Arthur Lee, 1974: Be Thankful For What You've Got.
It would be stretching the truth a tad to suggest that the summer of love shone bravely on until December 1969 when a Hell's Angel stuck it straight through the heart at Altamont, Northern California, but so far as Arthur Lee's Love was concerned the gig was up as early as 1968 with c0-writer, Bryan MacLean first bowing out as a result of his heroin addiction and Ken Forssi and John Echols leaving soon after to serve time in San Quentin for armed robbery.
As early as 1966 - when the group drew chart success with their cover of Bacharach/David's "My Little Red Book" - Love were serious contenders live on the Sunset Strip in LA, well before Da Capo and Forever Changes, so it's perhaps hardly surprising that Lee refused to relinquish the name. Love was the word on the tip of everyone's tongue. Not Arthur Lee.
Sheridan Dupre X has previously highlighted Arthur's 1969 release Out Here after Elektra ignominiously dropped him, so I won't dwell on it here. And I must confess I haven't even heard 1970's False Start, despite the fact it apparently features one Jimi Hendrix on guitar.
You will recall that Emmett recently posted DJ Day's edit of William DeVaughn's 1980 reworking of his gorgeous 1974 smash 45. Big B posted the original way back. By 1974, of course, the psychedelic sound of Love was dead in the water; a bit like Jimi's "A Merman I Should Turn ToBe". Junk was still king, but funk was the new kid in town and Arthur Lee was nobody's fool. The cinemas had been jumping to Isaac Hayes and Richard Rowndtree's private dick since 1971. Dumped by Blue Thumb like Elektra before it, Arthur astutely shaved his head and signed to Robert stigwood's RSO Records. Turning back on to Rhythm and Blues he was once again back in the game with an ace up his sleeve. Just look at the pic. Sharp as a razor and cool as a nose full of coke.
Nobody could possibly be as surprised as Arthur when Reel to Real sank without a trace.
download: LOVE: BE THANKFUL FOR WHAT YOU'VE GOT from "Reel to Real" LP (RSO) 1974 (US)
download: LOVE: TIME IS LIKE A RIVER from "Reel to Real" LP (RSO) 1974 (US)
download: LOVE: WHICH WITCH IS WHICH from "Reel to Real" LP (RSO) 1974 (US)
posted by ib
8 comments:
"Vely Nice" my friend...
Merci, mon ami. Où habitez-vous ? Paris ? Frais. Merci pour le commentaire !
I didn't know LOVE did a version of "be thankful." Have we discussed how terrible Yo La Tengo's version is? FALSE START has at least one keeper, "keep on shining." For a future post perhaps.
Perhaps fortuitously, i haven't heard Yo la Tengo's version. Bookmark "keep on shining" for a later date, for sure. Even the title sounds promising. I'm keen to hear it. That's not the track with Jimi on it, by any chance ?
the track on FALSE START with Jimi is the first track, "The Everlasting First", I also like the track "Gimi a Little Break" though I wish it were longer.
Thanks for the info, anon.
TV and turtles in the back? What? Should I listen to this on Maxell?
And what are gangster white walls? White tires?
I always thought Massive Attack were diggin' the scene with the gasoline.
Indeed, atall; you'll collect no unfinished sympathy from me.
The William DeVaughn original IS superior to Arthur's, but only by a hairs-breadth. When most people heard the radio promo 45 back in the day, they fell over themselve thinking it was Marvin Gaye.
Thanks for the comment.
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