Da Capo is the second album by the Los Angeles-based rock group Love.
The bulk of Da Capo was recorded between September 27 and October 2, 1966. "Seven & Seven Is" was recorded on June 20, and had been released as a single in July of 1966 backed with "No. Fourteen", an outtake from their debut album. After the recording of "Seven and Seven Is", Love's line-up expanded to include Michael Stuart on drums and Tjay Cantrelli on saxophone and flute, moving previous drummer Alban "Snoopy" Pfisterer, a classically-trained pianist, to harpsichord and organ. Guitarists Johnny Echols and Bryan MacLean, bassist Ken Forssi and vocalist and leader Arthur Lee retained their respective positions.
The album's first half is a departure from the group's debut, and in some ways anticipates the group's third album, Forever Changes, with its detailed, delicate arrangements. Abrasive, proto-punk rockers like "Seven and Seven Is" and the harpsichord-driven "Stephanie Knows Who" are balanced by lighter fare such as McLean's florid "Orange Skies", and playful, barely-classifiable pop tunes like "¡Que Vida!".
The album's second half is a single track, notable for being among the very first rock songs to take up an entire LP side. (Bob Dylan's "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" from Blonde on Blonde predated it by a few months, and Frank Zappa's "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" suite, on the Freak Out! album, followed Dylan's) The 19-minute jam, entitled "Revelation" (originally "John Lee Hooker") began life as a live showcase for the group, and was the alleged inspiration for The Rolling Stones' similarly lengthy Hooker tribute, "Going Home". (Another song from Da Capo's first side, "She Comes In Colors", is also said by Keith Richards to be the inspiration for the Stones' "She's a Rainbow".)
The album's critical reputation has suffered as a result of the inclusion of this track, and many blame producer Paul Rothchild for failing to capture the group's live energy and truncating their performance. It is interesting to note, though, that in a contemporary review of the album, legendary critic Robert Christgau praised "Revelation" faintly for its "excellent guitar and harmonica work and great screaming by a lead singer (I don't know his name; the new style in record jackets is to reveal nothing)". [1]
Though "Seven and Seven Is" had been a minor hit for the group, the album, like its predecessor, was a comparative flop peaking at #80.
