High Moon - HMRLP-01 - 180 gram Vinyl - Audiophile Remaster - 641444096213
Never before released on vinyl - Numbered edition limited - Dowmnload Card
Mastered for vinyl by Doug Sax (Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, The Who).
Includes 28-page full-color book with rare photos Book includes extensive essay by Ben Edmonds!
"A lost classic" — Rolling Stone
"Live and raw ... imagine the Jimi Hendrix Experience on steriods, with Lee exhibiting the kind of range on vocals that Hendrix was never capable of." — Variety
Arthur Lee often expressed his desire that Black Beauty (the album he recorded in 1973, but has remained frustratingly unreleased for 38 years) be made officially available for all to hear. Lee founded one of the '60s seminal garage/folk/psychedelic bands, in 1965.
The fact that the three musicians Arthur chose to record the album with him — Robert Rozelle, Melvan Whittington and Joe Blocker — were not only talented and highly-intuitive players, but also close friends, allowed him to create, perhaps, the most open and emotionally expressive album in his highly-acclaimed catalog.
Black Beauty runs the musical gamut from heavy, raw rock and roll, to the bluesy and soulful sounds Arthur heard as boy in Memphis, from folk-rock to sublimely melodic, plaintive balladry.
It is essentially a paradigm of all the disparate sounds and styles of music Arthur had been brilliantly synthesizing to create his own one-of-a-kind music over the previous 10 years.
In addition, Black Beauty showcased new directions for Arthur Lee's sonic palette, adding funk and reggae to the mix, pointing the way to his musical future. Finally, after 38 years, wish that Black Beauty be released! It did take us a bit longer than we expected, but we feel that we have created a release that Arthur himself would be proud of.
Black Beauty, the never-before-released masterpiece by Arthur Lee’s legendary band is making its first-ever official release in any format, anywhere! Chosen as one of Time Magazine’s most anticipated releases, critics are hailing the album as an instant classic. Black Beauty is that rarest of rock artifacts: an un-released, full-length studio album, from an undisputed musical genius.
It represents the missing link in a catalog that also includes Forever Changes, the seminal 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 distinctive, snarling, soulful vocals ever.
With unparalleled sound, and a wonderfully eclectic collection of songs, the album offers Love fans a rare glimpse into a previously undocumented phase of Arthur Lee’s career, while shining a light for new fans to discover the unique genius that is the music of Arthur Lee and Love.
David Fricke wrote about the album in Rolling Stone: “Black Beauty might have been received as a strong comeback for Lee, a turn to steamy R & B, with heavy-guitar punch — if it had come out.”
Arthur Lee’s wish for Black Beauty to be available to music fans worldwide.
* 180-gram vinyl LP, packaged in state-of-the-art tip-on sleeve with 11” x 11” full-color, 28-page book
* Extensive Black Beauty essay by Ben Edmonds (Creem, Rolling Stone, Mojo), featuring all-new interviews with band members, colleagues and close friends of Arthur Lee
* Abundant, never-before-seen Black Beauty-era photographs by Herbert Worthington, cover photographer of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours
* Brilliantly re-mastered by multi-Grammy® Award nominee Dan Hersch (Paul Simon, the Kinks, the Cars).
* Mastered for vinyl by multi-Grammy® Award winner Doug Sax (Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, The Who).
Love Black Beauty
1. Young & Able (Good & Evil)
2. Midnight Sun
3. Can’t Find It
4. Walk Right In
5. Skid
6. Beep Beep
7. Stay Away
8. Lonely Pigs
9. See Myself In You
10. Product Of The Times
