Arthur (or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire)

For a long time, The Kinks have flummoxed me. They’re often heralded as one of the big 4 British Invasion bands, alongside The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who. But they never seemed to fit in that lineup neatly, always seemed a bit too ragtag or dated compared to the others. As I listened to this album through the first time, I didn’t really get it, and was trying to understand WHY they’re considered so great.

Once I got to the end, I didn’t feel like I’d given it the proper attention to rate properly, though I was pretty sure I’d give it a 2 or 3. I started from the top, preparing myself to really listen, and as “Victoria” crescendoed to its climactic chorus, I got it. I suddenly saw the appeal. It was actually great, there was actually something there! I listened to the album through again, and enjoyed it so much more than the first time.

I’m not sure what changed, or even how to articulate what is good, but it IS good, and that’s enough.

eh bem legal, até. rockzim bão e variado, nada cansativo e divertido!!! curti bastante, até!!

Nothing jumped out to me. I really like some of their songs but this one played without evoking much of a reaction in me.

Great stuff from The Kinks. Starts with a bang with Victoria (one of my favourite tunes of theirs), and carries on with the theme of everything that is wrong with Britain in the 60s.

Better than cilodplay

Goes really well with drizzle and a nice cup of tea.
Brilliant album. A proper story and satire.

𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘳 showcases Ray Davies at his most sharply observant, turning history, class and national identity into vivid, human-scale storytelling. It’s hard to tell where these lyrics even come from — they feel effortlessly detailed, full of empathy and irony, as if Davies is channeling entire lives into a few lines. Compared to 𝘝𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯, the album is noticeably more forceful and rock-driven: heavier guitars, more urgency, and a stronger sense of narrative momentum. While still unmistakably British and character-focused, 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘳 sounds outward-looking and restless, using rock music to examine ambition, disillusionment and social change. A remarkably intelligent album that balances conceptual ambition with raw energy.

Favorite track(s): Victoria, Brainwashed, Australia, Shangri-La, She's Bought a Hat Like Princess Marina

Heard before
Previous rating: 9/10

This is my first time listening to this entire album, though I'm certainly aware of the singles from it.

This is an interesting and pretty solid album. I'd listen to this again. The production on the drums is rather good for this era, though it does tend toward the odd stereo panning which was also typical for this era.

Good not great, didn’t feel like it had enough to stand out amongst other rock albums from that time for me. My first time really listening to The Kinks, will probably have to revisit this to fully appreciate and understand the labum

In 1960s pop, it was often a very fine line between social commentary and outright sneering at people who have day jobs and live in the suburbs, and I'm not sure Ray Davies always walks it that well on this one. However, there are some great songs here, and Victoria is one of the Kinks' best.

It's wild to think this album came out in 69. It sounds of its time but with a dash of something that makes it sound timeless. They're clearly taking notes from The Beatles but I have zero complaints about that. This is good shit.

Went into this not knowing anything about it other than Victoria, so I was pretty surprised that it lives up to Village Green. So many great songs on here, and good exploration of different styles. I never really appreciated how heavy their music was, for the time. Will definitely be revisiting this. 9/10

Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) (great name by the way) was a pretty good album. Of the currently 3 Kinks albums that i have heard, this one is probably the best of the bunch. The main reason for this is the fact that the production got quite a huge upgrade over Face To Face and Something Else as it sounds a lot less grainy and way more crisp. This album still has a lot of the rough values that the other two albums had by using the guitars to get that sound and that is a good thing as i did enjoy that rough sound the other two albums had. The album also had enough going on as to where it didn't get tedious. This is easily the best Kinks album i have done so far.
Best Song: Brainwashed
Worst Song: Some Mother's Son

Some great songs on this one, and Victoria is such an awesome way to begin an album. Yes Sir, No Sir is so damn catchy, I couldn’t get it out of my head for hours afterwards. Some Mother’s Son and Shangri-La are a couple others that really stood out to me. I’ve always been told that The Kinks were just as good if not better than The Beatles and while i cannot definitively say I believe that or not, I’m excited to dig deeper

I feel like my twenties were haunted by bands emulating this exact album. Not a bad work but not maybe worth a whole wave of music? Victoria is catchy as all get out.

A nice 60s rock concept album. The songs are all high quality, and for the most part enjoyable. The harmonies and singing are quite pleasing, and the instrumentals are pretty good.

Some really hard hitting and emotional songs, especially in the first half. Felt it trailed off at the end but great overall.

Not what I imagined The Kinks was?
More folksy than rocky.
Lacks bangers, but overall good.

My favorite of theirs for the time being. They're still more of a songs band for me, but this one is damn consistent.

4/5