Forever Changes

File:Love (1966).png

Love's first two albums—the self-titled debut and Da Capo—were released in 1966, as well as the successful singles "My Little Red Book" and, the band's only top-40 hit, "7 and 7 Is".{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|pp=104, 145}}{{Cite web |title=Love Billboard Hot 100 Chart History |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/love/chart-history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250121195638/https://www.billboard.com/artist/love/chart-history/ |archive-date=January 21, 2025 |access-date=June 5, 2025 |website=Billboard}} However, the group's opportunity for major national success dwindled as a consequence of frontman Arthur Lee's unwillingness to tour, his deteriorating relationship with Love's other songwriter Bryan MacLean, and the overshadowing presence of label-mates the Doors.{{cite web|url=http://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/halfway-between-watts-and-charles-manson-local-idol-arthur-lee/|title=Halfway Between Watts and Charles Manson: Local idol Arthur Lee|website=Lamag.com|last=Duersten |first=Matthew|date=May 22, 2014 |access-date=May 31, 2016}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/arthur-lee-1945-2006-20060804|title=Arthur Lee (1945–2006)|magazine=Rolling Stone|last=Sullivan|first=James|access-date=May 31, 2016}} In a 1992 interview, MacLean spoke of him and Lee "competing a bit like Lennon and McCartney to see who would come up with the better song. It was part of our charm. Everybody had different behaviour patterns. Eventually, the others couldn't cut it".{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-bryan-maclean-1044305.html|title=Orbituary: Bryan MacLean|newspaper=The Independent|access-date=May 31, 2016}} Throughout this period, the band – reduced to a quintet with the departures of Alban "Snoopy" Pfisterer and Tjay Cantrelli – were known to retreat to a dilapidated mansion in Hollywood, nicknamed "The Castle", to use heroin, causing further stagnation.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AVQbF9lTBwgC&q=arthur+lee+love+da+capo&pg=PA114|title=The Mojo Collection|author=Various writers|edition=4th|page=114|year=2007|publisher=Canongate Books|isbn=978-1841959733}} The band was allowed to live in this mansion as long as they maintained it and paid property taxes.{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|p=110}}

Lee's material for Forever Changes was drawn from his lifestyle and environment, which contrasted greatly from the typical hippie culture of the time.{{Sfn|Moon|2008|p=457}} The songs reflected upon dark themes, such as paranoia, the Vietnam War, race issues in the US, societal breakdown, and the negative effects of drug use.{{Sfn|Moon|2008|p=457}}{{cite web|url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/253799-love-forever-changes/|title=Love: Forever Changes – Studio 360|website=Wnyc.org|access-date=April 25, 2019}}{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|pp=157–160}} In his 33⅓ book on the album, Andrew Hultkrans explained Lee's frame of mind at the time: "Arthur Lee was one member of the '60s counterculture who didn't buy flower-power wholesale, who intuitively understood that letting the sunshine in wouldn't instantly vaporize the world's (or his own) dark stuff".{{Sfn|Hultkrans|2003|pp=3–4}} With the band in disarray, and increasingly concerned over his own mortality, Lee envisioned Forever Changes as a lament to his memory.{{Sfn|Hultkrans|2003|pp=3–4}}

Having already engineered the group's first two albums, Bruce Botnick was enlisted to oversee the production of the third album along with Lee.{{cite web|url=http://www.richieunterberger.com/botnick.html|title=Bruce Botnick interview|website=Richieunterberger.com|last=Unterberger |first=Richie|access-date=June 1, 2016}} Botnick, who had also worked with Buffalo Springfield, invited Neil Young to co-produce the album, but Young, after initially agreeing, excused himself from the project.{{Sfn|Unterberger|2003|p=52}} As Botnick recalled, "Neil really had the burning desire to go solo and realize his dream without being involved in another band". It was reported that Young arranged the song "The Daily Planet",{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|p=170}} but he denied any involvement.{{cite book|title= Shakey: Neil Young's biography|last= McDonough|first= Jimmy|year= 2002|publisher= Random House|location= New York City|isbn= 978-0-679-42772-8|oclc= 47844513|url= https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780679427728 |page=160}}

According to AllMusic, the band embraced "a more gentle, contemplative, and organic sound on Forever Changes," with much of the album "built around interwoven acoustic guitar textures and subtle orchestrations, with strings and horns both reinforcing and punctuating the melodies." Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman had suggested that Love "advance backwards" by embracing the more subtle approach of folk music, and Lee, while typically independent in his musical directions, accepted the suggestion.{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/Love-Forever-Changes.pdf|title="Forever Changes" – 1967|website=Loc.gov|pages=1–2|last=Olsen |first=Ted|access-date=June 1, 2016}} Stephen M. Deusner of Pitchfork stated that Lee paired his "dark, discomfiting lyrics" with music that draws from rock, psychedelia, folk, pop, classical, and mariachi influences without being reducible to any of those labels.{{cite web |last1=Deusner |first1=Stephen M. |title=Love: Forever Changes [Collector's Edition] Album Review |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11429-forever-changes-collectors-edition/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=18 February 2021}}

Love started recording Forever Changes in June 1967 at Sunset Sound Recorders. However, beginning with the early recording sessions, the band was plagued by internal conflicts and lack of preparation for Lee's intricate arrangements. Through Holzman's perspective, Botnick was an "album savior", guiding and motivating the musicians out of their trying period.{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/static/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/Love-Forever-Changes.pdf|title="Forever Changes" – 1967|website=Loc.gov|pages=2–3|author=Olsen, Ted|access-date=June 11, 2016}} To compel the band to refocus, Botnick and Lee enlisted Wrecking Crew session musicians Billy Strange (guitar), Don Randi (piano), Hal Blaine (drums), and Carol Kaye (bass guitar) to work with Lee, completing the rhythm tracks for "Andmoreagain" and "The Daily Planet" in a single three-hour session.{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|pp=173–176}} Shocked by the notion of losing their roles, the plan succeeded in motivating the other Love members to participate in recording the remaining material.

Lee spent three weeks with arranger David Angel, playing and singing the orchestral parts to him. Lee envisioned the horns and strings as part of the material from the beginning.{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|pp=165–167}} String and horn overdubs on September 18, followed by two more stereo mixing sessions, completed the sessions.{{Cite web |last=Olson |first=Ted |date=2011 |title="Forever Changes"—Love (1967) |url=https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/Love-Forever-Changes.pdf |access-date=January 11, 2025 |website=Library of Congress}}

According to the staff of BrooklynVegan, the tensions between Arthur Lee and Bryan MacLean "made for a unique energy" present on the album, said to be "[running] electric." The site described the album's production as "sweeping [and] baroque."{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=BrooklynVegan |title=The 50 best psychedelic rock albums of the Summer of Love |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/best-psychedelic-rock-albums-summer-of-love-1967/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=BrooklynVegan |language=en-US}} NME wrote that the album is "joyous, uplifting and sweet in parts, while at the same time menacing, introverted and paranoid."{{Cite web |last=Blog |first=N. M. E. |date=2012-04-03 |title=10 best psychedelic albums of all time |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/listomania-top-10-psychedelic-albums-768703 |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}

The title of the album came from a break-up Lee had with his girlfriend. She said, "But you said you would love me forever?" and he replied, "Yeah well, you know, forever changes." The album's title has also been interpreted as meaning Love Forever Changes.{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|p=187}}

The album's front cover, designed by Bob Pepper, shows the faces of all five members of the band in the shape of a human heart. Fans have also seen it as the shape of Africa. The back cover photo was taken by the band's manager Ronnie Haran, at Lee's house after one of the rehearsals. While taking photos, Haran accidentally knocked over and broke a flower vase. Lee picked it up and is shown holding it in the final product. Some have interpreted the broken vase and dead flowers as symbolizing the "death of flower power", though Lee denied that it had any deeper meaning.{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|pp=187–188}}

Released in November 1967, Forever Changes initially only achieved moderate commercial success. It peaked at number 154 in the US, the lowest showing of a Love album up to that point. However, it fared much better in the UK, where it reached number 24. Holzman partially attributed the album's small impact to the fact that it was released in November, only to be overshadowed by the Christmas market rush.{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|p=|pp=189, 194}}

The underwhelming reaction to Forever Changes from the general public further contributed to the band's state of disarray. Live performances became less and less frequent, and the members' addictions to heroin and cocaine worsened. This line-up of Love released one more single, "Your Mind and We Belong Together"/"Laughing Stock", in January 1968. It was later falsely rumored that these songs were meant to be the beginning of work on another album titled Gethsemane. Lee was also angered by the prospect of MacLean recorded a solo album for Elektra.{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|pp=23, 195–205}} By August 1968, Lee had replaced the members of Love with a new line-up that "hated Forever Changes" and took a more hard rock and blues rock direction.{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|p=204, 211}}{{Cite web |last=Cavanagh |first=David |date=June 19, 2008 |title=Love: Love Story |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/love-love-story-7729/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240718235113/https://www.uncut.co.uk/reviews/love-love-story-7729/ |archive-date=July 18, 2024 |access-date=June 9, 2025 |website=Uncut}}

File:Forever Changes - Billboard ad 1968.png advertisement, January 27, 1968]]Initial reviews were positive. Writing for Rolling Stone in 1968, Jim Bickhart regarded Forever Changes as Love's "most sophisticated album yet", applauding the orchestral arrangements and recording quality.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/forever-changes-19680210 |title=Love: Forever Changes |first=Jim |last=Bickhart |date=February 10, 1968 |magazine=Rolling Stone |issn=0035-791X |access-date=September 26, 2011}} In Esquire, Robert Christgau called it an elaboration on Love's original musical style and "a vast improvement" over their previous recordings, because "Lee has stopped trying to imitate Mick Jagger with his soft voice, and the lyrics, while still obscure, now have an interesting surface as well."{{cite magazine|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=June 1968|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-aow/column4.php|title=Columns|magazine=Esquire|access-date=December 3, 2018}} Pete Johnson of the Los Angeles Times believed the album could "survive endless listening with no diminishing either of power or of freshness", adding that "parts of the album are beautiful; others are disturbingly ugly, reflections of the pop movement towards realism". Gene Youngblood of LA Free Express also praised the album, calling it "melancholy iconoclasm and tasteful romanticism."{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|pp=189–190}} Harvey Kubernik believed that the reaction to Forever Changes in Los Angeles was comparable to that of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in the UK.{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|p=190}}

{{Music ratings

| subtitle = Retrospective reviews

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{AllMusic |class= album|id= forever-changes-mw0000193671|label= Forever Changes|last= Deming|first= Mark|access-date= March 2, 2017}}

| rev2 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev2Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=Omnibus Press|edition=5th|isbn=978-0857125958|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}

| rev3 = The Great Rock Discography

| rev3Score = 10/10{{cite book|last=Strong|first=Martin C.|author-link=Martin C. Strong|year=2004|chapter=Love|title=The Great Rock Discography|publisher=Canongate U.S.|isbn=1841956155|edition=7th}}

| rev4 = NME

| rev4Score = 10/10{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/reviews-nme-4063 |title=Love: Forever Changes |work=NME |date=September 12, 2005 |access-date=September 12, 2005 |last=Kessler |first=Ted}}

| rev5 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev5Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite book|author=Evans, Paul|editor1-first=Nathan|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-link=Nathan Brackett|editor2-first=Christian|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-link=Christian Hoard |chapter=Love |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|publisher=Simon & Schuster|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/496/mode/2up |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |chapter-url-access=registration}}

| rev6 = Slant Magazine

| rev6score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/love-forever-changes/ |title=Love: Forever Changes | Album Review |last=Cinquemani |first=Sal |date=April 13, 2008 |magazine=Slant Magazine |access-date=September 9, 2022}}

| rev7 = Sputnikmusic

| rev7score = 5/5{{cite web |date=January 14, 2005 |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/788/Love-Forever-Changes/ |title=Review: Love – Forever Changes |publisher=Sputnikmusic |access-date=September 9, 2022}}

| rev8 = Uncut

| rev8Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{Cite magazine |last=Cavanagh |first=David |date=June 2008 |title=Love: Forever Changes |magazine=Uncut |page=99}}

| rev9 = The Village Voice

| rev9Score = A−{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=December 20, 1976|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6N9LAAAAIBAJ&pg=6134,4535773|title=Christgau's Consumer Guide to 1967|newspaper=The Village Voice|page=69|location=New York City|access-date=June 22, 2013}}

| rev10= The Rolling Stone Record Guide (1st ed, 1979)

|rev10Score = {{rating|5|5}}

| rev11= The New Rolling Stone Record Guide (2nd ed, 1983)

|rev11Score = {{rating|5|5}}

| rev12= The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed, 1992)

|rev12Score = {{rating|4|5}}

}}

After the initial reactions to Forever Changes died down, the album maintained a cult following, with Richie Unterberger calling it "the biggest cult album of all time, its following just growing and growing through subsequent decades and generations."{{Sfn|Unterberger|2003|p=52}} Biographer John Einarson agrees, adding that "its reputation as one of the greatest albums of all time has been built almost exclusively by rediscovery and word of mouth."{{Sfn|Einarson|2010|p=23}} In a retrospective review, AllMusic stated that the album "became recognized as one of the finest and most haunting albums to come out of the Summer of Love," calling it "an album that heralds the last days of a golden age and anticipates the growing ugliness that would dominate the counterculture in 1968 and 1969." The 1979 edition of The Rolling Stone Record Guide gave the album a rating of five stars (out of five). It also received five stars in the 1983 edition of the guide and in the 1992 guide four.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wMEQAQAAMAAJ&q=forever+changes|title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely New Reviews: Every Essential Album, Every Essential Artist|first1=Anthony|last1=DeCurtis|first2=James|last2=Henke|first3=Holly|last3=George-Warren|date=April 25, 1992|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-0679737292|access-date=April 25, 2019|via=Google Books}} In a special issue of Mojo magazine, Forever Changes was ranked the second greatest psychedelic album of all time. In the January 1996 issue, Mojo readers selected Forever Changes as number 11 on the "100 Greatest Albums Ever Made".{{cite magazine |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051207104904/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/mojo.html |url-status=usurped |archive-date=December 7, 2005 |title=The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made |date=August 1995 |magazine=Mojo |location=London |publisher=Bauer Media Group |issn=1351-0193 |access-date=September 26, 2011}} In 2002, members of the UK Parliament signed [https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/20565/arthur-lee-love-and-forever-changes a motion] declaring Forever Changes "the greatest album of all time".{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/entertainment/music/2052074.stm |title=Freed 1960s star meets MPs |date=June 18, 2002 |newspaper=BBC News |access-date=September 26, 2011}}

Forever Changes was included in its entirety on the 2-CD retrospective Love compilation Love Story 1966–1972, released by Rhino Records in 1995. The album was re-released in an expanded single-CD version by Rhino in 2001, featuring alternate mixes, outtakes and the group's 1968 single, "Your Mind and We Belong Together"/"Laughing Stock", the final tracks ever to feature the Forever Changes line-up of Arthur Lee, Johnny Echols, Ken Forssi, Michael Stuart-Ware and Bryan MacLean (Forssi and MacLean both died in 1998).{{cite web |last1=Burnsed |first1=Cathy |title=Tallahassee Democrat obituary index – August 3, 1997 – January 28, 1998 |url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/fl/leon/vitals/deaths/1997td.txt |website=Files.usgwarchives.net |access-date=January 24, 2019}}{{cite news|title=Bryan MacLean: Obituary |newspaper=The Independent|date=January 1, 1999 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-bryan-maclean-1044305.html |access-date=January 24, 2019}}

The Forever Changes Concert was released on DVD in 2003 and marked the first time many of the songs had been performed live. The set features the entire album performed in its original running order, recorded in early 2003 during Lee's tour of England, in which he was backed by the band Baby Lemonade and members of the Stockholm Strings 'n' Horns ensemble. The DVD features the album concert, five bonus performances, documentary footage and an interview with Lee.{{cite web |last1=Deming |first1=Mark |title=The Forever Changes Live Concert |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-forever-changes-concert-mw0000740254 |website=AllMusic |access-date=January 24, 2019}}

A double-CD "Collector's Edition" of the album was issued by Rhino Records on April 22, 2008. The first disc consists of a remastered version of the original 1967 album. The second disc contains a previously unissued alternate stereo mix of the album, plus ten bonus tracks.{{cite book|title=Forever Changes|date=April 25, 2019|isbn=9781788400800|oclc = 228442121|last1=Dimery|first1=Robert|publisher=Cassell Illustrated }}

A Super High Material CD (SHM-CD) version of Forever Changes was released by Warner Music Japan in 2009, and a 24 bit 192 kHz High Resolution version of the album was released by HDTracks in 2014, and in the same year a hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD) version of the album was released by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab.

A 50th anniversary deluxe edition box set was released by Rhino on April 6, 2018, featuring four CDs, a DVD and an LP. It contains remastered versions of the stereo, mono and alternate stereo mixes of the album, a disc of demos, outtakes, alternate mixes and non-album tracks, a DVD containing a 24/96 stereo mix of the album and a bonus music video, and a new LP remaster of the album, remastered by Bruce Botnick and cut from high resolution audio by Bernie Grundman.{{cite web|url=https://www.rhino.com/article/in-stores-tomorrow-love-forever-changes-50th-anniversary-edition|title=In Stores Tomorrow: Love, FOREVER CHANGES: 50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION – Rhino|website=Rhino.com|access-date=April 25, 2019}}

In 2008, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and in 2011, the album was added to the National Recording Registry.{{cite web |url=http://psychedelicsight.com/recording-registry/ |title=Love, Dead in National Recording Registry |website=Psychedelicsight.com |access-date=May 23, 2012}} Rolling Stone ranked it number 180 on its 2020 list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.{{cite magazine| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/love-forever-changes-3-1063053/| date=September 22, 2020| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time| magazine= Rolling Stone| access-date=September 29, 2020}}. The album was also included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=0899190251|chapter=A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg70/basics.php|access-date=March 16, 2019}} It was voted number 12 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums 3rd Edition (2000).{{cite book|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|title-link=All Time Top 1000 Albums|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=Virgin Books|year=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=39}} In 2013, NME ranked the album number 37 on their list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Publishers such as AllMusic{{cite web |author1=Mark Deming |title=Love - Forever Changes |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/forever-changes-mw0000193671 |publisher=AllMusic |access-date=May 2, 2021}} and Slant Magazine{{cite magazine |author1=Sal Cinquemani |title=Review: Love, Forever Changes |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/love-forever-changes/ |magazine=Slant Magazine |date=April 13, 2008}} have praised the album as well. In a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4, the album was ranked 83rd in the 100 greatest albums of all time.{{cite web |url=http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/albums/results.html |title=The 100 Greatest Albums |publisher=Channel 4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050419014122/http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/G/greatest/albums/results.html |archive-date=April 19, 2005}} The album was included in the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.{{cite book |last=Dimery |first=Robert |title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die |publisher=Octopus Publishing Group, London |year=2009 |pages=42–43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PIyEkArSW0EC |isbn=9781844036240 |access-date= May 18, 2013}}

According to the New Musical Express, the Stone Roses' relationship with their future producer John Leckie was settled when they all agreed that Forever Changes was the "best record ever".{{cite web |url=http://www.nme.com/gallery/25_things_you_didn%27t_know_about_the_stone_roses/124337/22/1 |title=The Stone Roses – resurrected? |date=July 9, 2009 |quote=Reni said, 'What's your favourite record ever?' I came out with Love's 'Forever Changes' and they all fell about and said, 'That's our favourite record as well!' |website=Nme.com |access-date=September 26, 2011}} Robert Plant is an admirer of the album.{{cite news

|first=Jeff |last=Weiss |url=https://www.laweekly.com/loves-forever-changes-may-be-the-greatest-album-ever-made-in-l-a/ |title=Love's Forever Changes May Be the Greatest Album Ever Made in L.A. |newspaper=LA Weekly |accessdate=March 18, 2021}}

The staff of BrooklynVegan named the album as the best psychedelic rock album of the Summer of Love,{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=BrooklynVegan |title=The 50 best psychedelic rock albums of the Summer of Love |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/best-psychedelic-rock-albums-summer-of-love-1967/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=BrooklynVegan |language=en-US}} and NME named the album as the greatest psychedelic album of all time.{{Cite web |last=Blog |first=N. M. E. |date=2012-04-03 |title=10 best psychedelic albums of all time |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/listomania-top-10-psychedelic-albums-768703 |access-date=2025-03-20 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}

All songs written by Arthur Lee, except "Alone Again Or" and "Old Man" by Bryan MacLean. Details are taken from the 50th Anniversary Edition.[https://theseconddisc.com/2018/05/17/review-love-forever-changes-50th-anniversary-edition/ Review: Love, "Forever Changes: 50th Anniversary Edition" - The Second Disc]

{{Track listing

| headline = Side one

| extra_column = Recorded

| total_length = 21:32

| title1 = Alone Again Or

| length1 = 3:18

| extra1 = September 10, 1967

| title2 = A House Is Not a Motel

| length2 = 3:32

| extra2 = August 11 & September 10, 1967

| title3 = Andmoreagain

| length3 = 3:22

| extra3 = June 9, 12 & August 11, 1967

| title4 = The Daily Planet

| length4 = 3:31

| extra4 = June 9–10 & September 25, 1967

| title5 = Old Man

| length5 = 3:03

| extra5 = August 12 & September 25, 1967

| title6 = The Red Telephone

| length6 = 4:46

| extra6 = August 12 & September 21, 25, 1967

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| extra_column = Recorded

| title7 = Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale

| length7 = 3:35

| extra7 = September 10, 1967

| title8 = Live and Let Live

| length8 = 5:28

| extra8 = August 11, 1967

| title9 = The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This

| length9 = 3:09

| extra9 = August 11, 1967

| title10 = Bummer in the Summer

| length10 = 2:25

| extra10 = August 12, 1967

| title11 = You Set the Scene

| length11 = 6:50

| extra11 = August 12, 1967

| total_length = 21:27

}}

2001 Rhino bonus tracks

A single disc collection, presenting the original stereo album, remastered, plus the following bonus tracks:

{{Track listing

| headline =

| title12 = Hummingbirds

| length12 = 2:43

| note12 = Demo

| title13 = Wonder People (I Do Wonder)

| length13 = 3:28

| note13 = Outtake

| title14 = Alone Again Or

| length14 = 2:55

| note14 = Alternate Mix

| title15 = You Set the Scene

| length15 = 7:01

| note15 = Alternate Mix

| title16 = Your Mind and We Belong Together

| length16 = 8:16

| note16 = Tracking Sessions Highlights

| title17 = Your Mind and We Belong Together

| length17 = 4:27

| note17 = Single A-side

| title18 = Laughing Stock

| length18 = 2:31

| note18 = B-side of "Your Mind and We Belong Together"

}}

2008 Rhino "Collector's Edition" bonus tracks

A two-disc collection. Disc 1 presents the original stereo album, remastered, while disc 2 is a previously unreleased alternate stereo mix of the album, featuring the following bonus tracks:

{{Track listing

| headline =

| title12 = Wonder People (I Do Wonder)

| length12 = 3:21

| note12 = Outtake, Original Mix

| title13 = Hummingbirds

| length13 = 2:41

| note13 = Demo

| title14 = A House Is Not a Motel

| length14 = 3:11

| note14 = Backing Track

| title15 = Andmoreagain

| length15 = 3:08

| note15 = Alternate Electric Backing Track

| title16 = The Red Telephone

| length16 = 2:07

| note16 = Tracking Sessions Highlights

| title17 = Wooly Bully

| length17 = 1:27

| note17 = Outtake

| title18 = Alone Again Or

| length18 = 2:54

| note18 = Mono Single Remix

| title19 = Your Mind and We Belong Together

| length19 = 8:16

| note19 = Tracking Sessions Highlights

| title20 = Your Mind and We Belong Together

| length20 = 4:27

| note20 = Single A-side

| title21 = Laughing Stock

| length21 = 2:31

| note21 = B-side of "Your Mind and We Belong Together"

}}

2018 "50th Anniversary Edition" bonus discs

A box set comprising four CDs, one LP and one DVD: disc 2 presents the original mono album, remastered; disc 3 is the alternate stereo mix; disc 4 is outtakes, single versions, demos, session highlights and non album tracks from the era; disc 5 is the original stereo album on vinyl, remastered and cut from high resolution audio; and disc 6 is a 24/96 stereo mix on DVD, featuring a bonus music video.

{{Track listing

| headline = Disc 3

| title12 = Wonder People (I Do Wonder)

| length12 = 3:23

| note12 = Outtake; Alternate Mix

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Disc 4

| title1 = Wonder People (I Do Wonder)

| length1 = 3:20

| note1 = Outtake; Original Mix

| title2 = Alone Again Or

| length2 = 2:48

| note2 = Single Version

| title3 = A House Is Not a Motel

| length3 = 3:22

| note3 = Single Version

| title4 = Hummingbirds

| length4 = 2:41

| note4 = demo of "The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This"

| title5 = A House Is Not a Motel

| length5 = 3:06

| note5 = Backing Track

| title6 = Andmoreagain

| length6 = 3:06

| note6 = Alternate Electric Backing Track

| title7 = The Red Telephone

| length7 = 2:07

| note7 = Tracking Sessions Highlights

| title8 = Wooly Bully

| length8 = 1:25

| note8 = Domingo Samudio; Outtake

| title9 = Live and Let Live

| length9 = 5:37

| note9 = Backing Track

| title10 = Wonder People (I Do Wonder)

| length10 = 3:30

| note10 = Outtake; Backing Track

| title11 = Your Mind and We Belong Together

| length11 = 8:16

| note11 = Tracking Sessions Highlights

| title12 = Your Mind and We Belong Together

| length12 = 4:27

| note12 = Single A-side

| title13 = Laughing Stock

| length13 = 2:34

| note13 = B-side of "Your Mind and We Belong Together"

| title14 = Alone Again Or

| length14 = 2:51

| note14 = Mono Single Remix

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Disc 6

| title12 = Your Mind and We Belong Together

| length12 = 4:27

| note12 = Video

}}

According to the 2001 reissue CD booklet.{{Sfn|2001 reissue|p=21}}

Love

• Arthur Lee – guitar, vocals
• Bryan MacLean – guitar, vocals
• Johnny Echols – guitar
• Ken Forssi – bass guitar
• Michael Stuart-Ware – drums, percussion

Additional musicians{{cite web|url=http://www.themortonreport.com/entertainment/music/album-reviews-love-forever-changes-50th-anniversary-edition-and-more-new-music/|title=Album Reviews: Love – Forever Changes (50th Anniversary Edition) and More New Music|first=Jeff|last=Burger|date=May 8, 2018|website=The Morton Report|access-date=April 25, 2019}}

• Carol Kaye – bass guitar on "Andmoreagain" and "The Daily Planet"
• Don Randi – keyboards on "Andmoreagain" and "The Daily Planet"; piano on "Old Man" and "Bummer in the Summer"; harpsichord on "The Red Telephone"
• Billy Strange – electric guitar on "Andmoreagain" and "The Daily Planet"
• Hal Blaine – drums on "Andmoreagain" and "The Daily Planet"
• Neil Young – arranger on "The Daily Planet"{{cite web|url=https://www.laweekly.com/music/loves-forever-changes-at-50-arthur-lees-masterpiece-still-transcends-its-era-8829608|title=Love's Forever Changes May Be the Greatest Album Ever Made in L.A.|first=Jeff|last=Weiss|date=November 8, 2017|website=L.A. Weekly|access-date=April 25, 2019}}
• David Angel – arranger
• Robert Barene, Arnold Belnick, James Getzoff, Marshall Sosson, Darrel Terwilliger – violin
• Norman Botnick – viola
• Jesse Ehrlich – cello
• Chuck Berghofer – double bass
• Bud Brisbois, Roy Caton, Ollie Mitchell – trumpet
• Richard Leith – trombone

Production and design

{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|

• Bruce Botnick and Arthur Lee – Producers
• Bruce Botnick – Engineer
• Jac Holzman – Production Supervisor{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/forever-changes-mw0000193671/credits|title=Forever Changes – Love – Credits|website=AllMusic|access-date=April 25, 2019}}
• Zal Schreiber – Mastering
• William S. Harvey – Cover Design
• Bob Pepper – Cover Art{{cite web|url=https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/music/sound-and-vision-love-s-forever-changes-with-cover-illustration-by-bob-pepper/|title=Juxtapoz Magazine – Sound and Vision: Love's "Forever Changes" With Cover Illustration by Bob Pepper|website=Juxtapoz.com|access-date=April 25, 2019}}
• Ronnie Haran – Back Cover Photo
• Andrew Sandoval – Project Producer
• Andrew Sandoval, Dan Hersch, Bill Inglot – Remastering, Disc 1
• Steve Hoffman – Remastering, Disc 2, tracks 1–11
• Dan Hersch and Andrew Sandoval – Remastering, Disc 2, tracks 12–21
• Michael Kachko – Product Manager
• Andrew Sandoval – Liner Notes
• Amanda Smith – Art Supervision
• Vanessa Atkins and Cory Frye – Editorial Supervision

}}

• Timeline of 1960s counterculture

{{Reflist}}

• {{Cite book |last=Einarson |first=John |author-link=John Einarson |url=https://archive.org/details/foreverchangesar0000eina |title=Forever Changes: Arthur Lee and the Book of Love |date=2010 |publisher=Jawbone Press |isbn=978-1-906002-31-2 |location=UK & USA |url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite AV media notes |title=Forever Changes |date=2001 |others=Love |id=R2 76717 |publisher=Elektra Records, Rhino Records |type=Liner notes |ref={{harvid|2001 reissue}}}}
• {{Cite book |last=Hultkrans |first=Andrew |url=https://archive.org/details/foreverchanges00hult |title=Forever Changes |series=33⅓ |date=2003 |publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-8264-1493-9 |location=New York City & London |url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite book |last=Moon |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Moon |url=https://archive.org/details/1000recordingsto00moon_0 |title=1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die |date=2008 |publisher=Workman Publishing Company |isbn=978-0-7611-3963-8 |location=New York City |url-access=registration}}
• {{Cite book |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |author-link=Richie Unterberger |url=https://archive.org/details/eightmileshighfo00sanf |title=Eight Miles High: Folk-Rock's Flight from Haight-Ashbury to Woodstock |date=2003 |publisher=Backbeat Books |isbn=978-0-87930-743-1 |location=San Francisco |url-access=registration}}

• [https://beta.prx.org/stories/106426 Inside the National Recording Registry segment]

{{Love (band)}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Love (band) albums

Category:1967 albums

Category:Albums produced by Bruce Botnick

Category:Elektra Records albums

Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients

Category:Rhino Entertainment albums

Category:Albums produced by Arthur Lee (musician)

Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings

Category:Baroque pop albums

Category:Psychedelic folk albums

Category:Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders

Category:United States National Recording Registry albums