Love without Arthur Lee

August 3, 2006 8:51 PM

R.I.P. Arthur LeeThe enigmatic and volatile frontman from the '60s psych group Love, has reportedly passed away after a battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.
posted by dhammond (45 comments total)

Free at last.
posted by shoepal at 9:06 PM on August 3, 2006

Damn. Little Red book.
posted by tellurian at 9:08 PM on August 3, 2006

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posted by nickyskye at 9:11 PM on August 3, 2006

Forever Changes is one of the greatest albums ever.
posted by jam_pony at 9:11 PM on August 3, 2006

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posted by Schlimmbesserung at 9:24 PM on August 3, 2006

Wow. A sad couple of weeks. First Syd, now Arthur Lee.

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posted by kar120c at 9:31 PM on August 3, 2006

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posted by pyramid termite at 9:34 PM on August 3, 2006

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posted by parki at 9:40 PM on August 3, 2006

Jesus. Poor, poor Arthur Lee.

When are we going to recognize our musicians as true artists and treat them as such??
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 10:02 PM on August 3, 2006

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posted by drezdn at 10:07 PM on August 3, 2006

That's really sad. RIP sir. Someone tell Roky Erickson to please be careful.
posted by sleepy pete at 10:14 PM on August 3, 2006

His death is such a sad loss. He was influential to many.

I went to a Arthur Lee benefit a few weeks ago for him at the Whiskey, in LA. Johnny Echols (Love guitarist) played an amazing set with Baby Lemonade, playing Love songs. It was beautiful. It was a huge turn out and a tremendous showing of love.
posted by Titania at 10:42 PM on August 3, 2006

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posted by BoringPostcards at 11:10 PM on August 3, 2006

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posted by TheDonF at 11:30 PM on August 3, 2006

RIP Arthur Lee

*proceeds to crank up "I Still Wonder" and "The Red Telephone" and enjoy the music Arthur left us*
posted by spacelux at 12:02 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by Charlie Bucket at 12:25 AM on August 4, 2006

Now it seems
Things are not so strange
I can
see more clearly
Suddenly I've found my way
I
know the old man would laugh
He spoke of love's
sweeter days
And in his eloquent way
I think he was
speaking of you...
posted by lapolla at 1:06 AM on August 4, 2006

Shit.

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posted by flashboy at 1:22 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by johnny novak at 1:56 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by soundofsuburbia at 2:16 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by erskelyne at 2:26 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by the cuban at 2:36 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by Mister Bijou at 3:02 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by brevator at 4:20 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by desuetude at 5:32 AM on August 4, 2006

Damn. Sorry to hear that.

Forever Changes is one of the greatest albums ever.

Amen.
posted by languagehat at 5:41 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by mds35 at 5:54 AM on August 4, 2006

Shit, first Syd and now this. Somebody check on Roky Erickson for me.

Love was amazing in how they could do delicate stuff like Forever Changes and then completely rock out on stuff like "My Little Red Book," which sets the record for the raunchiest Bacharach cover of all time.
posted by jonmc at 5:54 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by cobra libre at 6:09 AM on August 4, 2006

Also, in his pre-Love outfit the American Four he did a tune called 'Luci Baines' which may be one of the best 'Twist & Shout,' ripoffs of all time.
posted by jonmc at 6:10 AM on August 4, 2006

Free Arthur Lee
posted by matteo at 6:20 AM on August 4, 2006

Glad I got to see a show of his a few years ago.
posted by cell divide at 6:25 AM on August 4, 2006

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Damn!

I will always be glad I got to see him perform the entirety of Forever Changes complete with orchestra & backup from Baby Lemonade.

We're all normal, and we want our freedom.
posted by jonp72 at 6:50 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by brujita at 6:53 AM on August 4, 2006

Dear old man....kind old man....

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posted by scratch at 7:34 AM on August 4, 2006

Mortality beckons. Rock on, Arthur.

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posted by whozyerdaddy at 7:36 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by Ber at 7:46 AM on August 4, 2006

Another genius gone. May he rest in peace.
posted by blucevalo at 8:30 AM on August 4, 2006

Sad. Love had some brilliant songs during their first era.

I saw the newly-unjailed Lee play with 'Love' (basically the band Baby Lemonade) four or five years ago in Portland. Absolute crap - it was cringeworthy and I felt embarrassed for the him. The poor man couldn't hold a note worth a shit, especially on the Love songs that he didn't originally sing. I thought he was just having an off night, but I've seen footage of the band since then, and he'd just lost the charm. To be fair, the crowd ate it up, and in modern interviews, Lee could talk shit about his contemporaries (the Beach Boys, Syd Barrett's Floyd, etc.) that rivaled the best of the shit talking musicians of this or any era.
posted by Item at 8:34 AM on August 4, 2006

That's why I linked to the old black and white item, that was his fine time.
posted by tellurian at 8:42 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by Fuzzy Monster at 9:02 AM on August 4, 2006

Don't get me wrong: thanks to out of control drug laws (well, those and the weapons and assault charges) the man had a mostly shit life but crafted some powerful, timeless music 40 years ago. I do tend to think that, looking over their body of work, Love has received quite a bit more praise than a lot of their equally good (if not better) contemporaries. 'Forever Changes' has some beautiful, damn near perfect material but it's also got an equal amount of filler and questionable lyrics (i.e. 'Live and Let Live': Well the snot has caked against my pants; it has turned into crystal.). In my opinion, by the way, which doesn't mean jack shit as long as there are people that see something in the music that I don't.

I was just reflecting on the Lee that I knew.

Am I gonna get hell for this? I should've just posted a ".".
posted by Item at 9:15 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by Item at 9:15 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by allaboutgeorge at 9:51 AM on August 4, 2006

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posted by jeremy b at 10:40 AM on August 4, 2006