A recent Mojo article discusses a group of songs and demos recorded in the 1990-2005 era, and that’s worth watching for. When I first saw the link on Johnny Echols’ Facebook page, the tagline was “A new LOVE album is due to drop this spring…” Alas, the always gracious and enthusiastic Mr. Echols was not fully accurate. Yes, he as the last Love original is contributing as are Baby Lemonade, the legacy backing band for both Lee’s and Echols’ recent years concerts, but this is no long-lost Love tape.
How I wish it were. If you devoured that 60s sound of Love — really three sounds: folk-rock on album one, jazz-rock (and proto-punk) on album two, and flamenco rock on three, all united by Lee’s surreal-absurdist lyrics — as I did as a teen forty-odd years ago, then you know what it is to hunger for more. There never was anything else like it, not even Arthur’s uneven, tho sometimes brilliant, solo albums and reformed versions of Love. The only thing that came close was his “Forever Changes” tour with Baby Lemonade backing him. I saw them at the Fillmore, and it’s a treasured memory. Two years later, Arthur was gone, the voice silenced.
But what I have really hoped for is unreleased songs by the original band.
There was the expanded version of “Forever Changes” with two added songs. Yes! Great! More, more, more, andmoreagain! Then came the box set with remixes, remasters, stereo, and mono versions, but no rediscovered songs. Meh.
I’m not interested in engineers’ various approaches to their songs. I want a new Echols solo, I want more Tjay Cantrelli sax screeching and winding around the Lee and MacLean wall of rhythm guitar. And Snoopy’s baroque harpsichord backing new psychedelic word paintings. None of that? Major disappointment.
I know, the cupboard may be bare, end of Love story. Still, I dream of this: the five songs originally slated for side 2 of “Da Capo” before they decided to go with a groundbreaking side-long song with “Revelation.” Bryan said in an interview that he wished they had gone in that direction. Did they put any of it on tape? Maybe not. More songs from the solo album would be welcome, things too crazy and out-of-control to be acceptable to Elektra brass. How about some post-“Forever Changes” session work before Arthur split the band for some new backers on “Four Sale.”
This new release appears to be nothing of the sort. Will I still get it? Of course, and I’ll hope for some great Arthur Lee songwriting even if they band that first brought his tunes to life in 65-67 has already given us all they have to give.
Jedediah Smith 