Love is the self-titled debut album by the Los Angeles rock band Love, released in March 1966 by Elektra Records.

Twelve of the album’s fourteen tracks were recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders from January 24 to 27, 1966. The remaining two tracks, “A Message To Pretty” and “My Flash On You”, were recorded during some of the band’s informal rehearsals.

Love has elements of folk rock, garage, proto-punk and psychedelic rock. It was one of the first rock albums released by the then-popular Elektra Records. The LP opens with Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s radically reworked “My Little Red Book,” and includes the stunning “Signed D.C.” (allegedly a reference to Don Conka, Love’s first drummer before they began recording, who died of drugs) and the poignant “A Message To Pretty.”

In a contemporary review of the album, Richie Unterberger of AllMusic called it “their hardest-rocking early album, heavily influenced by the Byrds,” also noting that “Arthur Lee was in his prime as a songwriter, reaching higher levels on their second and third albums.”

Love sold an estimated 150,000 copies, with the dark instrumental “Emotions” featured in Haskell Wexler’s 1969 film Medium Cool as a recurring theme, and “My Little Red Book” featured in the end credits of the 2000 film High Fidelity as well as the 1995 Beverly Hills, 90210 episode “Alone In The Top.”

These excellent folk-pop anthems certainly wouldn’t be missing from any ’60s fan’s stereo, but there’s an undeniable edge here. Beyond the heavily Byrds-influenced style, there are a few songs that lean more toward “garage,” providing a solid template for future bands like Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, and Rush.

Through this album I select one of Arthur Lee’s best early songs and perhaps one of the most impressive anti-drug songs of all time, “Signed D.C.”, which simply speaks of the horrors of heroin addiction. Written in the form of a letter, it produces strong images. Musically, it is a blues-folk melody whose chords are somewhat reminiscent of “St. James Infirmary” and “Nights In White Satin” by the Moody Blues, a song that was written much later, of course.

Tracklist

1. My Little Red Book 2:30
2. Can’t Explain 2:35
3. A Message To Pretty 3:10
4. My Flash On You 2:05
5. Softly To Me 3:10
6. No Matter What You Do 2:40
7. Emotions 1:55
8. You I’ll Be Following 2:25
9. Gazing 2:40
10. Hey Joe 2:38
11. Signed D.C. 2:44
12. Colored Balls Falling 1:50
13. Mushroom Clouds 2:45
14. And More 2:56