That movie is kind of infamous. It stars Ralph Macchio in what was probably one of his first roles. In the movie the head of the academy (played by Ron Liebman - who incidentally was so embarrassed by the movie that he had his name taken off the credits... and eventually Mad Magazine did too... haha)... but this military head of the academy challenges the kids to a game of soccer with the faculty. During that scene they use "Yes Sir, No Sir" while Ralph Macchio shows off his soccer skills as sort of a 'up yours' to Liebman. The movie is still funny (although probably incredibly offensive to modern sensibilities). It also co-stars Barbara Bach. But the soundtrack was pretty great. It was the first time I had heard the songs "Gimme Danger" by the Stooges, "Roadrunner" by the Modern Lovers and "One Way or Another" by Blondie.
Arthur (or the decline and fall of the British Empire) I love this album. My first foray into Kinks albums was "The Kinks are Village Green Preservation Society", followed by "Lola vs Powerman". So, naturally, I was interested in what came between. This was around 2007, I think. I read some reviews about the concept and that it was to be the soundtrack to a TV play that never materialized. I ordered it, and I listened to it over and over, since as others have already said, it is an album that requires focus and repeated listens. Which, I suppose may not be everyone's "cuppa tea", but it surely makes the listening experience extra rewarding as it soaks in and you get it. There was not one song that I felt like I wanted to skip. It doesn't drag on side 2 for me, although there is one song that I struggled to see how it fit with the theme... Everything else, it fits. It's another "Something Else" by the Kinks, in that we are hearing styles and moods that we haven't heard before. It can rock in ways they haven't rocked before. It can be somber and touching in ways they haven't been somber and touching before. It can open up and envelop you in extended instrumental breaks that they haven't expanded and enveloped you in before. It can be more complex than their previous complexities. It can showcase Ray and Dave sharing vocals on songs that I don't recall them sharing the same way before. It has one of the best album openers in history (I also think the previous album and the next album by these guys also have among the best openers in history). And in my opinion, it also has one of the best album CLOSERS in history. It feels like a celebration as the band expresses its love for the titular character. "Victoria" *might* be the only song on the album that non-hardcore fans of the Kinks might be familiar with. I mentioned last week or so that it was featured in an episode of "How I Met Your Mother" in the 2000s. But even then, my dad is a *huge* fan of 1960s and 70s classic rock, and I highly doubt he has ever heard (or heard of) "Victoria". I will have to ask him... So anyway, there aren't any universally known songs in this set. There's no "Sunny Afternoon", "Waterloo Sunset", or "Lola". In that aspect, it is sorta like "Village Green" in that this is ours. For the hardcore fans. This is *our* nugget of greatness. For us. It is a shame the TV play never materialized, because I think it would be a terrific play. Perhaps some off-Broadway troupe can bring this play to life on stage one day. It's been great reading everyone's thoughts so far today, and I look forward to hearing many more as we go through this journey with Arthur.
It's interesting to me reading all the accounts of how different Arthur seems. To me, it always seemed like Arthur was a natural part of that great trilogy of concept albums with really long full titles. To the extent that it was dissimilar from VG before and Lola after, that seemed perfectly in line with the subject matter and where we were historically in 1969. Arthur is also rare in the katalog in that I think the artwork actually enhances the album experience where most Kinks album artwork is rather nondescript at best, cheap and hastily thrown together at worst.
ARTHUR I don't consider this album as elite as FACE TO FACE, SOMETHING ELSE, and VILLAGE GREEN, but it is still a very good album. I guess with the Kinks the fact that I like having more shorter songs rather than more longer songs is the key factor. Anyway if my three favorites are 5 star albums, then ARTHUR is a solid 4.5.
@donstemple re "Victoria" -- indeed, when I was a tween, around 1980-1, I was hearing a lot of Kinks on the radio, primarily because of "One For The Road.". I sort of vaguely knew that some people were very fond of this rumored 60's era of Kinks, but the ONLY "old" song other than "Lola" that I ever heard, back then, was "Victoria" -- and not very often. I noticed that the studio version had a gorgeous key-change break that was missing from the recent live version, and that intrigued me. When I say no other songs, I mean no other songs. They weren't playing "Sunny Afternoon" or even the original version of "You Really Got Me" on my Boston-area AOR station (WAAF, Worcester MA) in 1980. "Classic Kinks" was "Celluloid Heroes" and the Arista hits that went back a whopping 3 years. (Ancient when you're 12.). Maybe "Well Respected Man"? I doubt it.
Personal memory of Arthur. 1969 NY FM radio. The Kinks being interviewed to promote Arthur and their first US tour after the ban was lifted. A special memory. My adolescent years of Kink fandom.
You were listening to the wrong radio station. I was listening to WBCN & WROR back in the day & both played Kinks songs. WBCN used to play "20th Century Man" a lot & I actually taped Preservation Act 1 from a BCN "Classic Album Night" broadcast. WROR, the oldies station, played their early 64-66 hits.
Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) - Good album with one of their greatest songs (Shangri-La) but the extremely boring overly long instrumental ending on Australia drags the whole album down! If replaced with one of Dave's masterpieces (This Man He Weeps Tonight or Mindless Child of Motherhood) it would've been amazing.
If you're wondering, "Yes Sir, No Sir" isn't on the Up the Academy soundtrack, although "Roadrunner" by Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers is: Various - Mad Magazine Presents 'Up The Academy' - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
I love this album. It’s fantastic. Sure, the story is sort of…bland. But I guess that’s the point. Yes, some of the instrumental passages are a bit…long. Maybe pretentious. I mean, the “Australia” jam is boring. Somebody once explained to me that the extended jam probably would’ve been incidental soundtrack music in the Arthur movie. Unfortunately it was never made, but we’d probably appraise it differently if were actually able to “see” the whole image. I guess in this way, it’s sort of like The Who’s Lifehouse with some of the lengthy synth sections. To me, this seems like a logical step from Village Green, both the songs (especially “Drivin”) and the storyline overall. Musically, it’s such a blend of styles—music hall, proto-punk, sort of New Orleans jazz, rock and roll, countryish stuff. The band really shine on this album. Avory especially. But also Dave and Dalton. Dalton’s bass playing in “Young and Innocent Days” is wonderful. The arrangements are gorgeous, especially during the bridge in that song with the plaintive choral chant. One of the totally underrated gems in The Kinks’ catalog. Ditto for “Some Mother’s Son.” Lyrically, the songs are brilliant. Biting, sarcastic social commentary that, more than once, verges on punk, but mixed with very poignant, universal explorations of the human condition. Ray at his best writing in a way about subjects he really shines writing about. “Looks like a real human being but you don’t have a mind of your own” and “Yes sir, no sir, permission to speak sir, permission to breathe sir” and “If he dies we’ll send the medal to his wife, hahahaha” vs. “I see the lines across your face, time has come and nothing can replace” and “they put his picture in a frame, but all dead soldiers look the same.” Powerful. This album is the reason why Ray is considered one of the best songwriters/lyricists of his generation. I know and understand why Quaife has his fans, but the way I compare Quaife and Dalton is Quaife approached the bass as a guitarist (which is was, I think he said he only played bass because he drew the short straw, after Mapleoak he went back to guitar). Dalton approached it as a bassist. And it’s noticeable. Oh, and Dave’s guitar tone in “Brainwashed” is so heavy and dirty. I do wonder what “We All Make Mistakes” would’ve sounded like and if they ever recorded it. By the way, who is that yelling in “Victoria” and “She Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina”?
I listened to the 2019 stereo remix last night. So many mistakes in the band’s performance! It’s weird those weren’t corrected…like Ray’s voice cracking in “Yes Sir No Sir.” I’d never heard that before and it’s so apparent in the 2019 stereo version.
I wonder what would complimentary audio/visual phenomena would be observed if you synched up ‘Arthur’ (1969) with the 1980 Dudley Moore movie of the same title, Dark Side Of The Moon/Wizard Of Oz style?
I’d imagine it’s a more appropriate pairing than an audio/visual synch up with the American animated children’s cartoon of the same name.
Precisely...I heard the Kinks a ton on WBCN in that time period. Again, hard to differentiate for me how much I heard on the radio and how much I heard at my friend's house where the Kinks were in heavy rotation, but there was definitely a good deal of radio play going on with Give the People LP and the live album. Teenage boys walking around with their work boots untied were the ones who listened to WAAF.
My 12 year old self is deeply hurt and offended, and yes, you and @DISKOJOE are entirely correct that I was listening to the wrong station. I wised up soon thereafter, and even got one of my songs played on WBCN's Big Mattress a couple times, by the time I was 15. That made me cool in the school (Lincoln-Sudbury) for a few minutes.
When did you discover it? about a month ago when I purchased a 1st press Reprise edition What did you think? dense, not very accessible, but contains brilliance that should reveal itself with repeated listens Has your opinion changed? no, but comparisons to The Wall make sense; both that and this could maybe have been Roger Waters/Ray Davies solo projects, yet made stronger as band albums Here's Arthur's kangaroo fold-out (I agree that it looks Terry Gilliam-esque):
I'm really looking forward to hearing everyone's thoughts as we go through the tunes. We just went through my personal favorite three Kinks albums so they have a lot to live up to, but Ray once again delivers the goods in impressive fashion. It does seem to move the band into another phase. Between this and the next album we will come across a few songs that I think rank with their greatest songs. Overall, it's another giant feather in Mr. Ray Davies cap. I'm pretty sure I prefer the stereo version on this record, but it will be interesting to know for sure with closer inspection over the next couple weeks.
I don't find this record as inaccessible as some of you seem to have experienced. Perhaps that's because, as I mentioned before, the better quality recording appeals to me; being able to pick out individual contributions more easily e.g. Mick's top-notch drumming, so I can better appreciate the nuances is something I like a lot; and that there are enough very, very good tunes to carry the album past some of ones I initially found less compelling. Why I can see that this might be a tougher listen than prior records: Some Mother's Son, when you listen to the lyrics, can be brutal on an emotional level. If the jam at the end of Australia isn't your thing, it's a slog to get through. Maybe the distortion in Shangri-La is annoying, or the lyrics hit close to home (depending on one's circumstances...). She Bought a Hat is possibly an acquired taste, directly followed by the downtempo Young and Innocent Days, which could make the middle of side two drag somewhat. I'm happy to say that those factors aren't ones I've found to be an obstacle. Once I listened to Arthur a few times, even in the songs that didn't immediately click for me (Drivin', She's Bought a Hat), I was able to find something that I enjoyed. And I love the jam (better than the main track, possibly).
