Search - Love, Arthur Lee :: Love Story (1966-1972)

The first disc is worth five stars, the second, worth three

Jimmy | 03/24/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"About three-quarters of this box set is great - all the material by the original line-up of Love is fantastic - and if the set had stopped with Forever Changes, it would have been worth five stars, easily. Sure, I could complain that Forever Changes is split between two discs, which disrupts the flow if you want to listen to the whole thing. But the set includes most of the strongest material from the first Love album, and gives us Da Capo in its entirety, minus the somewhat tedious "Revelations." The non-lp material from this era is good, but only one of the songs really stands out as essential ("Your Mind and We Belong Together"). However, once you get beyond the material by the original line-up, the disc becomes nearly unlistenable: the post-Forever Changes Love is incredibly medicore, it's embarrassing to hear how quickly Arthur Lee's songwriting deteriorated after the break-up of the original band. Among their latter efforts, only "August" is compelling, as far as I'm concerned. My suggestion is to skip the box-set and buy the original three LPs insteads."

Deeper Love

B. Niedt | Cherry Hill, NJ United States | 05/12/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Colexico's cover of "Alone Again Or" has apparently rekindled interest in this criminally-overlooked band. This is a definitive compilation, comprised of large chunks of the debut album and "De Capo", their second, plus rare non-album tracks, the complete masterpiece "Forever Changes", and samples of later incarnations of the band, headed by tortured genius Arthur Lee, who provided lead vocals, a strong rhythm guitar, and most of the lyrics. This is a collection for those who'd like to delve deeper than the "hits" (of which probably only "My Little Red Book" and "7 and 7 Is" qualify), and "Forever Changes". (And yes, it's a minor annoyance that "FC" is split across two discs, but what's the big deal?) The early songs are much rougher, even proto-punk, but there are standout tracks, particularly the aforementioned "hits", as well as an excellent cover of "Hey Joe", and the psychedelia of "Orange Skies" and "She Comes in Colors". I'm more partial to the slicker production of "FC" (which was gorgeous for its day, and still stands up today as a well-produced album). Of course, most if not all of "FC" is great, culminating with the mini-suite "You Set the Scene". After that, it was pretty much downhill for Arthur Lee and company, professionally and personally (and the very detailed enclosed booklet gives us the whole sordid story, which includes drug use and store robbery!). But there are still musical highlights of the later years, such as "Good Times" and "I'll Pray for You". In short, if you want one original release that represents the very best of Love's work, get "Forever Changes". If you want to explore the legend of the band a little more, get this collection."

All You Need Is Love

Jimmy | Kentucky | 04/26/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fantastic! If you're new to Love, then this compilation is a great place to get acquainted with them. A sadly neglected genius outfit, Love made music that is utterly unique. In Arthur Lee they had a frontman/creator of dazzling brilliance. The fact that he's rotting in a jail cell right now over a (most likely) trumped up charge is a great shame to the human race. One thing about this CD set that you may discover is that all the stuff on here from after 'Forever Changes' is actually amazingly great! Don't let people fool you into thinking that Arthur lost the plot after the initial line-up folded. HE DID NOT! I may be one of those few who actually prefers the latter half of this set! Perhaps it's just that Arthur was ahead of his time again, and people ain't catching up! Far from warmed over R&B, the later stuff is brilliantly sung, played and written. It's joyous and touching. Songs like "I'll Pray For You" and "Everybody's Gotta Live" are untouchable masterpieces. S'true, friends! Anyway, get this set if you haven't got it, and send good vibes to Arthur Lee. FREE ARTHUR LEE!"