From “Love Lost” to “Found Love”: New Digital Compilation Showcases Arthur Lee’s Rarities

Here’s one for the “in case you missed it” file: Arthur Lee and Love’s early ’70s recordings for Columbia Records were recently released in full as a digital album.

Found Love: The Lost ’71 Sessions finds Lee and the then-current Love lineup – bassist Frank Fayad, guitarist Craig Tarwater and drummer Don Poncher – considerably removed from the expansive psychedelia of Da Capo and Forever Changes, embracing a much darker, bluesier, Hendrix-ian sound. The album, provisionally titled Dear You, was never released, though much of its material would linger around Lee’s repertoire for some time. (Versions of some of these tracks ended up on Vindicator, Lee’s 1972 solo album, and the 1973 rarity Black Beauty, released on LP by High Moon Records; an expanded CD release has been long in development by the same label.)

The frustratingly short, occasionally brilliant discography of Lee and Love, coupled with a great deal of late-period critical acclaim for his work before his passing in 2006, makes this material certainly worthy of the ears of any Love fan, old or new. Previously only available on LP (or truncated CD) by Sundazed Records, Found Love makes this little-known period of Lee’s career available to all as a digital title (and, at $5, is not a bad impulse buy).

The full track list is below, and iTunes and Amazon links are here and here.

Found Love: The Lost ’71 Sessions (Columbia/Legacy, 2013)

1. I Can’t Find It
2. Product of the Times
3. Everybody’s Gotta Live
4. Midnight Sun
5. He Knows a Lot of Good Women
6. C.F.I.
7. Find Somebody
8. Good & Evil II
9. Looking Glass
10. Trippin’ & Slippin’/Ezy Rider
11. He Knows a Lot of Good Women (Alternate)
12. Find Somebody (Alternate)
13. Midnight Sun (Alternate)
14. Product of the Times (Alternate)

This compilation previously released as Love Lost – Sundazed LP 5281, 2009. Tracks 1-10 released as CD version of same title – Sundazed SC 11207.