Love -

Love was an American psych-rock band from Los Angeles that released four albums between 1966 and 1969 on Elektra.

Formed in 1965 by singer–guitarist Arthur Lee, Love developed a local following at Hollywood’s Bido Lito’s club with a lineup that included guitarist Johnny Echols and singer–guitarist Bryan MacLean. Their 1966 debut combined garage rock with Byrds-style jangle. A second album, Da Capo, added baroque instrumentation and featured their breakthrough single, “7 and 7 Is.” In 1967, they recorded Forever Changes, a studio-crafted set marked by acoustic textures, lyrical density, and orchestral arrangements.

Lee reformed Love in 1968 and cut back-to-back albums, Four Sail and the double LP Out Here, which showcased a heavier, guitar-based sound with extended solos and rhythm-driven jams. A sixth album, False Start, appeared in 1970 with contributions from Jimi Hendrix and marked the band’s final studio release of the era.

Members: Arthur Lee (vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica, drums), Bryan MacLean (guitar, vocals, 1965-68, 1977-78), Johnny Echols (guitar, 1965-68, 2004-05), John Fleckenstein (bass, 1965), Ken Forssi (bass, 1965-68), Don Conka (drums, 1965, 1991), Alban “Snoopy” Pfisterer (drums, keyboards, 1965-67), Michael Stuart (drums, 1966-68), Tjay Cantrelli (saxophone, flute, 1966-67), Jay Lewis (guitar, 1968-70), Frank Fayad (bass, vocals, 1968-73), George Suranovich (drums, vocals, 1968-71, 1977-78), Drachen Theaker (drums, 1969), Jim Hobson (keyboards, 1969-71), Paul Martin (guitar, 1969-71), Gary Rowles (guitar, vocals, 1970-71), Nooney Rickett (guitar, vocals, 1970-71), Charlie Karp (guitar, 1972-73), Craig Tarwater (guitar, 1972-73), Clarence McDonald (keyboards, 1972-73), Don Poncher (drums, 1972-73), Gary Bell (synthesizer, 1974), Melvan Whittington (guitar, 1974-75, 1991), John Sterling (guitar, 1974-75, 1977-78), Sherwood Akuna (bass, 1974-75, 1987, 1991), Joe Blocker (drums, 1974-75, 1987), Herman McCormick (percussion, 1974-75), Kim Kesterson (bass, 1977-78), Carlos Carraby (1981), Velvet Taylor (guitar, 1981), Neil Williams (guitar, 1981)

Background

Love formed in 1965 Los Angeles when singer/multi-instrumentalist Arthur Lee attended a Byrds concert and met guitarist/singer Bryan MacLean, who worked as that band’s roadie.

Lee was born Arthur Taylor on March 7, 1945, in Memphis, Tenn. He was the only child of local jazz cornetist Chester Taylor, who left the family when Arthur was seven. Arthur moved with his mom to Los Angeles, where he acquired the surname Lee after his mom married Clinton Lee, who adopted the boy.

As a student at Mount Vernon Junior High, Lee taught himself how to play music by ear. He started on the accordion, then learned the harmonica and organ. His first band, Arthur Lee & The L.A.G.’s, issued the 1963 surf-rock single “The Ninth Wave” (b/w “Rumble-Still-Skins“) on Capitol. In 1964, he headed The American Four on the Selma Records release “Luci Baines” (b/w “Soul Food”). Concurrently, he wrote, produced, and sang on the single “My Diary” (b/w “Utee”) by soul singer Rosa Lee Brooks. It features Jimi Hendrix in one of his earliest appearances on record.

Lee invited MacLean to join his new band, the Grass Roots, which also included American Four alumni Johnny Echols (guitar) and John Fleckenstein (bass). MacLean, a Hollywood celebrity insider, had recently auditioned for The Monkees. The Grass Roots became the house band at The Brave New World on the Sunset Strip. Almost immediately, a namesake band assembled by producer P.F. Sloan made inroads on the charts. Lee renamed his band Love.

Love

Love released their self-titled debut album in March 1966 on Elektra.

Arthur Lee wrote seven songs and co-wrote two (“Emotions,” “Can’t Explain”) with guitarist John Echols. He co-wrote “And More” with Bryan MacLean, who contributed the ethereal “Softly to Me.” Side B contains the group-written “Mushroom Clouds” and a pre-Hendrix version of “Hey Joe,” released here just as The Leaves popularized the song. Love opens with their first hit, “My Little Red Book,” an upbeat arrangement of the Bacharach–David number.

The album alternates between acid-tinged breakup songs and twitchy rave-ups. “Can’t Explain,” “No Matter What You Do,” and “You I’ll Be Following” churn over brittle guitar lines and curt changes. “Signed D.C.” slows to a crawl with a resigned vocal and minimalist pacing, while “Softly to Me” lingers in a minor-key haze. “A Message to Pretty” leans on harmonica wails and downcast melody, and “Mushroom Clouds” blends folk strum with nuclear dread. “Emotions,” an instrumental, breaks sequence with organ flashes and loose percussion.

A1. “My Little Red Book” (2:38) – Jumpy, tense rendition of the Bacharach–David tune with clipped organ and snappy vocal lines
A2. “Can’t Explain” (2:41)
A3. “A Message to Pretty” (3:13) – Harmonica accents and weary pacing suggest inward-facing resignation
A4. “My Flash on You” (2:09)
A5. “Softly to Me” (2:57) – MacLean-led ballad with spectral atmosphere and disquieting undercurrent
A6. “No Matter What You Do” (2:46)
A7. “Emotions” (2:01) – Organ-led instrumental with loose structure and fills

B1. “You I’ll Be Following” (2:26)
B2. “Gazing” (2:42)
B3. “Hey Joe” (2:42) – Pushed-tempo rave-up with flattened phrasing and tense delivery
B4. “Signed D.C.” (2:47) – Sparse anti-drug song with downbeat vocal and plodding pace
B5. “Colored Balls Falling” (1:55)
B6. “Mushroom Clouds” (2:25) – Acoustic minor-key drift paired with end-times imagery
B7. “And More” (2:57)

Sessions occurred at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood during January 24–27, 1966, with producer Mark Abramson and Elektra founder Jac Holzman. The cover shows Love grouped around a monolith beside their bright-red group logo, designed by Elektra artist Bill Harvey with exaggerated serifs.

The album spawned the band’s first single, “My Little Red Book” backed with “A Message to Pretty.” It reached No. 52 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Da Capo

Love released their second album, Da Capo, in November 1966 on Elektra. The title is an Italian musical term that means “from the beginning.”

The album introduced a broadened stylistic range with a full-time seven-piece lineup that incorporated baroque textures, Latin rhythms, jazz instrumentation, and dense electric passages.

Da Capo marked the arrival of drummer Michael Stuart-Ware (ex-Sons of Adam) and sax/flute player Tjay Cantrelli, expanding Love to a seven-piece. Alban “Snoopy” Pfisterer switched from drums to organ and harpsichord, but returned briefly to drums on “7 and 7 Is.”

Arthur Lee composed the first half barring “Orange Skies,” a breezy Bryan MacLean ballad. Side A juxtaposes rhythmic Latin- and jazz-inflected numbers (“¡Que Vida!”, “She Comes in Colors”) with rougher garage-rooted tracks (“7 and 7 Is,” “Stephanie Knows Who”). Side B comprises “Revelation,” a lengthened group jam framed by harpsichord quotes from Bach.

A1. “Stephanie Knows Who” (2:33) – Alternates between 3/4, 4/4, and 5/4 time with a harpsichord-guitar intro that sets a tense pace. Lee delivers the vocal in a raw, compressed style, breaking cadence for jagged bursts of phrasing. The lyrics reference Stephanie Buffington, who had been involved with both Lee and MacLean during the period, contributing to growing tension between them. Lee’s delivery references bruises on her side, alluded to as childhood tiger scratches, later revealed as pregnancy stretch marks. The instrumental bridge overlays Echols’ fractured lead guitar against Cantrelli’s saxophone, shifting briefly into a 5/8 jazz waltz. Pfisterer’s harpsichord and MacLean’s acoustic rhythm work tie it to the album’s broader chamber palette, though the song’s aggression aligns it more closely with the band’s debut.

A2. “Orange Skies” (2:49) – MacLean wrote the song at age 17, borrowing its phrasing from The Bells of Rhymney as arranged by Roger McGuinn. The band reharmonized it into a smoother pace with softened jazz textures. Lee sings it in a light tenor, backed by Cantrelli’s flute doubling both countermelody and solo lines. Its stepwise phrasing resembles Tin Pan alley balladry more than folk or rock, while the pacing retains a drifting Latin undercurrent. MacLean would later cite it as his first composition.

A3. “¡Que Vida!” (3:37) – Built on a slow, even Latin rhythm with a restrained vocal line that never breaks dynamic level. Lee sings of death, reincarnation, and cyclical states without resolving the thread, closing each verse with a trailing half-thought. The rhythm stays fixed as sleigh bells, carousel loops, and a cork-pop FX fill in the background. The harmonic language borrows from Bacharach, particularly A Lifetime of Loneliness, but stretched thin across fewer changes. The result leans more toward suspension than forward motion.

A4. “7 and 7 Is” (2:15) – Written at dawn in Lee’s bathroom, the song pivots from his original Dylan-style ballad into one of the era’s densest recorded performances. Echols and Forssi coax jagged overtones out of a semi-acoustic Eko bass and reverbed surf guitar, while Pfisterer pounds a punishing snare pattern that took over 20 false starts to capture. The lyrics depict teenage isolation with internalized surrealism—Lee sings of sitting “in an ice cream cone” in a line drawn from dunce-cap memories. The track accelerates until collapsing into a processed atomic blast, then pivots into a blues outro adapted from Santo & Johnny’s “Sleep Walk,” ending mid-line.

A5. “The Castle” (3:00) – One of the few tracks built around implied space and restraint, the song places short vocal statements against staggered instrumental passages. The band false-ends the track twice, returning each time with a different combination of accents. Lyrically opaque, it draws from the same romantic subject as “Stephanie Knows Who,” but flattens the emotional tension across chord changes that rise and fall with little resolution.

A6. “She Comes in Colors” (2:43) – Based on Annette Bonan’s gypsy-style clothing, the lyric navigates through impressions rather than narratives. Pfisterer’s harpsichord and Cantrelli’s flute interlace around a rising guitar figure, with Lee singing over a harmonic sequence that avoids pattern or repetition. The studio version emphasized stereo layering—flute and harpsichord sit forward in the mix—while the mono single brought the guitar and vocal up front. Echols called the session one of their most difficult due to non-repeating chord clusters that disguised the sectional shifts. The line about “England town” predated Lee’s first trip overseas.

B1. “Revelation” (18:57) – Edited from a 45-minute group jam; each member takes an extended solo framed by harpsichord quotes.

Sessions occurred at RCA Victor Studio in Hollywood with producer Paul A. Rothchild and engineer Dave Hassinger. Bruce Botnick handled final mixing at Sunset Sound.

Da Capo features cover art by William S. Harvey, who photographed the band in the same charred Laurel Canyon house seen on their debut cover, this time holding the first album in the frame.

The band issued “7 and 7 Is” backed with “No. Fourteen” in July 1966. It peaked at No. 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. “She Comes in Colors” (b/w “Orange Skies”) followed in December. “¡Que Vida!” (b/w “Hey Joe”) appeared in March 1967, with “Stephanie Knows Who” briefly issued and withdrawn in between. Following the album’s release, Pfisterer and Cantrelli left the band, reducing the group to five members.

The Move covered “Stephanie Knows Who” on their 1968 live EP Something Else From The Move.

Forever Changes

Love released their third album, Forever Changes, in November 1967 on Elektra. The album features orchestrated acoustic songs with layered arrangements and lyrical fatalism.

Forever Changes presents a five-piece lineup: Arthur Lee, Bryan MacLean, Johnny Echols, Ken Forssi, and Michael Stuart-Ware. Lee and MacLean fronted most songs with orchestral backing arranged by David Angel. Lee wrote everything apart from two MacLean compositions: “Alone Again Or” and “Old Man,” both folk ballads with delicate strings, brass, and reflective vocal lines.

“A House Is Not a Motel” and “Live and Let Live” fall into a sharper folk-rock category, featuring driving rhythms, layered guitars, and lyrical imagery steeped in tension and unease. Songs such as “Andmoreagain” and “The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This” offer sparse, contemplative moods marked by slow pacing and subtle instrumental layering. “The Daily Planet” and “Bummer in the Summer” inject buoyant energy with acoustic propulsion and dynamic instrumental interplay. “The Red Telephone” casts a hypnotic, circling folk atmosphere with harpsichord and 12-string guitar underpinned by enigmatic vocals.

The album concludes with “You Set the Scene,” where shifting meters, dense acoustic layering, and jazz-tinged orchestration build toward an expansive, multifaceted finale. Throughout, sharp rhythmic shifts and varied instrumental textures maintain a taut balance between intimacy and complexity.

A1. “Alone Again Or” (3:15) opens with Spanish-inflected acoustic strumming and closes with a mirrored guitar phrase in E minor+2. The orchestration—strings and brass arranged by David Angel—counters the desolate lyric: “And I will be alone again tonight, my dear.” Arthur Lee added a double-tracked vocal and retitled the track, despite not appearing on the session. Bryan MacLean wrote this song in 1965, but finished it during the Forever Changes sessions.

A2. “A House Is Not a Motel” (3:25) Arthur Lee builds this song from a descending 12-string figure and sharp folk-rock rhythm. The structure unravels through three verses before a drum break and twin guitar solo with wordless vocal outbursts. The lyric flips domestic imagery into a setting of spiritual erosion and wartime imagery—“the blood in my hands turns the mud to grey.”

A3. “Andmoreagain” (3:15) Lee sings in an airy croon over rising string figures and major-seventh voicings, joined only by session players Carol Kaye, Hal Blaine, Don Randi, and Billy Strange. The pacing stays slow and symmetrical, matching the lyric’s free-associative tone around temptation and self-control.

A4. “The Daily Planet” (3:25) propelled by bright acoustic guitar and steady drums, the song features a dynamic mid-section that cools then ramps intensity, balancing folk-rock directness with tension and release.

A5. “Old Man” (2:57) begins with a sparse acoustic foundation that gradually layers strings, horns, and piano in modular fashion. The arrangement moves toward a lush, melancholic soundscape, ultimately distilling to guitar and strings.

A6. “The Red Telephone” (4:45) Built on slow, circling folk chords, this track layers harpsichord and 12-string guitar over a lyric that alternates fatalism and absurdity. Lee moves from lines about race and imprisonment to a sideways epigram: “If you think I’m happy / Paint me white.” The delivery stays suspended, never resolving into a clear tonal center.

B1. “Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale” (3:30) combines playful energy with rhythmic propulsion, revealing a spirited, buoyant momentum.

B2. “Live and Let Live” (5:24) opens with sharp lyrics over an abrupt driving beat. Stomping drums and guitar bridges create space for electric guitar flourishes, culminating in an extended coda that intensifies the track’s dynamic arc.

B3. “The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This” (3:00) slows the pace with a delicate, contemplative arrangement. The track fades into an unresolved, noodling outro that leaves the ending open.

B4. “Bummer in the Summer” (2:20) Channels spirited vocals and dynamic interplay. Piano, drums, and guitar lock into tight rhythmic variation, punctuated by vibrant electric accents.

B5. “You Set the Scene” (6:49) closes with shifting time signatures and layered acoustic guitars. Lee’s idiosyncratic vocal delivery rides atop rich orchestration and reflective lyrics on life’s transience. The gradual build toward a complex, jazz-inflected coda underscores the track’s thematic weight.

Sessions began at Sunset Sound in Hollywood with producer Bruce Botnick and Lee co-handling production. After early takes stalled, Lee and Botnick brought in session players Hal Blaine, Carol Kaye, Billy Strange, and Don Randi to record “Andmoreagain” and “The Daily Planet,” prompting the band to regroup and complete the album. Lee spent three weeks working out the orchestral parts with arranger David Angel, later overdubbed alongside horn and string players.

Title features artwork by Bob Pepper, who illustrated a color-saturated portrait of the band members shaped into a heart-like figure. The back cover shows Arthur Lee holding a broken flower vase at his home, photographed by manager Ronnie Haran.

Elektra issued three singles from the album. “Alone Again Or” backed with “A House Is Not a Motel” appeared in January 1968. “The Daily Planet” and “Andmoreagain” followed in March. Later that year, “Your Mind and We Belong Together” backed with “Laughing Stock” appeared as a non-album single.

Four Sail

In August 1969, Elektra issued Four Sail, a contract-fulfillment collection by the late-1968 Love lineup.

Four Sail features Arthur Lee as the sole original member, joined by lead guitarist Jay Donnellan, bassist Frank Fayad, and drummer George Suranovich. Lee wrote nine songs and co-wrote “Singing Cowboy” with Donnellan.

The album opens with “August,” which erupts into convoluted interplay. “Your Friend and Mine – Neil’s Song” contrasts its upbeat country style with dark lyrics. “Singing Cowboy” closes side one with a long chanted fadeout and prominent guitar work.

Side B features “Dream” and “Robert Montgomery,” both autobiographical and intense, and “Nothing,” a ballad with intricate guitar lines. “Talking in My Sleep” stands out for tense lyricism and Donnellan’s guitar. The album ends with “Always See Your Face,” layered with additional instrumentation and reflective mood.

A1. “August” (5:00) – Begins with near-acoustic verses and builds into a noisy, energetic section featuring tight interplay among guitar, bass, and drums, concluding with a repeated riff and final chord.
A2. “Your Friend and Mine – Neil’s Song” (3:40) – Country-tinged track with dark subject matter.
A3. “I’m With You” (2:45) – Features an unusual melody and subtle jazz inflections.
A4. “Good Times” (3:30) – Steady, positive tempo with solid instrumental support.
A5. “Singing Cowboy” (4:30)

B1. “Dream” (2:49) – Autobiographical with focused arrangement.
B2. “Robert Montgomery” (3:34) – Intense rock with emotional vocal delivery.
B3. “Nothing” (4:44) – Ballad featuring intricate guitar work.
B4. “Talking in My Sleep” (2:50) – Contains tense lyrics and lead guitar prominence.
B5. “Always See Your Face” (3:30) – Reflective closer with layered instrumentation, including uncredited French horn.

Sessions occurred in September and October 1968 at a rented warehouse studio in Hollywood and Elektra Sound Recorders, Los Angeles, with Arthur Lee producing and co-engineering alongside George Gaal.

Out Here

In December 1969, Blue Thumb issued Out Here, a double-album comprised of further recordings by the late-1968 Love lineup. The album presents multiple styles (psychedelic, blues, acid rock) from Arthur Lee, Jay Donnellan, Frank Fayad, and George Suranovich.

Lee lone-wrote the material (credited as “Arthurly”) apart from “I Still Wonder,” a Donnellan co-write. Several additional musicians appear, including drummer Drachen Theaker, pianist/organist Jim Hobson, and lead guitarists Paul Martin and Gary Rowles.

Out Here opens with the Elvis-influenced “I’ll Pray for You,” driven by Jim Hobson’s piano. “Listen to My Song” recalls the original Love sound with acoustic guitars and whistling, while “Signed D.C.” is a harder, more urgent version of the debut’s track featuring Drachen Theaker on drums. Side two contains “Stand Out,” a song inspired by Sly Stone and Hendrix, followed by the satirical “Discharged” with uncredited brass and a marching rhythm. The extended “Doggone” closes the side with a short song and a nine-minute drum solo by George Suranovich.

Side three starts with “I Still Wonder,” a Crosby, Stills & Nash–style folk rock number co-written by Donnellan and Lee. The centerpiece is the 11-minute acid rock jam “Love Is More Than Words or Better Late Than Never,” featuring fuzzed and wah-wah guitar, multiple overdubs, and shifting rhythms. “Nice to Be” follows with Latin inflections, and the brief “Car Lights On in the Daytime Blues” offers a folk-tinged novelty. Side four opens with “Run to the Top” and “Willow Willow,” supported by lead guitar work and enigmatic lyrics. “Instra-Mental” is an instrumental in the Booker T. & the M.G.’s style. “You Are Something” features a fast guitar solo amid a brief pop structure, and “Gather ’Round” closes the album with a political lyric and clean electric guitar soloing.

A1. “I’ll Pray for You” (3:50) – Elvis-style vocals, prominent piano
A2. “Abalony” (1:50)
A3. “Signed D.C.” (5:15) – harder, urgent take with drums by Drachen Theaker
A4. “Listen to My Song” (2:28) – acoustic guitars and whistling
A5. “I’m Down” (4:48) – acid rock with controlled guitar bursts and swirling organ

B1. “Stand Out” (3:00) – riff-driven with guitar pyrotechnics
B2. “Discharged” (1:30) – satirical anti-war song with brass and marching drums
B3. “Doggone” (12:00) – brief song plus extended drum solo

C1. “I Still Wonder” (3:05) – folk rock with vocal harmonies, co-written by Donnellan
C2. “Love Is More Than Words or Better Late Than Never” (11:20) – extended fuzzed guitar jam with overdubs
C3. “Nice to Be” (1:50) – short song with Latin influences
C4. “Car Lights On in the Daytime Blues” (1:10) – folk novelty

D1. “Run to the Top” (3:00)
D2. “Willow Willow” (3:22) – enigmatic lyrics, lead guitar focus
D3. “Instra-Mental” (3:00) – Booker T.–style instrumental
D4. “You Are Something” (2:05) – brief pop song with fast guitar solo
D5. “Gather ‘Round” (5:50) – political lyrics, clean electric guitar solo

Sessions occurred at a makeshift studio in a rented Hollywood warehouse, with Arthur Lee producing and co-engineering alongside George Gaal. The cover painting by Burt Shonberg provided the album’s title.

Out Here reached No. 29 on the UK charts in May 1970.

False Start

Love released their sixth studio album, False Start, in December 1970 on Blue Thumb.

The album shifts between blues rock, loose boogie, and compressed funk-inflected pop. Arthur Lee wrote and arranged everything except “The Everlasting First,” co-written with Hendrix. False Start retains the Out Hear rhythm section (Fayad, Suranovich) and welcomes rhythm guitarist Nooney Rickett and lead guitarist Gary Rowles.

“The Everlasting First” opens with clipped rhythm and Hendrix’s tightly coiled guitar phrases, unfolding as a taut blues-based jam with sharp turns and gradual escalation. “Flying” carries a clipped, piano-led rhythm reminiscent of early-’70s Allman Brothers or Grateful Dead, while “Gimi a Little Break” features tight vocal layering and shifting chord shapes in the style of Lee’s Four Sail-era writing. “Stand Out” reappears in a live setting with firmer pacing and denser ensemble interplay than its studio predecessor. “Keep On Shining” leans into a down-home shuffle, pairing major-key cheer with Lee’s worn, slightly frayed vocal tone.

“Anytime” presses forward with steady drive and clipped vocal phrasing. “Slick Dick” and “Love Is Coming” follow a lighter, playful register, the latter briefly lifting into stacked vocal harmony. “Feel Daddy Feel Good” plays as a straight-ahead rocker with accentual drum hits and frontal guitar fills, while closer “Ride That Vibration” rides a syncopated pulse through shifting instrumental layers.

A1. “The Everlasting First” (3:01) – Hendrix joins on lead guitar for a clipped blues rock track that builds momentum through layered overdubs and gradually uncoiling phrasing
A2. “Flying” (2:37) – piano-led with a compressed boogie pulse, reminiscent of early Allman Brothers
A3. “Gimi a Little Break” (2:10) – tight harmonies and angular chords suggest Lee’s late-’60s writing style
A4. “Stand Out” (live) (3:35) – live version with denser energy and sharper rhythmic cohesion than the Out Here cut
A5. “Keep On Shining” (3:50) – upbeat shuffle with worn vocal delivery and country-inflected bounce

B1. “Anytime” (3:23) – clipped phrasing and locked rhythm section maintain tension
B2. “Slick Dick” (3:05) – tongue-in-cheek narrative and loose structure
B3. “Love Is Coming” (1:24) – brief harmony-driven track with upbeat swing
B4. “Feel Daddy Feel Good” (3:15) – straight rhythm rocker with interjected guitar bursts
B5. “Ride That Vibration” (3:34) – syncopated closer, shifting rhythm beneath overdubbed textures

Sessions occurred at Olympic Studios in London and the Record Plant in Los Angeles with Arthur Lee producing. Gary Kellgren engineered the sessions. One track, “Stand Out,” was recorded live at Waltham Forest Tech College in London.

False Start documents a brief window of live and studio activity from Lee’s 1970 lineup, recorded shortly before the group’s dissolution.

Discography: