Love

Page 1 of 5                                                                 LOVE     Eclectic cult rock group, “Love”, will be of specific interest to older West Coast baby boomers.  Even though Love never quite made it big nationally, their influence on the 60s music scene was substantial during their brief heyday.  Their classic first 3 albums were well received by critics, but they were not outstanding sellers.   Ironically, members of three of the biggest selling musical acts of that era, Jim Morrison (Doors), Syd Barrett (Pink Floyd), and Robert Plant (Led Zeppelin) touted “Love” as an early influence on the development of their own music.  Love’s interesting history also includes becoming a sensation at the trendy go-go clubs on the then turbulent ‘60s Sunset Strip.  Their third album, “Forever Changes”, is included on many contemporary music critics’ best album lists.   Rolling Stone Magazine ranks it at  #40 of greatest rock albums ever.     Love started out as a folk/rock band, but developed into much more.  Their sound varied from song to song, but most were bathed in psychedelia.   The group is also considered a precursor to punk rock and even heavy metal.  Love’s only song to reach the Top 40 was “7 and 7 Is”, a punk song so forceful that it makes you want to head straight to a mosh pit no matter what your age.  But their other ‘hit’, “Alone Again Or” with horns, strings, and a flamenco interlude, couldn’t be more different! The undisputed leader and driving force of the band was genius/madman Arthur Lee.   Arthur wrote most of the songs on the Love albums and his lyrics could be scary.  His off-center and sometimes-paranoid words could be especially startling, since they would usually be juxtaposed against beautiful melodies and production values filled with flutes, harpsichords, and strings.     Arthur Lee, (real name: Arthur Porter Taylor), was born in 1945 in Memphis.  The family moved to Los Angeles in the 1950s.   Arthur drifted into the music scene as a teenager and formed his own band, The LAGS.  They made their first recording in 1963 called “Rumble-Still-Skins”.  As a songwriter, one of his first compositions, “My Diary’ was also recorded in 1963 by little-known R&B artist Rosa Lee Brooks.  This record is noted by rock historians as one of the first recordings of a then-unknown Jimi Hendrix as session guitarist. Arthur was already in the company of other talented up-and-coming musicians.     << Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 Next > End >>