Description
After gigging around the Los Angeles scene for three years, Arthur Lee was ready for something different. Inspired by seeing The Byrds live, he decided to merge their folk-rock sound with the driving r&b he had been playing to create a new group, dubbed Love. Recruiting guitarists Johnny Echols and ex-Byrds roadie Bryan Maclean, bassist Ken Forssi and drummer Alban “Snoopy” Pfisterer, Love began recording their eponymous debut LP in January 1966. Their first single, Bacharach/David composition “My Little Red Book,” spotlights an insistent, menacing riff that sounds nothing like what their contemporaries were committing to vinyl. Other cuts highlight the writing talents of Lee and the band members, notably on Lee’s anti-drug essay “Signed, D.C.” and Maclean’s “Softly to Me.” Also included is their version of the rock standard “Hey Joe,” rivaling The Leaves’ hit version for power and sporting some lyric alterations. The group, which lived communally at the time in a house formerly owned by Boris Karloff (they are pictured in the house’s garden on the LP cover), quickly coalesced into one of the West Coast’s most influential and exciting groups; here is where it all began. Sundazed is proud to bring you this remastered classic, sourced from the original Elektra analog session tapes and lovingly pressed on high-definition vinyl.