In the year of 2000, a friend played me Love’s Forever Changes for the first time. I remember how mind-blown I was by the rich yet pretty simple arrangements, the beautiful and catchy melodies, that Arthur Lee voice.

I was stuck on that record for a very long time. A year later I had my first tattoo, an exact replica of Forever Changes (took 7 hours to make) on the right side of my back. Why? I wasn’t sure back then. I only understood the reason later. I often do things that I don’t understand and years later, I get it.

A year later I went to study audio engineering in London, the final assignment was supposed to be a research of some sort. I planned on flying to Sunset Studios in LA and talk to the Bruce Botnick, The album producer. Eventually I didn’t go and dropped out of college, but I did buy four books about Arthur Lee and Love for this research.

A few years later, I saw Arthur Lee and his new Love, with a strings quartet performing the entire Forever Changes.

It was emotional.

Arthur Lee had a very soft and gentle soul, that drove him to write such beautiful songs on one hand and brandish a gun in front of his neighbor one the other. He didn’t care about race and colors, so he formed the first mixed rock group. He didn’t care about conventional song structures , he didn’t care about who will be LOVE, as long as LOVE will exist as a hub to record his songs.

He only cared about the freedom to do whatever he thought should be done. A folk-rock album, a chamber music album, a garage album, a hard rock album. As Arthur Lee or as Love. It didn’t matter. He wanted freedom and he believed he’s normal. It’s normal to demand freedom.

Ten years ago this giant musician passed away but the true spirit of Arthur Lee and Love is in my heart and on my back. I carry it wherever I go. Colors in and off music, the blend of melodic lines and production ideas, being a ball in a pinball machine, going everywhere, coming back, flying to the moon, singing earthy songs, making music for space journeys, making music about wars. This is all Arthur Lee and Love, Forever Changes, Before and Beyond.

RIP normal person.

—