Love - Forever Changes (1967)

Love were an American rock band founded in the 1960s who saw only modest success on the charts yet have come to be regarded as one of the finest groups of the era. 

After briefly recording with a seven-man lineup for 1967's Da Capo, Love were reduced to five members again when Tjay Cantrelli and Alban Pfisterer left, leaving them with frontman Arthu Lee, rhythm guitarist Bryan MacLean, lead guitarist Johnny Echols, bassist Ken Forssi and drummer Michael Stuart. Due to tension between Lee and MacLean, along with a great deal of substance abuse, the band was actually starting to fall apart by this point. This makes the fact that their third album turned out so brilliantly rather surprising, especially considering it was recorded very quickly with lots of session musicians. It was almost recorded entirely with the session musicians backing Lee and MacLean, as ended up being the case for two songs, but the rest of the band apparently got their act together in time.

Forever Changes was thus a surprise masterpiece, a work of art that continues to defy categorization to this day. Superb songs from both Lee and MacLean were given brilliant arrangements, often based around acoustic guitars and perfectly embellished with orchestral backing arranged by David Angel. Mariachi horns also added a unique flavour in places. The highlight was without a doubt the opening track "Alone Again Or", written by MacLean and sung by both Lee and MacLean together - it is what can be called a perfect song and a perfect production, and indeed the best three minutes seventeen seconds of Love's entire career. The rest of the album was almost as good.

Unfortunately it didn't get the recognition it deserved in the US (the fate of the band's entire career to be honest), though it did get to #24 on the UK album chart. Over the years its reputation has grown, and it is today a very highly regarded album, considered by many to be the best of the whole decade.

Following its release, Arthur Lee dismissed the other four members and formed a new lineup, which were never nearly as successful or interesting.

Da Capo (1967) <|> Four Sail (1969)
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Love - Da Capo (1967)

Love were an American rock band founded in the 1960s who saw only modest success on the charts yet have come to be regarded as one of the finest groups of the era. 

Following the modest success of their debut album, Love released the single "7 And 7 Is" in July 1966. The song was a real rocker, and has retrospectively been tagged with the label 'proto-punk'. It was their most successful single, getting to #33. They then expanded their line-up to seven members, bringing in Tjay Cantrelli on sax and flute and Michael Stuart on drums. Original drummer Alban Pfisterer moved over to keyboards (he was a classically trained pianist before he was ever a drummer). The new Love's first release was the brilliant single "She Comes In Colors", which moved the band's sound forward through its sophisticated arrangement with harpsichord and flute. Though it did not chart, it is often considered one of Arthur Lee's best compositions.

Their second album came out in early 1967, featuring both recent singles with a number of new compositions. The new songs made full use of the expanded line-up, many of them again featuring the harpsichord. Love were moving away from their folk-rock roots and exploring interesting new ideas, in really quite unique ways for a rock band of their time. They were capable of both raucous rockers and delicately beautiful arrangements, all under the guiding hand of singer and songwriter Arthur Lee (who was also playing guitar, harmonica and drums when needed).

However whilst Da Capo could have been a masterpiece, it was ultimately flawed. There were only enough of these brilliant new songs to fill out one side of vinyl, so side two was taken up by one long blues-based jam called "Revelation". Whilst certainly very good, this track diluted the impact of the rest of the album, which is a great shame, as side one taken by itself features some of the most interesting rock music of the 60s.

Love (1966) <|> Forever Changes (1968)
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Love - Love (1966)

Love were an American rock band founded in the 1960s who saw only modest success on the charts yet have come to be regarded as one of the finest groups of the era.

Arthur Lee got involved in the music business at an early age, and by the mid 60s had fronted several bands and had minor successes as a songwriter and producer in L.A. With the advent of the folk-rock movement in 1965 he was inspired to fuse the new sound of The Byrds with his beloved R&B, and before long had put together a band called Love. Under his leadership they became very popular in the L.A. clubs, and were signed to Elektra Records. By the time of their first album the band consisted of Arthur Lee (vocals/harmonica/guitar), Bryan Maclean (guitar/vocals), Johnny Echols (lead guitar), Ken Forssi (bass) and Alban Pfisterer (drums). They were notable for being one of the first racially integrated rock groups.

Their debut album was released in 1966, and saw them successfully blend folk-rock aesthetics with a harder garage rock style, with both Byrds-style 12-string guitars and more raw, edgy flavours. Lee was the focal point as both songwriter and lead singer, though rhythm guitarist Bryan Maclean also wrote and sang a good song of his own, as well as a cover of Billy Roberts' "Hey Joe". The other cover was an excellent arrangement of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "My Little Red Book", which when released as a single became a minor hit at #52. The album itself was a modest success, peaking at #57 on the album chart.

|> Da Capo (1967)
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