This Weeks Forgotten Gem of the 80s Arthur Lees Bend Down

Strictly speaking, this song from the late great Arthur Lee, frontman of the legendary L.A. psychedelic rock band Love, does not qualify as '80s music in the most tidy sense of the term. After all, though originally released on Lee's self-titled 1981 solo LP, the song emerged from various but scattered solo activities during the '70s. When the album was released, few music listeners were even aware Lee was still active in the middle of the new wave era, if they knew who he was at all. This kind of obscurity has always been unjust to the legacy of Lee and his original bandmates during Love's late-'60s heyday, but unfortunately pop music has always held little room for music legends to get their music heard years removed from their popular impact. Nevertheless, if a record comes out any time during the '80s, it's fair game for the lofty and searching reach of this regular feature.

"Bend Down" certainly doesn't sound of the '80s, as Lee's soulful vocals and adventurous spirit have a lot more in common with Jimi Hendrix than Prince. Even so, the visionary nature of all three of these artists has survived decades of record label upheaval, changing music fads and - in Lee's case - turmoil that included lengthy imprisonment during the late '90s and ultimately a premature death from cancer in 2006. Iconoclastic to an extreme that probably never helped his record sales or mainstream acceptance, Lee similarly takes his own path here. Still, the power of his vocals have the ability to cut through plenty of nonsense, as do the guitar heroics of cohorts Velvert Turner and John Sterling. Anything Lee attempted musically had a tendency to exhilarate; I'm just glad he contributed something that contains even a smallest link to the '80s music landscape.

• Sample or download "Bend Down" here.
• Compare prices on Love CDs here.
• Compare prices on Prince CDs here.
• Top 10 Prince Songs of the '80s

Album Cover Image Courtesy of Rhino