The Kinks - Arthur deluxe boxset - October 25, 2019

Excited to see what goodies they have for this album, hoping for an upgrade of this -

 

Yeah but I'll have Dave's 1965 Flying V !!

 

The price includes your soul.

 

I have no soul. I'm a heathen.

 

I will take your heath then.

 

stumbled upon this Ray/Arthur interview just now....
Q&A: Afternoon Tea With Ray Davies

 

I got all excited thinking it was a current interview with Ray talking about a forthcoming Arthur release, rather than a 1970 interview. What a shame

 

sorry. but it's a great interview.

 

Agreed, it was a good read!

 

Ray and Dave Davies Recording New Kinks Songs for Possible Album

A brief mention of Arthur 50th activity in this article about a possible new album:

'Much of their time was devoted to finding tracks for a 50th anniversary of their landmark concept record Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire),which Dave says will come out in October. “That’s virtually done,” he says. “It’s a really, really interesting package that’s going to have other songs from that time period like [my solo song] ‘Hold My Hand.’”

An umpteenth rehash of a contemporary Dave Davies solo single that's been reissued countless times doesn't sound particularly 'interesting' so let's hope there's more to it that that!

 

Arthur in October, Abbey Road on Sept. 27... It's going to be an expensive fall, again

But keep 'em coming!

 

We will probably see the Soft Parade, a new Bowie Box and Pink Floyd's later years as well.

 

My favourite Kinks album.

 

Ditto.

 

I find this paragraph below particularly interesting...
The process of going through the archives has led them to numerous songs from their long history that remain unreleased. “Some we recorded but never used,” says Dave. “Others don’t have finished vocals or they need other embellishments.” But are they talking about unreleased Arthur tracks or finding old tracks to record again??

 

I think that’s referring to this oft talked up new Kinks album. They’ve made similar statements regarding it in the past.

 

Damn.... I already have those Dave Davies tracks on the Hidden Treasures cd and the Arthur album on the mono Lp box, I’m a massive fan but it’s going to have to include a few unreleased tracks not just demos and alternates to get me to spring for this!
Edit.. also have the Arthur 2 cd set.

 

Hopefully there will be, and Dave was only mentioning his solo track cos it was pertinent to him. Tbh, since Hidden Treasures was issued I’d rather his solo stuff from that era was kept entirely seperate and not used to bulk up Kinks reissues.

 

Yes especially because they don’t really mesh well with the Arthur tracks. Amazing that Dave’s songs already seem dated by 69, missed the boat by a couple of years on that solo album.

 

A

Agreed - at this stage I'm expecting to be happy with a newly mastered and reconfigured 2 cd version, but will be happy to be proven wrong! Including the script from the proposed tv show in the box could be an enticement.

 

All good!
Kinks, Doors, Beatles boxes confirmed. Zappa Orcestra Favorites...Allman set. A couple of McCartney...the rumored Hot Rsts Box
Bear Family Bakersfield box and a new Fats Domino Box.
All good!

 

This new Kinks album sounds almost they’re copying The Monkees ‘Good Times’ album. New songs mixed with older/unfinished ones. Hopefully it’s as good as the latter album.

 

That would be great, 'Good Times' was a very pleasant surprise. I need to remember to get last years Monkees Christmas album before this Christmas!

 

I think some do sound dated, some don’t. ‘Mindless Child’ I always thought sounded a few years ahead of its time. There’s something almost new wavey about it. But then you have ‘This Man’ which is a total Byrds circa 1965 pastiche. Interesting selection of songs anyway. I agree they don’t mesh with Arthur at all though, not like how Daves songs could easily be dropped into ‘Something Else’. Incidentally, I noticed recently that Something Else is the only Kinks album where Dave gets more than 2 of his songs on. It’s his equivalent of George Harrison on ‘Revolver’!

EDIT; just remembered Dave also gets 3 songs on 1989’s ‘UK Jive’. Well, on the CD and cassette editions anyway, his 3 songs shunted to the end like Ray didn’t want them polluting his own output. In his autobiography, Dave says he had to ‘have a fist fight’ with Ray to even get them on the album’!

 

It's better than their debut album, where Dave sung four of the tracks. His vocal on this album is fairly rough and often criticised when talked about this album. One reviewer said "Dave simply sounds like a rabid alcoholic in between two fits of vomiting." Well, maybe it's not that bad.