I am a latter-day fan of Mr. Lee and his band (my favorite track is "Stephanie Knows Who"), and appreciate this profile. Like many musicians, he wanted to live his life and do his music the right way, the result being that in public he could appear more of a prickly figure than he really was.
Well, Arthur really WAS prickly at times, as my pal Mike and others who were much closer to him than I was can attest… but his brilliance and clarity of artistic vision were undeniable.
For some reason, knowing that Arthur watched the Beverly Hillbillies, (a show I have always loved), and was so upset to be distracted from it, made my day.
It is delicious, isn't it? I've heard he actually had a TV set in his childhood bedroom--kind of unheard of at the time. I had a brief run-in with Mr. Lee myself and shared it in yesterday's post.
Great read, Dan. Thanks for sharing with us. I saw Arthur live in London after he got out of jail.
I agree with you on 'Four Sail,' but I will also extend it to 'Out Here.' Had Arthur been better at editing and trimmed it down to a single LP, I actually think the best songs on 'Out Here' are amongst Arthur's greatest. The electric version of "Signed DC" is also so much more melancholic, painful, and emotional.
I also have a soft spot for its gatefold, as I used that LP to sort out my seeds and stems in the halcyon 1980s teen days before today's genetically modified weed. 😎
Absolutely agree about Out Here - would have made a great single LP, and it contains a few of my favorite Love songs, including “I Still Wonder” and “Gather Round”. And I’m all-in on the heavier version of “Signed DC” - what an incredible vocal!
I enjoyed Love's music and I especially enjoyed this article, Dan. But unlike your piece, which is extremely well done, I wish Arthur had sought out a good editor. In almost everything he did, I found myself wanting to cut songs back or out entirely. But more than likely, that's why he was on stage and I wasn't...
Kind of agree. I tried to plumb Lee's essentially self-sabotaging nature in a recent piece. It's so confusing, and yet seems so wedded to him as an artist and his love (Love) of contradiction....
Great piece. I discovered the band & the Forever Changes album when I was doing catalogue at Warners and we released the 2CD version. The album did not leave my cd player for months. I couldn't believe I never heard of them before. Truly a great album
Love and appreciate this so much--and wishing I'd found it before my recent post on my own, brief intersection with Lee! I'm a firm believer in the idea that embracing contradiction makes for great art, but he really seems to have taken it to the limit! Thanks for sharing....
I am a latter-day fan of Mr. Lee and his band (my favorite track is "Stephanie Knows Who"), and appreciate this profile. Like many musicians, he wanted to live his life and do his music the right way, the result being that in public he could appear more of a prickly figure than he really was.
Well, Arthur really WAS prickly at times, as my pal Mike and others who were much closer to him than I was can attest… but his brilliance and clarity of artistic vision were undeniable.
For some reason, knowing that Arthur watched the Beverly Hillbillies, (a show I have always loved), and was so upset to be distracted from it, made my day.
It is delicious, isn't it? I've heard he actually had a TV set in his childhood bedroom--kind of unheard of at the time. I had a brief run-in with Mr. Lee myself and shared it in yesterday's post.
What a great read that was. I always love hearing about how people discovered Forever Changes, the greatest album ever made.
Great read, Dan. Thanks for sharing with us. I saw Arthur live in London after he got out of jail.
I agree with you on 'Four Sail,' but I will also extend it to 'Out Here.' Had Arthur been better at editing and trimmed it down to a single LP, I actually think the best songs on 'Out Here' are amongst Arthur's greatest. The electric version of "Signed DC" is also so much more melancholic, painful, and emotional.
I also have a soft spot for its gatefold, as I used that LP to sort out my seeds and stems in the halcyon 1980s teen days before today's genetically modified weed. 😎
Absolutely agree about Out Here - would have made a great single LP, and it contains a few of my favorite Love songs, including “I Still Wonder” and “Gather Round”. And I’m all-in on the heavier version of “Signed DC” - what an incredible vocal!
"Listen To My Song," "Nice To Be," and "Instra-Mental" are also superb. I also really love "Doggone" but the drum solo goes on far too long.
Agreed - an edited version sans drum solo would have been very welcome!
I enjoyed Love's music and I especially enjoyed this article, Dan. But unlike your piece, which is extremely well done, I wish Arthur had sought out a good editor. In almost everything he did, I found myself wanting to cut songs back or out entirely. But more than likely, that's why he was on stage and I wasn't...
Kind of agree. I tried to plumb Lee's essentially self-sabotaging nature in a recent piece. It's so confusing, and yet seems so wedded to him as an artist and his love (Love) of contradiction....
Great piece. I discovered the band & the Forever Changes album when I was doing catalogue at Warners and we released the 2CD version. The album did not leave my cd player for months. I couldn't believe I never heard of them before. Truly a great album
Love and appreciate this so much--and wishing I'd found it before my recent post on my own, brief intersection with Lee! I'm a firm believer in the idea that embracing contradiction makes for great art, but he really seems to have taken it to the limit! Thanks for sharing....