a bag of "grass" from the "Daviesland village green", and an LP entitled Then, Now and Inbetween. The set was accompanied by a positive letter from Hal Halverstadt of creative services at Warner/Reprise, part of which read, "...[We are led] to believe that the Kinks may not have had it at all... The Kinks are to be supported, encouraged, cheered. And saved." The campaign was officially launched on 3 July, at a meeting between Ray Davies and Reprise executives in Burbank, California. Reprise considered seeding false stories in the press to create an "outlaw" image for the group as part of the campaign, including pieces about marijuana possession and income tax evasion. Ray called the idea "mad", and the programme was dropped. Several pieces were used in the press kit for Arthurs release, with titles including "English Pop Group Arrested on Rape Rap". Packaging and liner notes Artwork for Arthur was created by Bob Lawrie. The album was packaged in a gatefold sleeve, and included a shaped insert depicting Queen Victoria (holding a house containing Arthur Morgan), with lyrics on the reverse. Liner notes in the UK were written by Geoffrey Cannon and Julian Mitchell; in the US, notes by rock critic John Mendelsohn replaced Cannon's. Critical reception The album was critically acclaimed at the time of release, especially in the US rock press. It was favourably compared to Tommy by the Who, released earlier in the year. In Rolling Stone magazine, Arthur was spotlighted in its lead section, with back-to-back reviews by Mike Daly and Greil Marcus. Daly called it "an album that is a masterpiece on every level: Ray Davies' finest hour, the Kinks' supreme achievement". Rolling Stone reviewer Greil Marcus also praised the record, and said: "Less ambitious than Tommy, and far more musical... Arthur is by all odds the best British album of 1969. It shows that Pete Townshend still has worlds to conquer and that the Beatles have a lot of catching up to do." A review by Sal Imam ran in Boston's Fusion magazine read that "If Tommy was the greatest rock opera, then Arthur most surely is the greatest rock musical." Writing in his Consumer Guide column of The Village Voice, Robert Christgau gave the record a positive review, saying that although Ray Davies' lyrics could get "petulant and preachy at times", the album featured "excellent music and production". Reception in the UK