50 Years of Love & Arthur Lee "Da Capo" "Forever Changes" "Love" & more: Album-By-Album Thread

hi Dukie...good to see you here! How's life??

 

Any release date??

 

May 5th, Scott.According to their site if I remember well

 

This is probably a mixture of Glastonbury 2003 (which has never been released officially) and other recordings from possibly another period. I am not sure if Arthur performed "Love is more than words" with the Baby lemonade band.(I will ask Mike Randle.) I believe that the set at Glastonbury in 2003 (they also played there in 2004 but on a smaller stage), was the Forever Changes album plus two other songs.
Hello Lemonade Kid! All is well here in Wales.

 

This was the wetlist fir Glastonbury 2003, no extra songs.But of course it can be that those were not recorded.

Glastonbury June 28 2003 Audience recording 1 CD

1 > Your Mind And We Belong Together
2 > Alone Again Or
3 > A House Is Not A Motel
4 > Andmoreagain
5 > The Daily Planet
6 > Old Man
7 > The Red Telephone
8 > Between Clark & Hilldale
9 > Live And Let Live
10>The Good Humor Man, He Sees Everything Like This
11>BUmmer In The Summer
12>You Set The Scene
13>7 & 7 Is

 

I believe that was the complete set at Glastonbury, so the other tracks are from other venues/other periods.

 

I am pretty sure that Arthur never played "Love is more than words" with the Baby Lemonade line-up.

 

Same here.Probably they took it from the Copenhagen 70 gig?

 

Thanks, my friends, for the cool news. Looking forward to more, Dukie & Ed.

 

Agree. Off-topic, but you've got a nice Robert Wyatt avatar .. I have already been wondering whether there were any folks who are into Love and Wyatt/early Soft Machine likewise

 

Just got this teply from the label:

No, this was from the Glastonbury Festival with backing from the Stockholm Strings and Horns. There were two performances recorded and this is the one the group strongly preferred. Mike Randle wrote the liner notes and we have the blessings of the group and Diane Lee, Arthur's widow.

 

So is there any word about the origin of these tracks on the upcoming release if they weren't performed at Glastonbury?

 

This is the reply I received from the label:

There were two shows performed. The one previously released was not particularly liked by the group. The one we're releasing is the one the group and Arthur Lee estate, approved. Mike Randle wrote the liner notes for us and we had Diane Lee's blessings for this release. This also has the Stockholm Strings and Horns backing the group.

To our knowledge, this has never been rekleased before.

 

I saw the same quote posted above by Freedom Man, but I was specifically talking about those last three tracks that are not on the Glastonbury setlist. Even Dukie stated that the Baby Lemonade lineup never performed "Love Is More Than Words Or Better Late Than Never" live, so I am assuming that includes Glastonbury. What show does that track, August, and Signed DC come from?

 

Yes, that's also a mystery to me!

I emailed Diane Lee and ask her about this album.
I'm with Dukie thinking or knowing that Baby Lemonade never played Love Is More Than words.

 

Great to hear about the new Love release and to see you guys here.

I see there was an issue concerning the song list for the CD/Vinyl. Going to Rockbeat Records website they link the product to a S'More Entertainment website that has some quick details written and a running order. I agree with the hunches here and did some further research.

No version of Love has played "Love Is More Than Words or Better Late Than Never" since summer 1970 (June 12th may have been the final time). Rockbeat and S'More must have had a miscommunication. Most websites selling the item don't have the track listing, Spin CD's has the same inaccurate listing, but I found one site that seems more accurate-WeinerWorld's website that matches the setlist listed on the main setlist website Setlist FM and on the best Love fan website out there:
Love Glastonbury Festival 2003

Arthur Lee & Love - Complete Forever Changes Live (CD) - New Releases

Arthur Lee & Love - Complete Forever Changes Live (CD)
First time out on CD, this live concert features the complete set of Love’s seminal original studio album (which was first released in 1967)

Recorded live at the Glastonbury Festival in Pilton, UK on 28 June 2003

Includes the bonus tracks Your Mind And We Belong Together and 7 & 7 Is

Features liner notes by Arthur Lee’s guitarist Mike Randle

LINEUP:
Arthur Lee: vocals, guitar, harmonica
Mike Randle: guitar
Rusty Squeezebox: guitar, vocal
Dave Chapple: bass
David “Daddy-O” Green: drums with Orchestra

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
TRACKLISTING
Alone Again Or
A House Is Not A Motel
Andmoreagain
The Daily Planet
Old Man
The Red Telephone
Maybe the People Would Be the Times Or Between Clark and Hilldale
Live and Let Live
The Good Humor Man, He Sees Everything Like This
Bummer In the Summer
You Set the Scene
Your Mind And We Belong Together [bonus]
7 & 7 Is [bonus]
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

With Mike Randle's comments from his website diary entry, we can conclude the show was only an hour -why there are only 13 songs...

SHOW #116-JUNE 28, 2003-Glast, Eng- Glastonbury Festival

We got to the Glastonbury grounds around 4pm and then hung out and chatted with
the Super Furries (good blokes), the Coral (nice as well) then chatted with REM
keyboardist, Scott, whom i'd met before back in '98 in Seattle. Everyone was
really up for the show. Played some tetherball backstage with Caroline (i won)
and drank some beers. Went on about 7pm to a big crowd, played a fun show and
was off in 1 hour! Afterwords found the Bonnie Scots and proceeded to
celebrate with strange drinks till the wee hours!

I'm not 100% sure this is correct but at this point, we have 3 sources indicating this is the correct track list.

 

Thanks for the info. Looking forward to this!

 

This on the wrecking crew and Jim Gordon taking over the drum kit from Michael Stuart. And who plays what, and on what track....(these are Michael Stuart's personal recollections shared with me directly via email from Michael, a good friend)

With Michael's permission...

"It was Jim Gordon [NOT Hal Blaine as reported in various liner notes and by others etc] who sat in on my drum kit, not Hal Blaine...I mean, I watched (and listened) to Jim Gordon lay down the drum track at Sunset Sound. I talked to him between takes, and only a few months prior, I saw him play with The Everly Brothers at The Hullabaloo Club...everything.

Plus, anybody who knows Jim Gordon's style could pick him out of a hundred other drummers just by listening. He does a thing where he kind of "skips" through a passage. That's why Frank Zappa called him "Skippy".

I laid down drum fills on "Daily Planet" as well. After the wrecking crew recorded "Andmoreagain" they left and never returned. Then Kenny and Bryan and Billy Strange and I re-recorded it. [Billy Strange, because Johnny wasn't there that day.] That's the track that went on the record. Again...you can hear Kenny playing his part on "Andmoreagain". The drums on "Andmoreagain"...clearly my style. I remember making the decisions to play what I played and I recognize myself. More importantly (and painfully) I hear the mistakes I made on that cut and I remember making them (I over-modulated a few times). That means I played too loud.

It was a long time ago."

Cheers,
Michael

.......................

For more on Michael's personal recollections...
LoVE's Michael Stuart-Ware shares insights and memories of LoVE


Cheers,
LK

...................................

PS...a bit more as posted at the above link by myself, more from Michael:

LK to Michael-We have been having further discussions at the forum on whether it was Hal or Jim sitting in...and who counted it off...

MSW-"Besides, and first of all, not to cover old ground, but I was in the studio the day Jim Gordon laid down that Daily Planet drum track. I watched him and I heard him, and I talked to him five minutes before he and the other wrecking crew people played it.

Secondly, Jim Gordon is almost as famous for his Camco drums as he is for his playing style. Before the Daily Planet take, I played those Camcos when he asked me what kind of stuff I wanted him to play (we members were "advisors" that day).

Thirdly, don't listen to the voice counting it off. Listen to the drumming. Jim's style is unmistakeable and unique. Clean and crisp and adventuresome, he skips with almost an off-balance abandon through his lead-ins and fills. Hal's style is very middle-of-the-road and dependably down to Earth and just plain vanilla. Polar opposites.

Finally, I knew Jim Gordon as well as anyone could know him without being an actual friend. I first saw him play drums in late-'66 with the Everly Brothers at The Hullabaloo Club, and that night, the Everlys acknowledged him personally and joked with him about his being so young and allowed him to take a solo intro for one of their hits. Then, about eight months later, he and I hung out and chatted drums before the Daily Planet takes. He was a super nice guy and very humble and made me feel that my input was necessary for the cut to come out right. Then I watched enviously from the booth as Jim Gordon played what I wished I could have during the Daily Planet takes because he just nailed it. I never met Hal Blaine."

All the best, Michael

................

I talked to Michael today in regards to the 2015 24-bit remastering of Love's Forever Changes by Bruce Botnick that was released for Neil Young's PONO system vs. the original mastering and recording...I got this email from Michael today:

I'm so glad Bruce was able to go in and make the product mix better than it was originally. I admit the recording technology during the late-sixties was archaic to say the least, but some of the recording artists of that period were nevertheless able to get quality reproduction. The Beatles and The Byrds come to mind. With us, I guess it had to be better late than never.

Which is O.K. I guess.

BTW, you can share as much or as little of this as you think appropriate, but I always hate to take a chance of ruining the album (even a little bit) by pointing out any badness to anybody who thinks Forever Changes is a worthwhile endeavor and beautiful, but at the same time I also always feel the need to explain why I don't care for it [as much as you and Love fans]. You hear what it IS, but I only hear what it could have been.


I also hate to go over old ground but in case I didn't mention it previously, because honestly I forget...

I'm happy Bruce fixed the mix somewhat, but he'll never be able to fix that little thing... that thing that Arthur used to do to irrevocably mess it up (for me anyway), which was his constant directive to "push the tempo" through more than half the songs. This pushing of the tempo is at best a misguided technique used occasionally during live performance by performers who should know better in an attempt to generate excitement. It's bad enough in live performance; to use it in the studio is criminal [just my opinion, please don't take my thoughts too much to heart].

I saw Elvis use it in his reality film "That's The Way It Is" when he had Ron Tutt pushing the tempo all over the place during rehearsals for their Vegas show and it sounded ****ty and amateurish then too. I saw James Brown use that same directive to his band in a similar film and it was awkward and ineffective for him as well. It just doesn't work. When I begrudgingly acquiesced to Arthur's hounding and pushed the tempo from time to time on Forever Changes I just figured, "Oh well, that's it. All that work for nothing."

Fortunately, in the end, Arthur's writing and singing talent and our musicianship overcame the "tempo push" fiasco and apparently the product survived with it's beauty intact, thank goodness! But it was a close one though...for sure.

I'm just glad so many people like it.

-MSW

Thanks to Michael for such honest and forthright insight, and for sharing his memories and opinions. For me it only enhances the listening experience...and I hope you all agree.

If any of you would like me to share your kind thoughts and thanks with Michael I'm happy to do so....

Cheers
LK

.........

Note that Michael tells me that even on Daily Planet his drumming is mixed over Gordon's take. Those are Michael's fills etc. So in essence, the Love "crew" plays on every track, or are dubbed onto the one Wrecking Crew track that was actually used for the final album mix.

 

Thanks for his, Scott.I've been emailing with michael years ago, as you know, and he basically told me the same.
I wish Forever Changes could be made again, but this time how Michael wished it would have sounded like..

 

Hi Ed...

Yes...without the restrictions of only 8 tracks of recording "space". Just having a 16 track option would have made all the difference, to Michael anyway. This is of course keeping in mind that to many (including myself) Forever Changes is one of, if not THE greatest rock album of all time!

Cheers to you Ed
Scott

 

Same here, off all lp's I have I think I played Forever Changes the most, it is in my Top 3 of all time fav's, maybe Top 1...

 

Is it true that the original master tapes are missing? Its a shame Forever Changes can't be remixed.

This would also be an awesome candidate for a surround mix.

 

Lost, yes.

 

I still think that the cover of the Glastonbury 2003 release should feature a photograph from that period, and not from 1970.

 

Yep. Don't get it either, Dukie. I can't imagine that there were only permissions for the 1970 pic...and kinda confusing for us fans who know Arthur's changing appearance throughout his career!