Emyr’s Album Review

 Music Reviews With Emyr Evans  

                            Album Review

This Album review is slightly different form the usual, it’s a remastered album by the Kinks Arthur Or The Decline And Fall Of The British Empire, this was their seventh studio album released in October 1969 as a concept album constructed by Ray Davies as a soundtrack to a Granada Television play, the television programme was never produced.  50 years on and the album has been remastered in stereo sound, this won’t be my usual review where I go through each song and score them out of 10, but will give an overall review of the album 

Track Listing  

Disc 1 Original Stereo Album

1. Victoria
2. Yes Sir, No Sir
3. Some Mother’s Son
4. Drivin’
5. Brainwashed
6. Australia
7. Shangri-La
8. Mr. Churchill Says
9. She’s Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina
10. 10. Young And Innocent Days
11. 11. Nothing To Say
12. 12. Arthur

Bonus Tracks

13. Plastic Man (Stereo)

14. King Kong (Mono)

15. Drivin’ (Mono)

16. Mindless Child Of Motherhood (Mono)

17. Shangri-La (Mono)

18. This Man He Weeps Tonight (Mono)

19. Australia (Australian Mono Single Mix/Edit

Disc 2 The Great Lost Dave Davies Album (Stereo)

1. This Man He Weeps Tonight
2. Mindless Child Of Motherhood
3. Hold My Hand
4. Do You Wish To Be A Man?
5. Are You Ready?
6. Creeping Jean
7. I’m Crying
8. Lincoln County
9. Mr. Shoemaker’s Daughter 
10. 10. Mr. Reporter
11. 11. Groovy Movies
12. 12. There Is No Life Without Love

Bonus Tracks

13. Lincoln County (Mono Single Mix/Edit)

14. There Is No Life Without Love (Mono)

15. Hold My Hand (Mono)

16. Creeping Jean (Mono Single Mix/Edit)

So the Kinks might have been before my time but I do like some of their classics including You Really Got Me, Lola and Waterloo Sunset, this album wouldn’t be one I would constantly go back to, but my stand out tracks include opener Victoria (recently used in a tv commercial) also Shangri-La and Australia, Kinks are a band I feel influenced the likes of The Jam, The Cure and also Marillion.  Overall this album scores 7/10

All opinions are my own.