Love is officially one of those bands who have gotten significantly more popular well after their demise. Their seminal and criminally overlooked 1967 album, Forever Changes, had Arthur Lee leading his talented band into an entirely different avenue of folk-rock, and was already covered in depth at the Daily Vault.
This 50th Anniversary Edition has a whole lot more to offer, as it’s a four CD/LP/DVD and an LP-sized 16 page booklet with detailed notes.
On the CDs, we get a CD debut of a remastered version made by the original co-producer and engineer Bruce Botnick, as well as the mono version for the first time. A separate disc is alternate mixes of the album, including an alternate mix of the outtake “Wonder People (I Do Wonder)”. Disc four is entirely singles and outtakes, including an unreleased version of “Live And Let Live” (Backing Track).
The vinyl is a first for the album in Botnick’s stereo master, obtained from high resolution digital audio thanks to audio engineer Bernie Grundman. Visually, the DVD is a 24/96 stereo mix of the original album remastered by Botnick. A rare promotional video of “Your Mind And We Belong Together” (released in 1986) is included as well.
The big questions are, of course, do we really need another reissue of this album (there are at least two others), and is it really necessary to listen to different versions of the same songs four to five times? The answer to both of those questions, simply, is yes.
This release marks the last recording of the original line up (three of the five are now deceased, including Lee). While the album may have tanked commercially (Lee refused to tour to support the album), and it had to compete against albums from The Rolling Stones, The Moody Blues, The Beatles, etc., Love brought new ideas to the sounds of rock and folk by incorporating strings, horns, and Lee’s mix of insightful and wandering lyrics that continue to strike a chord with new fans.
And for your collectors out there, it’s limited to 15,000 numbered copies and is packaged beautifully, something Rhino always excels at with these reissues. If you’re new to Love and have the dough (this will set up back around $100), this is a great place to start.
