of the best and most influential British pop records of its era. 

- Thomas Erlewine

This is the original US release (1st Pressing).

Has orange/gold labels with Warner Seven-Arts logo next to Reprise logo.

This is the Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Pitman pressing variant 

denoted by a small inverted "P" stamped in the runouts

First cat. # on spine and labels.

Second cat. # on front sleeve.

Issued in a gatefold sleeve.

Includes a die-cut lyric insert with a graphic on it. (a cartoon of Queen Victoria).

Original story of Arthur written by Julian Mitchell and Ray Davies. 

Back sleeve liner notes by Julian Mitchell and John Mendelsohn.

Tracklist

A1 Victoria 3:37

A2 Yes Sir, No Sir 3:42

A3 Some Mother's Son 3:22

A4 Drivin'

Engineer – Brian Humphries

3:15

A5 Brainwashed 2:30

A6 Australia 6:40

B1 Shangri-La 5:17

B2 Mr. Churchill Says 4:40

B3 She's Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina 3:05

B4 Young And Innocent Days 3:20

B5 Nothing To Say 3:07

B6 Arthur 5:20

Jacket Condition: M

Brand new!

Vinyl Condition: M

Brand new!

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