Da Capo – LOVE****

Stephanie Knows Who/Orange Skies/Que Vida/Seven & Seven Is/The Castle/She Comes In Colours/Revelation

Love's second LP Da Capo shows a big leap in songwriting skills on side one, let down by the self indulgent second side. The tracks on the first side are the equal of those on the group's acclaimed follow up album. (US:80)

"This album is light years ahead of the debut. Just think, in a little over six months Love progressed to this."

"The first six songs are as good as anything on the acclaimed Forever Changes LP. She Comes In Colours is a particularly affecting piece of 60s folksy psychedelia. At times this band sounds like The Byrds, other times like Buffalo Springfield, and other times like the Aftermath era Stones. Yes, Revelation is an unfortunate piece of 60s excess that takes up far too much space and makes this album less than it could have been. But, putting something like this on an album seemed to be the fashion at the time, when every band seemed to think they had to display their experimental jammy side."

"First six songs are wonderful. Revelation on the other hand is probably the first song ever to have given me a headache."

"On this album, Love take the path that would lead them to Forever Changes. They take off from the garage sound that dominated their debut, to a more folky psychedelic sound. Concentrating on a more structured approach, the songs on side one are excellent beauties which deserve lasting playability."

"The first side is pure genius, weaving between genres as smoothly as possible; from the opening Stephanie Knows Who, to the bossa nova Orange Skies, to the quirky, lyrically dark Que Vida, to the absolute joyful chaos of Seven & Seven Is, to the Simon-and-Garfunkel-esque The Castle, to the hippie pop of She Comes In Colours. It's impossible not to like it. Revelation, though has been criticized constantly for its tedium."

"The music is virtually uncategorizable and is definitely a work of genius. Side one should be played on every classic rock station in the world to show the 'kids' how songs should be written and performed."