Love

Formed in Los Angeles in 1965 around Arthur Lee, Love sits in the California scene of the sixties with a rock that blends psychedelia, folk rock, garage rock, and rhythm and blues accents. The band was among the first racially mixed American rock groups and built its early reputation in the city’s clubs before becoming the first rock group signed by Elektra. Its most notable period centers on three albums released in quick succession: Love (1966), Da Capo (1966), and Forever Changes (1967), with songwriting that moves from a nervous, direct format to more elaborate arrangements, threaded with vocal harmonies, sharp guitars, and a singular melodic tension. The classic line-up includes Arthur Lee, Bryan MacLean, Johnny Echols, Ken Forssi, and Michael Stuart. After 1967, Love undergoes a deep transformation, with Arthur Lee remaining the central lone member and pursuing the venture with new formations on Four Sail and Out Here in 1969, then False Start in 1970, where Jimi Hendrix appears, and Reel to Real in 1974. Reinvigorated in various forms in the 1990s and 2000s, Love’s repertoire was later defended on stage by Johnny Echols as part of Love Revisited. Love remains associated with a very particular vision of Los Angeles rock—lyrical, taut, and experimental.