The Kinks, “Arthur (or the Decline and...

The Kinks, “Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire)” (1969) Reprise

In 1969, critics hailed the release of two concept albums: this one and “Tommy” by the Who. “Tommy” went on to become a feature-length film, a staple on classic rock radio and a popular Broadway musical. The equally ambitious “Arthur” has received far less attention. Indeed, during much of the ‘80s, it wasn’t even available in the United States.

“Arthur” originally was conceived as the score for a British TV musical. The project was aborted by financial problems, but thanks to Ray Davies’ incisive songwriting, this stirring album--centered on “a plain and simple man in a plain and simple working-class position”--stands on its own as one of the decade’s finest recorded works.

Its 12 songs chronicle a number of key events in the life of the fictional Arthur Morgan and in the history of the declining British Empire. “Victoria” is a tongue-in-cheek idealization of the golden age of Queen Victoria when “life was clean” and Britain ruled lands stretching from “Canada to India . . . Singapore to Hong Kong.” The rousing track is one of the Kinks’ most propulsive rockers.

But most of the songs on “Arthur” are more subdued and thoughtful. The warm and compassionate “Some Mother’s Son” tells the story of a young soldier brutally killed in a trench during World War I. “Shangri-La,” which guitarist Dave Davies once called the best single that the Kinks ever recorded, is another achingly beautiful song; it finds Arthur trapped in a mundane suburban existence.

Ray Davies ultimately paints his patriotic protagonist as a bit of a dupe for placing his faith in a soulless social system based on material comfort. The world can be a cruel place, Davies says--a sentiment reinforced by “Arthur’s” unjust position in the shadows of the omnipresent “Tommy.”

* Times Line 808-8463 To hear an excerpt from “Arthur,” call TimesLine and press * 5541