Love
Da Capo

THE REVIEW

I must admit that at first listen I said, literally:
"Damn, this album is crap, only a poor imbecile could say it's good!".
And I gently placed it back in the damn CD case, eager never to listen to it again.

The next morning, incredulous at having wasted 12 euros on such trash, I read something about them on the internet, and I try to listen to it again. And the reaction improves. I'm inexperienced; I should have expected that one listen wouldn't suffice for an album like this. So I carry on listening to it, 3, 4, 5 times, often skipping part of the last song, "Revelation", 18 minutes long, which by the end makes you feel like shooting yourself in the legs. It's not exactly "Echoes", which could easily go on for half an hour. It must be said that Love was starting to experience a good resurgence, bolstered by a strong album like "Love", and they were beginning to be recognized on the street. Thus, Love decided to imprint a more jazzy and less easy listening sound, a choice that certainly won't deliver them to the history of Los Angeles' '60s culture.

In the same year, on the same sidewalks the Love walked, strange songs began to be sung, partly new and partly old, those of "Break On Through", "The End", and "Soul Kitchen". There are 7 tracks, for a bewildered listening experience. Yes, because listening to this album requires a considerable level of commitment. I can't imagine what "Trout Mask Replica" and the damn Beefheart will be like.
It's definitely not an easily accessible album, or rather, you can divide the album into two parts: when that damned genius Arthur Lee's voice kicks in, everything becomes quite simple and engaging. But the instrumental parts, and especially the lengthy suite "Revelation", as I mentioned earlier, leave me quite puzzled, from the 10th minute onwards up to the 18th.

I shouted miracle, I don't know why, when in this piece Arthur Lee, with a voice resembling a howl, sings "Everybody needs somebody to love". Could it be that the Blues Brothers listened to this piece, but I can't know. But ideas are certainly not lacking for Arthur Lee and Brian MacLean. That’s why we see songs with the most varied melodies, free from musical compromises, standing out in a non-imposing manner while advancing on the sound scales that are created. But sometimes these sounds are absent, allowing for truly pleasant yet never trivial songs, like "The Castle", which at a certain point revisits the playful theme of Vaudeville. Track number 4, "Seven & Seven Is", the only one released as a single, anticipates, quite significantly, the mocking punk atmospheres of the Ramones, aligning itself with the garage-rock tradition of the '60s, alongside the Kinks and Sonics. An important point is that there's no true chart-topping hit, there's no entirely accessible song, and for this reason, it is completely overshadowed by Love's other work, the famous 'Forever Changes'. Certainly worthy of note are the first three songs of the album, "Stephanie Knows Who", "Orange Shoes" and "! Que Vida !".

In the end, it is a universal album that captures all the nuances of the '60s, from psychedelia to blues, garage, and jazz (even a bit free), with a nod to pop and folk.

It is a decidedly complete album, with few flaws. Recommended.