The music of the influential Los Angeles neighborhood of Laurel Canyon is being celebrated with a new anthology. I See You Live On Love Street – Music From Laurel Canyon 1967-1975, a 3-CD collection of 72 songs arrived on March 22, 2024 via the Grapefruit label of U.K. company Cherry Red Records. Among the many denizens associated with the neighborhood and the greater Los Angeles area that are represented on the set are the Mamas & the Papas, The Doors, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Warren Zevon, Linda Ronstadt, the Turtles, Rita Coolidge, and dozens of others, both well known and obscure.
From the label’s January announcement: the Laurel Canyon music community became a dominant worldwide force in the late ’60s and early ’70s. The collection traces the scene’s development from pivotal early bands through to the developing country-rock scene to the singer-songwriter boom that defined the early 70s.
By the end of the 60s, the international music world’s nexus had shifted from such previous hotspots as Liverpool, London and San Francisco to Laurel Canyon, a rural oasis in the midst of the bustle of Los Angeles. Just minutes from Hollywood, the Sunset Strip and the LA record companies and recording studios, Laurel Canyon became home to a folk, country, rock and pop hybrid that encompassed everyone from early players The Byrds and Buffalo Springfield to The Doors, Frank Zappa, Glen Campbell and pop kingpins The Monkees. The canyon’s rustic charms and the proximity of leading folk den The Troubadour attracted a phalanx of singer-songwriters while also giving birth to the country-rock movement, kickstarted by various Byrds/Springfield spin-offs (Dillard & Clark, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Poco) and former teen idol Ricky Nelson.
Highly incestuous, the Laurel Canyon family featured some unlikely bedfellows: The Monkees worked with Frank Zappa, The Turtles sponsored Judee Sill and hung out with The Doors, Kim Fowley collaborated with both Steppenwolf and Warren Zevon, and the individual members of CSNY appeared on each other’s solo records and numerous others.
A follow-up to Grapefruit’s acclaimed 2022 compilation Heroes & Villains: The Sound of Los Angeles 1965-1968 [available in the U.S. and U.K.], the new I See You Live On Love Street: Music From Laurel Canyon 1967-1975 charts the scene’s birth and gradual development until a revitalized, relocated Fleetwood Mac spearheaded a new, sleeker Laurel Canyon sound to go stratospheric in the mid-70s. The new title is available in the U.S. here and the U.K. here.
Housed in a clamshell box that includes a heavily annotated and illustrated 48-page booklet, the new collection features many of the biggest names in the canyon community alongside acts who failed to find success at the time but went on to achieve cult status.
I See You Live On Love Street – Music From Laurel Canyon 1967-1975 Track Listing
Disc 1
Young Girls Are Coming To The Canyon (1967-1968)
1 COME ON IN – The Association
2 TIGHTER – Paul Revere & The Raiders
3 THE GOOD HUMOR MAN, HE SEES EVERYTHING LIKE THIS – Love
4 AS WE GO ALONG – The Monkees
5 HOLDING – The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
6 SMILE, LET YOUR LIFE BEGIN – The Factory
7 OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM – The Gentle Soul
8 I’VE GOT TO KNOW -The Stone Poneys
9 LOVE STREET – The Doors
10 HOW MANY NIGHTS HAVE PASSED – Clear Light
11 FLOATING DREAM – The Peanut Butter Conspiracy
12 MONTAGE MIRROR – Smokey Roberds with Roger Nichols Trio
13 HALFWAY THERE – Ruthann Friedman
14 WILDFLOWERS – The Holy Mackerel
15 SECRET SAUCER MAN – Barry McGuire
16 MANSIONS – The Mamas & The Papas
17 I NEED YOU – The Sunshine Company
18 THELVE THIRTY – Scott McKenzie
19 A CHILD’S CLAIM TO FAME – Buffalo Springfield
20 TRAIN LEAVES HERE THIS MORNIN’ – Dillard & Clark
21 BLIGHT – The Millennium
22 CALL ON ME – Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band
23 TWILIGHT SANCTUARY – The Leaves
24 YOU DON’T MISS YOUR WATER – The Byrds
25 I HAD A DREAM LAST NIGHT – The M.F.Q. (Modern Folk Quartet)
26 SHADOW DREAM SONG – Steve Noonan
27 HELLO, HOORAY – Judy Collins
Disc 2
Going Home To California (1969-1971)
1 LOVE THE ONE YOU’RE WITH – Stephen Stills
2 PICKIN’ UP THE PIECES – Poco
3 BUZZIN’ FLY – Tim Buckley
4 KINGSWOOD HILLS – Hoyt Axton
5 CHRISTINE’S TUNE – The Flying Burrito Brothers
6 MAMA TOLD ME (NOT TO COME) – Three Dog Night
7 LADY-O – The Turtles
8 CALIFORNIA – Rick Nelson & The Stone Canyon Band
9 P. F. SLOAN – Jimmy Webb
10 WHERE’S THE PLAYGROUND SUSIE – Glen Campbell
11 BLUEBIRD – Susan Carter
12 I STILL WONDER – Love
13 LET’S WORK TOGETHER – Canned Heat
14 IT’S NEVER TOO LATE – Steppenwolf
15 PEACHES EN REGALIA – Frank Zappa
16 WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE – Warren Zevon
17 BORN TO MAKE YOU CRY – Kim Fowley
18 I AM THE BREEZE – Essra Mohawk
19 WHITE LIGHT – Gene Clark
20 TRACTION IN THE RAIN – David Crosby
21 BROTHER SPEED – Russ Giguere
22 OUTLAW – Grin
23 TOO MUCH TRUTH, TOO MUCH LOVE – Dave Mason & Cass Elliot
Disc 3
Postcards From Hollywood (1971-1975)
1 SOME PEOPLE CALL IT MUSIC – J. D. Souther
2 EASY TO SLIP – Little Feat
3 BIRDS – Linda Ronstadt
4 CRAYON ANGELS – Judee Sill
5 DRIVING ALONG – Nilsson
6 WE HAVE NO SECRETS – Carly Simon
7 I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT – Crazy Horse
8 BACK ON THE STREET AGAIN – Jo Mama
9 DANNY’S SONG – Kenny Loggins with Jim Messina
10 HOW MUCH I’VE LIED – Gram Parsons
11 FLYING TO MORNING – Rosebud
12 JOURNEY THRU THE PAST – Rita Coolidge
13 I THINK HE’S HIDING – Cyrus Faryar
14 PAPER TO WRITE ON – Crabby Appleton
15 TIGHT ROPE – Leon Russell
16 ANYWAY I LOVE YOU – Dan Fogelberg
17 POSTCARDS FROM HOLLYWOOD – Ned Doheny
18 OUTLAW MAN – David Blue
19 FOR FREE – Morning
20 FALLIN’ IN LOVE – Souther Hillman Furay Band
21 COOK WITH HONEY – Howdy Moon
22 SAY YOU LOVE ME – Fleetwood Mac
2 Comments so far
Jump into a conversationI ordered this great box set. I can’t wait to play it.
I have the box and have played all 3 discs at least 3 times. Grapefruit/Cherry Red have done a fantastic job with this release. I’d love for them to do a Vol.2 it’s that good. I say this despite having at least 60% of the tracks already.