Arthur or the decline and fall of the British Empire
The Kinks
Keywords
Reviews (3)
AllMusic
2011
By
By
Richie Unterberger
2011
"Aside from the great "You Really Got Me," this was a shabby, disappointing set with surprisingly thin production. As R&B cover artists, the Kinks weren't nearly as adept as the Stones and Yardbirds; Ray Davies' original tunes were, "You Really Got Me" aside, perfunctory Merseybeat-ish pastiches; and a couple of tunes that producer Shel Talmy penned for the group, "Bald Headed Woman" and "I've Been Driving on Bald Mountain," were simply abominable".
AllMusic
20??
By
By
Richie Unterberger
20??
"Although the best of the Kinks' early work is among the best British Invasion music, their initial pair of albums was far less consistent than those of the Beatles, Stones, and Who ... As R&B cover artists, the Kinks weren't nearly as adept as the Stones and Yardbirds; Ray Davies' original tunes were, "You Really Got Me" aside, perfunctory Merseybeat-ish pastiches ... The rave-up treatments of the R&B standards "Got Love If You Want It" and "Cadillac" were good, and the simple "Stop Your Sobbing" would eventually be covered by the Pretenders, but overall this is really patchy".
Bibzoom
d. 27. Sep. 2019
By
By
Steffen Kronborg
d. 27. Sep. 2019
"Kinks rummer en flot blanding af covernumre og originale Ray Davies-kompositioner, som tilsammen skaber en ualmindelig helstøbt udgivelse uden ét eneste overflødigt nummer. "So mystifying", "Just can't go to sleep", "I took my baby home" og "Stop your sobbing" er alle fødte Davies-klassikere, som føjer sig smukt ind i musikerens enorme katalog af iørefaldende og mindeværdige sange. Hvis man dertil lægger en række fine rhythm and blues-numre af navne som Chuck Berry og Bo Diddley, har man et langtidsholdbart debutalbum".