Legendary Lost Love LP to Be Unearthed in June

March 3, 2011 By Mike Duquette — No Comments

One of the more legendary lost albums of the 1970s – Love’s Black Beauty – is getting its first legitimate release this summer.

Love remains one of the great unsung bands of the 1960s. Known for its racially diverse lineup – black singer/songwriter/guitarist Arthur Lee is arguably the best-known member of the group – and the psych-folk-rock style of their critically acclaimed 1967 LPs Da Capo and Forever Changes, Love left a legacy that has outlived most of its members (including Lee, who died in 2006).

Fans of the band know there was a period between 1970 and 1975 – after a pair of albums for Blue Thumb Records and before one for RSO – where the line-up shifted (Lee recruited an all-black ensemble) and the band jumped through several contracts. One album was recorded for Columbia in 1971 and released as Love Lost by Sundazed in 2009. Another, Black Beauty, was intended for release on Lee’s own Buffalo Records, but the label folded before anything was released, leaving bootleggers to revive the album.

Now, a new reissue label, High Moon Records, is planning the first-ever official release of Black Beauty, according to Rolling Stone. All ten of the original tracks will be remastered and will appear alongside bonus content and new liner notes. Though the track list has yet to be finalized, a High Moon researcher posting on a Love message board said, “We have been working closely with input from Diane Lee, the surviving members of the Black Beauty band and many other friends and associates of Arthur’s to make sure that this record lives up to it’s [sic] outstanding potential. Re-mastered audio, extensive liner notes, a 180g gatefold vinyl version, etc. – this is truly a ‘labor of love’ and we think everyone is going to be very happy with the final product.”

The set is due out June 7. Keep it here for more info as it comes in!

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Mike Duquette

Mike Duquette (Founder) was fascinated with catalog music ever since he was a teenager. A 2009 graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.A. in journalism, Mike paired his profession with his passion through The Second Disc, one of the first sites to focus on all reissue labels great and small. His passion for reissues turned into a career, having written at and worked for all three major catalogue music labels and contributing to Allmusic, Billboard, Discogs, City Pages and Ultimate Classic Rock. He's penned liner notes for Verve, Chess, Mondo and Soul Music Records.

Born and raised in New Jersey, Mike lives in Astoria, Queens with his wife, a cat named Ravioli, twin daughters and a large yet tasteful collection of music.