Album Essentials: Love "Forever Changes"
By Dave Swanson - Summit FM Contributor
This is a love letter to Love 'Forever Changes'
Some albums are hits right out of the gate, others take a while to build an audience before breaking big. Then, there are those albums that linger for decades, every once in a while, new ears discover it, and it sinks in so profoundly, the new converts spread the word. The cycle repeats and continues. That was the case for the album 'Forever Changes’ by the group Love.
Formed in 1965 by Arthur Lee, Love were a fixture on the Los Angeles club scene, playing alongside other like-minded combos such as The Doors, The Byrds, The Turtles, and so on. Each had their own take on rock and roll music, though probably the least well known of that list, something about Love had them standing as tall, if not taller than the others. Something about Arthur Lee's vision of the music was a cut above. Love's music was folk, rock, R&B, and jazz, all rolled together. Sometimes gentle and beautiful, other times savage and aggressive. They were also one of the first multi-racial bands on the scene.
Released in early 1966, their debut, simply titled 'Love,' was a gritty yet pretty take on folk rock. With a dash of Rolling Stones swagger, and a bit of Dylan coolness, Love reshaped to mold of 'folk rock.' The second album, ‘De Capo,’ was released in November of the same year, and by then their style had expanded to include more varied influences and experimentation, including the19 minute side long raver, 'Revelation.'
Their ultimate masterpiece would arrive one year later in the fall of 1967. 'Forever Changes' is, in many ways, the perfect ending to the wild ride that was 1967. The music, the culture and everything else moved so quickly back then, that year in particular. The rise and death of the hippie, the Monterey Pop Festival, ‘Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ swiftly changing fashions, and a pop culture that embraced it all, so much so, that is would seep into everyday culture in a flash. Suddenly Campbell's Soup and cola advertising turned psychedelic overnight, shows like ‘Laugh-In’ hit the airwaves with an anything goes mindset. The world truly did turn Technicolor, seemingly overnight. Interesting footnote, the original plan for the album was to be produced by Elektra head Bruce Botnik (also Doors’ producer), along with Neil Young who, at the time, was having issues with Buffalo Springfield, and Botnik thought this would be a good distraction for Young.
With the glow from the embers of the Summer Of Love still burning, 'Forever Changes’ arrived. Informed by the psychedelic flash, but not drowned in it, Love took their own path through that era, and ended up with a much more solid, less cliche offering, and a stronger musical statement than most of the others who were somewhat smothered by the acidic glow.
'Forever Changes' begins with one of the most beautiful 'pop' songs of all time. 'Alone Again, Or' was written by band member Bryan MacLean, whose contributions to the writing were few, but very potent. Covered by everyone from UFO to the Damned, 'Alone Again Or' is a perfect opener for the album with its lush strings, horns, and beautiful acoustic guitar driving the song. With vocal harmonies to the fore, it sets the mood, and we are suddenly in another world.
'A House Is Not a Motel,' 'Andmoreagain,' and 'The Daily Planet' follow, each bringing something new to the table, yet fitting like pieces in this most perfect puzzle. 'Old Man'(another MacLean song) is a beautiful ballad, while 'The Red Telephone' is baroque pop at its finest, as the harpsichord and strings shine. And, it's not just the music here, the lyrics are a thing all their own. It is poetic word painting, telling a tale of the times in a way that really had no peer. Lee was never a Dylan rip-off or obscure storyteller, but the way he uses language was a triumph of thought provoking beauty.
Tijuana Brass style horns color 'Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale' as it clips along at a brisk pace. 'Live And Let Live' features one of the more aggressive guitar solos on the album while 'The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This' brings a jazz influenced vocal over brass and strings. 'Bummer In The Summer', the penultimate track here, fits in as almost an introduction to the finale. Not that it is by any means a 'concept' album, but there is something special about the pacing and order of the songs, that makes it feel like a whole piece, to be listened to in one sitting, as opposed to just a batch of songs.
The final track, 'You Set The Scene,' is one of the true grand statements of 'pop' music. With few peers, it is simply a masterpiece.
"This is the time and life that I am living
And I'll face each day with a smile
For the time that I've been given's such a little while
And the things that I must do consist of more than style
There are places that I am going.
This is the only thing that I am sure of
And that's all that lives is gonna die
And there'll always be some people here to wonder why
And for every happy hello, there will be goodbye
There'll be time for you to put yourself on"
Lyrical beauty like this simply can't help but bring a tear of joy and or sadness.
The band are joined, on certain tracks, by Wrecking Crew mainstays like Carol Kaye, Don Randi, Hal Blaine, and Billy Strange, which only adds to the total L.A. vibe of the LP. It is all played out with such conviction and beauty, and makes you realize again, this was an era of experimentation; anything was possible when it came to music and art. It's an era long gone, yet it lives on every time I listen to this album. Arthur Lee was only 22 years old when he wrote and recorded the album.
I know this station is, in large part, about current music, and that is wonderful. I am always looking for new artists, songs, and albums, but in all honesty, an album like this couldn't, and never will, happen again. It was so much of its time, and in its own way transcends all those decades since its release. The world no longer has time for art. Technology, cheap entertainment, and wading in shallow pools is the order of these times. Hopefully that will change at some point, I mean, one can still dream!
It is with utmost sincerity, that I will say this truly is a masterpiece and one of the greatest albums ever made. Essential doesn't even begin to describe it.