Music Review: Love - Forever Changes (Deluxe Collector's Edition) - Page 2

The album is quite simply a gorgeous sounding, completely realized work that is best digested all at once. It is a masterpiece that stands out all these years later, even though it was created during an era when bands seemed to be able to crank out such incredible work almost at will. The songs paint a picture that comes in various colors and shades, and also evoke the simpler, more innocent time when it was created like few others.

You know those trippy, dippy sixties movies with all of the hippies dancing around with flowers in their hair? Well, Forever Changes could have provided the soundtrack for any one of them.

The second disc here contains over an hour's worth of rare and previously unreleased performances — most notably a remixed version of the entire album that does little to improve on the original. This leads me to what is my one major complaint about these remastered versions of classics that are so popular today, and that is that you just shouldn't screw with something that is already widely regarded as a brilliant piece of work. The good news here, though, is that they don't mangle things too badly.

There are also some interesting outtakes here. These include both sides of the follow-up single, "Your Mind And We Belong Together," and "Laughing Stock." There is also a cover of Sam The Sham's party classic "Wooly Bully" recorded during the original sessions.

Also included is a booklet that features newly written liner notes which shed light on the turmoil surrounding the recording of this album. At first, the band was barely able to hold itself together and studio musicians had to be brought in. Frustrated at their status as second fiddle to Elektra's far more successful band The Doors, the band was also trying to get out of its contract, eventually splitting up largely in order to do just that.

Overall, Rhino has done a fine job here, although the extras on disc two mainly serve as icing on the proverbial cake. The main reason to pick this one up is for the much clearer sounding recording of the original found on disc one.

And pick this up you most certainly should. The two-disc deluxe collector's edition of Love's Forever Changes will be in stores this Tuesday April 22.

Article Author: Glen Boyd

You'll find Blogcritics assistant music editor Glen Boyd sharing his Thoughtmares on his personal blogs The World Wide Glen, and The Rockologist. In a previous life, Glen was a music professional and journalist whose work has appeared in The Rocket, SPIN, Pulse!, and The Source. …

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