The Kinks, Arthur (side A)

Measured on its own, 1969's Arthur (or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire) is a good album, but it obviously does not compete with Something Else or Village Green that immediately preceded it.  Some of the songs are great, including of course "Victoria", but the writing isn't as consistent as in the past.  There are some nice arrangements, but the feel sometimes drives and pulses a bit more than the songs call for.  It sounds like it might be the Kinks' first album mixed on a solid-state console, and they seem to have made the sonic transition less smoothly than the Beatles did with Abbey Road.  I'm also still trying to figure out the purpose of the strange cartoon on the inner gatefold.