Classic Day – Melt With Me

Making a monument from sonic prowess isn’t something that comes naturally, and under that immense tension becomes Love on their third, and final original line-up release of Forever Changes.

Originally released in 1967, Love was a leader in the psychedelic age for creating and orchestrating these illusive production choices that embrace the flower power frame. Primarily based on folk backing, Love uses these electric elements. Especially with three guitarists, Arthur Lee, Bryan MacLean, and Johnny Echols who attack like a symphony of strings together.

Covering the bass is Ken Forssi who runs a rhythm section alongside Michael Stuart-Ware on percussion where while timid at first, the percussion becomes more intriguing through each run.

Oftentimes, bands of this style and timeframe in sound are simply layered with a large focus on the vocal timbre, Love has those components but backs up these same moments by adopting splashes of color with intricate instrumentation. Especially on the track “The Daily Planet” where the percussion from Stuart-Ware has these runs and rhythms that are both substantial and fulfilling.

While it does not age in the same way that many of the considered classic albums as there is a layer of dust and a strange odor to the record, similar to a dollar bin. The piece “The Red Telephone” is completely reminiscent of a blind buy record that has this abstract, but instantly skippable poetry section that describes nonsense but has some catchy lines toward the end of the track.

That is the case until describing, “They’re locking them up today, they’re throwing away the key. I wonder who it’ll be tomorrow, you or me?” As more of an anti-nuclear immolation track, Love combines the free will and the ability to strike back. The final lines of hearing “Freedom, freedom, freedom” as the instrumental draws out before Lee is left alone.

Almost to be a king of counterculture, Love is engaging for different reasons and most of that comes from the poetry and nearly spoken word level of description. However, on the mostly instrumental track, “The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This” is glitchy and covered in these sectional breaks where Love decides to rip through the speakers with sporadic strings.

Horns and ribbons come out, giving Forever Changes a pedestal of progressive but formidable sound. It is a different jump, but still has an easy-to-ride flow that transposes conformity.

Listen To Forever Changes Here!!! – Spotify/iTunes