| Four Sail | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 1969 [1] | |||
| Recorded | September–October 1968 [2] | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | Hard rock [3] | |||
| Length | 36:52 | |||
| Label | Elektra | |||
| Producer | Arthur Lee | |||
| Love chronology | ||||
| ||||
Four Sail is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Love, released in 1969 by Elektra Records.
By mid-1968, Arthur Lee was the only remaining member of the Forever Changes line-up of Love. [4] Lee quickly assembled a new band, including guitarist Jay Donnellan, drummer George Suranovich and bassist Frank Fayad. [1] The album was rehearsed at Lee's house, and he later rented equipment from Wally Heider Studios with his own money and recorded the album in the Hollywood manufacturing district. [2] Basic tracks were recorded in September 1968, [2] while "Robert Montgomery" and additional overdubs were recorded at Elektra Sound Recorders that October. [1] [2] The quartet recorded a total of 27 songs. [1]
Elektra Records's Jac Holzman then selected ten songs for an album in order to fulfill Lee's contract. [2] Elektra released Four Sail in August 1969, while the remaining songs were issued by Blue Thumb Records as a double LP, Out Here , that December. [1] With the exception of "Robert Montgomery", Lee's original mixes were enhanced with reverb by Elektra prior to their release on Four Sail, while "Talking in My Sleep" was completely remixed, due to tape damage. [2]
Of the title, Lee explained in 2002, "I was at the end of my Elektra contract and this Four Sail means like a sign on a lawn ... it was actually 'Love for Sale', 'cause I'd had it with Elektra." [2]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [5] |
Writing for AllMusic, Eugene Chadbourne said that "The tracks are deep in feeling and performed with an emotional fervor that sometimes approaches anguish", and that the album "rises above the garage band sound to communicate a sense of time and place as well as some truly sincere feelings." He added that Four Sail might have been better received if released under Lee's own name. [4] In 2019, Bob Stanley wrote in Record Collector that "[t]here was a time when people dismissed Love's very fine 1969 album Four Sail simply because it didn't sound like the sequel to Forever Changes," but noted the album had been "reclaimed" in later times. [6]
In 2014, Four Sail was ranked number 1 on NME's list "101 Albums to Hear Before You Die". [7]
All tracks are written by Arthur Lee, except where noted
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "August" | 5:00 | |
| 2. | "Your Friend and Mine - Neil's Song" | 3:40 | |
| 3. | "I'm with You" | 2:45 | |
| 4. | "Good Times" | 3:30 | |
| 5. | "Singing Cowboy" | Lee, Jay Donnellan | 4:30 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Dream" | 2:49 |
| 2. | "Robert Montgomery" | 3:34 |
| 3. | "Nothing" | 4:44 |
| 4. | "Talking in My Sleep" | 2:50 |
| 5. | "Always See Your Face" | 3:30 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11. | "Robert Montgomery" (alternate vocal) | 3:41 | |
| 12. | "Talking in My Sleep" (alternate mix) | 2:55 | |
| 13. | "Singing Cowboy" (unedited version) | Lee, Donnellan | 5:52 |
Credits adapted from 2002 CD liner notes. [2]
Love
Additional musician
Technical
Forever Changes is the third studio album by the American rock band Love, released by Elektra Records in November 1967. The album saw the group embrace a subtler folk-oriented sound, acoustic guitar, and orchestration, while primary songwriter Arthur Lee explored darker themes alluding to mortality and his creeping disillusionment with the 1960s counterculture. It was the final album recorded by the original band lineup; after its completion, Bryan MacLean left the group acrimoniously and the other members were dismissed by leader Lee.
Love is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965. Led by frontman and primary songwriter Arthur Lee, they were one of the first racially diverse American rock bands. Their sound incorporated an eclectic range of styles including garage, folk-rock, and psychedelia. While finding only modest success on the music charts, peaking in 1966 with their US Top 40 hit "7 and 7 Is", Love would come to be praised by critics as their third album, Forever Changes (1967), became generally regarded as one of the best albums of the 1960s.
Arthur Taylor Lee was an American musician, singer and songwriter who rose to fame as the leader of the Los Angeles rock band Love. Love's 1967 album Forever Changes was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and it is part of the National Recording Registry.
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