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myoungish
Fifth Love
USA
264 Posts |
 Posted - 18/10/2005 : 03:21:51
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Strangely, with each passing year, my enjoyment and fascination for Love seems to grow, rather than slowly dissipate. Despite everything (including being at one of the infamous san francisco shows earlier this year and reading Mike's diaries) nothing seems to diminish the power and magic of the same forty songs or so. Also, does anyone else often wonder about Arthur's daily life? Does he wake up and eat Cheerios and stare at the Discovery channel...on a good day? Will he buy his own groceries at the local Memphis Safeway? Does he ever sit back in awe or nostalgia and wonder about that inspired visionary who created FC? I find myself thinking about this stuff quite often...and I do have a semblance of a life, I swear! I'm sure some of you must relate, yes?
Michael Young |
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Phil Brauer
Third Love
90 Posts |
Posted - 18/10/2005 : 03:51:04
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| I can totally relate. I had a dream about AL the other night, and it was so vivid. I showed up at some night club, and there were a bunch of people there that I work with, all hanging out and looking real cool...and then I show up in my work uniform and they are all kind of laughing at me. Then I go inside the club and Arthur Lee comes out on stage with his new "memphis musicians" and they are playing some really weird stuff...and the musicians are also sitting at tables out in the club...doing solo's on their instruments, etc...I think one of them was playing a saw...making those weird theremin type sounds. But yea, I think about how Arthur is doing all the time...what he thinks about, etc. |
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myoungish
Fifth Love
USA
264 Posts |
Posted - 18/10/2005 : 06:51:05
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Phil, I highly enjoyed reading about your funky dream of Arthur and co. playing at a Memphis club. Especially the part about the cat who took a solo on a saw that sounded like a theramin...classic! I, too, have had a few dreams about AL, one in which he ran this swank, red velvet bowling alley in Hollywood, and he raced around in a George Washington wig, giving orders on a loudspeaker with an echo chamber. Glad to hear I'm not alone with this stuff...
Michael Young |
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Somebum
First Love
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - 21/10/2005 : 07:14:37
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| Mike,I've listened to lots of music in my 47 years and the first time I heard Love was when I started reading about hippies back in February, this year, and of course, Arthur Lee and his band of merrymen pop up. So I hear FC is a classic. No radio stations in Spokane play Love so I go down to a store and FC is in stock. "What is so good about the album", I wondered, what will I find. Well, I find out that it's an instant all-time favorite upon listening and it immediately puts me into a funk. That's because I read an awful lot on Love in a short period of time and had a little hope that I'd catch AL and crew somewhere, sometime. It appears this will never happen. I too wonder (I do wonder)what goes on in a guys mind to make him waste a lifetime of opportunity. I've seen lots of good people crash and burn and it's such a pity. With any new band I like, I wait for the next effort eagerly. 38 years after FC comes out, I find out about them and though it seems like a new band to a guy who never heard them, in fact it leaves you feeling like a hollow man to know these guys passed me by and it's over. Now at least three of them are dead with one more on the gas pipe! The people living the times in the late 60's that write about it, share a nostalgia that only the people who lived it can relate to. I do know this. If you take a look at the list of obituaries from former band members of various bands from the late 60's, you'll find too many of them are dead. That many people don't die that young because they ate Cheerios every day. So yes, Mike, I think about those times a lot as I enter middle age, you're not alone. I have a life too, but here I am reading what other people have to say about Love, a band ruined by the very genius who created it. Da Capo and FC really make me feel great, I just wished there was more. I'm talking about the classic lineup here. I'm not familiar with AL's subsequent stuff, I hear it's sketchy, except for the recent performances of old stuff that appears to have been going well for at least awhile. He must have demons that only occur in movies. They say he's back to his old tricks again. When you think about it, enigma really fits Arthur, and I feel no better saying it. I've rambled enough, but that's what Love does to me. I can't put my finger on why the old Love makes me feel euphoric and bummed out at the same time. Arthur Lee is on and in my mind and I don't even know him or why. I just know that when I'm humping up that hill, elk hunting, "Maybe the People....." rolls through my mind like a movie with AL scat singing in the background. Like a horror film, Arthur Lee transfers his darkness to me and if Stephen King is listening........ Jim Duda |
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jimmyboy
Fourth Love
USA
234 Posts |
Posted - 22/10/2005 : 05:00:51
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| that was a great post Mr.Jim! I feel exactly the same but you said it brilliantly. Welcome to what is left of this website. A fresh take from a new member is appreciated. |
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ThomasGalasso
Old Love
USA
712 Posts |
Posted - 22/10/2005 : 06:02:01
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I must say I agree.
Arthur Lee is an enigma, the band known as Love is an enigma. Arthur Lee, the master hippie, the first guy to also jump ship. He was gangster before there were any gangsters in music aside from the jazz and blues men. A man who never shows up on any random documentaries, nor is mentioned, and you rarely hear stories from outside sources where he is a figure that plays a part in the daily lives of the great artists.
For example does one ever read anything about The Doors or The Byrds and hear anything about Arthur, or for that matter Jimi ?
One gets frustrated thinking about how this dude isn't on the cover of any magazines other than maybe Jazz & Pop, but no Rolling Stone or Creem. This guy destroyed what could have been the greatest band ever, a band that would be bigger than The Doors, and maybe even rival the Beatles dare I say it.
He is an enigma that is still living which makes him even more interesting. Guys like Jim Morrison are dead and much is written about that and the same goes for Jimi Hendrix, but Arthur never died.
Arthurly is truly deserving of a feature film, much in the same vain as Malcolm X or Ray, or Raging Bull. I would have said The Doors, but aside from Val Kilmer, I think it comes off as a made-for-tv movie.
-Thomas |
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myoungish
Fifth Love
USA
264 Posts |
Posted - 22/10/2005 : 08:39:37
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Yeah, a really insightful post, Jim. Your description of feeling euphoric and bummed out simultaneously really evokes what I feel since I first heard the bewitching intro to Alone Again Or about ten years ago. Glad you discovered 'em late than never....but I wish you could have seen Arthurly in all his regenerated glory in 2002-2003. Truly risen from the ashes. The audience gasped at Bimbo's in San Francisco when the lights rose, and there he stood in a cowboy hat and mischievous smile, bad and lean and shaking a tambourine to the opening bass line of My Little Red Book. (I really don't mean to rub it in, I'm just kind of reliving it here...) But I'm guessing those demons have drowned him once again, maybe for good this time. And yeah, I wish there was more from the classic lineup too. Such a huge, complex sound and vision, and so little material. (Four Sail, his album after FC, is excellent, but very different.)
And Thomas, I agree that AL is like a ghost erased from music history. You never see archival footage, he's never been interviewed for any music docs, and there have been very few retrospective articles in anything resembling the mainstream music press. It makes you wonder if everything would have been different if he didn't pass up the Monterey Pop Festival in '67, which Love were supposed to play. Then we'd at least have some pristine film footage alongside Otis and Jimmy....
Michael Young |
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Allan
Old Love
USA
560 Posts |
Posted - 22/10/2005 : 15:23:05
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Jim-I'm appreciating your excellent post and wonderful command of our language.
I will soon become 57 (Nov 5), and I am a product of the 60's. So much so that my music of choice still is 60's (especially LA 60's) into just the early 70's. To me, most muisc since say '73, is just not my cup of tea. There were so many groups back then that meant so much to me...like from England-The Yardbirds, Family, The Move, Fairport Convention (dare I say Fotheringay), The Incredible String Band, Traffic, Rory Gallagher (from Ireland), so many more.
LA 60's meant more to me than San Francisco 60's. The Byrds, The Sons of Adam, LOVE, The Doors, Spirit, Canned Heat, The Mothers of Invention, Leon Russell, The Seeds...LA 60's was magical. I lived in Laurel Canyon on Wonderland from April '70 thru November '70, actually right next door to Carole King. Laurel Canyon was magical-a place that's part of the city, yet so removed from the city. Seeing members of the Mother's buying $.50 bottles of Riplle wine at 10:00 A.M. at The Country Store and laughing amongst themeselves as they called it "Breakfast of Champions"  Going to Canter's Deli at 1:00 in the morning on a Friday night, and just being with 100's of people living for the times (and the party ). Sunset Strip, Mulholland Drive, Venice Beach, and Topanga Canyon. And I was only a visitor, not a native, as my home is on the East Coast.
LOVE's music was the times. They were a big part of the puzzle that made the '60's what it was. They held LA in the palm of their hands. They were the first to mix Psychedelic, Blues, Pop, Rock, and even Ballads. They were amongst the first to utilize an orchestral-type sound (along with The Beatles and The Beach Boys) to one of the top ten best albums of all time, Forever Changes. LOVE was a statement!!!.
We've lost Bryan and Kenny, but we still have Arthur, Johnny, and Michael Stuart (I e-mail with Michael often-he's a great guy). I, like everyone else here, hope to see some future incarnation of LOVE. Wouldn't it be awesome if the surviving 3 members could just put it together one more time? Now-that would be a statement!!
Allan |
Edited by - Allan on 22/10/2005 15:25:47 |
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bluecap
Second Love
United Kingdom
27 Posts |
Posted - 22/10/2005 : 22:22:19
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The Love, we all loved is but a distant dream my friends.
We have all been lucky to have been part of this wonderful chapter in music.
Be thankful that you have had this trip.
The King is dead, but you where so lucky to have seen and heard him, move on.
the news today will be the movies of tomorrow |
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ThomasGalasso
Old Love
USA
712 Posts |
Posted - 22/10/2005 : 23:43:52
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I would hate to say anything negative about Arthurly, but it remains a sad state of affairs to have a legend, a super hero still living which many of the greats are not. A man who yes, like Cream could in theory get with Johnny, and Michael Stuart, and perhaps even have Jay Donellan fill in for MacLean and maybe throw in a great bass player with a lot of stamina, and see these guys get together.
I don't see anything like that ever happening, Arthur is getting older everyday, and pretty soon, he won't be able to pull a rabbit out of his hat in terms of renewed vigor, at least not to the point of being able to rival the old Arthur. I don't want to put limitations on him, but he is human.
The highs of the Elektra albums, the weirdness of Four Sail, and then the Blue Thumb stuff. Particularly how ineffective the Blue Thumb stuff was, and how Arthur didn't seem to care. To the Vindicator and unreleased Black Beauty, and then to Reel to Real (which I like...a lot). It doesn't end. One would think maybe in a sort of "normal" way he would have done like Lou Reed and embarked on a magical solo career once Love sort of ran out of gas in the mid 1970's.
I can only respect a man who is comfortable with his fate however, and sticks with his principles whether or not I always agree with them. Those are some of the things that make him a genius to me, it is truly taking in the good with the bad.
Think of how hard it is to find good promotional photos of this man in his prime, aside from the same ones we always see. Curious.
-Thomas |
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Merlyn Merlot
Fourth Love
USA
190 Posts |
Posted - 23/10/2005 : 01:55:50
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Thomas in regard to Promo shots
Do you believe it was because Elecktra was never quite sure about how to break a multi racial Rock band
I know Columbia didn't know what to do or how to deal with the Chamber's Bros.
Or was it because Arthurly Didn''t want to do the foto thing and found it against the vibe of Love
I'm sure that the gentlemen know as Johnny Echols could answer this
come to think of it
Now that being said
before emtee vee took away the magic by showing you sound and images of the same band every 15 minutes
there was a time that you had to wait to to see the band live in ur town to dig the mystery
I really dug the fact that you had to be looking for fotos and info about the band
seeking it
and that you were in a very cool secret club that included like minded indi visuals that sought out the geniuses of the underground
sometimes when a band or legend got so big you kinda wanted to say
"Hey What are all these freaks doing in my living room"
btw i have been listening to the Siddhartha songs over and over again.
diggin' it a ton
Love it as a matter of fact @C@
Why Don't We Sing This Song Altogether |
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ThomasGalasso
Old Love
USA
712 Posts |
Posted - 23/10/2005 : 17:18:01
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I'm glad you like the Siddhartha tracks.
We are definetly coming. We are going to get the entire album done and released, but in the meantime in-between time, we want to get the buzz out, so tell as many people as you feel need to know, because when the album is released, we will have way more songs to add to it.
As for Arthurly, I think he was probably so elusive that he didn't take too many photos. I read a weird tale in the Pegasus Carusel book where Elektra tried to make a promotional video/film of the guys doing Da Capo, and Arthur supposedly snatches one of the cameras from a cameraman and runs off stage with it. Thusly creating a bad energy between himself and the rest of the crew, and also during all of this, a bunch of business types were there.
I have an issue of Jazz & Pop magazine from 1970 where Four Sail was being reviewed. Kind of interesting, but he tends to say a lot of stuff that I have heard before, also of note is that Arthur hit the cover of the mag, but it's in black and white.
-Thomas |
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Somebum
First Love
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - 24/10/2005 : 07:38:23
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| Wow, you guys know your stuff in this forum. Allan, you made some funny comments that struck me close to home. You see, drinking Ripple at 1000 is not that weird. I used to do the Wild Irish Rose (rocket fuel) and I never did mind a good beer buzz at 0700 if that's where the hammer fell! But I always knew that that wasn't the way I'd want to spend all of my days. It was the circumstances and the people I was with and we laugh about those days to no end. It just may be better now that people are thinking that AL has deserted the ship for good. For the likes of you that are old enough to to have lived through the craziness of 66-70, you have your memories. For those who want to continue to see Love in a vacuum, I'm thinking it's time for you to wake up and smell the smoke grenades! Before you say, "blasphemy", count me as one of those who enjoys living in the past; I'm one of you, except that I missed those days (and Vietnam) by 6-10 years. Damn the torpedoes. I go see Blue Oyster Cult every time they come to town. Sometimes they are better than other times. Sometimes I hear the same old stuff. But I want to hear Spectres for eternity and they can write all the new songs on the planet, I'll still want to hear "The Golden Age of Leather". Well the only Love I ever hear is what I buy. I just got FC live at the RAH today. I'll go dig up Four Sail for Xmas. I'm going to read what you experts have to say. Sop it right up and like it. I'm going to post stuff here, even though jimmyboy tells me it's "what's left of this website", and I have no idea what that means. Love had their run and we can't bring it back. When you're in your 20's, you think differently than when you're 60. When you do acid every day of your life, or smoke the BC bud all the time, your creative juices will flow. Of course they won't be flowing for long, but that's something else. I wouldn't think that anyone in their 60's could get up to those antics, but we do have plenty of modern medicine that could keep you afloat for awhile. But the ticker will give out, it's Father Time, man! The fellas in The Love Band want to move on, write new stuff. Go ahead. If it's good, we'll get it. If they show up in Spokane, I'll take a peek, I'd love to see Johhny Echols, Randle, Sqeezebox, et al. Maybe AL will pull it back together. What made him what he was is what he is. I'm disillusioned with modern rock. The last great stand by a rock outfit I saw was in 2000, Stone Temple Pilots were backing up Red Hot Chili Peppers and blew them away with the most intense 45 minutes of concert I ever heard. I walked out of the Peppers. I couldn't take it (the rap-rock?)after 45 minutes of Scott Weiland rousing the crowd into a frenzy, in front of pounding lead guitar, something like Mike referred to with AL coming out in Frisco. The sheer energy. Of course Weiland self destructed with the drugs, same old story. So I go backwards in time. It's time for a guy like me to start moving back through the years, picking up albums that the world has forgotten about (Moby Grape, Mothers of Invention, Buffalo Springfield, etc.) because, you see, I know nothing of these guys, and like I found out with Love, I should know a lot about. None of them will compare to FC, but it will seem like good, new music to me. It comes with getting old. Though I can't speak for all, it's right for me. Que sera sera.... Jim Duda |
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Phil Brauer
Third Love
90 Posts |
Posted - 24/10/2005 : 10:06:42
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Another cool post Jim...keep em coming!!! I too am dissilusioned with any of the bands around today (except for the new band Siddhartha, which I likes) So I also am cruising the record aisles for 60's band's...and like you said, it's all new to me. When I grew up it was the Doors and Hendrix and the Rolling Stones...but I am trying to dig deeper than that now. I recently picked up Canned Heat and it is groovy stuff, but definitely not on the level of FC. I was at tower records about 4 months ago and bought something...and they had a free Bob Dylan sampler CD, so I grabbed it...it was free, he, he. I didn't even open it up for months, but when I did...whoa. I knew of Bob Dylan of course, and had one of his greatest hits records, but never really FELT IT. So on the strength of the sampler CD, I bought "Live at the Gaslight" which is one of his earliest recordings. Well, to make a long story short, I can feel myself slipping into a new obsession...Bob Dylan!
Also Jim, Four Sail is definitely worth getting as a X-mas present.
and in conclusion, I always had a soft spot for Stone Temple Pilots. RHCP are great as well, but different stuff.
Back to the sixties band's (I am rambling...slightly drunk!) I want to get some Buffalo Springfield, some CSNY, some Ten Years After, some Thirteenth Floor Elevators...(Roky rules), Frank Zappa I haven't even touched yet....there's just a lot of great music from the past to explore. Peace Out Brothers and Sister's, I am going to bed. |
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Somebum
First Love
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - 28/10/2005 : 05:59:59
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| Alright then, back to Love, riding on the Pegasus Carousel. Does anyone who's read the book think it is at times hilarious, reading about AL duking out the drug dealer who wasn't concerned with AL being out money on a drug deal that he left in the mailbox, kicking off on the dudes' ass at the Country Store. Imagine gettin 86'd out of a store? I liked it because I know guys who have done things like that (always someone else, not me) and then AL getting fired up about Morrison being stupid and naked at his pool and AL having to go down to "tighten" Morrison up. I couldn't stop laughing about that one. Hard laughing, til it hurt! Also AL telling Stuart that the closet was a place even he used when the trip got too intense. All matter-of-factly, like everyone stays stoned all the time, firing up the hash pipe seemingly hourly. Booting up the smack regularly, it's tough being a rocker!!! Not knowing anything about Blotter, LSD 25, Orange Sunshine, Purple Haze, etc., I'd get the impression that you only did acid if you wanted to take a ride to a paranoic funny farm, all the time remembering that "Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean someone isn't really out to get you". I'm not done yet with the book, but I'm glad I got it. That's what daughters and birthdays are for. Love certainly didn't seem to be your "normal" rock band as far as touring goes. Now, to refer to some other posts from the experts on Love out there, Thomas, it appears to me that Love is treated like Michael Savage is today. Love was censored then as well as now by being ignored. Like Savage, they had a lot to say but not fitting into the norms of the times (conservative world)caused the word not to get out. The liberals do it to Savage as well and it's always a shame, because no matter your views, you have a right to be heard. I grew up in Massachusetts in the early 70's, I never heard of Love until 7-8 months ago. I knew of lesser bands like Quicksilver and such. From what I read, AL was rather surly and they crucified him and his for it. Allan, "Have you ever woke up with those bullfrogs on your mind"? NOBODY talks about Rory Gallagher! He had an effort, I think it was called Moonchild in 1980 that had a song titled "Moonchild" that was worth the 7 bucks. Fairport Convention had faded from my mind.... almost! Thanks for the reminder. Phil, better late than never to find out about Bob Dylan. If you only buy a few efforts, you can't go wrong with Desire, Blood On the Tracks, Blonde on Blonde, and Highway 61 Revisited. Check out the tune "Maggie's Farm" sometime with lyrics that make Steely Dan sound like schoolboys. ......"He puts his cigar out in your face just for kicks, his bedroom window is made out of bricks"....or this gem, "She hands you a nickel, she hands you a dime, she asks you with a grin if you're having a good time, and she fines you everytime you slam the door, ahhh I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more" (at least that's how I remember it, it's been awhile). Hope that gets you started. Well Kurt "Panzer" Meyer, Waffen SS, is getting ready to start shooting up Russians in "Grenadiers" in 1941 so I'll take a peak into that darkness (prolific reader I am, you see). "Thank you on behalf of myself and the band, and I hope we passed the audition" (with apologies to John Lennon) Jim Duda |
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Arnstein
Fifth Love
Norway
340 Posts |
Posted - 28/10/2005 : 09:07:09
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| This is a little off-topic but: Where can I get the Siddharta songs? |
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that enduring enigma called Love and AL
