My only remaining hero (now that Townes and Burroughs are gone) was a guy named Arthur Lee who played in a 1960's group called Love and who died recently.
One of the greater geniuses of rock music died last week and many will not know his name. Arthur Lee was the loser in a long battle with leukemia. It wasn’t the only battle Arthur fought and lost. Drugs beat him up pretty badly and so did the police. When he was released a few years back from San Luis Obispo penitentiary after serving time for a 3-strikes-you’re-out violation, things seemed calm. Arthur teamed with the LA group Baby Lemonade and toured England, recording the fantastic “Forever Changes Concert” (an in-sequence performance of his older group Love’s masterpiece), he looked healthy and hungry and confident and reasonably happy and supremely alive. Not many folks under the age of 30 even know of Love (the band, but perhaps also the concept). It shall suffice to say that they were the first and best of all the LA-based psychedelic bands. Love were the first rock band signed by then-fledgling Elektra records; it was Arthur who convinced Elektra to sign the Doors.
I know this because Arthur told me.
Love’s third album, “Forever Changes” is considered a masterpiece of psych-rock. Some go as far as to say that it is one of a triumvirate of classic late ‘60’s rock, along with “Pet Sounds” and “Sergeant Pepper’s.” Some (including this writer) insist that “Forever Changes” dwarfs those other two recordings as an artistic statement. It had been suggested that Lee’s lyrics were often nonsensical or slapdash or simply meaningless. This was true only in the way that, say, Salvador Dali’s paintings were “meaningless.” Here is an example of Arthur’s “meaningless,” “hippy-dippy” lyrics:
He was a felonious sort of fellow, prone to disappearing for days in the middle of his infrequent tours and generally behaving irrationally. Many, many of his collaborators over the years have had very little to say about him that was complimentary. Dope was part of it. Some have suggested Arthur was mentally ill.
Not by a long shot.
We were once almost labelmates. I worked for a record company in Los Angeles who were trying to sign Arthur to a solo recording contract. The label hosted a party for Arthur in an attempt to woo him. He showed up hours late, glowering with his three biker friends, and stayed only 30 minutes before announcing that he “had to run a real quick errand,” and would “be right back.” Stories circulated then about Arthur outrunning the cops in freeway chases. Those were the days before helicopters, I suppose. The label ended up settling for an Arthur Lee tribute record and Arthur went to jail.
Love never had a big hit. Their cover of Burt Bacharach’s “My Little Red Book” charted for about 15 minutes in 1966. But it is by no means true that “Forever Changes” was his only masterpiece. Love’s later albums are undiscovered gems. Try listening to a large portion of the Love catalogue and then try to think of a more soulful singer in the rock genre. Try to find a voice that is deeper, richer, harder, more confident, more expressive (no fair counting Temptations or James Brown or blues, soul or R and B singers; this competition is for rock ’n’ rollers only). Try to come up with a name. One name. There aren’t any.
I know this because Arthur told me.
Love’s third album, “Forever Changes” is considered a masterpiece of psych-rock. Some go as far as to say that it is one of a triumvirate of classic late ‘60’s rock, along with “Pet Sounds” and “Sergeant Pepper’s.” Some (including this writer) insist that “Forever Changes” dwarfs those other two recordings as an artistic statement. It had been suggested that Lee’s lyrics were often nonsensical or slapdash or simply meaningless. This was true only in the way that, say, Salvador Dali’s paintings were “meaningless.” Here is an example of Arthur’s “meaningless,” “hippy-dippy” lyrics:
“…this is the only thing that I am sure of
and that’s all that lives is gonna die
and there’ll always be some people there to wonder why
and for every happy hello there will be goodbye
there’ll be time for you to start all over.”
He was a felonious sort of fellow, prone to disappearing for days in the middle of his infrequent tours and generally behaving irrationally. Many, many of his collaborators over the years have had very little to say about him that was complimentary. Dope was part of it. Some have suggested Arthur was mentally ill.
Not by a long shot.
We were once almost labelmates. I worked for a record company in Los Angeles who were trying to sign Arthur to a solo recording contract. The label hosted a party for Arthur in an attempt to woo him. He showed up hours late, glowering with his three biker friends, and stayed only 30 minutes before announcing that he “had to run a real quick errand,” and would “be right back.” Stories circulated then about Arthur outrunning the cops in freeway chases. Those were the days before helicopters, I suppose. The label ended up settling for an Arthur Lee tribute record and Arthur went to jail.
Love never had a big hit. Their cover of Burt Bacharach’s “My Little Red Book” charted for about 15 minutes in 1966. But it is by no means true that “Forever Changes” was his only masterpiece. Love’s later albums are undiscovered gems. Try listening to a large portion of the Love catalogue and then try to think of a more soulful singer in the rock genre. Try to find a voice that is deeper, richer, harder, more confident, more expressive (no fair counting Temptations or James Brown or blues, soul or R and B singers; this competition is for rock ’n’ rollers only). Try to come up with a name. One name. There aren’t any.
Paul -thanks for this......I of course was an original Love fan from the 60's....and then happened to catch him around 1990? at a smallish club in LA....I guess this was maybe right before the pistol waving/firing incident that sent him to prison for an insane amount of time... he, was marvelous...Arthur Lee played here at the Double Door 2-3 years ago -sorry to say I missed the show, word was that it was brilliant........Forever Changes is a masterpiece, with The Damned, Autumn Defense and others -covering songs from it for other generations -I am going to download some newer material -per your recomendation-
The Shark