“Victoria” by The Kinks

Ray Davies kicks off Arthur (or The Decline and Fall of the British Empire), the Kinks' 1969 concept album, with "Victoria", and he plays it both ways at once. It's a fond salute and a sharp jab: the grinding poverty and prudishness of 19th-century Britain set against the Empire's grand fatherly promises, sung from the side of a working-class man who'd still lay down his life for queen and country.

Don't mistake it for a tea-room pastiche. It rides a blunt, bluesy electric riff from top to bottom, Dave Davies hollers rowdy backing vocals, and the whole thing swells into a triumphant blast of brass. Record World called the single beautiful.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.