The Kinks – Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire

This pressing is so killer. Not sure why it sounds so good or whether it sounds better than an original US let alone an OG UK Pye. but all i can say is that I like.

The tonality of this CD matches the PRT West German disc, except that this Castle disc has the channels reversed AND the polarity reversed.

Reading the reviews of this re-issue after buying it at my favourite record shop, I made a special effort when I got home, utterly drenched it in isopropyl alcohol and de-ionised water...not just once but TWICE, rinsed and dried inbetween, before playing. The result? Well, it's not 100% silent, maybe 97%, but whatever it's WAY better than what other reviewers are saying. The playing surface of each disc does look dull and streaked with marks (yep, it DOES "look like s**t" unfortunately, as another reviewer says and shows typical contemporary ignorance of whoever handled it during manufacture and packing...they simply don't have a clue what most record collectors care about!) but yet again, claims of a noisy pressing are made before a deep and thorough clean has gone about. Side 3 of my copy is fine. Some light crackle at the very beginning of Side 2 which fortunately vanishes within seconds.

Had this been a re-issue of an audiophile recording I'd have bones to pick certainly. But this is that yellow-brown sepia-fied production which is always the hallmark of The Kinks' sound. Saturated mid-range. Rabble-rousing delivery. The instrumentation sounds thrown down in a couple of takes, if not one. Compared with where production standards were with the Stones, Beatles, Cream and The Who by this time, The Kinks were a long way behind. Don't get me wrong, I love it but it's hardly matching Beggars' Banquet, The White Album, Disraeli Gears or Tommy (speaking of which, Ray was clearly influenced massively by Townshend's phrasing, chord sequences and vocal harmonies...I hope Pete was flattered rather than narked by that!).

Course this album doesn't go as deep or dark instrumentally, let alone thematically, as Tommy. These songs are mostly punchy, energised stomps with that delicious humour and sarcasm. I say this because it's not music that demands such active listening so I can be forgiving then of a light crackle between tracks. Give the record a wash....and enjoy it for what it is.

Great album.

PS I realise it's the music that matters but if you're going to make a deluxe package then make a deluxe package. Someone lovingly compiled the booklet with interviews and 'rare images' etc., then presumably someone else either bodged things by reproducing the same page in it twice..or it was done to fill things out? Would've been better to repeat the front cover on the back instead.
OR have I got a misprinted booklet?

Loooooove this album!!!

But WTF! BAD BAD BAD PRESSINGS!!!
Third delivery, finaly got an exemlar thats not ruined. Side 3/4 with heavy hearlines, but ok- so this is a keeper, sounds ok. A real disapointment, a new album looks like shit? Love Kinks, just missing av few albums now :D

The first Canadian pressing sounds quite good, but quite different than my UK 1973 repress. Somewhat more trebly.

Are all copies translucent? I have a black vinyl copie (not translucent) - otherwise same characteristics (matrix, cover etc.)....

Got an opportunity to compare this with a very minty US first 2-tone, and I can say that they sound very comparable. It's not a perfect recording by a longshot, but both sound very warm and nice. The highs are bright and at times brittle, but thats the nature of the recording. It's present on the 2-tone and this reissue. The cool part is the "lost" Dave Davies album you get on the second disc. I got mine for thirty dollars on Acoustic Sounds some time ago, and it is most definitely worth it.

I never really liked the original album - its a little too quirky for my taste. 3 stars. The bonus disc however is fantastic and I love the 8 bonus studio cuts. 5 stars for those.

Interesting set. I prefer to listen to Arthur on old Pye vinyl, but the CD sounds great. But I really bought this for the "lost" Dave Davies album, which saves me making a digital playlist from various sources. I always enjoy Dave's songs.

A harder-edged follow-up to the more pastoral VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY, ARTHUR is another gem from The Kinks. Dave Davies was surely delighted to rock out a bit more, and his guitar work on "Australia", "Mr. Churchill Says" and the title track is excellent. Highlights include "Yes Sir, No Sir", "Shangri-La", "Young And Innocent Days", and one of the most underrated anti-war songs ever penned, "Some Mother's Son", which manages to be devastatingly powerful, morbid and wry, all at the same time.

Some mother's son lies in a field
Back home they put his picture in a frame
But all dead soldiers look the same
While all the parents stand and wait
To meet their children coming home from school
Some mother's son is lying dead

As much as I love the Kinks, I don't feel bad saying that most of their albums from the 60's don't really sound all that great, production-wise. Shel Talmy was no George Martin, that's for sure. But ARTHUR (produced by Ray Davies) is another story, easily their best sounding record to date. Good dynamic range from top to bottom, a full-bodied, beefy sound, and a rich, robust soundstage. My copy is in mighty fine shape, playing nice and clean with occasional faint surface noise. Five stars and a happy face.