"And if you see Andmoreagain, then you will know Andmoreagain
For you can see you in her eyes
Then you feel your heart beating, bom-bom-bom-bom"
I`m pretty sure that`s what the late Arthur Lee is singing, but I couldn`t begin to tell you what it means, or who or what Andmoreagain is or might be. What`s more, I`m not sure I ever want to know. So many of the lyrics on Forever Changes are elliptical - occasionally two voices even sing different words at the same time, which is a neat trick no other band seems to have since tried - that they remain pleasingly, mystifyingly intriguing.
There aren`t many albums that are unique, in that they sound like nothing else, breaking the mould not only of their time, but for all time. I think of Astral Weeks, Marquee Moon, Trout Mask Replica, `The Band` and one or two of Neil Young`s early ones. Forever Changes is a one-off, it`s the one-off to end them all. Love`s previous album, the brilliant Da Capo, gave little notice of the jaw-dropping wonders to come a mere few months later, and their following albums tended to be something of a letdown (though Four Sail has its moments).
How can anyone adequately describe this music, especially to one who may not have heard it yet (oh lucky listener)? It is mournful mariachi folk... it`s acoustic soul... it`s off the wall eclectic LA rock-folk... Get the picture? No, of course not.
I can`t remember exactly how I felt when I first heard this on its release, at the age of 16 or 17, but after 45 years it still sounds fresh as paint, still unlike anything else. It`s never been something I play too often, but when I`m in the mood for it there`s nothing else that quite fits the bill. Each word, note, phrase, has the weird inevtability of music that must surely have been around - forever.
I`m winging this review, because if I really told you how I feel about this incredible music I`d lapse into overwrought language such as - well, incredible, awe-inspiring, wondrous, stunning...
Alone Again Or is easily the most famous song - the only famous song - on FC, and is still one of the most iconic songs from its decade, along with She`s Not There, The Letter, Groovin`, Monday Monday, Waterloo Sunset...to pick a random few. It wasn`t even written or sung by Arthur Lee, but was the work of Bryan MacLean (now sadly gone too), one of the band`s three guitarists. He also wrote and sings lead on another track, the hesitantly tender Old Man.
The rest is pure Lee. If you think REM have strange lyrics (when you can make them out!) then listen to Love. But it isn`t the words that hit you between the eyes, though they help, but the oddly bittersweet, often acoustic music coming through the speakers. There`d been nothing like FC before, with trumpets suddenly taking over for a lead break rather than guitar, soaring orchestral arrangements behind an unlikely rock band...see what I mean? Words fail me.
You get a terrific booklet with this, and seven extra tracks, including an alternate mix of Alone Again Or - what a remarkable song it is! - and both sides of
a superb single, Your Mind And We Belong Together/Laughing Stock, which I remember buying, for about ten shillings in those days.
The whole thing is one of the most essential albums of the era. I`ve been listening to it as I type this, after too long away from its wayward charms, excited all over again by this mad, dazzling, unpredictable, unexpected music.
Bring Forever Changes into your life.
It`s unforgettable.
Andmoreagain...moreagain...again
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