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radiopete
First Love
USA
4 Posts |
 Posted - 15/02/2007 : 05:10:44
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I am among kindred spirits who know creative genius when it flashes before us. We caught Aruthur's brilliance without much help from commercial radio, the same "vehicle" that treated other "superstars" far better, including those who also emerged from the L.A. folk-rock scene.
"Forever Changes" is golden, but my vote goes to "Four Sail", an album barely mentioned in the Rolling Stone obit. "Four Sail is monumental for two reasons:
1) it captured the mood of the world perfectly. The spellbinding, intense raga "August" was reacorded at the same time that Chicago police were splitting open heads at the Democratic National Convention. Jay Donellan's Coltranesque guitar solo (comparable to Roger McGuin's solo on "8 Miles High") still makes your hair stand on end -- espeically when you understand the mood of the times when it was recorded. Every song on "Four Sail" is solid. My personal favorite is the autobiographical "Dream" for Arthur's words and voice filled with vulnerability -- and for the sweetest complimentary guitar solo EVER; the first seven notes of the solo go up the scale and soar from there. (Whatever became of Jay?)
2) Arthur assembled the "Four Sail" group from scratch and wound up with one of the best guitar quartet albums of the day...this after the orchestral masterpiece of "Forever Changes". It was a whole new thing, and Arthur nailed it.
The Rolling Stone obit metions that Arthur hated to tour, which was a big factor in his relative obscurity. For whatever reasons, the "hip" FM djs were just clueless to the possibilities (example: segue "Dream" with "A Day In The Life" and see what happens) Due to the lack of radio airplay over the decades WATCH FOR A YOUNG UPSTART GROUP TO RECORD ARTHUR'S MATERIAL, and watch as most of us assume it is new work.
Somewhere, justice will prevail. |
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Susan B.
Third Love
USA
84 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2007 : 08:41:52
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| Too bad Rodney wasn't DJing back then. |
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rocker
Old Love
USA
3606 Posts |
Posted - 15/02/2007 : 14:25:44
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| radiopete..just to add... I liked Four Sail as well and thought it was a well-produced record..for me it was Arthur's next best work after FC..I don't' know how others feel but I liked his work because he was engaged and deeply introspective with all that was going around him and at the same time he could express what he was thinking and feeling pretty uniquely. There are some poignant songs on the record...For me "Always See Your Face" and "I'm With You" were open windows on his life...all in all his life as an artist wasn't easy that's for sure... |
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ALLANAGAIN
Old Love
United Kingdom
687 Posts |
Posted - 16/02/2007 : 01:53:23
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Well said, Radiopete!! 4 SAIL is my personal favourite Love album, a real work of creative genius, i agree. The whole feel of the album from start to last is electric, and sounds like a band playing live at points. As a pyschedelic rock album for those who love gutar, it,s up there with the very best JIMMI, SPIRIT et al, you are the only other Love fan i,ve met on here whose fave album is 4 SAIL. So we are in aminnority, LO.L. I think this line up of Love is the best ever, "SINGING COBOY" AUGUST" ALLWAYS SEEYOUR FACE" all killer tracks...LOVE at their very finest!! |
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bigrubberglove
Fourth Love
188 Posts |
Posted - 16/02/2007 : 04:09:06
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Another vote for Four Sail:
http://www.bigtakeover.com/essays/15-underrated-albums
Love—Four Sail
Talk about a tough act to follow! Conventional wisdom has it that after Love’s first three records, culminating with the brilliance of Forever Changes, Arthur Lee lost his creative muse. Not so! Four Sail is extremely good (as fellow BT blogger Matt Berlyant quite accurately pointed out recently) and is in my opinion better than Love’s much-ballyhooed eponymous debut. Influenced by Jimi Hendrix’s then rising star and brand of fiery guitar playing, Lee traded in the orchestral/folk majesty of Forever Changes for a more propulsive assault. A key reason why Four Sail succeeds is because it has fantastic songs and oodles of sweet melodies. Of note: “August,” which features George Suranovich’s machine gun like drumming and a wailing guitar that could attract a pack of alley cats in heat on a cold January night. |
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rocker
Old Love
USA
3606 Posts |
Posted - 16/02/2007 : 14:49:11
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| yes, a "lost late 60's classic"...allan..for me, if FC didn't make the scene well Four Sail would be the one..always big with me...Arthur's showing that he didn't have a "one-track" mind...lots of varied styles that make the record so listenable... |
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Old_Man
Old Love
United Kingdom
668 Posts |
Posted - 16/02/2007 : 19:55:44
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(Whatever became of Jay?)
Jay posts here from time to time, and has been doing a little recording too. |
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ZFarrar
Fourth Love
USA
164 Posts |
Posted - 17/02/2007 : 03:45:05
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The band imploded before FM Rock really was on solid ground. The pseudo hipster FM jocks were in love with everything British, almost to the point of being queer about it. The AM Top 40 stations like KHJ Los Angeles actually played the hell out of the following songs:
My Little Red Book, 7&7 Is, Signed DC, and for a time Alone Again Or. As for the albums that followed FC, they were okay. But by this time if you wanted hard rock, sorry there was better bands than the '69 version of Love, end of story. Of course looking back now, the music is pretty good-but Love's time had come and gone commercially. That's one thing nobody can ever say about the band. There was never a "7&7 Seagram's 7 Blended Whiskey tour" or "Old Man" music boxes. Love was art not commerce. Son of a bitch, I wish they were better known and appreciated, but once you realize most people have terrible taste in music (how else can you explain Mariah Carey, J-Lo, Kansas, REO Speedwagon,
or Creed?) it's easier to deal with. Beck was a much better guitarist than Clapton
or Page, but who gets the attention? |
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bob f.
Old Love
USA
1308 Posts |
Posted - 18/02/2007 : 00:19:50
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i, too think four sail is the best after forever changes.
i am glad all over i was at Love's four sail concert at the whiskey, hollywood, soon after the lp (remember those?) which i bought upon release. i left the show with my ears ringing and felt buzzed for days even after the drugs wore off! August is still my favotite , and glad Arthur and LOVE , played it in the last few tours!
...what the world needs now... |
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ruxprncd
Fifth Love
305 Posts |
Posted - 18/02/2007 : 06:19:17
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| YES. Four Sail is brilliant. Personally, I really can't compare it against the debut, or Da Capo - all 3 are fantastic - but looks like I'm not alone in ranking all of these in the same league :). |
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Merlyn Merlot
Fourth Love
USA
190 Posts |
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TJSAbass
Fourth Love
USA
139 Posts |
Posted - 19/02/2007 : 08:21:54
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| I consider Four Sail right up there with the first 3. I used to like to listen to "Nothing" in the morning when coming down off a trip, to put my head in the right place. |
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ALLANAGAIN
Old Love
United Kingdom
687 Posts |
Posted - 19/02/2007 : 14:19:36
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With you there TJ, I loved "NOTHING" +"GOOD TIMES" coming down from a trip as well. Four Sail is one of my all time faves for tripping, with "AUGUST" as the opener,it,s one great psychedelic ride all the way, even "Your Freind and mine". For peaking "REVALATIONS" from de capo is wonderfull, i was luke warm about this track, untill i heard it on a trip , and everything fell into place...GREAT music and GREAT memories...thanks for remimding me.
LOVE
Allan |
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tmittelstadt
Third Love
63 Posts |
Posted - 19/02/2007 : 14:20:01
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| Four Sail is my second favorite Love album. The songs are great, and I think the drumming is the best of any of the Love albums. |
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rocker
Old Love
USA
3606 Posts |
Posted - 20/02/2007 : 14:39:26
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| ZFarrar..interesting points...at the time I think they were just looked as simply one of many regional bands out there on the coast...in my recollection from what was going on in New York I don't think they got ANY air play on AM or FM radio by the djs who as you rightly note were in love with the Brits and Australian stuff...;-)...if music was a competiton Love really had a hard time getting a rating...with me if it wasn't for knowing a Calif girl I probably wouldn't have known anything about Arthur's setup..... |
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jazmaan
Fifth Love
USA
315 Posts |
Posted - 21/02/2007 : 05:10:32
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| KHJ did "play the hell out of" those songs. But KRLA and KBLA went even deeper into the Love songbook. So Love did not lack hometown radio support by any means. |
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Little or no airplay for Arthur's brilliance
