Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Love’s 1975 Lost Classic "Black Beauty" Available For First Time w/ Unreleased Bonus Tracks on 11/11


Out November 11th via High Moon Records
 
“Revelatory.” — Spin 

“A lost classic.” — Rolling Stone

“Black Beauty is as eclectic and eccentric as any of Love’s best.” – MOJO

“Burns with an apocolyptic fervor. An inestimable gem in the group’s vaunted catalog.” — UNCUT

“Live and raw. Imagine the Jimi Hendrix Experience on steroids, with Lee exhibiting the kind of range on vocals that Hendrix was never capable of.” — Variety

“One of the defining groups of the psychedelic era.” — New York Times

 
Black Beauty, the masterpiece by Arthur Lee’s legendary psychedelic rock band Love, is making its first-ever official release on CD, out November 11th via High Moon Records.  The album had never been released in any format until High Moon Records put it out on vinyl in 2012. In November, Black Beauty will be available as a TrueSound Audiophile CD, packaged in a Hardbound Eco-Book.  With its unparalleled sound and state-of-the-art packaging, Black Beauty is being hailed as an instant classic by critics worldwide.  Read and share the exciting announcement courtesy of Rolling Stone.
 
The Deluxe CD comes with a 62-page photo-filled booklet with over 35 never-before-seen photos by Herbert W. Worthington and a revelatory essay by Ben Edmonds. Bonus 
tracks feature explosive live Black Beauty-era Love performances, an unearthed Arthur Lee interview from 1974, and two unreleased Arthur Lee studio cuts.  The ultra-rare title track from legendary filmmaker Max Julien’s “Thomasine & Bushrod’, recorded a few months after the completion of Black Beauty, was Arthur Lee’s first and only foray into film soundtrack composition.  Recorded in 1973 for Hair Executive Producer Michael Butler’s Buffalo Records, Black Beauty remained unreleased when the label folded. Finally, after 40 years High Moon Records is honored to fulfill Arthur Lee’s wish that Black Beauty be heard by music fans worldwide on CD.
 
 Black Beauty is that rarest of rock artifacts: a full-length studio album, from an undisputed musical genius. The album is the missing link in a 
catalog that includes Forever Changes, the classic 1967 Love album 
the New York Times called “one of the most affecting and beguiling 
albums of all time.” With Black Beauty, Arthur Lee manages to 
combine searing 70’s-rock with gorgeous melodies and stellar 
songwriting—topped off by his most powerful, soulful vocals 
ever. With its wonderfully eclectic collection of songs, the album offers 
Love fans a rare glimpse into a previously undocumented phase of 
Arthur Lee’s fabled career, while shining a light for new fans to 
discover the unique genius that is the music of Arthur Lee and Love.
 
There will be a Love exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opens in 2015.  Love’s Black Beauty album will be featured in the exhibit.

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