Love - Love (1966)

Love were an American rock band founded in the 1960s who saw only modest success on the charts yet have come to be regarded as one of the finest groups of the era.

Arthur Lee got involved in the music business at an early age, and by the mid 60s had fronted several bands and had minor successes as a songwriter and producer in L.A. With the advent of the folk-rock movement in 1965 he was inspired to fuse the new sound of The Byrds with his beloved R&B, and before long had put together a band called Love. Under his leadership they became very popular in the L.A. clubs, and were signed to Elektra Records. By the time of their first album the band consisted of Arthur Lee (vocals/harmonica/guitar), Bryan Maclean (guitar/vocals), Johnny Echols (lead guitar), Ken Forssi (bass) and Alban Pfisterer (drums). They were notable for being one of the first racially integrated rock groups.

Their debut album was released in 1966, and saw them successfully blend folk-rock aesthetics with a harder garage rock style, with both Byrds-style 12-string guitars and more raw, edgy flavours. Lee was the focal point as both songwriter and lead singer, though rhythm guitarist Bryan Maclean also wrote and sang a good song of his own, as well as a cover of Billy Roberts' "Hey Joe". The other cover was an excellent arrangement of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "My Little Red Book", which when released as a single became a minor hit at #52. The album itself was a modest success, peaking at #57 on the album chart.

|> Da Capo (1967)
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