A Message To Sickly
First, a rough recent history of Arthur Lee in New York City: It was around 1993 when he first made his return, playing CBGB-or maybe CB's Gallery-to celebrate the release of a Love tribute album. Everyone got a tribute album back then. This one had been put together by a nice young woman named Sloan Johnson, who'd also gotten Lee to join her on vocals for "Dreams."
She'd gotten in touch with NY Press, and so Don Gilbert and I were crammed into Lee's crappy hotel room a few blocks down the Bowery. The person next door probably had no idea that he was sharing a bathroom with a legend of '60s rock. The brief Paisley Pop revival had lost out to grunge. Nobody cared that Lee once fronted Love as the leaders in showtune-styled acid-pop and orchestral-rock.
Don and I were the only local press interested in talking to Lee. Despite his acid-casualty reputation, he turned out to be functional, bright and charming-albeit addled. He returned a few months later to play upstairs at the Knitting Factory, and drew a better crowd. The high point was when he was praising God, and some hippie yelled out a correction of, "Goddess!" Lee gave a properly disdainful laugh. Still functional, bright and charming.
Around that time, the Rhino label reissued a fine two-CD Love compilation. Lee moved up to bigger crowds with a show at the Grand. Maybe one at Tramps, too. He also managed to avoid jail after having tried to burn down a girlfriend's home. That-along with other prior charges-caught up with Lee in '96. He was given a stiff jail sentence after discharging a firearm during an argument with a neighbor.
Rhino would later release a deluxe reissue of Love's 1967 classic, Forever Changes. Lee got out of prison at the end of 2001 and went on the road with a brass and string section to recreate the album. I didn't go. It seemed too nostalgic. At least Lee got a live album out of the acclaimed shows from the short tour.
I was happier seeing Lee at Town Hall two years ago. He seemed in fine form, opening for The Zombies with a group that included the formerly troubled Love guitarist Johnny Echols. Shortly afterwards, Lee's longtime backing band announced that they'd no longer work with Lee due to the decline of his "mental and physical health."
We were all hoping they were just being polite by adding "physical." It turns out that Lee has acute myelogenous leukemia. He's not the type to worry about health insurance, which brings us to this week's "For The Love of Arthur" benefit concert at the Beacon Theater.
As promoter Steve Weitzman discovered, it wasn't difficult to find big names willing to honor Lee and his music. Robert Plant-always with some of the best taste in classic rock-headlines with a full set, and there's a major roster playing before him: Ryan Adams, Ian Hunter, Nils Lofgren, Yo La Tengo, Garland Jeffreys and more. Alec Ounsworth from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah is putting together a band. Johnny Echols returns, as well.
The show's still not sold out at press time, despite a pretty fair range in ticket prices. Big names are still being courted, and there's no reason not to believe in the promise of certain surprises. It'll all be very fannish. That's nothing new. Remember when Lee got thrown in jail for discharging the firearm? He was in the company of a visiting fan who tried to take the rap for Lee. The least you can do is go see a show.