Forever Changes is the third studio album by the band Love, released in 1967. To call this album the product of a tumultuous time would be an understatement.
In the broader world protests against The Vietnam War were starting to heat up, along with a good deal of social/political unrest in general. Meanwhile, Love was going through its own turmoil. Members of the band sometimes interacted with members of Charles Manson's family, not violent as of yet but putting up bad signs. And frontman Arthur Lee had guided them away from their Garage Rock beginnings to a more complex sound featuring innovative arrangements and adventurous lyrics. But Lee wasn't in the best mental state at the time, as his dive into the era's psychedelic drug culture led to an aggravated sense of paranoia. One result was that he was absolutely convinced he only had a short time to live, and viewed the album as a farewell statement (he wound up surviving until 2006).
However, beginning with the early recording sessions, the other band members (some of whom also had drug problems) were stymied by internal conflicts and lack of preparation for Lee's intricate arrangements. In order to compel the band to participate, co-producer Bruce Botnick enlisted top session musicians Billy Strange (guitar), Don Randi (piano), Hal Blaine (drums), and Carol Kaye (bass) to work with Lee, completing "Andmoreagain" and "The Daily Planet" in a single three-hour session. It worked; temporarily losing their jobs to outsiders for two songs shocked the rest of the band out of their complacency, and they completed the last nine tracks on their own rather quickly after much rehearsing. Then arranger David Angel was brought in to add the string and horn embellishments that define the album, which are often considered the single best use of orchestration ever on a rock album.
But the strain of recording Forever Changes wound up breaking this iteration of Love. Lee dismissed the other four and formed a new band, but in effect Love albums after this would be Lee solo projects. Forever Changes was released in November 1967 to slow sales, but gradually gained a strong reputation as an eerie souvenir of its time and as one of the most well-constructed and musically innovative albums of The '60s. Its importance to Love's musical legacy is demonstrated by the fact that the 1996 Rhino Records compilation Love Story: 1966-72 includes all of the album's songs (in sequence, too). Its most famous song is "Alone Again Or", a frequently covered mix of folk-rock and flamenco sounds written by band member Bryan MacLean. The album would go on to influence many Punk Rock and Alternative Rock musicians long after its release, and still frequently shows up on "best albums of all time" lists.
Tracklist
Side One- "Alone Again Or" - 3:16
- "A House Is Not a Motel" - 3:31
- "Andmoreagain" - 3:18
- "The Daily Planet" - 3:30
- "Old Man" - 3:02
- "The Red Telephone" - 4:46
Side Two
- "Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale" - 3:34
- "Live and Let Live" - 5:26
- "The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This" - 3:08
- "Bummer in the Summer" - 2:24
- "You Set the Scene" - 6:56
Personnel
- Johnny Echols: Lead guitar
- Ken Forssi: Bass
- Arthur Lee: Lead vocals, guitar
- Bryan MacLean: Rhythm guitar, vocals
- Michael Stuart: Drums
And I will trope alone again tonight my dear:
- Baroque Pop: Most of the songs have string and horn arrangements that often have echoes of Johann Sebastian Bach, but also some modernist touches. The album became a Trope Codifier for the style.
- Blood Is Squicker in Water: "A House is Not a Motel":And the water's turned to blood, and if
You don't think so, go turn on your tub. - Breather Episode: Coming out of the dark "Live and Let Live", the elegant ballad "The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This" and the uptempo, lighthearted "Bummer in the Summer" give the listener a chance to recover before the epic emotional rollercoaster of the album finale "You Set the Scene".
- Conscription: Conscription into the fighting in Vietnam is implied in "You Set the Scene"There's a man who can't decide if he should
Fight for what his father thinks is right. - Epic Rocking: At just shy of seven minutes, "You Set the Scene" is a moderate example.
- Face on the Cover: The painting on the cover depicts the faces of the band members fused into a continent-like shape.
- I Will Wait for You: "Alone Again Or":Yeah
Said it's alright
I won't forget
All the times I've waited patiently for you
And you'll do just what you used to do
And I will be alone again tonight, my dear. - Ironic Episode Title: "Live and Let Live", as the narrator of the song sets his pistol sights on a bluebird in the first verse.
- Last Note Nightmare: "The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This" is a pretty mellow song for the most part, but the ending sounds like a full orchestra version of the Psycho shower scene strings.
- Location Song: "Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale" is named for two streets in Los Angeles,note which in a way is the subject of the whole album.
- Longest Song Goes Last: "You Set the Scene".
- Lyrical Dissonance: The album's main distinguishing characteristic. The majority of the songs are ornate ballads accompanied by lyrics made up of disturbing, often apocalyptic imagery.
- Morning Routine: "The Daily Planet": "In the morning we arise and start the day the same old way."
- Non-Appearing Title: Only "Andmoreagain" and "Old Man" have their titles in the lyrics. Most of the rest fall under Word Salad Title.
- Older and Wiser: The title character in "Old Man", who brings wisdom to the narrator as well.
- One-Word Title: "Andmoreagain", although it's kind of a cheat.
- Proto Punk: The album was a key influence on many punk musicians.
- Shout-Out:
- "The Red Telephone" quotes the "We are normal and we want our freedom" line from Marat/Sade. The Bonzo Dog Band also referred to it around this time in "We Are Normal."
- "The Daily Planet" is named after the newspaper where Clark Kent works.
- The title "A House is Not a Motel" is a riff on the Burt Bacharach/Hal David song "A House is Not a Home". They'd previously released a Cover Version of Bacharach & David's "My Little Red Book" (first recorded by Manfred Mann) as a single.
- Song Style Shift: "You Set the Scene" starts off as a punchy, minor-keyed song with a vaguely Latin rhythm and angsty lyrics, then shifts midway into a baroque ballad with more of a life-affirming lyrical tone.
- Special Guest: The Wrecking Crew members play on "Andmoreagain" and "The Daily Planet", with some overdubs by regular band members. The latter song was arranged by Neil Young.
- Step Up to the Microphone: Bryan MacLean sings lead on "Alone Again Or" and "Old Man", although Lee's voice is mixed higher in the former.
- Subverted Rhyme Every Occasion: In "Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale", every stanza stops just before a rhyme, with the expected rhyme then appearing as the first word of the next stanza:And oh, the music is so loudAnd then I fade into theCrowds of people standing everywhere
- Wrong Side of the Tracks: "Bummer in the Summer" is about a busted cross-tracks relationship.Well I remember when you used to look so good
And I did everything that I possibly could for you
We used to ride around all over town
But they're puttin' you down for bein' around with me.
