Forever Changes

This numbered limited edition set gives the masterpiece the white glove treatment and golden touch of analogue sound it has always deserved. Almost unlimited volume headroom, enormous instrumental separation, transparent clarity, artefact-free ambience and precise balance appear against a black jet background. The music seems to float in the clouds, while the woody tones of acoustic guitars and the brassy sounds of French horns emerge in realistic detail. Turn it up as loud as you want; the only limit is your system's capacity.

Commercially ignored upon its release in November 1967, "Forever Changes" confronts the alienation, paranoia, violence and strife that would soon engulf the counterculture movement and send the Summer of Love into a tailspin. In addition to its lyrical themes and profane malaise, the record also owes its name to its interwoven arrangements, stitched together from Latin guitar parts, subtle folk harmonies, mariachi-inspired French horns and hushed strings.

The seemingly opposite combination of ominous, dark reflections set amidst lush, light melodies gives Forever Changes a special tension of claustrophobia and openness, gloom and ecstasy, ugliness and elegance that no other record in the rock canon has. Much of this contrast is due to the mental state of leader Arthur Lee and his astute observations. Lee, whose repressed romanticism often surfaces even in the midst of the darkest shadows and most cynical moments, believed he would die soon, and thus invested his narratives with everything from lingering hopes to acidic decay and the chilling testimony of a Vietnam veteran.