Arthur Lee

Once the leading practitioners of the Los Angeles psychedelic movement, inspiring the Doors and Britain's Pink Floyd, Love disintegrated through consistent personnel changes and record- label politics. Its leader, Arthur Lee, never received the support he deserved and his solo output never quite matched his legacy. He did revive the Love classic Forever Changes with a series of critically acclaimed concerts near the end of his life, but his solo career can only he heard as a series of intriguing 'what-ifs.' 1981's Arthur Lee sounds like what it is, a collection of tracks from various periods of Lee's missing years cobbled together to form a full-length album. That said, this is still Arthur Lee and his first-rate vocals elevate several tracks here, including "I Do Wonder," a prettified version of "7&7 Is," and the hard rocker "Bend Down." His reggae numbers, Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross" and "One On One," show Lee's ears were always open to new directions. And while the rough-sketch quality of "One" and "Mr. Lee" are mostly for hardcore devotees, it's hard to imagine anyone seduced by Lee's obvious visionary talents not becoming a bit fanatic no matter what the results.