Yet another great archival release from Rise Above. Similar to Barnabus, Cycle primarily belongs to the hard rock genre, but the songwriting is a step above. The 1971 album shows tremendous potential, and it's a tragedy the band weren't snapped up. By 1973, Cycle's second album demos clearly show a band increasingly adding complexity. The use of electronics (primarily an oscillator) adds a unique twist. There are some serious progressive rock tracks found here including the title track and especially 'Tomorrow's World', sounding almost like an Italian band at times. References to Gracious and T2 would not be out of place here. The last 2 tracks dating from 1975 are also of a high musical value, though the recording quality is diminished.
Ownership: CD: 2020 Rise Above. Like the Barnabus, a brilliant package chock full of information. Everything but a picture of the original label... A lot of great music as well, and the sound quality is more than decent. According to Discogs, 3 people own the original and there's a magazine article that references the catalog number. Despite all of this, no picture has emerged of the labels (apparently issued without a cover). The album has never been for sale on ebay. It was originally a press of 100 according to the band (likely 99 as Rise Above points out). Would be great if one of the owners took the time to photo the labels. This one looks legit (unlike Crying Wood's original), but sure would be awesome to have visual evidence. SRT is like our own RPC, Century, or Custom Fidelity - essentially nothing more than a record pressing plant.
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