Arthur Lee & Love Live: Complete Forever Changes

Arthur Lee knew Glastonbury was a big deal. A very big deal. But he acted like it was any other show. And I believed him. Baby Lemonade had been performing as LOVE since 1993, a full decade. We’d even once played a club where only three people showed up—one was the sound guy—and there was only one microphone. Arthur turned to us and said, “Play like it’s a million people out there” and we did. That’s why I believed the man when he didn’t seem all that concerned that 65,000-and-growing Glastonbury concert-goers were there to see if we could pull off Forever Changes in a festival setting. To be honest, even I wasn’t so sure. I was certainly sure of the talent and abilities of each musician on that stage. I knew our drummer, David “Daddy-O” Green, was as bedrock as they come and his playing gave Arthur tremendous confidence. Bassist David Chapple was always right there by Arthur’s side at every show, rocking and laying the groove down. Rusty was our musical director and was the link between our amazing ensemble of Swedish string and horn players and this loud, kick ass, take-no-prisoners rock-and-roll outfit. The blend was perfect. It was Mozart meets Thin Lizzy.

We rolled into the festival grounds around 4:30 p.m. and backstage I immediately recognized the dudes from Super Furry Animals, Michael Stipe from REM, and the bassist from Interpol. It was a rock-and-roll backstage just as you would imagine except these musicians were just chilling out. The Coral were playing now and I was having a beer and hanging with Arthur and Daddy-O. The ensemble members were practicing their parts and there was an amazing level of excitement bubbling beneath the surface. Our appearance that night was due to the combined efforts of our manager, Gene Kraut, and our agent, Glenn Povey. Gene kept Arthur light and on his toes, making sure Arthur had whatever he needed. And, although wine was his preferred choice of drink, I noticed Arthur was going to great lengths to take care of his voice and seemed to drink more water than anything. Of course, there was an unusual heatwave going on in England at the time, one that made me even more excited about this show, having grown up going to outdoor summer concerts in Southern California. I’d gotten texts from some pals of mine from Scotland, Keith Stodart and Paul Barr. They made it down and it felt great to know my friends were there to cheer us on. Keith even brought his kilt along, which came in handy when there was a long line at the loo …

After a really cool introduction, and with the sun squarely in our eyes, we hit the stage and rocked the crowd with “Your Mind & We Belong Together.” Somewhere in the middle of my guitar solo, one of the speakers blew. There was a noticeable drop in volume and tone. I simply asked the monitor dude to “Crank the guitar in my monitor!” and kept going. You cannot let the fans see you sweat. You must carry on—and that’s just what I did. Arthur introduced the Stockholm Strings & Horns and we went down the line, playing every song on Forever Changes, a 36-year-old album played with the energy of a new release. I had a lot of fun playing the solo on “A House Is Not a Motel” and “Live & Let Live,” as those were the total rockers of the set. But I equally (if not more so) enjoyed the more dynamic songs “Daily Planet,” “Old Man,” and LOVE’s magnum opus, “You Set the Scene”—and by the time we’d hit the last notes of that one, the sun was setting and left this beautiful orange and red trail of clouds in its dust.

People were screaming and some were even crying when that song ended. Arthur thanked everyone and then said, “This next song is called Seven… and Seven... and Seven...1! 2! 3! 4!” The band tore into that first A minor chord, echo fuzz bass, tremolo reverb, and machine gun snare like it was the end of the world. Arthur stepped to the microphone and spat out the words like it was the end of the world. A few minutes later, it was all over. We’d done it. We came to Glastonbury with the hopes of just playing well and having a good time, but we left with so much more than that. Later that evening, we all gathered in Rusty’s hotel room and watched ourselves on TV (we were recognized at the hotel!). It was a great feeling.

—Mike Randle
Arthur Lee’s guitarist and member of Love 1993-2005

Track list:

SIDE A

1. Alone Again Or
2. A House Is Not A Motel
3. Andmoreagain
4. The Daily Planet
5. Old Man

SIDE B

1. The Red Telephone
2. Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale
3. Live And Let Live
4. The Good Humor Man, He See
5. Everything Like This

SIDE C

1. Bummer In The Summer
2. You Set The Scene
3. Your Mind And We Belong Together
4. 4. 7 & 7 Is

SIDE D

1. August **
2. Signed D.C. **
3. Love Is More Than Words Or Better Late Than Never **

Recorded live at Glastonbury Festival, Pilton, UK on June 28, 2003 except ** recorded live at Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark on March 12, 1970

Band (Glastonbury):

• Arthur Lee - vocals, guitar, harmonica
• Mike Randle - guitar
• Rusty SqueezeboxR - guitar, vocals
• Dave Chapple - bass
• David “Daddy-O” Green - drums with Orchestra

**Band (Denmark):

• Arthur Lee - vocals, guitar, harmonica
• Gary Rowles - lead guitar
• Frank Fayer - bass guitar
• George Suranovich - drums