“King Kong” predates the Arthur sessions by two months. It has Quaife on it. So technically not an Arthur track, to answer your question!
Reprise wanted to plant fake stories about the band being arrested for rape in a bizarre effort to promote either Arthur or the 1969 American tour. Understandably (and thankfully) the band vetoed this plan. Can you imagine something like this being suggested now???
Tommy also had the drug-psych-mystical aspect, whereas Arthur is a lot less colorful outright. But I agree with all your points. And I think Tommy is too bloated. You could easily make a 15 track version of that album that would be really strong, I think. Songs like “Sensation” and “Welcome” don’t do anything for me and “Underture,” while cool, is redundant.
Yes. I agree. “Got to Be Free” is part of both Lola and Long Distance Piano Player and the band apparently attempted “Marathon” during the Lola sessions.
I’m not the biggest fan of the title track. It’s probably my least favorite track on the album. Again, I don’t actively dislike it, it’s an okay song. I think lyrically it’s interesting, especially in the context of the album. After all these songs tearing Arthur, his relationships, the working class, and even the UK down, Arthur finally gets acknowledgment for his struggles, desire for a better life, and the limitations imposed on him by “the people who make the big decisions” (remember “the aristocrats and bureaucrats are dirty rats”). But now we have this point of positivity, right? “Arthur we like you and want to help you” “understand you” “we sympathize” “somebody loves you don’t you know it?” A few of interesting lines: There is the question of the world having been “wrong” and Arthur having been “right all along.” What was he right about? Similarly, there is a part where the speakers sing “Now we know and we sympathize.” So the speakers have come to realize that Arthur was right and recognize him for the way he lived his life and why. I guess the above lines align nicely with the “honor your elders” theory others have mentioned in this thread previously as central to this album’s theme. Is it the younger generation (young Silent Generation and Boomers) recognizing the struggles of their parents’ generation? In other words, like Jethro Tull’s “Living in the Past,” a sort of anti-counter culture message? In the Tull song, Anderson sings “Now there’s revolution but we don’t know what we’re fighting for.” Here, it seems like people around Arthur (who probably belonged to/represented The Kinks’ parents’ generation) are saying, “You know, Arthur (AKA our parents), you were right about everything and you sacrificed a lot for us.” Also interesting to see the line “Now you see your children sailing off in the setting sun/where things will be more equal and there’s plenty for everyone.” This recalls “Victoria”—“long ago life was clean/sex was bad, called obscene/and the rich were so mean, stately home for the lords” and “where the sun never sets.” So during the Victorian-era, the British Empire was strong and spanned the globe, but there was rampant inequality. By the time that this track is set (1960s?), the British Empire has fallen, but there’s some hope for equality and a better future (but maybe not in the UK but in Australia?) As for the song itself, it is well performed. Great guitar playing from Dave. I’m not the biggest fan of country stuff but it’s fine here. The issue that I have with this song is a) Dave vocals were recorded badly…I can barely hear what he is saying in some parts and b) the ending is so drawn out. It’s like they were trying to do an extended sing-a-long a la “Hey Jude.” My least favorite song on the album, although there’s a lot here. But it’s a Kinks track, so even at their worst, they’re better than 99% of other bands’ best.
I seem to be atypical in having usually felt that the song "Arthur" itself is kind of a drag compared to most of the rest of the album. It's a sweet sentiment, and it gives Arthur's story a redemption it needs. I am glad it's there. I'm glad the album ends on a light note after some of this heaviness. But I think it's flawed in both execution and story arc, to the degree that the album implies a story. I think my main problem with it is its length. Much like the Beatles/George Harrison's "It's all too much," it doesn't seem to know how to end, so it just doesn't. I understand functionally why -- this is the end credits music, and they were making room for a lot of credits. And, I just think it is one of the least gripping pieces of music the Kinks had created up to this point. As I mentioned before, I feel like the album is missing a moment of climactic musical crisis that would earn this resolution. How about a song where the boat leaves the port? Something that gives Arthur an opportunity to react? Or to not react, in cathartic musical pause? I do wish the movie has been made. I doubt it would have been a tasteless Ken Russell extravaganza like "Tommy," made later than that album and separately from it; or an epic flagelation like Alan Parker's "Pink Floyd - The Wall" (similarly, built on the album's prior success.) "Arthur" probably would have been a humble project, quickly dated, worth watching a time or two. I'm sure it would have been a heck of a lot better than "Magical Mystery Tour." It would have given us interesting music videos for all of the songs.
Ya scooped me, and said it better. I'm among those who wrote an "honor your elders" interpretation, and it really should have been posted at this point. In fact, I'll dig it up. In spite of my lukewarm reaction to the track, I do feel that message comes through, and in that way the album does land somewhere satisfying and interesting (and in Ray's contrarian way, out of step with the culture of youthful rebellion). Here it is:
Arthur (the song): just listened again and the ending is like a gospel revival, “oh we love you” (hand claps). My favorite part is the first bridge: “if only life were easy it would be such fun...”
Yes, after just listening again I remember now why I didn’t include this on my playlist first time around. In fact, I’m thinking of cutting it from the list because it does go on and on and on.
“Arthur” I might as well jump in now as I agree with the last few posts by @jethrotoe and @Steve E. This is also my least favorite song on the album. I was actually surprised to come to this conclusion last night. My first thoughts were this is clearly the seeds being planted for Muswell Hillbillies. I am a big fan of that record and don’t mind a little country flavoring. I just think this is a weak song after a near flawless record. I was gonna give it a few more listens today, but it’s never made much of an impact on me. Last night I struggled to even get to the end of it. I wanted to fast forward and that’s a rarity in the Kinks discography, especially at this stage. Overall this is a phenomenal record and I love it even more than before. It doesn’t overtake the previous three records, but it usually can find its place at my 4th or 5th favorite Kinks album. I may have more to say later about the last song and the album after I listen to it again in its entirety today.
I don't think so. I guess it's charming, and such, but it just isn't very interesting to me. I'm sure on hallucinogens it would be interesting... I think the short form music videos work, but they were too lazy with the script. You can hardly blame them though, everything they had touched had worked up to that stage. I think they just got a little complacent... or a little too high lol
What can I say! The Kinks and Jethro Tull are like two of my favorite bands! The curmudgeons of rock (add Zappa to that too!)
That’s an amazing point! It lacks tension! S.F. Sorrow has “Balloon Burning” and Tommy had “The Acid Queen,” “Cousin Kevin,” and “Fiddle About.” Yes, I agree that it would have been a humble project. Maybe like The Ballad of the Virgin Soldiers seems to have been.
If we are reading it through an “honor your elders” lens, especially recognizing the struggles The Kinks’ parents’ generation lived through…i.e. both World Wars and the fall of an empire, I think it can be compared to The Who’s (much later) “I’ve Known No War,” which is a similar treatise by Townshend, who said that his grandparents and parents lived through World War, but he hadn’t (due to nukes). A bit different than what Ray/the speakers are saying here, but definitely coming from a similar place, I think.
Well, I liked the videos for the songs & the Bonzo Dog Band w/Viv doing an Elvis impersonation a good decade before it was fashionable. The problem was that there was no discipline in making the movie. The Beatles as wizards was pretty daft, as well as doing a psych color thingie for "Flying" when most TV sets in the UK were B&W at the time.
