The Doors Forum

I was blessed to make Michael Stuart (Ware)'s acquaintance and he has been kind enough to share some stories and thoughts of his time with LoVE...maybe on my list of top TWO bands of all time. These were posted at Torben's site by me, but there seems to be a growing appreciation for LoVE here also.....

So good reading to all that are interested in everything 60's and LOVE!
I had a "list" of questions for Michael and he was kind enough to answer them....


First on my list was "what is Michael up to"? He and Randy Holden (as stated recently) had been jamming last year and a new set of recordings are available at Randy's page: guitargod. Anyone heard it?

Most interesting, to me, was why Michael won't ever listen to any of his Love recordings. We've all read it, but why?
Michael stated that the initial recordings of Da capo & Forever Changes were of poor quality & simply not well engineered or produced. To make matters worse, efforts to re-master the original recordings have met with only limited success. The reason?....Michael relates, were "little things", like. all the drums & the bass were put on the same track. That creates all kinds of problems that can never be fixed.

Michael does relate that he is so grateful to have played in a group with musicians and songwriters the caliber of the guys of Love & an honor to have participated in the making of Da Capo & FC. "Bryan & Arthur are two of the most imaginative & creative writers to have come down the pike." "Johnny Echols & Kenny Forssi...one has to be born with a little something extra to get that good. You can't really learn to play that good" (same for you, Michael!)

Michael still does a lot of playing with his son, Brent (an excellent guitar player who digs groups of the 80's). Michael says."I can still play hard, loud, fast and furious." He's always looking for new opportunities to play drums, anytime, anywhere.

[br]Michael's answer, for us here, to my next question was lengthy....here is the answer to
"How did Michael hook up with Arthur & Love?" (I'm thinking, any of you that have read
his book know this already?, but for those if us that didn't have the pleasure, Michael
has kindly provided this answer......excerpted from his email) Michael says it's taking
longer than anticipated to answer the questions, so he's sending attachments as he can.

"...one night in early '66, Bryan & Arthur dropped in on a guest set The Sons Of Adam were
playing at Bido Lito's. They liked my drumming style and asked me to join Love on the spot.
Problem was, Sons of Adam were at their peak with playing to packed houses, a cameo in
"The Slender Thread" & contracts with shows at Fillmore, Winterland & Avalon, so I said
no thanks.
But...after that Arthur started ocassionally hanging out at our pad & showing us new
material he was writing. Then the two groups started playing together on the same bill
quite a bit.
In retrospect, that's when I became more familiar with their tunes & really first started
to reconsider joining up. The diversity of their material was way beyond anything I had
heard from any contemporary rock group, except maybe the Beatles & defied
category except to say it was alternately hard core acid/folk rock, and then (Bryan's
"Softly To Me") sophisticated jazz.
On stage & on record, Arthur & Bryan's writing counterbalanced & complimented each
other perfectly. And the words to their songs........"Signed D.C"...."I pierced my skin again,
Lord", words like daggers. His lightning bolt delivery on "My Flash On You."..."Don't try
to force your smug old drug my way, 'cause baby I've cleansed my soul, and that's where
it's gonna stay!" he preaches. That was good stuff, man. If that song doesn't get you
pumped up, then you have both feet in the graveyard. Arthur's firepower was
offset brilliantly by Bryan's eloquence "I could love you more and more each day
for a million years" he softly sang. Johnny's great jazz riffs....unparalleled.

So, I began to realize that, based on his compositions alone, Arthur was special. And
on stage?...forget about it. None better.....then or now, before and since, he was the
best. His talent was gargantuan. Arthur came to earth with powers far beyond
mortal men.........seriously, I hear the word "genius" around a lot when the subject is
Arthur. Don't know if it means anything, but I only heard "gravity" referred to as
"gravitation" two times in my life. Once by Arthur when he wrote "...a mulatto soul so
rare, intercepted by gravitation...", and once by Albert Einstein in a paper he
wrote about...gravitation, I think it was.

Anyway, after the group released "7 & 7 Is", I went ahead and called Arthur, because I
had heard he was going to "break new ground" on Da Capo and finally, for sure and
most certainly, I wanted to be a part of it. I believe the expression is, "better late
than never"?"
MSW




____________________________________________________________

Michael's answer to my next question.....

My next question for MICHAEL was more technical, in that I wanted to know the details of why the bass & drums were recorded on the same track when FC was recorded. (Michael has said, as most of us know, that he won't listen to FC because of his dissatisfaction with the recording....here's why, and the details).....for me, even the smallest, new detail about LoVE just adds another layer to my listening enjoyment. Hope you all feel the same.....lk.



"I played on the Da Capo & Forever Changes albums, and then on the Laughing Stock/Your Mind And We Belong Together session, so those are the only Love recordings I can speak to. On each one of those sessions Johnny, Kenny, Bryan and I (and on Da Capo, Snoopy and Tjay) laid sown the foundation instrumental tracks, then later we came back in and recorded the vocals. Except "Revelation"...in that cut it was done all at once, with Johnny (vocal), Arthur (harmonica) and Tjay (soprano sax), taking turns in a solo isolation booth. The small book that came with Rhino's 1995 Love Story compilation says the first two Love albums were recorded on 4 track machines, so that would include Da Capo. I'm pretty sure FC was recorded on either 8 or 16 track, because I remember enthusiastic conversations circulating among the recording staff at Sunset Sound about how we had more tracks to work with this time than we had over at RCA.

As we all know, more is sometimes better, sometimes not. In recording. more tracks is almost always better because isolating each instrument onto a separate track allows corrections and adjustments to be made after the initial recording has been completed. Like, if one guy hit a wrong note during an other wise great cut, or that perhaps one instrument was recorded at a volume slightly lower than optimal, no problem....they can simply turn that instrument up in the final mix.

The alternative to isolating each instrument and making corrections after the fact, to get the product as right as can be before everybody leaves the studio, or live with any mistakes that were made, be they vocal, instrumental or mechanical.

On Da Capo, everything was pretty straightforward. Drums, bass, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, sax or flute, keyboards, and vocal...seven. Seven things on four tracks. Dave Hassinger engineered and Paul Rothchild produced. Paul was real laid back and he just seemed to kind of stay out of Dave's hair and let him do his job, because Dave had only just been recording The Rolling Stones right in that very same studio, so obviously he knew his sh#t backwards and forwards. In fact, every time I looked up through the glass, Paul was usually just sitting next to Dave and nodding and eating a jar of macadamia nuts that Bryan had accidentally left in the booth. I guess you would say (at least on Da Capo sessions, because that's all I know him by) Paul Rothchild was a "hands-off kind of record producer. Besides, we had rehearsed the living daylights out those tunes and semi-complicated arrangements on some of the material, everything was tight.....the session went as it was supposed to and it didn't matter that some the instruments were on the same track, because Dave nailed the levels and the mix and the balance....everything, no problem.

But a year later, when we went into Sunset Sound to record Forever Changes, it was a different story altogether (Arthur and Bruce Botnick produced, with Bruce engineering). For one thing, we had a false start.....like we go into the studio, try the first cut, can't get through the first 7 or 8 takes, everybody goes home, they hurry and call in studio cats and chick, they try a couple of tunes but the studio cats and chick sound too plastic., we rehearse some more, then come back in and finally do it. Why couldn't we get it the first time?........
because we hadn't played together for about six months, and the initial rehearsals for the album (few as they were) were nothing more than informal gettin' high sessions......with instruments. Besides, FC was a much more complex project,.....more intricate arrangements, with horns and strings added to the foundation instrumental track, so whatever number of tracks we were working with, be it 8 or 16, they weren't enough to keep Bruce from having to piggyback. I mean, I never saw the paperwork from the sessions that said what instrument was put on the same track as another....I only know that , the second time in, when I told Arthur that the drums need to come up a little, he said, "Man , I can't." The drums are on the same track as the bass,

The "Your Mind And We Belong Together/Laughing Stock? session was produced by Arthur and engineered by John Haeny at Sunset Sound. Whether it was on 8 or 16 track equipment, I have no idea, but the limited number of instruments involved, made everything less complicated, The result was a better sound.

But now....digital recording, virtually unlimited tracks....the drums don't need to go on the same track with another instrument at all. Everybody has his own track. The resulting sound is a product we couldn't have imagined in the late sixties."
--Michael Stuart -Ware

Here is Michael's answer to the next question(s) I had. Very interesting!! [8D]

Do any of you have any questions for Michael.....he is so kind to answer my questions & seems more than happy to have them posted here...so fire away!

Our unique perspective and drum parts......
True enough...drummers have a unique perspective, because we usually have less to do with the writing and arranging, so maybe we're slightly more free to observe and listen when we're playing. Our higher-profile band brothers, on the other hand, who stand out front, singing and playing the songs they've written, sometimes can't hear the forest for the tress. For one thing, during live performance, the drummer is in a better position to hear a slightly more balanced sound, because he sits between the amps. Most guitar and bass players stand directly in front on their own amp, so naturally, that's what they hear most. In our band, Arthur was the exception because he just played tambourine and harmonica on stage, so he stood more or less in the middle, not in front of an amp at all.....but in front of my drums, actually. When we played the smaller clubs with really small stages, like Bido Lito's, Arthur's head would sometimes be like only three or four feet from my 18" medium crash, which had to be somewhat irritating, because you know, cymbals sort of shatter the air a bit.

Visually, it's another story altogether. Even though we see only the backs of our fellow band members, there are things that make themselves immediately apparent that none of the standing dudes can see quite as easily as the drummer. Like if somebody's missing.

As far as the "preparation to record" process...Arthur and Bryan played the tunes they had written on their acoustic guitars at rehearsals. If the initial acoustic run-through included a particular lead or rhythm or even bass segment that was important to the song, then Johnny or Bryan or Kenny played it on the record, but each guy wrote his own part from the beginning to the end. The only drumming suggestion Arhthur ever made to me, was during the Forever Changes sessions when he asked me to "push the tempo" through certain passages of some of the tunes and most of the way through others. Arthur had lots of great ideas but I respectfully submit that wasn't one of them.

Regarding my drum parts...Da Capo and Forever Changes contained material that demanded a more percussive drum part than what Snoopy played on the first album. I just tried to play what sounded appropriated for each piece.

The "no sheet music and the session guys"......It didn't seem to bother them at all that there was no sheet music. They came in, recorded the track to "Daily Planet" and "Andmoreagain", like any other day at the office and left. When the real group came in to finish the album, Elektra decided to keep the track to "Daily Planet" but we re-recorded the instrumental track to "Andmoreagain". I know you'll read different places that the studio people's version of "andmoreagain" is on the album, but that's wrong.

Just as wrong as any piece of information that says Hal Blaine played drums on "Daily Planet". It was Jim Gordon. Snoopy and I had seen Jim Gordon play with The Everly Brothers at "The Hullabaloo Club" on Sunset one night in early "66. His technique was immaculate.....his fills were flawless and imaginative. Even the Everly's were impressed. Gordon went on to play with Eric Clapton and even co-wrote "Layla". Jim Gordon is just a hell of a musicain....unforgettable, he was.

So, when Johnny and Kenny and Bryan and I arrived at Sunset Sound that day in"67 to "help" the studio people develop parts on FC that would somehow enable them to achieve the "Love sound" (that was our assignment) and saw Jim Gordon there, well.......how could anybody get Hal Blaine and Jim Gordon mixed up? See, it's that "Wrecking Crew" thing. "The Wrecking Crew" were just the same group of studio people in LA who played together for groups that were having trouble doing it themselves instrumentally, and for vocal groups and solo artists who had no regular recording band, So, I don't know...thirty years after the fact, when writers stated asking members of the Forever Changes recording staff who the drummer was on "Planet", they conjured up an image of "The Wrecking Crew", and in their mind's eye, Hal Blaine was sitting right there behind the drums. as usual. But apparently Hal couldn't make it that day....maybe he phoned in sick or something....because the most unusual and incredibly talented Jim Gordon played drums on "Daily Planet". Hal was home in bed, eating chicken soup and watching an "I Love Lucy" rerun.

And when Kenny was showing Carol Kaye what to play on "Daily Planet", Arthur walked by and said, "Hey, man, that sounds good. You go ahead and play the bass, Kenny....she can play guitar or whatever." Carol didn't like playing the guitar. Between takes she kept slinging her hand around in the air and asking, "How many more takes...?", like I guess the little skinny stings hurt her fingers.

MSW

More from Michael......

I was listening to Laughing Stock & had a couple questions for Michael. which he kindly stated I could share with you all......[8D]

Michael replied, "Yeah, that's me on "Laughing Stock". I saw right away it was a cooking tune and I was thinking, 'Awright!!, now we're getting somewhere!' Then we broke up."

"I think I might change a few things, if I could. It would have been nice, for instance, to see how things would have turned out if we had worked a little harder at living up to our potential. You know......by playing more during our time together. So I might change that just to see."

"And if I could change things, I might have Arthur win the running battle he had with Bryan over the affections of the lovely Stephanie. Because Bryan wouldn't have cared. No biggie either way, to Bryan. Let's play music."

"It's a timing thing. That window of creative opportunity slams shut in the blink of an eye for just about any old reason, so you gotta make hay while the sun shines."

[br]more from Michael.....with Michael's kind indulgence

...."Bryan got a bad rap for being a pain in the neck because he liked to mess with people's minds. He was a practical joker. Everybody goes to dinner, he ducks out and leaves you holding the tab. Funny, funny. It's OK though if it really is funny, and he definitely was funny. So was Arthur. Arthur and Bryan in the same room was like David Letterman & Johnny Carson. Early on, that is....before Stephanie."

"Your other question was asking if I was disappointed that we never got to perform FC in concert. Not so much. Johnny and Kenny and Bryan and I were mainly disappointed that we didn't play any songs, from any of the albums, anywhere, hardly at all, ever. Not enough anyway. We were always waiting for the booking agent Arthur to accept job offers ("Monterey POP Festival?.....sorry, not interested"), playing gigs with other groups, biding my time answering the same question over and over, "You guys still together?". "Yeah man. still together. I think."

"Bottom line, I'm proud to have been a part of the making of a landmark album that has met with acceptance from knowledgeable rock music critics and fans. Number 40 on the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums Ever Recorded? In any category?...even jazz?....still blows my mind. It even got me into Bob Cianci's "Great Rock Drummers Of The Sixties", along side Keith Moon, Mitch Mitchell, Charlie Watts and 12 other guys most rock fans have heard of, so I'm not complaining. I got to make great music. All's well that ends well."

I am glad Michael got his due recognition as one of the greatest drummers of the 60's. It doesn't just happen...Michael worked to get there. Congrats Michael.

All for now, but if I get any more interesting thoughts from MSW, I will share them.

I hope you all enjoyed these as much as I!

Great stuff, James. Thanks so much! It's unfortunate that Michael hasn't been able to enjoy FC due to perceived technical problems with the recordings. We've only heard the final product, which sounds amazing to my ears. It's obviously a different situation if you were there in the studio. Of course, the material is so strong that those issues get somewhat buried in the brilliance of the songwriting and performances.

If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to know if Love ever performed on the same bill with The Doors while Michael was in the band. If so, what does he recall about the show(s)? Also, does he remember why the Doors cancelled their scheduled appearance at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on 6/2/67? That may have been Michael's first live show with Love.

BallroomDays67 wrote:Great stuff, James. Thanks so much! It's unfortunate that Michael hasn't been able to enjoy FC due to perceived technical problems with the recordings. We've only heard the final product, which sounds amazing to my ears. It's obviously a different situation if you were there in the studio. Of course, the material is so strong that those issues get somewhat buried in the brilliance of the songwriting and performances.

If you wouldn't mind, I'd like to know if Love ever performed on the same bill with The Doors while Michael was in the band. If so, what does he recall about the show(s)? Also, does he remember why the Doors cancelled their scheduled appearance at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium on 6/2/67? That may have been Michael's first live show with Love.

Some good questions, bally. I forwarded them to Michael and hopefully we'll get some answers in a few days!

Great stories, Scott.

Good Michael still remembers them. Carol Kaye doesn't recall being in the studio playing those tracks.But then again, she did thousand's of studio sessions in the days.

Carol was a great session player.....As you said she was in thousands of sessions, since she doesn't say definitely NOT, it is likely just lost in the fog.

Since Michael recorded just TWO lps with LoVE, the impressions must be intense...so I would believe Michael's memory and as he said, drummers many times are the impartial observer behind all that goes on. That's how I felt as a drummer in my bands too.

jamestkirk wrote:Some good questions, bally. I forwarded them to Michael and hopefully we'll get some answers in a few days!

Awesome! I appreciate it.