LOVE - You Set The Scene - Forever Changes at 50 - Critics at Large A Memory . . . .

Time to revisit a classic covered before and regularly but it is time to do so again as it always cheers me up! Amongst my usual top three albums of all time and usually no 1! Forever Changes I have discussed and mentioned before so follow the tags if you're interested.

Here is a nice article and link below plus the beautiful 'You Set The Scene' which frankly I will never forget the impact that this song had upon me! 

Arthur Lee - Forever Changes @ 50 years old - Critics At Large

    Arthur Lee: lead vocals, guitar

    Bryan MacLean: rhythm guitar, background vocals

    Johnny Echols: lead guitar

    Ken Forssi: bass guitar

    Michael Stuart: drums, percussion

Where are you walking, I've seen you walking

Have you been there before?

Walk down your doorsteps, you'll take some more steps

What did you take them for?

There's a private in my boat and he wears

Pins instead of medals on his coat

There's a chicken in my nest and she won't

Lay until I've given her my best

At her request she asks for nothing

You get nothing in return

If you want she brings you water

If you don't then you will burn

You go through changes, it may seem strange

Is this what you're put here for?

You think you're happy and you are happy

That's what you're happy for

There's a man who can't decide if he should

Fight for what his father thinks is right

There are people wearing frowns who'll screw you up

But they would rather screw you down

At my request I ask for nothing

You get nothing in return

If you're nice she'll bring me water

If you're not then I will burn

This is the time and life that I am living

And I'll face each day with a smile

For the time that I've been given's such a little while

And the things that I must do consist of more than style

There are places that I am going

This is the only thing that I am sure of

And that's all that lives is gonna die

And there'll always be some people here to wonder why

And for every happy hello, there will be goodbye

There'll be time for you to put yourself on

Everything I've seen needs rearranging

And for anyone who thinks it's strange

Then you should be the first to want to make this change

And for everyone who thinks that life is just a game

Do you like the part you're playing

I see your picture

It's in the same old frame

We meet again

You look so lovely

You with the same old smile

Stay for a while

I need you so, oh, oh, oh, oh

And if you take it easy

I'm still teethin'

I want to love you, but

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

This is the time and life that I am living

And I'll face each day with a smile

For the time that I've been given's such a little while

And the things that I must do consist of more than style

There'll be time for you to start all over

This is the time and this is the time and

It is time, time, time, time, time, time, time, time, time, time

All lyrics and music are the intellectual property of those listed. If you enjoy the music, please honor the rights of the owners to receive compensation for their gifts and effort - purchase their work.

Love - Forever Changes 

I don't normally push for items that have already been released officially and am not recommending you do so but I have personally bought so many incarnations of this, perhaps my favourite album of all time above many and most others, I figure another anniversary issue for over £40 is worth a visit, here at The Rockasteria or better known as the blogspot Plain & Fancy - I really enjoy visiting this site as the notes alone are worth reading I have always said and indeed always find it to be true. I have the original album on vinyl (bought when it came out), the cd of the '87 remaster reissue and the DVD of 'Forever Changes' Live at The Royal Festival Hall (sic?) so reckon I have earned this Rhino Records re-boot (they issued the first variation on the 40th anniversary too which I have and the tracks here are mostly the same) Still if you don't have any of these I would strongly urge you to go out and buy this version . . . . . Forever Changes 50th Anniversary Edition Box Set buy it here
or direct from Rhino here for $99.98

Should you wish to avail yourself of these files try here:

Plain & Fancy - Love -Forever Changes 50th Anniversary Issue 2018

Forever Changes, the third album from the Los Angeles band Love, arrived on Elektra Records in November 1967 – the same month as The Moody Blues’ Days of Future Passed, Cream’s Disraeli Gears, The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour, Jefferson Airplane’s After Bathing at Baxter’s, The Hollies’ Butterfly, and The Monkees’ Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones.  Psychedelia was in the air, not to mention creativity and experimentation in music at an all-time high that is still largely unrivaled.  Forever Changes emerged from this artistically fertile era in the mind of Love’s mercurial leader Arthur Lee, who was inspired to reveal his own, layered perspective in the wake of the Summer of Love.  Despite lukewarm sales upon its release, the album has only grown in stature over the years.  The new, deluxe 3-CD/1-LP/1-DVD 50th anniversary presentation by Rhino reveals it as an album that still sounds like no other, and one that bears repeated listening (preferably, in the various formats offered here).  It’s a reflective, sometimes elegiac album of textured acoustic guitars, evocative orchestrations, and vibrant studio experimentation with folk, jazz, and Latin flavors – all in service of some of the most interesting and unusual songs to come out of the period.  The new box set makes the case for Forever Changes as a masterwork – not that it was in doubt, anyway.
The album originally entitled The Third Coming of Love featured the five-piece line-up of singer/guitarist Lee, guitarist Bryan MacLean, lead guitarist Johnny Echols, bassist Ken Forssi, and drummer Michael Stuart.  Lee, MacLean, Echols and Forssi had been in the band since the beginning, with Stuart becoming part of the seven-piece line-up behind sophomore LP Da Capo.  Forever Changes would be the final album from this group, but little tension was evident on the record.  Lee co-produced with Bruce Botnick, welcoming contributions both from The Wrecking Crew’s Carol Kaye, Hal Blaine, Don Randi, and Billy Strange; and a 12-piece orchestra led by arranger-conductor David Angel.
The spellbinding, melancholy “Alone Again Or” (one of just two songs on the album not composed by Lee, but by MacLean) not only became the LP’s lone single but also was selected as its leadoff track.  It’s not hard to see why; its gentle, cascading, guitar-led melody lent itself to adornment with pensive strings and triumphant horns, including a Tijuana Brass-style trumpet.  It proved the perfect prelude to, and set the tone for, the varied music that followed.

Though the title of “A House is Not a Motel” seemingly doffed its hat to “A House is Not a Home” by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, writers of Love’s hit “My Little Red Book,” that’s where the similarities end.  “House” is an impressionistic and haunting rumination that touches on the horrors of the then-raging war, a theme that recurs throughout Forever Changes.  The mystical folk-ish “Andmoreagain” was one of two songs featuring The Wrecking Crew along with Lee and Echols on rhythm guitar.  The other was named for the famous fictional newspaper in which Superman’s alter ego, Clark Kent, worked: “The Daily Planet.”  The track, melding a reasonably commercial melody and production with a world-weary, surreal slice-of-life lyric, is revealed in the liner notes as “the catalyst for this classic album,” as the success of the session with the Wrecking Crew motivated the band members to realize their own increasingly sophisticated musical visions.

“Old Man,” written and sung by MacLean, had been performed by its author as early as 1966, but fit comfortably on Forever Changes.  David Angel added its effective orchestration (disliked by MacLean) to what’s essentially a stark folk song with a message that can be interpreted as advocating for one’s discovery of faith (in MacLean’s own case, Christianity).  Dark and wry, “The Red Telephone” ended the original Side One.  An answer or antidote to The Summer of Love, it finds Lee looking down from his hillside on turmoil and strife.  His voice is detached, distant, and ironically calm.  The gorgeous string flourishes underscore the drama of the psychedelic ballad.  Don Randi of The Wrecking Crew added the harpsichord.

Driven by Michael Stuart’s brisk drumming (encouraged by Lee) and stabs of trumpet, Side Two’s opening “Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hillsdale” was rooted in autobiography as Lee recalled the band’s days playing on the Sunset Strip in whimsical, vivid fashion.  Lighter still is “The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This,” a pretty reflection of childhood and innocence that stands in stark contrast to the tone of much of the surrounding material.  (Whether Lee is being ironic in the song is up to the listener.)
“Live and Let Live” was originally mooted for Da Capo but felt unsuitable for the band’s then-current lineup.  The paranoid and occasionally risqué composition was a better match for Forever Changes and boasts the album’s most searing electric guitar.  Rock and roll is also at the forefront of “Bummer in the Summer,” on which Lee adopted a Dylan-esque inflection spitting out rapid-fire lyrics.  Echols incorporated a country influence into his guitar part. Cross that with a Bo Diddley rhythm and you have one of the oddest tracks on the LP.  It’s eclipsed, however, by the closing “You Set the Scene.”  The epic track is actually a mélange of three songs penned by Lee and assembled by Forssi.  “You go through changes, it may seem strange/Is this what you’re put here for?” goes the lyrics to the mini-suite, as Lee questions life, mortality, war, and those forever changes (“Everything I’ve seen needs rearranging/And for anyone who thinks it’s strange/Then you should be the first to want to make this change/And for everyone who thinks that life is just a game/Do you like the part you’re playing?”)  David Angel’s suitably majestic orchestration befit the big themes being addressed.

Rhino’s majestic box set offers Forever Changes in multiple formats.  The original mono album is included on CD, and the original stereo album on CD, vinyl LP, and DVD (in 24/96 high resolution).  In addition, the box includes an entire alternate mix on CD 3 as well as a full disc of outtakes and singles on CD 4.  Most of this bonus material premiered a decade ago on Rhino’s 40th anniversary edition.  (The outtake “Wonder People (I Do Wonder)” in the alternate mix was first issued in 2001.)  Two previously unissued tracks, however, do premiere here: the backing tracks of “Wonder People” and “Live and Let Live.”

The alternate mix is derived from a tape that was prepared during the mixing process.  It’s a much rougher-hewn mix than the final, polished version and opens a window onto the choices made by co-producers Arthur Lee and Bruce Botnick in crafting the original LP.  As for the unique single versions and outtakes, they add to one’s understanding and enjoyment of Forever Changes.  Among the treasures are the final single from this iteration of Love (“Your Mind and We Belong Together” b/w “Laughing Stock”), released in June 1968, final and alternate backing tracks, session highlights (for “The Red Telephone”) and even an outtake of “Wooly Bully,” of all things.
The stereo version has been newly and felicitously remastered by Bruce Botnick, while Bernie Grundman has handled the mono mix.  This marks the first appearance on CD or a digital format of the mono mix, which was originally created with the Haeco-CSG system.  (The process converted a two-channel stereo mix into mono.)  Although far from revelatory, the punchier, rare mono mix offers a new way to hear the familiar album.  CD 3’s alternate presentation retains the 2008 mastering by Steve Hoffman, and CD 4 has been mastered by Dan Hersch and Dave Schultz.  (Hersch and Andrew Sandoval were credited with mastering of the same tracks in 2008.)  For the vinyl, Bernie Grundman has cut the lacquers from high-res digital files.  Which version one prefers of the original album will largely be up to personal taste; the stellar vinyl is quiet and striking, not to mention authentic.  The crispness, definition and intimate, up-front feeling of the stereo mix in 96/24 on DVD, however, is also hard to beat.  (The DVD also includes the promotional video of “Your Mind and We Belong Together.”
The set itself, produced with an eye for detail by Bill Inglot and Steve Woolard and beautifully designed by Now Sounds’ Steve Stanley, is packaged within a hardcover book-style package similar to what Rhino has employed for recent box sets from Ramones.  A 16-page softcover booklet is included with both a detailed essay and track-by-track notes by Ted Olson.  Brief notes on the bonus material are also present, as well as an introduction by Elektra founder Jac Holzman.  The discs are all held in pockets.  In every respect, this is an attractive and high-quality set that honors the album it represents.
Forever Changes would be the final album from this line-up of Love, and the final album for all members save Arthur Lee.  By the time of the band’s last LP (1974’s Reel to Real), he would be the sole true member, backed by a group of hired guns.  But Forever Changes captures a perfect moment from five talented musicians ready and willing to push the envelope to movingly chronicle their era.  50 years on, Forever Changes is no less beguiling – an album unlike any other and one clearly ahead of its time, as much as it is of that truly remarkable time.
by Joe Marchese, May 17, 2018

Tracks

Disc 1 (Stereo)
1. Alone Again Or (Bryan MacLean) - 3:17
2. A House Is Not A Motel - 3:32
3. Andmoreagain - 3:20
4. The Daily Planet - 3:31
5. Old Man (Bryan MacLean) - 3:00
6. The Red Telephone - 4:47
7. Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale - 3:34
8. Live And Let Live - 5:26
9. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This - 3:07
10.Bummer In The Summer - 2:23
11.You Set The Scene - 6:49

All songs written by Arthur Lee except where stated

Disc 2 (Mono)

1.Alone Again Or (Bryan MacLean) - 3:17 

2.A House Is Not A Motel - 3:26

3.Andmoreagain - 3:20

4.The Daily Planet - 3:22

5.Old Man (Bryan MacLean) - 3:00 

6.The Red Telephone - 4:45

7.Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale - 3:34

8.Live And Let Live - 5:25

9.The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This - 3:06

10.Bummer In The Summer - 2:33

11.You Set The Scene - 6:51

All songs written by Arthur Lee except where noted

Disc 3 (Alternate Mix)
1. Alone Again Or (Bryan Maclean) - 3:15
2. A House Is Not A Motel - 3:33 
3. Andmoreagain - 3:24
4. The Daily Planet - 3:40 
5. Old Man (Bryan Maclean) - 3:07
6. The Red Telephone - 5:22 
7. Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale - 3:38 
8. Live And Let Live - 5:37
9. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This - 3:11 
10.Bummer In The Summer - 2:30 
11.You Set The Scene - 7:03
12.Wonder People (I Do Wonder) (Alternate Mix) - 3:23
All songs written by Arthur Lee except where indicated

Disc 4 (Singles and Outtakes)
1. Wonder People (I Do Wonder) (Outtake-Original Mix) - 3:20
2. Alone Again Or (Single Version) (Bryan Maclean) - 2:48
3. A House Is Not A Motel (Single Version) - 3:22
4. Hummingbirds (Demo) - 2:41
5. A House Is Not A Motel (Backing Track) - 3:06
6. Andmoreagain (Alternate Electric Backing Track) - 3:06
7. he Red Telephone (Tracking Sessions Highlights) - 2:07
8. Wooly Bully (Outtake) (Domingo Samudio) - 1:25
9. Live And Let Live (Backing Track) - 5:37
10.Wonder People (I Do Wonder) (Outtake - Backing Track) - 3:30
11.Your Mind And We Belong Together (Tracking Sessions Highlights) - 8:16
12.Your Mind And We Belong Together - 4:27
13.Laughing Stock - 2:34
14.Alone Again Or (Mono Single Remix) (Bryan Maclean) - 2:51
All songs written by Arthur Lee unless as else written

Love*Arthur Lee - Lead Vocals, Guitar*Johnny Echols - Lead Guitar*Bryan Mac Lean - Rhythm Guitar,  Vocals *Ken Forssi - Bass Guitar*Michael Stuart - Drums, PercussionWith*David Angel - Arranger, Orchestrations*Robert Barene, Arnold Belnick, James Getzoff, Marshall Sosson, Darrel Terwilliger - Violins*Norman Botnick - Viola*Jesse Ehrlich - Cello *Chuck Berghofer - String Bass*Bud Brisbois, Roy Caton, Ollie Mitchell - Trumpets*Richard Leith - Trombone*Carol Kaye - Bass*Don Randi - Piano *Billy Strange - Guitar *Hal Blaine - Drums