LOVE: Forever Changes (180 gram vinyl) LP

Michael Fremer's 100 Recommended All-Analog LP Reissues Worth Owning - Rated 73/100!

Michael Fremer Rated 11/10 Music, 10/10 Sonics!

Mojo: The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made 11/100 - (1995)

The third and final album by the original Love lineup, Forever Changes regularly draws epic praise. Rolling Stone described it as "elegant armageddon" when listing it as #180 in the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and, placing it in the context of the late '60s in another rave review, called it "one of the most distinctive masterpieces in that era of masterpieces." A landmark work that's the L.A.-based psychedelic folk-rock pioneers' most fully realized studio effort, it was produced by band co-founder/frontman Arthur Lee and The Doors' engineer/producer Bruce Botnick and released by Elektra in early 1968. Highlights include "Alone Again Or," "Andmoreagain," "The Red Telephone," and "Live and Let Live."

Years after its release, Love's masterpiece Forever Changes became recognized as one of the finest and most haunting albums to come out of the Summer of Love.

The psychedelic cowboys of Love became famous for their dark, poetic L.A. folk rock. But 'Alone Again Or,' the opening track on the band's masterwork, Forever Changes, was written and partly sung by guitarist MacLean - who later left the band to join a Christian ministry - as a tribute to his mother's flamenco dancing. The final take is a decidedly trippy swirl of strings, horns and Spanish-style acoustic guitars.

Forever Changes is inarguably Love's masterpiece and an album of enduring beauty, but it's also one of the few major works of its era that saw the dark clouds looming on the cultural horizon, and the result was music that was as prescient as it was compelling.

More than 'Sgt. Peppers...' or any album from that era, Forever Changes doesn't just 'hold up,' it gains stature with every play. It's a record that weaves its magic every listen. You can play it, be mesmerized, and then immediately play it again and be equally mesmerized all over again as new facets take hold... I'm too busy luxuriating in the reissue as it exists. The forty five year old tape has lost just a bit of presence but overall this reissue is a 100% success. I cannot recommend an album more highly and with more enthusiasm. How many albums can you call an adult life-long musical companion?