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Released just months after the so-called Summer of Love, Forever Changes was the third studio album by the group simply and boldly called Love.  But more than just that four-letter word was on the mind of bandleader/songwriter Arthur Lee, who saw beyond sunshine and flowers that summer.  Love traded in the punchy electric guitar sound of the group’s first two albums (and successful singles like “7 and 7 Is” and a cover of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “My Little Red Book”) for a denser, more orchestrated style that incorporated strings and horns alongside acoustic guitars.  Despite the often beautiful sound, though, Forever Changes was a song suite that referenced war, violence, drug abuse, failed romance and racial tension in songs like “A House is Not a Motel” (playing off another Bacharach/David song, “A House is Not a Home”), “The Red Telephone” and “Live and Let Live.”  Bryan MacLean contributed the album’s single “Alone Again Or” which kicked off the album in a collision of AM-meets-FM styles.  Now, the seminal masterwork originally released in November 1967 will be getting the deluxe 50th anniversary treatment from Rhino on April 6.

Forever Changes has always been better-regarded in the United Kingdom than in its United States birthplace; it went Top 30 in Britain but only reached No. 154 in America.  But that hasn’t stopped the album’s cachet from growing every year, and it’s been a CD mainstay since its very first release in the format in 1987.  For this super-sized outing, Forever Changes will arrive in a 12 x 12 hardbound book-style format, containing 4 CDs, 1 DVD, and 1 LP.  The original stereo album will be featured on Disc One in a new remaster by original engineer Bruce Botnick, while the original mono mix makes its official CD premiere on Disc Two.  The third disc has the alternate mix of the entire album that premiered on the 40th anniversary reissue in 2008 plus outtake “Wonder People (I Do Wonder)” in the mix first issued in 2001.  The fourth CD, Singles and Outtakes, has the unique 45 RPM versions as well as the original mix of “Wonder People (I Do Wonder),” demos, backing tracks, and more.  The contents of the 40th anniversary bonus disc are reprised here, alongside two previously unissued tracks: the backing tracks of “Wonder People” and “Live and Let Live.”  The DVD has Botnick’s stereo remaster in 96/24 high resolution, plus the rare 1968 promotional film Your Mind and We Belong Together.  Finally, the LP has the stereo remaster cut from high-res digital audio by Bernie Grundman.

The final album by the original Love line-up of Lee, MacLean, John Echols, Ken Forssi, and Michael Stuart, Forever Changes remains a benchmark of pop and rock.   Music historian Ted Olsen has provided new track-by-track liner notes and an essay for Forever Changes: 50th Anniversary Edition.  Look for it on April 6 from Elektra and Rhino.  Pre-order links aren’t yet available, but we will update as soon as they go live!

Love. Forever Changes: 50th Anniversary Edition (Elektra/Rhino, 2018) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1: Original Album (Elektra LP 7-4013, 1967)
1. Alone Again Or
2. A House Is Not A Motel
3. Andmoreagain
4. The Daily Planet
5. Old Man
6. The Red Telephone
7. Maybe T People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale
8. Live And Let Live
9. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This
10. Bummer In The Summer
11. You Set The Scene

CD 2: Mono Mix (Elektra LP 4013, 1967)
1. Alone Again Or
2. A House Is Not A Motel
3. Andmoreagain
4. The Daily Planet
5. Old Man
6. The Red Telephone
7. Maybe T People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale
8. Live And Let Live
9. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This
10. Bummer In The Summer
11. You Set The Scene

CD 3: Alternate Mix (Tracks 1-11 first released on Forever Changes: 40th Anniversary Edition, Elektra/Rhino R2 428796, 2008)
1. Alone Again Or
2. A House Is Not A Motel
3. Andmoreagain
4. The Daily Planet
5. Old Man
6. The Red Telephone
7. Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale
8. Live And Let Live
9. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This
10. Bummer In The Summer
11. You Set The Scene
12. Wonder People (I Do Wonder) (Outtake, Alternate Mix) (first released on Forever Changes, Elektra/Rhino CD 76717, 2001)

CD 4: Singles And Outtakes (Tracks 4-8, 11, 13 first released on Forever Changes: 40th Anniversary Edition, Elektra/Rhino R2 428796, 2008)
1. Wonder People (I Do Wonder) (first released on Forever Changes, Elektra/Rhino CD R2 428796, 2008)
2. Alone Again Or (Single Version) (Elektra single 45629-A, 1968)
3. A House Is Not A Motel (Single Version) (Elektra single 45629-B, 1968)
4. Hummingbirds (Demo)
5. A House Is Not A Motel (Backing Track)
6. Andmoreagain (Alternate Electric Backing Track)
7. The Red Telephone (Tracking Sessions Highlights)
8. Wooly Bully (Outtake)
9. Live And Let Live (Backing Track) (*)
10. Wonder People (I Do Wonder) (Outtake, Backing Track) (*)
11. Your Mind And We Belong Together (Tracking Sessions Highlights)
12. Your Mind And We Belong Together (Elektra single 45633, 1968)
13. Laughing Stock
14. Alone Again Or (Mono Single Remix) (Elektra promo single 45700, 1970)

DVD: 24/96 Stereo Mix (Elektra LP 7-4013, 1967)
1. Alone Again Or
2. A House Is Not A Motel
3. Andmoreagain
4. The Daily Planet
5. Old Man
6. The Red Telephone
7. Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale
8. Live And Let Live
9. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This
10. Bummer In The Summer
11. You Set The Scene
12. Your Mind And We Belong Together (Video)

LP: Original Stereo Album (Elektra LP 7-4013, 1967)

Side One
1. Alone Again Or
2. A House Is Not A Motel
3. Andmoreagain
4. The Daily Planet
5. Old Man
6. The Red Telephone

Side Two
1. Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale
2. Live And Let Live
3. The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This
4. Bummer In The Summer
5. You Set The Scene

(*) denotes previously unreleased track