Four Sail (Bonus Track Version)

Though Forever Changes found only a small audience in the general public, it was a sensation among Los Angeles’ psychedelic cognoscenti, and solidified Love’s status as the hippest band on the Sunset Strip. Four Sail, which combined the progressive, multi-part arrangement of Forever Changes with the lean, punkish aesthetic of early Love hits like “My Flash On You” and “7 and 7 Is” was something of a disappointment to Los Angeles scenesters who expected a reprise of Forever Changes' acoustic-laden psych, and who were likely disappointed by the departure of Love mainstays Bryan MacLean, Ken Forssi and Johnny Echols. Essentially an Arthur Lee solo effort, Four Sail finds Lee revisiting ideas from earlier Love efforts with a forceful intensity of purpose that prevents numbers like “Always See Your Face,” which boasts a chord progression similar to 1965’s “No Matter What You Do,” from sounding tired or derivative. Indeed Lee’s world-weary lyrics, coupled with his unnerving melodies and dour demeanor make Four Sail a convincingly harrowing exercise in late ‘60s disillusionment. Four Sail stands as a convincing rebuke to those Love fans that act as though the band’s discography ends with Forever Changes.