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
- Victoria
- Yes Sir, No Sir
- Some Mother’s Son
- Drivin’
- Brainwashed
- Australia
- Shangri-La
- Mr. Churchill Says
- She’s Bought A Hat Like Princess Marina
- 10. Young And Innocent Days
- 11. Nothing To Say
- 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)
- This Man He Weeps Tonight
- Mindless Child Of Motherhood
- Hold My Hand
- Do You Wish To Be A Man?
- Are You Ready?
- Creeping Jean
- I’m Crying
- Lincoln County
- Mr. Shoemaker’s Daughter
- 10. Mr. Reporter
- 11. Groovy Movies
- 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.
