Sombre beauty
By Sergio Ariza
Arthur Lee and his group Love are responsible for one of the
best albums of all time. Forever Changes
is a monumental work in which Lee colours the 11 songs, all acoustic, with
wonderful string and wind arrangements. For this reason he spent three weeks with
the arranger; singing and humming just as he wanted it to sound. Whether it is
called folk-rock, psychedelia or baroque pop what is clear is that Forever Changes is one of the most
beautiful records of all time. If Lee is the main architect - 9 of the 11 compositions
are his and he sings 10 of the 11 songs - then Bryan MacLean is ‘the hero in the shade’, because he composed the
most famous song on the album: Alone
Again Or. Of course, behind all that beauty lay a group that was
disintegrating, as well as the shadow of all the violence and horror that was about
to occur in the counter-culture and hippie movement.
This album could almost have
served as a warning to the violent turn that the end of the 60s was going to
take, as if Lee was already able to glimpse the future in the middle of Summer
of Love; because after the magical kaleidoscope of love, music and peace came
the violent awakening that Charles
Manson and his 'Family' represented. Despite all its beauty, its dazzling
arrangements and its incredible melodies, Forever
Changes is a dark record, a pessimistic view, of a man who was on the verge
of suicide (Lee has recognized that this album was almost a farewell note). The
lyrics leave it clear: in A House Is Not
A Motel he sings "And the
water’s turned to blood / and if you don’t think so, go turn on your tub"
or, in a prophetic way, "the news
today will be the movies of tomorrow" (anticipating all the films that
would arrive about Vietnam). In Live and
Let Live he writes "there is a
bird sitting on a branch, I guess I'll go get my gun" or in The Red Telephone "Sitting on the hilsidel
watching all the people die / I'll feel much better on the other side".
A phrase that can also be seen as a nod to the
Doors, a group that adored them and who they recommended to their label,
Elektra. It is true that despite their
little commercial impact at the time, Love had many fans among the royalty of
rock. Both Lee and Johnny Echols were personal friends of
another black person in a white world, Jimi
Hendrix; Robert Plant was in love with them from England and would end up
making several versions of their songs. The Rolling
Stones would borrow their She Comes In
Colours for She's a Rainbow and Neil
Young considered producing this album.
But, beyond their
connections, the music of this band continues to sound as good as ever; mainly
their first three albums with their classic lineup, Lee, Echols, McLean, Ken Forssi on bass and Michael Stuart-Ware on drums. It is
this group who were responsible for recording this marvel that opens with its
best known song, McLean's Alone Again Or
who sings it with Lee, this last one was also responsible for adding the
enigmatic 'or' to the title. It's a huge song with Spanish touches and an
incredible mariachi trumpet solo. Few records could better such a powerful
start, but Forever Changes is not any
album.
A House Is Not A Motel benefits from a great job
by Echols’ 52 Les Paul Goldtop to
give a few electric touches with a double tracked solo that helps uncover all
the anguish trapped behind its acoustic shell. This is one of the best moments
on the album. Of course Forever Changes
is a succession of great moments, a perfect album from start to finish, built
on beautiful acoustic guitar parts, including several Martins and a 12-string
Gibson.
Andmoreagain was the first thing that
was recorded; however from the group it is only Lee who appears with members of
the Wrecking Crew – such as Hal Blaine on drums and Carol Kaye on bass. This was due to
various problems within the group, such as McLean’s anger over seeing their
material cut (the band wanted to record a double album) and the problems over
Echols’ drug issues. Even so, seeing session musicians recording their parts
served as an incentive to the band, and all the members put whatever energy
they had into finishing the job in the best way.
Old Man is McLean's second song, a good folk piece, sung
with a delicate voice, and accompanied by a Gibson Hummingbird. The ‘first side’ closes with The Red Telephone, a strange psychedelic
piece with a good arrangement of strings and some very interesting changes. The
‘second side’ opens with a song with an infinite title, Maybe the People Would Be the Times or between Clark and Hilldale, including
another arrangement that fits like a glove, with wind instruments and acoustic
guitars mixing perfectly; however despite its brilliant melody the song is a
pessimistic perspective on 'flower power' (with great work on the main guitar
by Echols). In Live And Let Live
there is a great electric solo at the end by Echols, possibly with the Les
Paul, on a song with multiple changes that could be defined as progressive
folk. You Set The Scene is a
masterpiece and puts the finishing touch to a record that does not have a song
that is less than very good. It is another example of the incredible changes
that Lee gave to his songs, and it also benefits from an orchestral arrangement
of almost Wagnerian force at the end.
The album was called Forever Changes because of an anecdote
relating to the leader of the band. After breaking up with one of his
girlfriends, the woman reproached Lee for telling her that he would love her
forever, to which he replied "Forever
Changes." Maybe it was an anecdote, but it hits the nail on the head for
an album that always changes... for the better.