Love’s "Black Beauty" Out Today + Unreleased Track Revealed

Black Beauty, the masterpiece by Arthur Lee’s legendary psychedelic rock band Love, is making its first-ever official release on CD, out today, November 11^th, via High Moon Records.  The album had never been released in any format until High Moon Records put it out on vinyl in 2012. Today, Black Beauty will be available as a TrueSound Audiophile CD, packaged in a Hardbound Eco-Book. 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.   With its unparalleled sound and state-of-the-art packaging, Black Beauty is being hailed as an instant classic by critics worldwide.

The CD features 6 previously-unreleased bonus tracks, with explosive live Black Beauty-era Love performances, an unearthed Arthur Lee interview from 1974, and two unreleased Arthur Lee studio cuts, including “L.A. Blues” streaming via A.V. Club. “L.A. Blues” is an absolute Arthur Lee obscurity, virtually unknown and unheard since its recording in 1996. As the story goes, the track was actually written by legendary Country Music storyteller, Tom. T Hall, and was originally intended for inclusion on a Tom T. Hall tribute album. Soon after the track was recorded (with Arthur backed by up-and-coming L.A. band Ventilator), Arthur was sentenced to 12 years in prison. As Arthur was unreachable while incarcerated, the contract could not be finalized, and the song was left off the album, it's existence known only to its participants. In a stroke of serendipity 15 years later, an MP3 of "L.A. Blues" was emailed to Arthur's wife, Diane Lee in the Summer of 2011. Diane was blown away by the song, and she and High Moon Records' George Wallace agreed it would be the perfect final song for the Black Beauty CD.

The other unreleased studio track is the ultra-rare title song from legendary filmmaker Max Julien’s ‘Thomasine & Bushrod’, recorded a few months after the completion of Black Beauty. It was Arthur Lee’s first and only foray into film soundtrack composition. 

Black Beauty is that rarest of rock artifacts: an unreleased full-length studio album from an undisputed musical genius. Recorded in 1973 for Hair Executive Producer Michael Butler’s Buffalo Records, Black Beauty remained unreleased when the label folded. 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. 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.

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.