The Kinks are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their groundbreaking 1969 LP Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) with a four-disc deluxe edition box set.
According to Pitchfork, the massive anniversary box set will include new mono and stereo mixes of Arthur, bonus tracks, demo, and rehearsal recordings, and the long-lost solo album from guitarist Dave Davies that he made amid the studio sessions for Arthur. According to Rolling Stone, the box set will also contain a book with essays about The Kinks, new interviews with members of the group, photos from the time period and the script for a proposed Arthur play.
The album was super innovative at the time with the group’s decision to tell a story across its tracks. Arthur (Or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) is about a British carpet-layer, who moves to Australia after World War II.
Is there a tour in The Kinks future? It remains to be seen.
