ARTHUR or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire

Description: Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire, often referred to simply as Arthur, is the seventh studio album by the English rock band the Kinks. British production company Granada TV approached Ray Davies in early January 1969, expressing interest in developing a film or play for television. Davies was to collaborate with writer Julian Mitchell on the "experimental" program, with a soundtrack by the Kinks to be released on an accompanying LP. The group began recording in May 1969 and most of the recording for the album was finished by the end of the month. Meanwhile, writing for the TV play progressed through May and June. A press release announced that the Arthur LP was scheduled for a late July release. By early September production of the program was scheduled to begin, with a planned broadcast of late September, but these plans were continually delayed. As problems with the TV play got progressively worse, the release dates for both projects were pushed further and further back. In early October the album tapes were delivered to Reprise for its American release, set for 10 October. Shooting for the TV play was set for 1 December, but the show was cancelled at the last minute when the producer was unable to secure financial backing. Davies and Mitchell were frustrated at an entire year's work wasted. The album was met with poor sales but nearly unanimous acclaim, especially among the American music press. Although Arthur and its first two singles, "Drivin'" and "Shangri-La", failed to chart in the UK, the Kinks returned to the Billboard charts after a two-year absence with "Victoria", the lead single in the US, peaking at number 62 - their highest position since their Top 20 hit "Sunny Afternoon" in 1966. The album itself reached number 105 on the Billboard Top LPs chart, their highest position for three years. Arthur paved the way for the further success of the Kinks' 1970 comeback album Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One. THIS COPY is an early (mid-1970’s?) Los Angeles repress from the Capitol Records Pressing Plant (as indicated by an asterisk in the dead wax, see Notes, below). The vinyl... well, it's like this: It would be near mint were it not for one really ugly mark across the first two cuts on side two. The good news: per a close test listen, this bad boy did NOT affect playback at all! Still, I am grading the vinyl as only Very Good [VG] due to the ugliness. :-( The original cover is in Very Good Plus [VG+] condition, with only a touch of ring wear on the back. The inner sleeve is believed original, but it is only plain white with square corners and a center label hole. It is in Very Good Plus [VG+] condition.NOTESLos Angeles repress variant Made in U.S.A.Barcode and Other IdentifiersMatrix / Runout (Side A Label): (30,953)Matrix / Runout (Side B Label): (30,954)Pressing Plant ID: ✲Matrix / Runout (Variant 1, Side A Runout, etched): RS-1-6366-LW3 1 ✲Matrix / Runout (Variant 1, Side B Runout, etched): RS-2-6366-LW1 1 ✲ ENJOY!

Price: 22 USD

Location: San Rafael, California

End Time: 2024-08-30T00:01:15.000Z

Shipping Cost: 5.38 USD