The Village, Dublin
Ireland, April 2. 2003

Last Update: 03. oktober 2003

The Irish Times April 8th 2003

Love With Arthur Lee

The Village, Dublin
KEVIN COURTNEY

Dublin's newest venue - basically the Mean Fiddler with a facelift - was the scene for the triumphant return of the original funky psychedelic folkie, whose 1967 album, Forever Changes, pops up in best-album-of-all-time lists with Pet Sounds and Revolver.
Now 59, Lee is playing catch-up after a spell in jail on firearms charges, getting out just in time for a massive resurgence of interest in classic albums and their makers. He played an impressive gig at the Ambassador last year, but tonight he's got something special up his ruffled sleeve. With his old LA rival Brian Wilson performing Pet Sounds for the delight and delectation of dad-rockers, nothing will do Lee but to recreate Forever Changes live.
A strident tambourine called the assembled to order as Lee warmed up with My Little Red Book, Orange Skies and Your Mind and We Belong Together.
Lee's music is perfect for playing live, with its dips and swoops, its abrupt slowdowns and sudden gallops, and its wild swings between minors and major sevenths. Add Mark Randall's blinding lead guitar and that would be sufficient for a Summer of Love sensation.
When the eight-piece orchestra came on, however, the Love parade really gained momentum, and we were swept along by Forever Changes. Alone Again Or teased with its choppy chorus and finger-picking breakdowns, then delivered a blast of solo trumpet. Live And Let Live stormed ahead with its hard-rocking hippy polemic, stopping only to exhort us to "ask our leaders why". You Set The Scene was a spectacular finale.
If there was a whiff of showbiz in the encore and a touch of the Wilson Picketts in Lee's shimmies, you'd have to forgive him, wouldn't you?