Forever Amber - The Love Cycle (1969)

Forever Amber was a young, British six piece pop band that lacked the money and resources to make it big. Apparently, only 99 copies of their sole album The Love Cycle were manufactured to avoid tax. Originally known as the Country Cousins, they changed their name to Forever Amber in response to the rise of psychedelia in 1967. Although The Love Cycle is meant to be a cohesive story about the stages of a blossoming relationship that ultimately goes sour, the sound of the record is largely inconsistent. Throughout the album, there are five different lead vocalists and the band flounders between stereotypical love songs and far out psychedelic pop. While I heavily favor the more psychedelic cuts like "The Dreamer Flies Back" and "Better Things Are Bound To Come," I still appreciate many of the poppy songs that dominate the album. They're full of nice harmonies, tinkering harpsichord, and catchy organ. Unfortunately, most of the drumming sounds like someone who started playing a week before the recordings. Despite The Love Cycle's flaws, it still remains an important pop album from the psychedelic era, especially considering the circumstances it was made under.

Here's the themes of the stages of the album:

The Meeting:
1. Me oh My
2. Silly Sunshine

The Talking:
3. Bits of Your Life, Bits of My Life
4. For a Very Special Person
5. The Dreamer Flies Back
6. Misunderstood
7. Better Things Are Bound To Come

The Walk Home:
8. On a Night In Winter

The Joy:
9. On Top of My Own Special Mountain
10. Mary (the Painter)
11. All the Colours of My Book

The Doubt:
12. Going Away Again

The Sorrow:
13. A Chance to Be Free

The Scorn:
14. I See You As You Used to Be

The Grief:
15. Letters From Her
16. My Friend

Download The Love Cycle