Love
Studio album by
Love
ReleasedMarch 1966 (1966-03)
RecordedJanuary 24–27, 1966
StudioSunset Sound Recorders, Hollywood, California
Genre
Length36:03
LabelElektra
Producer
Love chronology
Love
(1966)		 Da Capo
(1966)

Love is the debut album by the Los Angeles-based rock band Love; released in March 1966 by Elektra Records.

Background

Arthur Lee, who was originally from Memphis, Tennessee, but had lived in Los Angeles since he was five, had been recording since 1963 with his bands, the LAG's and Lee's American Four. He had written and also produced the single "My Diary" for Rosa Lee Brooks in 1964 which featured Jimi Hendrix on guitar.[1] A garage outfit, The Sons Of Adam, which included future Love drummer Michael Stuart, also recorded a Lee composition, "Feathered Fish". However, after viewing a performance by the Byrds, Lee became determined to form a group that joined the newly minted folk-rock sound of the Byrds to his primarily rhythm and blues style.

Singer, songwriter / guitarist Bryan MacLean, whom Lee had met when he was working as a roadie for the Byrds, joined the band just before they changed their name from the Grass Roots to Love, spurred by the release of a single by another group called the Grass Roots.[2] MacLean had also been playing guitar in bands since about 1963 but picked up music early. Neighbor Frederick Loewe, of the composers Lerner & Loewe, recognized him as a "melodic genius" at the age of three as he doodled on the piano. Also joining the band was another Memphis native, lead guitarist Johnny Echols. From L.A. was drummer Don Conka. A short time later, Conka was replaced by Alban "Snoopy" Pfisterer. Love's first bassist, Johnny Fleckenstein, went on to join the Standells in 1967. Fleckenstein was replaced by Ken Forssi (formerly of a post-"Wipe Out" lineup of the Surfaris).

Recording and music

Ten of the album's fourteen tracks were recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood on January 24–27, 1966. The remaining four tracks ("A Message to Pretty", "My Flash on You", "Emotions", and "Mushroom Clouds") come from another, undocumented session during that period.[3]

Love features a mixture of folk rock genre,[4] garage rock,[5] and psychedelic rock.[6] The first rock album issued on then-folk giant Elektra Records, the album begins with the group's radical reworking of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David song "My Little Red Book" and also features "Signed D.C." (allegedly a reference to one-time Love drummer Don Conka), along with the poignant "A Message to Pretty".

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[7]

The album sold approximately 150,000 copies.[8]

In a retrospective review of the album, Richie Unterberger for AllMusic called it "their hardest-rocking early album and their most Byrds-influenced." He also stated, "Arthur Lee's songwriting muse hadn't fully developed at this stage, and in comparison with their second and third efforts, this is the least striking of the LPs featuring their classic lineup, with some similar-sounding folk-rock compositions and stock riffs."[4]

2001 CD reissue

The 2001 CD reissue presents both monaural and stereophonic mixes of the album, as well as an alternate take of "Signed D.C." and "No. Fourteen", the B-side to the "7 and 7 Is" single.

Legacy

The stark instrumental "Emotions" is used uncredited in Haskell Wexler's 1969 film Medium Cool as a recurring theme.

"My Little Red Book" was featured over the final credits of the movie High Fidelity in 2000, and the Beverly Hills, 90210 episode "Alone at the Top" in 1995.[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Arthur Lee, except where indicated

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."My Little Red Book"Burt Bacharach, Hal David2:38
2."Can't Explain"Lee, John Echols, John Fleckenstein2:41
3."A Message to Pretty" 3:13
4."My Flash on You" 2:09
5."Softly to Me"Bryan MacLean2:57
6."No Matter What You Do" 2:46
7."Emotions"Lee, John Echols2:01
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."You I'll Be Following" 2:26
9."Gazing" 2:42
10."Hey Joe"Billy Roberts2:42
11."Signed D.C." 2:47
12."Colored Balls Falling" 1:55
13."Mushroom Clouds"Lee, John Echols, Ken Forssi, Bryan MacLean2:25
14."And More"Lee, Bryan MacLean2:57
Total length:36:03

Personnel

Love

  • Arthur Lee – lead vocals, percussion, harmonica. Also drums on "Can't Explain", "No Matter What You Do", "Gazing", and "And More".
  • Johnny Echols – lead guitar
  • Bryan MacLean – rhythm guitar, vocals. Lead vocals on "Softly to Me" and "Hey Joe".
  • Ken Forssi – bass guitar
  • Alban "Snoopy" Pfisterer – drums

Additional personnel

According to the box set Love Story, the tracks "A Message to Pretty" and "My Flash on You" may feature John Fleckenstein on bass and Don Conka on drums in place of Forssi and Pfisterer, respectively.

Singles

  • "My Little Red Book" b/w "A Message to Pretty" (Elektra 45603)
  • "No. Fourteen" (from these sessions, B side of "7 & 7 Is" - Elektra 45605)
  • "Hey Joe" (B side to rare "¡Que Vida!" single - Elektra 45613)

Release history

Date Label Format Country Catalog Notes
March 1966 Elektra LP US EKL-4001 Original mono release.
EKS-74001 Original stereo release.
UK EKL-4001 Original mono release.
EKS-74001 Original stereo release.
1969 Elektra LP US EKS-74001
1973 Elektra LP UK K32002
1987 Edsel LP UK ED 218
1988 Elektra CD US 74001-2 Original CD release.
June 25, 1991 Elektra CD Japan WMC5-380 Reissue of the original mono release.
2001 Elektra/Warner Strategic Marketing CD UK & Europe 8122 73567-2 Reissue containing both mono and stereo mixes including an alternate take of "Signed D.C." and "No. Fourteen", the B-side to the "7 and 7 Is" single.
2001 Elektra CD US 81227 99187 6 Reissue of the original stereo release.
December 11, 2001 Sundazed LP US LP 5100 Reissue of the original stereo release.
October 14, 2015 Elektra CD Japan WPCR-16836 Reissue of the original stereo release including a mono mix of "My Little Red Book" as a bonus track.

References

  1. ↑ ""Rolling Stone Magazine"". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on August 15, 2006. Retrieved 2011-10-28.
  2. ↑ Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 585–586. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
  3. ↑ Oxide, Chrome. "Chrome Oxide - Music Collectors pages - Love - 03/08/2014". Chromeoxide.com.
  4. 1 2 3 Unterberger, Richie. "Love, Love: Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  5. ↑ Rob Chapman (1 September 2015). Psychedelia and Other Colours. Faber & Faber. p. 241. ISBN 978-0-571-28275-3.
  6. ↑ Jim DeRogatis (December 1, 2003). Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 95. ISBN 9780634055485.
  7. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0195313734.
  8. ↑ Sullivan, James (4 August 2006). "Arthur Lee (1945-2006)". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
  9. ↑ "Alone at the Top". Beverly Hills 90210. tv.com. 22 February 1995. Retrieved 12 December 2009.
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