Bryan MacLean - In The Shadow Of Arthur Lee

[progeezer]

There have been numerous threads about both the band Love and Arthur Lee. A lot of people here already know what an unabashed fanboy I was, am & always will be for Arthur's genius.

I also always loved Bryan's Love contributions. There were only 4 that made it to Love albums ("Softly To Me", "Orange Skies", "Old Man" and "Alone Again Or"). Genius though he was, Arthur was also meglomaniacal and dictatorial when it came to the band. A democracy it wasn't. Arthur even took over the lead vocals on both "Skies" and "Alone Again". Bryan at the time acquiesced because he was having too much fun being a drugged out rock star to rock the boat.

After all these years, I finally got Bryan's 2 solo albums in the mail yesterday. They are like musical gold for any fan of Love. ifyoubelievein, the earlier of the 2, contains mostly songs that Bryan wrote for Love that never made it to their albums (the exact same tracks that he played for Arthur back in the 60s), as well as the original versions of Skies, Old Man & Alone Again sung by Bryan. Candy's Waltz is 19 tracks that Bryan wrote & recorded after he left Love, as well as a 13 minute interview recorded w/him in 1998 just months before he died too young at 51.

ALL of the tracks on both albums are just Bryan's voice and acoustic guitar, and imo they both are absolutely brilliant! As much as I've always revered Arthur's music, it was Bryan who imo technically was the better singer, with amazing range. Half of Arthur's appeal was his delivery imo.

I feel like a kid in a candy store listening to these 2 albums for the first time. Any other fans?

[polmico]

Nice heads up. Never knew he had solo albums. Listening to some samples now, and it's good. Thanks!

[Blah_Blah_Woof_Woof]

I saw Love in late-70's San Francisco and was able to interview Arthur. That night, with my portable cassette player recording, I heard them do all the great Love songs and some new ones by Bryan. Bryan's songs were very sunny and bright and conflicted with the older material. While good, it did not fit. Still, I was happy that he seemed to be having a good life and was not living in the past.

[spellbound]

I didn't know Bryan MacLean had solo albums, either. What format? CD, or LP? I would Love to hear them. I grew up in Southern California and have always been a fan of Love, The Doors, Spirit, Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, Frank Zappa and other great '60s L.A. bands/artists.

[progeezer]

I didn't know Bryan MacLean had solo albums, either. What format? CD, or LP? I would Love to hear them. I grew up in Southern California and have always been a fan of Love, The Doors, Spirit, Buffalo Springfield, The Byrds, Frank Zappa and other great '60s L.A. bands/artists.

Just search Bryan MacLean on Amazon. Some are available as cds from Marketplace sellers, and everything seems to be available as an MP3 album. There are some camples there.

I'm an old school cd person (too old & tired to learn). Didn't notice any vinyl available.

[meimjustalawnmower]

Like you, Steve, I hold Forever Changes dear to my heart as being one of the best albums ever made. There's no doubt that Bryan M was over-shadowed by AL's charismatic personality if nothing else. And even though I've known of BM's solo ventures, I've never really explored them. So thanks for this thread. It'll give me something "new" to check out. I wonder if, outside of the Forever Changes Concert DVD extras, there's more definitive documentary footage about Love, and if not then why not?

[progeezer]

Like you, Steve, I hold Forever Changes dear to my heart as being one of the best albums ever made. There's no doubt that Bryan M was over-shadowed by AL's charismatic personality if nothing else. And even though I've known of BM's solo ventures, I've never really explored them. So thanks for this thread. It'll give me something "new" to check out. I wonder if, outside of the Forever Changes Concert DVD extras, there's more definitive documentary footage about Love, and if not then why not?

Tom - there a great DVD called "Love Story" (2008) available from Amazon Marketplace sellers for $16.69! It's very cool, and has extensive commentary from Johnny Echols, as well as interviews with "Snoopy" and Michael Stuart and archival footage with Arthur & Bryan incl bits of interviews and vintage Love live footage.

[meimjustalawnmower]

^^^SWEET! Thanks, Steve. I'm gonna jump on that.

[Lopez]

Hey, Steve, count me in as a Bryan MacLean fan. I've had those two solo discs for a couple years or so. Got them directly from Sundazed who put them out. Wonderful stuff. Just love his angelic voice. Kudos to Bob Irwin at Sundazed who has kept the memory and talent of Bryan alive. One thing that is quite unusual about Bryan is that Love is the only band he was ever in. There was no other garage or pickup band before Love. Arthur knew him as a great local talent and gave him the spot in the group.

[philsunset]

Hey, Steve, count me in as a Bryan MacLean fan. I've had those two solo discs for a couple years or so. Got them directly from Sundazed who put them out. Wonderful stuff. Just love his angelic voice. Kudos to Bob Irwin at Sundazed who has kept the memory and talent of Bryan alive. One thing that is quite unusual about Bryan is that Love is the only band he was ever in. There was no other garage or pickup band before Love. Arthur knew him as a great local talent and gave him the spot in the group.

Bryan may not have been in another band, but interesting ( to me anyway) was that he was a roadie for The Byrds before he joined Love.

[progeezer]

Hey, Steve, count me in as a Bryan MacLean fan. I've had those two solo discs for a couple years or so. Got them directly from Sundazed who put them out. Wonderful stuff. Just love his angelic voice. Kudos to Bob Irwin at Sundazed who has kept the memory and talent of Bryan alive. One thing that is quite unusual about Bryan is that Love is the only band he was ever in. There was no other garage or pickup band before Love. Arthur knew him as a great local talent and gave him the spot in the group.

Shoulda figured!