Love - Love Story

Impeccable tribute to legends; includes Lee’s last interview

It’s near-impossible to fault this sensitive attempt to tell the dark story of Love and their enigmatic leader Arthur Lee. As far as essential ingredients go these 109 minutes have it all: most crucially the notoriously-difficult Lee giving his most intimately-revealing interview, plus long-lost original members and lashings of timeless music from the three classic albums still sending shivers down the spine. As Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie says in his notes, this “mysterious, and sinister, and beautiful” group looked like “psychedelic thugs”. Their riveting story has never been told like this by the man himself.

Lee not only gave his blessing to the project but acted as willing interviewee and even tour guide, driving around his old stomping grounds, including the infamous Castle. Original members Johnny Echols, “Snoopy” Pfisterer, Bryan Maclean and Michael Stuart add their memories, with key figures such as engineer Bruce Botnik, Elektra’s Jac Holzman, and Doors drummer John Densmore explaining his group’s close relationship with Love. The originally-planned triumphant ending with Lee’s spellbinding 2005 concerts is given a tragic twist: diagnosed with leukaemia late that year, he died in August 2006 while the film was being finished. What started as a labour of love stands as a stunning tribute and beautiful epitaph.

Start | STADVD 001

Reviewed by Kris Needs
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