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           1967 GOLD ELEKTRA LABEL  PRESSING 

                WEST COAST PSYCHEDELIC MASTERPIECE

                               COLLECTION COPY !

 

                      

                   .................... LOVE ....................  

            FOREVER CHANGES

          
                                                 

                        

                       USA  - (GOLD) Elektra Records - EKS 74013 (((STEREO)))

SCARCE, SOUGHT, ESSENTIAL !!

~ thee original east coast reflective gold label Elektra first print from 50 years ago ~~ 

ORIGINAL 1967 pressing ::: this is LOVE's classic West Coast album, considered by many to be  Arthur Lee's masterpiece ...

Others consider it to arguably be the greatest psychedelic album!  "Forever Changes" fused a variety of influences with excellent performances and arrangements...

...a few interesting notes on the albums contents:

Alone Again Or This was written when Bryan was living alone (no girlfriend, but not literally - as he was with roadie Neil Rappaport). He said the inspiration may have come at night, with the sound of his mothers flamenco dancing in his ears (which he had been exposed to since childhood - she dragged him to her dance lessons). Botnick claimed the Flamenco rhythm on the track was due to his influence. The 'Or' in the title was added by Arthur Lee. He also claimed he came up with the words of the song, just singing it straight off when he heard the song ('yeah, I know what the words are'). This is reminiscent of the story of Lennon and 'Getting Better'. But it may not be true. It certainly took time to finish this song. The song originated well before the Forever Changes sessions, probably before the first album. As well as the lyrics which took Maclean a long time to find, the bass part was a while coming too. Ken Forssi said the latter took time as there were many chord changes in the song. He said it took him 2 days to perfect it. There was originally a bridge section in the song (dropped in favour of the instrumental break).

Maclean later tried to distance himself from the lyrics saying they were only of their time and that they should be taken literally. Some say the girl he is waiting for in the song is Androulla Moreno (a girlfriend at one time of Arthur's and Bryan's).

The mix proved controversial. Maclean insisted he took the lead vocal in recording, but in the mix Lee emphasized his harmony vocal. Lee said the guitar started out far too low in the mix, and to hear the listener had to adjust his equipment. Maclean felt it should have had more 'punch' (like Eleanor Rigby') and was not happy with the guitar/bass sound. While he may have wanted a simpler sound in some respects Maclean was happy with the arrangement by Angel. Later he said 'He went even beyond what my concept of the song was'. Bryan Maclean claimed he helped blend the arrangement into the song, Angel taking care of the notes for the trumpets. The arrangement he felt made the song a success. He asked Agel to do something like the orchestration to Rimsy-Korsakov - Capriccio Italian - and to use baroque strings -he names Haydn - under the trumpets). 7 string players were used on the recording, the horns from the LA Philharmonic.

A House Is Not A Motel This song links strongly to the last: it starts quietly like the last ended and is in the same key as that ending. The ambition of the album to create a suite of songs/unified album is apparent. The title is often seen as a take on the Bacharach/David song 'A House Is Not A Home'. The lyrics are in a cryptic 'stream of consciousness' style. It makes no sense literally but is suggestive. Maclean later claimed Lee's songs were weakened by his 'abstact' lyrics.

The guitar duel at the end (between Lee and Echols) breaks out after the subdued but expectant opening. The compressed sound in the recording makes the guitar explosion at the end all the more powerful. The spluttering guitar at the end suggests the complete mental fragmentation of drugs.

Andmoreagain This beautiful accoustic guitar led piece offers the strongest contrast to the raving electic lead earlier. There has been alot of controversy about who was responsible for what on this album. This was the second track the session players were involved with (see section on Daily Planet). Maclean said he did all the lead guitar work (Forssi said he only did rhythm), except for single string leads. It has even been rumoured Lee played virtually all parts (surely highly unlikely - though in saying he could play all the instruments producer Bruce Botnick may have been true). Forssi said he could only play guitar (not very well) and do vocals. Sometimes seen as a successor to 'And More' off Love's first album, this is clearly referring to Androulo Moreno. The voice is near off key at points ('And I'm'). The harmonies are very strange and psychedelic. Some think this is Lee's best song.

Daily Planet This was recorded on the first day of studio time. Neil Young was originally going to produce it, just as he was on the verge of leaving Buffalo Springfield. He wasn't well though. Some claim he helped arrange the piece. Again session players were brought in. These were from Phil Spector's old 'Wrecking Crew'- Hal Blaine (drums) along with Don Randi and Billy Strange. According to Forssi the girl (most likely Carol Kaye) who was trying to get the bass part down was having trouble (as there were so many changes and session players could only read from charts). As they hadn't wrote it they couldn't feel it. He described Hal Blaine's playing on drums as 'wacking his kit like a wet dish rag'. Forssi's remarks are extreme, and suggest he still hadn't got over the embarrassment of session musicians taking over. Guitar and drum overdubs were added so the track sounded more like Love. Overlapping vocals appear here as later.

The theme of the song is clearly the repetitious nature of life ('look we're going round and round'), and the need for drug induced change. We are told that rhymes are only for narrow minds (probably because of their constricting effect). This is ironic as he makes playful use of rhymes throughout the album. Lee later said 'my singing is the key to the whole thing' and that while he had a certain kind of voice he could use it how he wanted. From the mournful voice of Andmoreagain to the snarling tone of Daily Planet - we already have the full range.

Old Man Bryan Maclean dismissed suggestions that this was about Arthur Lee (who was obviously young at the time anyway). Maclean said the words should be taken literally, and (apparently slightly embarrassed) said they were of their time. In his words 'I was very romantic and dramatic', 'I was about 20 at the time'. Meaning can be read into the lyrics though. Later Maclean became a 'born again Christian'. Even at the time of Forever Changes he later said that he had similar beliefs (and was talking to the band members about it, though they looked askance). Maclean at this time was very self conscious about his singing voice which he felt was very weak (he tried to model it on David Crosby). Whenever he heard this song he said he crawled under his bed! Nevertheless Maclean made sure he sang it. He had been unhappy about Lee's singing of Orange Skies on the Da Capo album. He felt Arthur Lee was singing out of his range and had gone off pitch. It was the closest they came to fighting. He has said there wasn't an actual old man it was about, but that he may have wanted a father figure at the time (his own having died). Apparently he was interested in the musical (phonetic) effect of the words in his songs, as much as their literal meaning. Maclean said he took much longer on his songs than Lee: 'I worked on my songs, I constructed them'. Maclean said the melody for this song was taken partly from the Troika of Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije Suite (just the opening notes of the latter?). The arrangement was particularly controversial. David Angel (who had worked with Andy Williams, and later played in a jazz band with Maclean) did -for me- a fine job on this song. The twisting strains of the strings aroung the main melody, and the fanfares from the brass (announcing the 'revelation') seem perfect. For Maclean though it was all "too busy". He wanted a simpler folk song type of piece. He claims he was strongly influenced by folk (blues and Appalachian music), claiming it brought out his Irishness. This can be heard on the version off Ifyoubelievin. After hearing the initial playback Maclean expressed his feelings clearly to Angel who was hurt. Things were made up later when Maclean heard Alone Again Or.

The Red Telephone There was actually a red telephone at Arthur's house. There were tales of it continually ringing, and Arthur throwing it around the room in frustration. Of course the title also suggests nuclear apocalypse (as maybe the 'war' in the Daily Planet does). Lee later said he felt this album would be his final words to the world. Death could be felt in it he said. Maybe nowhere is this more evident than on this track. Arthur apparently looked out from his window from The Castle and liked to look at the happenings below ('sitting on the hillside / Watching all the people die'). Some band members felt this reflected his inferiority complex. Much the same observational lyrical sense is at work on the Daily Planet. This disturbing track manages to suggest it's paranoia just through the phrasing. The staccato way of highlighting words has a strange chanting almost occult effect. It's been described as a kind of nursery-rhyme rap. Jonathon Eisen described it as 'Sensual pronounciation'. He sees the drama arising out of the impact of the words. It's a dramatic song like Old Man because of the production as well. The arrangement doesn't merely seem to serve as a backdrop, it seems to have it's own voice in the development of the song. The message is clear - AL wants to be counted out of the rat race, but he finds drugs boring ('the fifths to fix'). It's nihilistic. Someone giggles a bit after one of them says 'we want our freedom'. They repeat the word 'freedom' like some mantra. Also, before the line 'We're All Normal And We Want Our Freedom', they hum some long held notes. All this seems to refer to the rampant 'Eastern psychedelia' around at the time. But are they taking it seriously?

Maybe The People Be The Times Between Clark and Hilldale With it's upbeat nature, this sounds like a paean to the Sunset Strip. A word omitted in the last line of one verse is the first in the next. It's a playful way of fooling rhyming expectations. Clark and Hilldale were cross-streets that marked the start and end of the Sunset Strip's hippist block. We're told if you don't like this music you should go to the other side of the street. The division between the hippest and the nerds is clear. AL wants us to join him in this celebration of psychedelia.

Live And Let Live According to Forssi Arthur had this one in his mind for quite some time (pre-first album). Forssi claimed he helped write this. Often the theme is said to be about the deprivation of the Indians' from their land (like Neil Young's 'Broken Arrow'). Images of imprisonment and entrapment (made my soul a cell) ring ironic in view of Lee's present imprisonment. The guitar solo at the end relates back to A House Is Not A Motel. It feels more controlled but still powerful. The next track feels like breaking out into the open - the freedom of the drug experience?

The Good Humour Man He Sees Everything Like This The opening figure reminds of the start of The Red Telephone. Instead of that nightmare journey, we have an idyll. Some feel the horns impart a rather doleful feel to this track. The horns don't have the urgency of elsewhere on the album. Contrasting to the smooth legato opening is the 'da da' section with the staccato strings and the jumpy ending. To me it sounds like Arthur was on an 'up'. Maclean later claimed that the biggest influence on Lee's music was himself. This is questionable, but there was some influence. Lee tracks like Que Vidas and The Castle off Da Capo indicate this. FC moved even further from R&B to a neo-classical / baroque style. It has also been suggested Lee wanted to bring a simpler, folkier feel to the album. Lee said he was doing piano-based songs during FC (later turning to guitar-based).

Bummer In The Summer Arguably out of place stylistically, this track serves -apparently- as light relief before the culmination. Arthur puts on a Dylan accent, and gives us some quick-scat singing. The middle section is a delightful Bo Diddley guitar break. This is further evidence of the stylistic variety in the album, and the ability of the musicians to adapt to this. The lyrics as earlier suggest the need to accept a freedom - without papers on people (a reference to Arthur Lee's suspicion over record contracts?).

You Set The Scene Arthur Lee said the title means just what it says. So he is ambitiously addressing the listener - at least by the end. Similarly he moves from his own past memories (pictures) in the song to an emphasis on the now ('it's time'). The listener is urged to accept change through drugs and join the hippest. Lee has since denied or deflected the drugs question. But here he describes a vision of the world 'rearranging'. Arthur has admitted this is really two songs fitted together. The quiet start and crescendo ending have been compared to AHINAM earlier. The use of cut up strings and tempo changes are very effective. The horns (from AAO, recurring) at the end (while possibly slightly off-key) appear to surge to a positive ending. This song balances The Red Telephone at the end of side 1. Both are epic and unpredicable journeys. Some compare this song to 'A Day In The Life' (Beatles). The seams between the two different ideas are far less apparent in Love's effort.

SIDE ONE

 ALONE AGAIN OR

A HOUSE IS NOT A MOTEL

 ANDMOREAGAIN

THE DAILTY PLANET

 OLD MAN

THE RED TELEPHONE

SIDE TWO

 MAYBE THE PEOPLE WOULD BE THE TIMES OR BETWEEN CLARK AND HILLDALE

LIVE AND LET LIVE

THE GOOD HUMOR MAN HE SEES EVERYTHING LIKE THIS

BUMMER IN THE SUMMER

 YOU SET THE SCENE

 

CONDITION: The cover: rated: M- you can't find a better cover unless it's perfect and shrink wrapped .., this copy is flat & square with 4 sharp corers, very little evidence of past use, just a little ...NO wear per se, no soil, no delete marks, good luck finding a better copy! Has no writing, no split seams, no bends, no creases, no delete marks

The vinyl: looks very clean, rated: about "EX" (excellent) well known to be a noisy pressing in even the cleanest of copies ... this copy with no dreaded 'groove wear' and background noise was at the bare minimum, best west coast Elektra pressing we've yet to ever hear! ...both Gold Elektra labels are clean...

  

                                                 

   A GREAT ADDITION  TO ANYONE'S COLLECTIBLES!

  

SEE: SELLERS OTher items for more & more of similar cool sounds for "head" people...

 

EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record

  NOTE: All Items backed by  money back guarantee! IF you have a problem PLEASE let us solve for you BEFORE leaving negative feedback. Thanks! >>   GRADING SCALE: M, M-, EX, VG++,VG+, VG, VG- M    Completely clean, no marks M-   Carefully used, looks clean, plays clean, shiny gloss, no marks EX   Faint scuff or superficial mark, near M-, high gloss, plays clean VG++ Glossy with minimal scuffing or light mark playing very nice, clean VG+ a bit more scuff or markls still plays well with very minimal surface at worse VG   more marks/scratches only minor, nothing deep, no loud clicks or pops         this grade is abused by many, VG here does not mean "trashed" VG-  surface noise present, will not have skips or jumps     MULTIPLE LP SETS COUNT EACH DISC FOR SHIPPING COST (double Lp count as 2-Lp, etc.)   We Are Not Responsible For Uninsured Parcels Once They Are In Post Office Transit!   Items In All Parcels Are Well Protected = The disc of an LP will always be separated from its cover (avoiding seam splits,etc)     ALL PAYMENTS SHOULD BE MADE WITHIN 5 DAYS after ending of auction   Do Not Bid If You Are Not Serious About  Following Through The Transaction!   ALL ITEMS GUARANTEED FOR WINNING BID LESS SHIPPING!