"Arthur" by The Kinks, 1969

The last band I'd expect to create concept albums is The kinks. Goes to show how much I knew about them! It turns out they made several over the years. 'Arthur or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire' however was intended as an actual soundtrack, or songtrack, for a planned television feature. What came out was a playful but thoughtful collection of songs which deliver the theme far more effectively than its followers like Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'. Ray Davies lyrics center around humdrum middle-class life in post WWII England. Written in 1969, it was a picture of the times. Don't let the arch of the album fool you - 'Arthur' is easy to get into and leaves you wanting to give it more spin time. The first song 'Victoria' rocks front to back; trademark 1960's/70's Kinks. Much of rest of the songs are late British invasion style rock. A refreshing thing about this 1960's rock narrative is that it avoids watering itself down in cliche psychedelia and preachiness...the subject matter is approached dutifully and with taste in songs like 'Shangri La' and 'Yes Sir, No Sir' in which matters like individuality, self awareness, financial security, and illusions of personal success are described with an almost comic levity: Davies explores the double entendre of domestic life stating at first "Now that you've found your paradise/ This is your kingdom to command/ You can go outside and polish your car/ Or sit by the fire in your Shangri La"...but later: "Put on your slippers and sit by the fire/You've reached your top and you just can't get any higher"..."You need not worry, you need not care/ You can't go anywhere" Davies' writing is more thought provoking than preachy in these songs, even if they do take a stance. Aside from the lyrics, 'Arthur' is as easy to listen to as any of The Kinks' well known work, and at times more interesting musically. Aside from expected tracks like 'Victoria' and 'Drivin' Much of this work can be likened to very high quality deep cuts: not overly catchy, but still tuneful with strong replay value. Between the lyrical content which as a whole really does put a listener in the shoes of the people, and the smart yet direct musical content The Kinks are known for, this is a tight, awesome album which effortlessly does what it intends to do on all the intended levels. As a side note I suggest acquiring the 1998 CD reissue of 'Arthur' for the bonus tracks ('Plastic Man', 'King Kong', and several others) which are cut from the same cloth and every bit as enjoyable as the original release, and likely removed for time constraints in 1969. MUSED: 90% ABUSED 10%