Michael Stuart Ware - Pegasus Epitaph: The Story of the Legendary Rock Group Love
by Nicky Crewe
published: 29 / 7 / 2021
intro
Nicky Crewe reviews Michael Stuart Ware’s must-read for fans of Love and their music, written by one who was there and who has lived to tell the tale with insight and understanding.
This is a revised and updated edition of Michael Ware’s memoir first published in 2003. This edition ends at the 2006 funeral of Arthur Lee, who was of course such a huge part of the Love story. It’s a fascinating read, packed with detail of the life and times of the writer and his deep connection with Love. He was the drummer on ‘Da Capo’ and ‘Forever Changes’, both now acknowledged as legendary Love albums. I was introduced to these two albums by a musician boyfriend in my early teens and Love’s music has haunted me ever since. I did get to see Arthur Lee play with Love in the mid seventies. I’d accepted Love as a beautiful phenomenon and became curious about where they had emerged from and how as I witnessed the trajectory of Arthur Lee’s later life and career. Michael Ware’s personal story of how he came to pursue a career in music sets the scene. His success with the band Sons of Adam brought him into Love’s orbit and he was asked to join Love by Arthur Lee - an opportunity that he eventually decided he couldn’t turn down. This is a book produced by an independent publisher, so it isn’t full of glossy colour photos, though there are enough black and white ones to bring things to life and serve as reminders for album covers and bandmates. At first sight, it looks a slim volume, but the format packs in the words. Ware takes us through his childhood and into his teens, from high school groups to dropping out of college to concentrate on music. We get a real sense of the times as the early sixties unfolded, and the alternative hippie culture blossomed through music and lifestyles. And drugs, too, of course. He is an insightful writer. From a dedication in the book, I’m guessing that Buddhism took over as he gave up the drugs. He seems a reliable witness, and he is certainly a likeable one. There are stories of his own difficulties with Arthur Lee, but he aims to understand Lee rather than criticise him. Along the way there are insights into some of the main players in the music business of the day, from managers to record company executives, promoters to club owners. Love toured and played in venues that are now the stuff of legend. There’s a sense that Love, and Arthur Lee in particular, were aware that they were destined to become a legendary band. A reputation for unreliability and a sense that they weren’t going to be able to overcome the distractions of the touring musician’s lifestyle meant that at the time, back in the sixties, there seemed a real danger that they wouldn’t and couldn’t fulfil their potential. Self-sabotage and missed opportunities are part of the myth and mystery that surrounds the band. Since that time, the reputation of Love has grown and in particular ‘Forever Changes’ has been recognised for the remarkable and influential musical creation it is. It’s surprising to realise how close it came to being recorded by session musicians. Michael Ware’s memoir gives us the chance to experience that story as it happened, with all its risks and uncertainties, its flaws and its genius, its highs and its lows. Ware is honest and uncompromising. He doesn’t sensationalise, though parts of the story beggar belief. There’s a level of detail that is rewarding, whether or not you are a fan of Love, because of the picture it paints of life in LA and San Francisco at the time. He shares some great stories about his own life and career and some of it is very entertaining. Check out his close call on working with Neil Diamond! This book helps explain the disintegration of Love, a band who created such beautiful music. It’s also a cultural history of the times. It’s great that Ware has lived to tell the tale.
Band Links:-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_(band)Play in YouTube:-
Visitor Comments:- |
6291 Posted By: Steve, Los Angeles on 11 Apr 2024 |
I loved the first edition, Pegasus Carousel. Michael is a gifted writer with a tale to tell and he tells it well. I will pick up this edition and pick up where I left off...
|
most viewed articles
current edition
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #15- On Being Dignified and Old aka Ten Tips From Jah Wobble On How To Be Happy.Dennis Tufano - Copernicus Center, Chicago, 19/7/2024
Elliott Murphy - Interview
Wreckless Eric - Interview
Adrian Gurvitz - Interview
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #16: Living in the Minds of Strangers
In Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #17: Tom Robinson
Norman Rodger - Interview
Chris Spedding - Interview
Penumbra - Interview
previous editions
Heavenly - P.U.N.K. Girl EPIn Dreams Begin Responsibilities - #5 - ‘We all have good intentions/ But all with strings attached’: Music and Mental Health Part 2
Trudie Myerscough-Harris - Interview
Allan Clarke - Interview
Dwina Gibb - Interview
Joy Division - The Image That Made Me Weep
Beautiful South - Ten Songs That Made Me Love...
Madeline Bell - Interview
Jimmy Nail - Interview
Sound - Interview with Bi Marshall Part 1
most viewed reviews
current edition
Groovy Uncle - Making ExcusesBill Wyman - Drive My Car
Hawkestrel - Chaos Rocks
Philip Parfitt - The Dark Light
Ross Couper Band - The Homeroad
Deep Purple - =1
Jules Winchester - The Journey
Popstar - Obscene
Splashgirl and Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe - More Human
John Murry and Michael Timmins - A Little Bit of Grace and Decay
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart