One of the best West Coast folk-rock/psychedelic bands of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Love may have also been the first widely acclaimed cult/underground group. During their brief heyday - lasting all of three albums - they drew from folk-rock, hard rock, blues, jazz, flamenco, and even light orchestral pop to create a unique genre. They were also one of the first integrated rock groups, with a core lineup led by genius singer/songwriter Arthur Lee, one of the most idiosyncratic and enigmatic talents of the 1960s, with the group's second songwriter, singer/guitarist Bryan MacLean, lead guitarist/vocalist Johnny Echols and bassist Ken Forssi, plus a choice of drummers. Stars in their native Los Angeles and an early inspiration to the Doors, they perversely refused to tour until well past their peak. This ensured their failure to land a hit single or album, though in truth the band's vision may have been too elusive to attract mass success anyway.
Love was formed by Lee in the mid-1960s in Los Angeles. Originally calling his folk-rock outfit the Grass Roots, with guitarist Echols (who had played with Lee in an early instrumental band called The LAGs), bassist Johnny Fleckenstein and drummer Don Conka, Lee changed the name to Love after another Los Angeles group called the Grass Roots began recording for Dunhill. Byrds roadie MacLean joined the band just before they changed their name to Love.
Love's repertoire was largely written by Lee, with a few contributions by MacLean.
Inspired by British Invasion bands and local peers the Byrds, Love built up a strong following in hip LA clubs, including the Whiskey-a-Go-Go. Soon they were signed by Elektra, the noted folk label that was just starting to get into rock (it had recorded material by early versions of the Byrds and the Lovin' Spoonful, and had just released the first album by Paul Butterfield).
They had a minor hit single in 1966 with their version of Burt Bacharach's My Little Red Book. In the meantime, Lee had dismissed Conka and Fleckenstein, replacing them with Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer and Ken Forssi (who had been with the Surfaris).
Their self-titled debut album (1966) introduced their blend of Byrds and Stones influences on a set of mostly original material and included Signed D.C. and MacLean's Softly To Me as well as My Little Red Book.
In August, 1966, their single Seven & Seven Is became their highest-charting at #33 and was included on their second album, Da Capo (1967). The first side was psychedelia at its best, with an eclectic palette encompassing furious jazz structures, gentle Spanish guitar interludes and beautiful baroque pop with dream-like images (She Comes in Colors). It was also psychedelia at its most reckless, with the whole of side two taken up by a meandering 19-minute jam (Revelation).
Around this time, Love briefly expanded to a 7-piece with the addition of Tjay Cantrelli (aka John Berberis) on saxophone and flute and Michael Stuart on drums. Pfisterer, never a confident drummer, switched to organ and harpsichord. Cantrelli and Pfisterer soon quit the band, leaving it as a 5-piece once again.
By mid-1967, the band was threatening to disintegrate due to drugs and general disorganisation and was in such sad shape, apparently, that Elektra and producer Bruce Botnick originally planned to record their third album with session musicians backing Lee (on his compositions) or MacLean (on his compositions). Work on two tracks actually commenced in this fashion, but the shocked band pulled themselves together to play their own material and found the discipline to complete the recordings in only 64 hours, resulting in one of the finest rock albums of all time, Forever Changes. An exceptionally strong set of material graced by captivating lyrics and glistening, unobtrusive horn and string arrangements, it was not a commercial hit in the US (though it did pretty well in the UK) but remains an all-time favourite of many critics.
Just at the point where they seemed poised to assert themselves as a top band, Love's first and best lineup was broken up in early 1968, reportedly largely at Lee's instigation. MacLean, suffering from heroin addiction, soon left the band, as did all the other members except Lee. Echols and Forssi also fell prey to the ravages of heroin addiction and disappeared from the scene.
Lee and a reconstituted Love continued to record fitfully in the late 1960s and early 1970s before finally disbanding. The new version of Love, which as well as Lee on rhythm guitar included Jay Donnellan and Gary Rowles on guitars, Frank Fayad on bass and George Suranovich on drums, played in a style very different to the band's previous line-up and is generally regarded as having none of the skills of MacLean or the other original Love lineup.
This version of the band released Four Sail in September 1969, the two-record set Out Here in December of the same year and False Start in December 1970. Neither of the first two albums made the top 100 in the US, although Out Here hit #29 in the UK. False Start hit the bottom regions of the top 200 and is notable for featuring a track with Jimi Hendrix on guitar entitled The Everlasting First.
The problems ran deeper than unsympathetic accompaniment: Lee's songwriting muse had largely deserted him and nothing on the post-Forever Changes albums competes with the early Elektra records.
Lee released a solo album in the early 1970s, and then put another Love together for one last effort in 1974, but basically Love/Lee (the two had in effect become synonymous) ground to a halt in the mid-1970s. Lee continued to perform and record sporadically, but without coming up with anything resembling a unified full-length studio statement, though some scattered live and studio recordings appeared.
After spending 6 years in prison in the 1990s for firearms offences, Lee began to play Love's classic songs in concert by reuniting with the members of the LA band Baby Lemonade in 2002. This group toured successfully for several years, frequently performing Forever Changes in its entirety to great acclaim. Lee split from the band in 2005 and in 2006 died from leukemia.