Nine years after his death, Arthur Lee‘s music still hangs high on a popularity scale, even the pieces he recorded past the halcyon of LOVE, in the ’70s and in the decade that preceded his passing. It’s these recordings that are to be released – with a blessing from Lee’s estate – on December 4th as “Coming Through To You: The Live Recordings (1970-2004)”: a 4CD box set comprised of previously unissued, in an on-stage form, material. There’s a lot of re-imagined classics, including unplugged takes on the “Forever Changes” songs and covers of gems by THE WHO and Howlin’ Wolf, the latter laid down with the members of original LOVE.
Given, it’s not the ’60s audio documents, this collection can hardly be considered essential, yet it sheds additional light on the artist that Lee was.
CD1 – The 1970’s:
1. Nothing
2. Bummer In The Summer
3. August
4. My Little Red Book
5. Gather Round
6. Love Is More Than Words Or Better Late Than Never
7. Product Of The Times
8. Keep On Shining
9. Doggone
10. Good Times
11. Slick Dick
12. Stand Out
13. Find Somebody
14. Always See Your Face
CD2 – The 1990’s:
1. Five String Serenade (acoustic)
2. Ninety Miles Away (acoustic)
3. Passing By / Hoochie Coochie Man (acoustic)
4. Alone Again Or (acoustic)
5. Hey Joe (acoustic)
6. Somebody’s Watching You (acoustic)
7. LA CAlocoa (acoustic)
8. That’s The Way It Goes (acoustic)
9. Signed DC (acoustic)
10. A House Is Not A Motel
11. She Comes In Colors
12. Can’t Explain
13. Everybody’s Gotta Live. Instant Karma (acoustic)
14. Signed D.C. (electrtic)
15. Orange Skies
16. 7 & 7 Is
CD3 – The 2000’s:
1. Your Mind And We Belong Together
2. Alone Again Or (electrtic)
3. Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale
4. The Red Telephone
5. Andmoreagain
6. The Daily Planet
7. Old Man
8. The Good Humor Man, He Sees Everything Like This
9. Live And Let Live
10. Message To Pretty
11. Stephanie Knows Who
11. My Flash On You
13. All I Want Is You
14. You Set The Scene
15. Everybody’s Gotta Live / Instant Karma (electrtic)
CD4 – Audience Recordings By Fans 1970’s – 2000’s:
1. Applause Arthur Harp
2. Mr. Lee
3. Time Is Like A River
4. I’ll Get Lucky Some Sweet Day (My Name Is Arthur Lee)
5. Down Street
6. Little Wing
7. The Everlasting First
8. Five String Serenade (electrtic)
9. Que Vida
10. Arthur Lee Audience Chant
11. Listen To My Song
12. My Anthem
13. Robert Montgomery
14. Smokestack Lightning (with Johnny Echols and Don Conka)
15. Rainbow In The Storm
16. Singing Cowboy