Love Live Life + One - Love Will Make A Better You (1971/2009 JP Remastered Ltd. Mini LP Edition)
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Album: Love Live Life + One - Love Will Make A Better You (Remastered Ltd. Mini LP Edition)
Released: 1971 (2009)
Genre: Psych/Prog, Avant-Rock
Gnosis Rating: 10.43
Super Fuji - FJSP-58 (NKCD-4459)
Finally!! 24 bit digitally remastered Japanese reissue of this mega-rare classic psych/prog album originally released in 1971 on King Records. Ranked as number 6 in Julian Cope's "Japrocksampler" list. Comes with elaborate miniature gatefold cover of the original LP, great sound and limited to 1,000 copies! - ProgNews
A Japanese psych rock gem that is worth seeking out. The album has A LOT of variation, goes into separate parts of rocking psych, avant-jazz and classical-sounding stuff. Some of it is highly energetic and rocking, while at the same time there are some peaceful orchestrated passages. Very prominent presence of flutes and saxophones. Unique sounding stuff and ahead of its time. - Wayside Music
Love Live Life +1 (71) was one of these "super sessions" which were huge in Japan in the early seventies. Its legacy? A mighty impressive, soulful album filled to the brim with freaky cosmic rhythm & blues. Title track Love Will Make A Better You makes one think of a Sly & The Family Stone from the land of the rising sun. Dig these horns and way-out-there guitars, brothers and sisters! -
Really wigged out Japanese psych band from 1971 that subscribed to the "wall of sound" theory. Featuring a flautist and two saxophonists in addition to the usual drums, organ, guitar, piano and bass, Love Will Make a Better You is a rather mixed bag of music, ranging from bluesy psych to free jazz excursions somewhere between Coltrane and Coleman. This wild use of horns and flute lends a very avant/prog aura to the album, particularly if it is viewed as a psych album. In comparison to the grungy, bluesy psych from Japan in the early '70s, Love Live Life + One were actually quite experimental. In fact, though they don't sound like them, I was vaguely reminded of the experimental side of the Soft Machine. The English lyrics are pretty hippie/trippy and aren't worth writing about other than a rather unique delivery style. Unless you know you liked wigged out psych with an experimental touch, try before you buy. - New Gibraltar Encyclopedia Of Progressive Rock
Love Live Life + One – a great group who recorded only one album that I know of for certain, 'Love Will Make A Better You' [King, 1971]. As well as some searing fuzzed-out psych rockers and more orchestrated progressive psychpop, the highlight of the album is the side-long piece 'The Question Mark'. This begins as a kind of free-form freakout, developing into manic psychedelic/progressive jazzy jamming, with proficient playing from all musicians. Guitarist Kimio Mizutani shortly after went on to play on the People album and record an excellent solo album. Keyboardist Hiro Yanagida [previously with Apryl Fool & Foodbrain] resumed his solo career. There are reputedly two more Love Live Life albums [without the '+ One'], '10 Chapters of Murder' aka 'Satsujin Jissho' [1974] and 'Rock in Bacharach' [1975] - Chris McLean
Mindshatteringly psychedelic (though something like acid-prog comes closer) sickness from easily one of the most over the top and unabashedly insane sounding progressive outfits this side of Second Hand on "Death May Be Your Santa Claus", the drop-you-to-your-knees-peak here for me ("Shadows Of The Mind") howling down phasing and melting psychological corridors of lysergically mutable prog arrangements that'd give Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come a run for their money, though even Second Hand and Kingdom Come never tore into a side long Cosmic Jokers-worthy free for all, as LLL+1 do over the course of "The Question Mark", a track that in my experience has managed to send at least one tripping individual running for cover from it's relentlessly warped assault. Easily top 5 for Japanese underground music of the 70's in my book. - mutant-sounds
There were several progressive psychedelic groups in Japan in the early '70s, including the short-lived Love Live Life + One. They played a handful of live shows and only released one LP in 1971, but that record, Love Will Make a Better You, is considered one of the classics of early Japanese psychedelia.
Not too much documentation exists about Love Live Life + One, a group of nine musicians. The "Plus One" seems to refer to vocalist Akiri Fuse, who had been singing pop music since the mid-'60s and appearing on LPs since 1967. Otherwise, Love Live Life consisted of Hiro Yanagida on keyboards and organ and Kimio Mizutani on electric guitar, as well as K. Ichihara on flute and sax, T. Yokota on flute and soprano sax, T. Naoi on guitar, M. Terakawa on bass, C. Kawachi on drums, and N. Kawahara on percussion.
Most of these musicians are obscure, except for Yanagida and Mizutani, who have had wider musical careers in other psychedelic groups. Prior to Love Live Life, Mizutani was in the band People, with the rare 1970 LP Ceremony -- Buddha Meet Rock, and the same year that Love Will Make a Better You came out, he released his solo album, A Path Through Haze. Yanagida also released a solo album in 1971 called Milk Time. Prior to Love Live Life + One he was a member of the highly acclaimed Foodbrain, which released the album Social Gathering in 1970, and he was also in Strawberry Path, whose record When the Raven Has Come to the Earth came out the same year as Love Will Make a Better You.
Love Live Life's only record, like the other albums mentioned above, is a mix of blues-based psychedelic music that pushes into progressive and even avant-garde realms, while the skronky sax playing even recalls the edgier end of the jazz spectrum. The record was self-released in small quantities, and contained a side-long improvised piece with hippie poetry over very free-form music, with more song-oriented material on the flip side. The group did not last much longer after the LP was finished. - Rolf Semprebon, All Music Guide
Now the "Rock Generation" has exploted in our country too. Up until a little while ago the thinking of Rock in Japan has varied. There were many differences of opinion of the Rock fans.
To be able to feel rock and to appriciate the music should have boon enough but many of the people were defining the meaning or set up of Rock. Instead of just appriciating it, they tried to look at rock theoretically.
"It's hard rock!""lt's soft rock!" "No! It's Art Rock!" "Is it well, to call it New Rock?" No! It must be Progressive Rock, or isn't it?" could be heard all around. There were many people who thought that unless it was in order and completely defined like a library's Index that it wasn't right! "Wasn't that Silly?!" Rock is something that people write and play and it should be felt, be heard, and welcomed by people.
From this meaning, Akira Fuse decided to take notice of this New Rock world and made this record. This impressive Fuse's voice is of course complete but Love, Live & Life's playing also is a feverish feeling and makes this record more than complete. Recently, American & English groups have added strings and wind instruments to their groups and they are trying very hard to come up with many more and groovy new ideas for new songs, and have done a good job too.
The first moment I put my player needle on this record, I expirienced the same extraordinary feeling that I had when I first heard "Sanfrancisco Sound" I knew that it was another "new" feeling. This record is similar to the early days of "Gratefully Dead" when Eric Burdon Left England and went to the West Coast, along with him a new type of sound. This record offers the thrill that was produced by Burdon. In this Album, Fuse's point is to bring out a new look at human love. All this feeling is brought out by his marvelous voice. Up until the time the recording was finished he tried very hard to bring out this effect. It is Superb. L.L.L's. Splendid playing cannot be overlooked either. It should bring a hearty applause from anyone listening. Their flute player is very convincing and when you listen you could almost swear that it was Jethro Tull or Bob Downes playing. A superb guitarist and a very skilled organist with a group of others make up this group. By just listning you can tell why such groups have been able to grow so big in the Rock world of Japan.
Fuse's splendid voice and the way that he takes rock into his heart and lets it out in his voice is indescribable. I can only take off my hat to him. - Noted by Goro-ltoi
1 The Question Mark (17:57)
2 Runnin' Free (03:41)
3 Love Will Make A Better You (04:23)
4 Shadows Of The Mind (08:42)
5 Facts About It All (02:53)
Chito Kawachi - drums
N. Kawahara - latin percussion
Masaoki Terakawa - bass
Takao Naoi - guitar
Kimio Mizutani - guitar
Hiro Yanagida - keyboards
Kosuke Ichihara - sax and flute
Toshiaki Yokota - soprano sax and flute
Akira Fuse - vocals
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