Glastonbury Festival - Bringing the Love Acoustically

Love with Arthur Lee

Bringing the Love Acoustically

Acoustic Stage - Friday

Who’s going to argue with the assertion that Love – that great 1960s psychedelic band – are one of the perfect acts for any self-respecting Glastonbury line-up?

Purveyors of fey, mysterious music, such as the classic album "Forever Changes", they capture the misty optimism that still wells in the eyes of those Glastonbury-goers who’ve been here since the very beginning.

So what better than a show by Love at the Acoustic Stage? The band are all new – only Arthur Lee remains, but it was always his show after all. And it still is; frenzy whips through the marquee rafters as the ecstatic crowd bay for his arrival.

Feather boas loop and wave in the breeze, arms bow like masts and great gusts of joy belch up from the audience as the chiming deliciousness of Forever Changes shimmers in the early evening light.

The music sounds fresher today than it ever has – more viscerally modern and exciting than many of the latest bands, thanks to the beefy musicianship of the band. A shame, then, that the new songs – good as they are – just don’t match up to the legend of Love. They peek over the edge of excellence, but nothing can stop a few of the curiosity seekers from slipping away to catch another act.
It’s a shame, because songs like "All I Want is You" and "Rainbow in the Storm" do have a certain resonance, the latter especially, given this year’s weather.

Still, "Forever Changes" is tingling in my veins, my body’s still shaking from the bass and everything suddenly seems grand. Some things – though sadly not all of them - really do change for the better.

Adam Horovitz

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