LOVE was another great band from the 60's and of course VERY Doors related.
I think it would be great to have this special topic about the band who was such a big example for The Doors.
It is fun to listen to this fine acetate of the 1970 London session that Arthur and Jimi recorded on a lark, in anticipation of a new Love album Arthur intended to record. Hendrix was to be on the new album throughout. Wouldn't that have been something!! Quite a bit about Arthur's time with Jimi is related by Arthur himself in Einarson's book (which is highly recommended and getting rave reviews worldwide).
In the Forever Changes bio Arthur talks about how he told Jimi while sitting in a London club together, that they should enjoy the present, as "we don't know how much longer we'll be here, together". Arthur said Jimi just got really quiet, and Arthur seemed to feel that Jimi sensed he was talking about death and dying. Sadly Arthur never saw his friend Jimi again after those London sessions and the European Love tour.
If you would like to download the acetate, here is a very good one, including a cool front and back cover download. (from a great bootleg site)....
Though Arthur and Jimi never got together to finish those recordings for Love's album "False Start", they did meet up stateside in LA. Arthur invited Jimi to his mansion a few times nad Jimi once stayed there in the summer of 1970 for 3 weeks, more or less. Jimi also invited Arthur to a couple Experience concerts. Jimi invited him to another concert while on the road but Arthur declined, wishing to get back home (Arthur was always a home-body).
Sadly, the next Arthur heard of his "best friend" Jimi, was about his death in September.
One touching moment that Arthur related was when they were in England, Jimi asked Arthur where he was going (after a night long jam session). Arthur said, I gotta go home man, the tour is over, I gotta go back to LA to my home and girlfriend and dogs. Jimi said come with me, I want to show you something....he led Arthur back in and showed him his guitar and case...and said, this is every thing I have...I could buy five mansions with my money, but this is it. Arthur felt saddened for his friend, looking at Jimi's white Fender Strat and case (everything of value in Jimi's seemingly lonely life).
Arthur was really loyal to those he considered his friends..and he tried his best to look out for Jimi and protect him from all the hangers-on...those leaches that would spend his money like water, until the well runs dry. Same old story, unfortunately...but Arthur was there at the end, as best as he could be.
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"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music".
I listened to it. Somewhat disappointed, though, that there wasn't more... Nonetheless, I appreciate hearing the very little that IS available for now. I wouldn't be too surprised if other recordings surface later, being that Jimi recorded nearly everything on his own portable recorder.
I'm a huge fanatic of all things Jimi Hendrix and I'm very disappointed that his relationship with Arthur Lee is omitted from nearly every "Hendrix" biography I've ever read.
I'd really like to know how/where/when they met and, of course, more details on the recording session that yielded "My Diary".
SomedaySoon wrote:I listened to it. Somewhat disappointed, though, that there wasn't more... Nonetheless, I appreciate hearing the very little that IS available for now. I wouldn't be too surprised if other recordings surface later, being that Jimi recorded nearly everything on his own portable recorder.
I'm a huge fanatic of all things Jimi Hendrix and I'm very disappointed that his relationship with Arthur Lee is omitted from nearly every "Hendrix" biography I've ever read.
I'd really like to know how/where/when they met and, of course, more details on the recording session that yielded "My Diary".
You need to get Forever Changes (if you haven't already). How Arthur and Jimi first met at those "My Diary" sessions, and in Arthur's own words, his last months and days with Jimi...Arthur's unfinished oral memoirs are published in Einarson's bio of Arthur and Love...the longest part of Arthur's oral history is about Jimi. Not enough for us, but more than we get from any Hendrix bios!!
And yeah....we want more Hendrix/Love!
They jammed at Arthur's mansion those three weeks he was there...I wonder if that tape player was going then during those all night jam sessions (including the ones in London!!).
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music".
I found this quote from Jimi about Arthur Lee: I am very fond of him. We are like brothers. We could start a new human race with our music. I would very much like to do more things with him. We have just recorded an album together. We think and feel the same way, so it would be wonderful if we could work out something together. We are a kind of spiritual gypsies traveling around getting our message out through our music.
September 2nd 1970
Jimi died on the 18 September 1970.
We have to imagine how good this association could have been.
Are there any rumours about what was recorded on those tapes?
UV: How did the Olympic recording session [17 March 1970] with Jimi come about)
AL: Because I knew Jimi Hendrix: ... and we became real good friends. In England we'd hang around together, going to different places, riding up and down the countryside in England, having a good time ... plus we both mysteriously had the same girlfriend [laughs] ... Devon Wilson was my girlfriend first...that was one Dolly Dagger ... Anyway, when I went to London I was surprised to see Jimi, of course.
I met him over here [Los Angeles] now and again ... he was one of my best friends. We were a lot alike, we had the same following, the same crowd and the same trip ... and we became real good friends, and when I was in London we were at the 'Speakeasy' and I told him "neither one of us gonna be around very long, so while we are here we might as well do something together". He fell for that [laughs]! So we got together. I tried to book something over there, but Stephen Stills had booked all the studio time [at Island studios] ...
UV: They were fully booked?
AL: Well fully booked by one person, Stephen Stills ... he wouldn't even give me a day man, you know, not one fucking day man [laughs]. So I got that Olympic studio ... and he (Jimi) and Remi Kabaka (played percussion with Ginger Baker's Air Force group from early 1970] and these other two Africans [came], they're playing tabla, I don't know who they were, but I met Remi Kabaka. He's the drummer on this jam of "The Everlasting First" [unreleased version] and another song that I never got to put a vocal on ... We never got a chance to play [again as] he died ... we were gonna start a band together ...
UV: Yeah, the Band-Aid?
AL: Yeah! How did you know that? ... He said he wanted to try and get Steve Winwood, Remi Kabaka and myself But it never materialised. And that's why I put Band-Aid on that Vindicator [LP] as a tribute, an inside tribute to Jimi, you know.
UV: But Jimi played on "Ride That Vibration" as well?
AL: Well if he did ...
UV: That's what you said during a radio interview for the BBC on 4 July 1980!
AL: No! I said that he asked me what were the words (laughs). I said he asked me what are the words of "Ride That Vibration" [sings a few lines] and then he had to split...
UV: Did you do any other tracks with him during that day, because I understood ..
AL: Maybe that's the understanding, you wanna know the truth? I did "The Everlasting First" with him, I did "Ezy Ryder", I did a jam, and I did a couple different versions of "The Everlasting First", and that's about it ... I mean "Ezy Ryder", that never came out either
UV: Is that Jimi's tune?
AL: That's Jimi's, but he's playing with my band ...
UV: So Jimi is definitely not playing on "Ride That Vibration"?
AL: No, that's Gary Rowles ...
UV: What happened to all those tapes from the Olympic session?
AL: I don't know where they are. Bob Krasnow [head of Blue Thumb Records in 1970] who is whom I gave them to, I haven't seen him or the tapes since than, so that's that. But there are a couple versions of "The Everlasting First". I gave the tapes [to Bob] and I'd say "hold it for me" and when I went to another company I forgot to get the tapes ...
Released albums (excluding compilations) between 1966 and 1974: Love (early 1966); Da Capo (early 1967); Forever Changes (late 1967); Four Sail (08/1969); Out Here (late 1969); False Start (12/1970); Vindicator (1972); Reel- To-Real (1974).
1. Anne Bjorndal was present during the Olympic sessions (which lasted well into the next morning) and says, "They felt very related and they were in a very good mood together. making a lot of jokes." Jimi told Anne on 2 September 1970 in Arhus, Denmark, that he would have liked to do more projects with Arthur..
2. Here's what Arthur actually said during that interview, "We did a long jam, you know, as well as we did "The Everlasting First". We did about three versions of that. We did "Ezy Ryder". We did "Ride Thar Vibration". And we did this long jam and we did a couple of other things." It appears now what Arthur really meant (but in reality didn't say) during that BBC radio interview was that Jimi asked him about the lyrics for "Ride That Vibration" ..
3. The release of "Ezy Ryder" (spelled as "Easy Rider" in the 8 June 1970 issue of Crawdaddy magazine) was planned as a Love single on Blue Thumb [USA] in June 1970.
