Love On Track

As Love’s mostrevered album is titled Forever Changes, it’s little wonder that their superiorback catalogue encompasses a multitude of genres: folk rock, garage, jazz rock,baroque, psychedelia, soul, funk, and reggae - or certainly Arthur Lee’s does. Butwho can separate Love from their beleaguered yet brilliant front man? Love OnTrack explores the many embodiments of his group, with his solo work closelyexamined at the same time. Love were the first rock signing to folklabel Elektra and something of this contradiction inhabits their work. From theraw beat of their eponymous debut, to sweetly ruminative songs on Da Capo, tothe ultimate comment on the counter-culture in Forever Changes, onto FourSail’s auguring the hard rocking 1970s, these albums represent Love’s bestknown work.  But the book knows the Love story doesn’tend there. There’s the epic double album Out Here, collaborations with JimiHendrix, vegetarian protest songs, and a gorgeously romantic revival in FiveString Serenade. There are also stops along the way to recall the solo work ofBryan MacLean et al, a new interview with Berton Averre, who played with Lee inthe 1990s, and a detailed look at live recordings – the book is a real labourof Love.