“Love” is the debut LP by Love, released in March 1966 on Elektra Records. . After gigging around the Los Angeles scene for three years, Arthur Lee was ready for something different. Lee 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. A garage outfit, The Sons Of Adam, which included future Love drummer Michael Stuart, also recorded a Lee composition, “Feathered Fish”.
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.
Nothing like what their contemporaries Who 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. This was their hardest-rocking early album and their most Byrds-influenced.” 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 line-up, with some similar-sounding folk-rock compositions and stock riffs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYINIxCD2rg
Twelve of the album’s fourteen tracks were recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood on January 24th–27th, 1966. The remaining two tracks (“A Message To Pretty” and “My Flash On You“) come from another session.
- 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
The Fat Angel Sings 