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Arthur Lee, innovator, visionary and musical prodigy, has died, but only in a physical sense. His music will certainly live on. Arthur passed away on Thursday, August 3rd in Nashville at age 61 after a battle with leukemia. Arthur was perhaps my all-time favorite musician. He certainly has been in recent years. In honor of Arthur here is a list of my 10 favorite Love songs.
Written by second guitarist Bryan Maclean, “Old Man” is simply one of the most beautiful songs that Love or any band for that matter has ever recorded. Not coincidentally, the record appears on the group’s masterpiece Forever Changes. As much as the studio version is breathtaking, Arthur Lee took an already fantastic song and made it life affirming when he sung it live. If you want to hear Arthur’s voice, and this song, in full glory, find a recording from one of Love’s 2002-2004 shows. (The widely released 2003 Royal Festival Hall show has a very good but not excellent version of “Old Man.”) Specifically, key in on his voice when he sings the following—especially the final words where his voice seems to reach for the heavens: “I only heard him slightly. ‘Til I heard you whisper. Took you up all in my arms.”
Following “Old Man” on Forever Changes, “The Red Telephone”, which was written by Arthur, remains one of the most fascinating songs I have ever heard. I cannot count the number of times I have listened to this and yet it still retains its harrowing power. With gorgeous string arrangements, cryptic/illuminating lyrics and a highly unorthodox structure, this song forever captivates.
The grand finale to Forever Changes Arthur’s staggering gem is a compositional stunner that runs almost seven minutes. This epic is probably the closest Lee came to overtly articulating a philosophy on life. Interestingly, when Lee was writing Forever Changes at all of age 22 (!) he felt the end was near, which may in part explain the record’s extraordinary quality. In Lee’s own words (from the liner notes to Rhino’s remastered version of Forever Changes: “By Forever Changes—when I did that album, I thought I was going to die at that particular time, so these were my last words.”
Yet another cut from Forever Changes but one that features the blazing guitar work of Johnny Echols and Arthur. In recent years, Robert Plant has played this song in his set. In fact, he also did a great version (with Echols on stage!) when he played at NYC’s Beacon Theatre in June to help raise money to pay for Arthur’s medical expenses.
In addition to Arthur’s divine voice his best talent was his ability to compose killer songs. He saw that Jimi Hendrix couldn’t be matched in terms of virtuosity so Arthur cleverly decided to fight different battles that played to his own unique strengths. Much as Hendrix was an outstanding guitarist his song writing skills and voice were no match for Arthur. On “Your Mind and We…” Arthur’s compositional skills are in full flight. Though the song isn’t long, it has four distinct sections with each possessing a highy different feel. This was recorded just after Forever Changes and along with “Laughing Stock” represents the last recorded output by Love’s original lineup.
Also from Forever Changes, this song really only became a favorite after seeing Lee play this live with his backing band, Baby Lemonade in recent years. The live version features a crunching aggressiveness that is far more powerful than on the more pastural studio release. Also, almost 40 years after Lee wrote these lyrics they carry added poignancy when considering his six years in jail for a weapons charge: “Served my time, served it well, you made my soul a cell.”
One of Lee’s tenderest songs, this lilting beauty appears on—surprise, surprise—Forever Changes.
Penned by Maclean, Arthur shows off his voice to splendid effect here. The lyrics and melody simply stick in your head: “Orange skies, Carnivals and cotton candy and you, and I love you too, you know I do.” Released in 1967, “Orange Skies” actually sounded more powerful and soulful when ARTHUR LEE sung it 35 years later, after his triumphant post-prison return.
The spirited “August” kicks off Four Sail, the highly underrated album that followed Forever Changes. “August” is filled with life and confidence. The band, while still keep its compositional skills and gift for melody intact, emphasize musical pyrotechnics, with some notably dazzling drum work by GEORGE SURANOVICH.
The first punk song ever? Regardless if it was, the fact that it is even argued about lends further proof to the notion that Arthur was far far ahead of his time.
