The Forever Changes Concert (Love with Arthur Lee, 2003)

Forever Changes is one of the finest albums ever recorded. If you haven't heard it, stop reading this and go listen to it right now, in whatever format you prefer. However, this post is primarily about the concert of over 25 years later, performed by frontman Arthur Lee and an entirely different band playing under the "Love" moniker.

Most people I know have either never heard of the band, or they absolutely swear by them (and listen to the crowd on this recording if you don't believe me). More than just an interracial band with grammatically challenging song titles, the band was one of the top acts in Los Angeles in the mid-1960's. Even up and coming bands like the Doors aspired to be the next Love. By the time of its third album, the combination of poor management (they didn't tour widely to support their albums) and the usual personnel clashes, Love was fairly well finished. Arthur Lee would go on to lead a new version of Love into the 1970's, followed by a largely unsuccessful solo career, then a stint in jail (thanks to California's ridiculous three-strikes law, a very minor offense got him 12 years!!). Meanwhile through all of this, Love's greatest album never got a proper airing on stage.

Thanks to this album, Forever Changes finally gets the respect it richly deserves. Lee bangs out the entire album in track order backed by "Love" (not the original band, mainly dispersed by death and other irreconcilable matters) and the strings and horns that made the original album such a treat. Sure Lee's voice is a bit strained, probably due to undisclosed health problems and age, but he and the band turn in very faithful renditions of the songs, many of which never had a chance to be played live. As an extra bonus (since the album all by itself would have made for a really short concert), they perform the accompanying single, two tracks from 1966's Da Capo and two songs from the post-Forever Changes era. If you are lucky enough to find the 2 disc edition, there are also a couple numbers from the first self-titled album as well.

Sadly, this was the last recorded output by Arthur Lee, felled in 2006 by leukemia. Old bandmates Johnny Echols and Michael Stuart would carry on the Love banner in the following years, but it's pretty safe to say the band has at long last run its course. For those interested in learning more about the band, check out the documentary Love Story from 2008.