Bryan Maclean
Ifyoubelievin
Bryan Maclean was a member of the classic sixties rock band Love, a
group that made some of the most glorious music in existence. The
band was led by Arthur Lee, a great songwriter who dominated the
songwriting credits of the band. And therein lay the problem. Being
frozen out from the songwriting, except for classics like Orange Skies,
Alone Again Or and Old Man, Maclean had a backlog of songs with no
way of releasing them. This gave rise to frustration which may have
helped channel his energies into drugs.The band imploded after their third album and the Lee led band that continued on had lost the magic ingredient. Here in this album of songs written in the sixties is a clue to what could have saved the band. These songs consist of a great Love album, the magic element that could have extended the alchemy to a few more albums.
These tunes are every bit as good as those recorded by the band, and the joy that listening to them is tinged with the sadness of what was missed by them not being recorded earlier. Acoustic demos in the most part, they are bare bones versions of what they might have been, yet still magnificent. Barber John, Claudia and If You Believe In are lost classics that are finally uncovered. The whole album is the best kind of time capsule and has you thinking that the Barracudas were on the right lines with their great single, I Wish It Could Be 1965 Again.
Sadly Bryan Maclean died as he was working on a second collection.