Monday, July 20, 2009

Arthur Lee And Love - Alone Again Or

In the olden days when the record charts depended on actual sales from record vending emporiums there was a phenomenon known as the 'chart sleeper'. Perhaps one of the most famous sleepers was Canned Heat's 'On The Road Again'. I'm proud to say that I picked up on Canned Heat months before they hit 'Top of the Pops'.

However on a personal level the greatest 'sleeper' for me has been Love's 'Alone Again Or'. I remember thinking that it was good, really good but not for me. I also remember thinking that Arthur Lee and co. had grabbed the best name for a band that ever could be. After all, weren't the sixties the 'love' decade? I still wasn't their biggest fan. But at last, now that I am fifty-six, now that practically everyone associated with Love are dead - now I get it.

7 comments:

Ronni said...

Ah, yes...Vancouver, 1969...or 70...Love and Quicksilver Messenger service...

Thanks for the memory!

Nelly said...

I've been listening to a lot of music recently from that period of my life. It is very evocative.

sageweb said...

Wow I like this..very nice!

therese said...

love it, and the damned's version, which was the first version i heard and instantly loved.

Nelly said...

Glad we're liking the tune. Damned version is good but not as good I'm thinking.

Unknown said...

I wasn't even a twinkle in my daddy's eye when it was first released, but Forever Changes is one of my favourite records of the period.

I had the pleasure of seeing them live in Dublin about 6 or 7 years ago.

Nelly said...

There is something timeless about it. You were lucky to have seen Arthur Lee. I've only just realised I missed a chance to see John Mayall. Bert forgot to tell me that one of our friends asked us if he wanted to go. One of the downsides of marrying someone younger - hadn't even heard of john Mayall!