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Love: Black Beauty

High Moon

Most discussion of the Los Angeles band Love begins and ends with the albums that it recorded for Elektra Records in the ‘60s, particularly the perfect-in-every-way 1967 classic Forever Changes. Once the original lineup split and main man Arthur Lee created a new Love, much of the chemistry had vanished, and a more Hendrixian, funky brand of hard rock replaced the band’s hybrid psych-folk-rock and unmatched eclecticism. By the early ‘70s Love was basically just a memory, and the remaining members of the band abandoned Black Beauty, an album recorded by Lee with the 1973 lineup, was abandoned. Listening to it now on this first-ever official reissue, one wonders if Love might have enjoyed a second wind if this record had made its way out into the world. The first all-black incarnation of the band takes a decidedly more R&B approach than previous Love lineups had, but the guitars, still owing more than a nod to Hendrix, are loud and spiky, and the melodies are more pronounced and memorable than on any of the group’s other post Forever Changes output. Most important though, Lee’s vocals are back on track after a few years in the wilderness, and his new songs are keepers that would have fit cozily on those landmark Elektra LPs.