Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Arthur Lee. Afficher tous les articles
Affichage des articles dont le libellé est Arthur Lee. Afficher tous les articles
mardi 3 février 2015
Love & Arthur Lee - Fillmore West, San Francisco, CA - November 21, 1970 (Great Audience Flac)
Tracklist
1st Set
01 Product Of The Times
02 Stand Out
03 Keep On Shining
04 Andmoreagain
05 Singing Cowboy
06 Good Times
07 Announcements
2nd Set
08 Stand Out
09 Product Of The Times
10 Bummer In The Summer
11 Find Somebody
12 Signed D.C.
13 Slick Dick
14 Always See Your Face
15 Singing Cowboy
Credits
Arthur Lee - Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Gary Rowles - Lead Guitar
Frank Fayad - Bass
George Suranovich - Drums
Link
mercredi 27 février 2013
Love - Four Sail (1969 great us psychedelic rock - 2002 remastered reissue complete scans - Wave)
After having loved their debut, Da Capo, and Forever Changes I was a little skeptical when I first popped Foursail into my cd player. How could Arthur Lee possibly reform Love after coming off of an album that many consider one of rock 'n' roll's greatest? After listening to Foursail, I realize that the acoustic symphonies of Forever Changes are long gone, but replaced by a much more powerful, dynamic rock sound, reminiscent of Cream and Zeppelin at times. In strong contrast with Forever Changes, which was Arthur Lee's death letter to the world, Foursail abandons the longer lyrical patterns for shorter, yet equally witty lyrics. Jay Donnallen shines on lead guitar; every solo just booms with intensity and originality, which almost makes you forget the abscense of Johnny Echols. Still present are the complex rhythm changes that Arthur Lee loves so much, and shows that he can still execute to perfection. While Foursail is not the masterpiece that Forever Changes was, and not as experimental as Da Capo, there is still something to be said for just putting out an exceptionally "cool" album. The track listing does not contain anything of the magnitude of "You Set the Scene" (which I personally consider one of the greatest songs in rock n roll), yet songs like "August", "Robert Montgomery", and "Singing Cowboy" boast excellent guitar riffs, and lyrics that you just can't help but sing along to. "Good Times" is another song off of the album that really just stuck with me. Although the band is different, songs such as "Neil's Song" and "Dream" remind us that Arthur Lee is still at the helm, which means the lyrics are dark and mysterious, despite the campy, sing-songy feeling evoked by "Neil's Song". To cap off the album, Lee ends with "Always See Your Face", a beautiful song that blends the horn sounds of Forever Changes with his newer rock sound characteristic of the rest of the album. Foursail is not the experimental delight that Da Capo was, nor the everlasting classic that Forever Changes is. Keeping this in mind, Foursail is an essential for any Love fan, or any fan of late 60's acid rock. Lee still proves that he is more than just another psychedelic rock band with Foursail, putting his newly-formed band on the top of the rock pedestal of 1969. This album has been unfairly forgotten, and deserves (in my opinion)to earn recognition in the top 50 or so rock albums. Please explore this album and other works by Love so we can all experience the musical genius that was and still is Arthur Lee.(By "leopardskinpillbxht")
Tracklist
01 "August" — 5:00
02 "Your Friend and Mine - Neil's Song" — 3:40
03 "I'm With You" — 2:45
04 "Good Times" — 3:30
05 "Singing Cowboy" (Lee, Jay Donnellan) — 4:30
06 "Dream" — 2:49
07 "Robert Montgomery" — 3:34
08 "Nothing" — 4:44
09 "Talking in My Sleep" — 2:50
10 "Always See Your Face" — 3:30
Bonus Tracks
11 "Robert Montgomery" (alternate vocal) — 3:41
12 "Talking in My Sleep" (alternate mix) — 2:55
13 "Singing Cowboy" (unedited version) (Lee, Donnellan) — 5:52
All songs written and arranged by Arthur Lee, except where noted.
Personnel:
Arthur Lee - rhythm guitar, piano, conga, harmonica, lead vocals, producer
Jay Donnellan - lead guitar
Frank Fayad - bass, backing vocals (06,07)
George Suranovich - drums (01,05 to 10), backing vocals (06,07)
Drachen Theaker - drums (02 to 04)
mardi 8 janvier 2013
Love - Out Here (1969 great us psychedelic rock - Wave)
An underrated masterpiece from Love
Yes indeed, this is a different band than was behind the beloved Forever Changes, but that's ok, because this is a great record, a truly underrated gem. Sure, this record is all over the dang place with long psychedelic guitar jams, drum solos, short novelty tunes, 3 minute pop songs-sung with much love, soul and passion by Arthur Lee, down and out blues, and acoustic folk songs. But for music nerds who enjoy stuff like that-this is a buried treasure. Yes, maybe it could have been cut down to a single record, but then why not just let this band do their thing and indulge, after all this was 1968! Indeed the sister album to this, "Four Sail", is the superior of the two, but Out Here is really good and kinda Out There...far out man! No kidding, this Love band was a tight, versataile group. Don't compare it to the first 3 Love records and just enjoy it for what it is. Arthur Lee's "White album", ya know -like the Beatles!. A sprawling 2 LP monster full of melodic, half-crazed, blues/rocking/funk/folk, short, medium, long, quiet, loud, funny, serious, sad, happy and big songs. Gary Rowles' lead guitar solo on "Love Is More Than Words..." is amazing, beyond words.
Favorites are "Gather 'Round", "Listen To My Song", "I'll Pray For You", "Doggone", "Willow Willow", "Run To The Top", "I Still Wonder", "Stand Out", and the slowed down blues version of "Signed D.C." which has one of the greatest harmonica solos ever put down on vinyl, from Arthur of course. Great stuff. If nothing else, you gotta appreciate how awesome and amazing Arthur Lee's vocals were at this point. The guy had range like no other. Believe that! (By Hoagie Mike)
Tracklist
01 I'll Pray For You - 4:16
02 Abalony - 1:46
03 Signed D.C. - 5:15
04 Listen To My Song - 2:24
05 I'm Down - 3:47
06 Stand Out - 3:00
07 Discharged - 1:36
08 Doggone - 12:00
09 I Still Wonder - 3:05
10 Love Is More Than Words Or Better Late Than Never - 11:20
11 Nice To Be - 1:50
12 Car Lights On In The Day Time Blues - 1:10
13 Run To The Top - 3:00
14 Willow Willow - 3:20
15 Instra-Mental - 3:00
16 You Are Something - 2:05
17 Gather Round - 4:50
Credits
Arthur Lee - Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
Frank Fayad - Bass Guitar
George Suranovich - Drums
Jay Donnellan - Lead Guitar
Here
lundi 7 janvier 2013
Arthur Lee - Vindicator (1972 great us heavy psych rock - cd edition with bonus tracks - wave)
Late last year when we wrote about Arthur Lee’s superb soul spin “Everybody’s Gotta Live,” we hadn’t yet heard Vindicator, the track’s 1972 mothership and Lee’s solo debut. Admittedly, we (I) naively assumed that Vindicator would be a record full of similar songs–an exploration of Lee’s R&B range that was largely neglected during his time in Love. We (I) were wrong.
It took us 17 tracks and roughly 51 minutes to find out that “Everybody’s Gotta Live” is the exception, not the formula. Vindicator is, at turns, southern rock, blues, folk, psychedelic rock and, yes, R&B. Lyrically, it spans from blues ballad to the utterly (and intentionally) ridiculous. While so many solo records segue with few seams from an artist’s ensemble career, Vindicator proves to be something of a non sequitur. That is, Love ends and Arthur Lee begins.
Granted, there are some shades of what Lee would become (or probably always was) on Love’s grittier eponymous debut, shades that would be rubbed out gradually across De Capo and Forever Changes. Lee, famously, was somewhat controlling in Love, or he tried to be. But despite his better efforts, Bryan MacLean hedged Lee’s influence on composition and harmony, and probably to the benefit of Love. That’s not to say that Vindicator falls short, but only that it reveals what Love might not have been if Lee had his druthers. So, Vindicator is as much as album name as it is a statement for Lee, a practice in individuality, an exercise of personal salvation. Here, he does everything he ever wanted to do. Literally, everything.
The opening track, “Sad Song,” is a return to his southern roots, where Lee does Skynyrd before Skynyrd did Skynyrd. A moderately paced rock piece formed around a call and response–Lee calling, his guitar responding–“Sad Song” might tempt you to believe this is what the album is about. Until the record skips over to the second song. “You Can Save Up to 50% But You’re Still a Long Ways from Home” is a 17-second a cappella nursery rhyme that, after multiple listens, still struggles to find sense: “I pawned it / a black-white-yellow human / And if you don’t like what I say / Then vote for Harry Truman.” It’s the kind of quirk you’d expect–if you were expecting such a thing–to find snugly fit into the later tracks, not just as you were getting warmed up. But it seems to work as an attention grabber. Bizarre as it may seem, you want to listen to it twice. And it informs that maybe you have no fucking clue what’s about to happen. In fact, it’s the same kind of subtle narcissistic kink as Lee’s notably flamboyant wardrobe. “Look at me,” it says.
And to his credit, he does settle down after that. His straightforward blues standard in “He Said She Said” (a likely nod to his Memphis nascency) is also one of the few rhythm and blues approximations found. While it hinges primarily on blues, it’s justifiably, and pleasantly, both.
And that’s sort of how it goes: normalcy is met with brief episodes of eccentricity. Because for every blues and rock sanity, we find a “Hamburger Breath Stinkfinger,” the tale of an ill-advised date at McDonald’s, where Lee laments about the woman, “Oh what a dish / She smelled just like a fish.”
Throughout the wandering, Vindicator’s common thread would be Lee’s voice and his guitar. Consistent variations aside, both are reminiscent of Hendrix. Vocally, the best document of this is either “Busted Feet” or “You Want Change for Your Re-Run.” The latter is the best effort on the record next to “Everybody,” and arguably the best composed. Driving guitar is joined halfway through by a simple piano underpinning, arriving perfectly out of nowhere. The Hendrix influence isn’t surprising. And not because Hendrix is “influential.”
Friend’s in the early-’60s L.A. scene, Hendrix played guitar behind Rosa Lee Brooks when she sang the Lee-written “My Diary.” And Lee was known to frequent Isley Brothers shows, where Hendrix cut his teeth before “Hey Joe” forever wove him into the musical fabric. Lee even claims that it was Love’s version of “Hey Joe,” not Tim Rose’s, that inspired the version we all know. Even Hendrix’s later fashion sense offers a nod to the eccentric Lee, whose frills, tunics, scarves and hats were staples when Hendrix was still sporting a skinny tie as a backup. If that’s not enough, Vindicator is credited, not to Arthur Lee, but Arthur Lee & Band-Aid. On the record, Band-Aid is a mostly anonymous group of musicians. But the name was originally conceived by Hendrix and Lee for a group they intended to form with Steve Winwood. Of course, that would never happen.
So instead, we have Vindicator. Not a tribute to Hendrix. Not an evolution of Love. It’s Arthur Lee frantically and impressively trying to fit every ounce of his musical yearning into one record. Someone trying to prove his every potential in one fell swoop. Years of pent-up emotion and style are released, and with great effort. Most other times, such a product would be a disjointed mess. But here, it’s a sincere piece of man. Punctuated with the exclamation, “I’m not Love,” Vindicator succeeds in showing us who Lee is. “Look at me,” it says. And maybe that’s vindication enough. (J. Crosby)
Tracklist
01 "Sad Song" – 2:20
02 "You Can Save Up to 50%, But You're Still a Long Ways from Home" – 0:17
03 "Love Jumped Through My Window" – 2:56
04 "Find Somebody" – 3:47
05 "He Said She Said" – 2:18
06 "Every Time I Look Up I'm Down or White Dog (I Don't Know What That Means!)" – 3:57
07 "Everybody's Gotta Live" – 3:31
08 "You Want Change for Your Re-Run" – 4:17
09 "He Knows a Lot of Good Women (Or Scotty's Song)" – 3:14
10 "Hamburger Breath Stinkfinger" – 2:44
11 "Ol' Morgue Mouth" – 0:53
12 "Busted Feet" – 4:53
Bonus tracks
13 "Everybody's Gotta Live" – 3:37
14 "He Knows a Lot of Good Women" – 3:16
15 "Pencil in Hand" – 2:15
16 "E-Z Rider" – 2:58
17 "Looking Glass Looking at Me" – 4:05
Credits
Arthur Lee - guitar, vocals
Charlie Karp - guitar
Frank Fayad - bass
Clarence McDonald - keyboards
Don Poncher - drums
Craig Tarwater - guitar
David Hull - bass
vendredi 26 octobre 2012
Love - Reel to Real (1974 Us Psychedelic Rock Mixed With Soul, Funk And Rhythm & Blues - Vinyl Rip - Wave)
This was quite a surprise. Love had made a lot of twists and turns during their career, from folk-rock to psychedelia to heavy rock. But I still wasn't expecting to hear funk and soul music. Not that Love completely immerse themselves in soul music here - there are plenty of characteristic moments. And, overall, Reel To Real is a truly excellent album, proving that Lee and crew couldn't make a bad record
even under lousy circumstances (by 1974, lets face it, noone was paying any attention to Love and the budget here is obviously quite streamlined). Despite the bad reviews often hurtled at this album, it's still an extremely worthwhile work and more than worthy of the Love name.
Too bad the band wouldn't make another studio album for 18 years.(By burritobroth)
Tracklist
Time Is Like A River 3:00
Stop The Music 3:02
Who Are You ? 3:05
Good Old Fashion Dream 2:50
Which Witch Is Which 2:00
With A Little Energy 2:54
Singing Cowboy 2:55
Be Thankful For What You Got 4:22
You Said You Would 3:02
Busted Feet 2:50
Everybody's Gotta Live 3:18
Credits
Arthur Lee : Vocals, Electric & Acoustic Rhythm Guitar,Harmonica
Joey Blocker : Drums
Sherwood Akuna : Bass
Robert Rozelle : Bass
Melvan Whittington : Rhythm & Lead Guitar
John Sterling : Slide & Rhythm Guitar
Herman McCormick : Congas
"Buzzy" Feiten : Lead Guitar on "Who Are You"
Art Fox : Acoustic Guitar
Harvey Mandel : Lead Guitar on "Which Witch Is Which"
Joey Deaguero : Vibes
Bobby Lyle : Organ,Clavinet,Piano
Gary Bell : ARP synthesizer
Venetta Fields,Carlina Williams,Jesse Smith : Background Vocals
Clifford Solomon,John Clauder,Fred Carter,Wilber Brown,Alan De Ville,Billy Sprague : Horns
Miles Grayson & Arthur Lee : Horn Arrangements
Inscription à :
Articles (Atom)







