Forever Changes: Live in Concert
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DVD details
Artist: LoveDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
DVD Release Date: 2005-04-19
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Snapper UK
DVD Reviews of Forever Changes: Live in Concert
DVD Review: Beyond all odds, an outstanding disc
Summary: 5 Stars
Bizarrely I only learned of the existence of this DVD about two weeks ago and when I did I immediately bumped it to the top of my Netflix queue. I received it two days later and almost immediately listened to it. Then, a couple of days later, Arthur Lee died. I was shocked. The two events took place so close to one another that in a bizarre way they seemed casually linked.
If one knows much about Arthur Lee's life it would have seemed highly unlikely that this would have been a good disc. Some of the high points include drug abuse, mental problems brought on by drugs abuse, and a six-year stint in prison on a firearms charge. It seemed highly unlikely that Lee nearing sixty would be anything other than a shell of the performer he had once been; it seemed more likely that the concert performance captured on the disc would be an embarrassment. But if you are a Love and FOREVER CHANGES fan like I am, giving it a listen was not an option: it was a necessity. Shockingly, Arthur Lee not only did not embarrass himself, he showed just what an extraordinary piece of music FOREVER CHANGES truly is. No, his voice isn't as good as ever. He strains a bit on the high notes, even the notes he sang on the original album recording; he strains even more on the bits sung originally by Bryan MacLean, who had a higher pitched voice. But it is perhaps 90% as good as it was when he was 22. Given his long history of self-abuse and misfortune that is pretty astonishing.
Many of the obituaries following Lee's death last week of leukemia (he was 61) commented on FOREVER CHANGES. Many noted that it almost always makes the top ten of lists of the Ten Best Albums ever. Some even nominated it as the best album ever. I won't go that far, but there is no question that it is one of the undisputed masterpieces of rock. Love had built quite a reputation for its hard driving, high-energy rock numbers. They played loud and they played fast. But FOREVER CHANGES was frequently quiet, often contemplative. The electric guitars had been replaced by acoustic ones. It was almost, though not quite, soft rock. Some said it sounded like elevator music if elevator music could somehow be transformed into high art. The lyrics were bizarre, strange, unearthly, with one non sequitur following another, the songs not really producing any single message, but being so open that anyone could create their own subtext. Despite their opaqueness, the lyrics were nonetheless unforgettable, as fascinating as those strange song titles: "Andmoreagain," "The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This," and "Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hillsdale." The lyrics were coupled with what was then and remain now music that is almost impossibly beautiful for rock and roll. And the beauty of the music is dramatically embellished by some of the finest arrangements in the history of rock. In addition to the musicians comprising Love, Lee brought in horns and a small string orchestra. The result was, as nearly everyone acknowledges, one of the great albums ever recorded. Most remarkably, it is an album that I have come to like more and more over the years. I have probably listened to it well over a hundred times and I unquestionably liked it more on the 101st listen than on the 11th.
But what about the concert captured on the DVD? It is pretty much a note for note reproduction of the studio album. There are some minor differences: a guitar solo here that wasn't on the original, a back up vocal that has been added. But all in all the differences are incredibly slight. As mentioned, Lee, though looking very much his age, nonetheless did a remarkable job. The audience clearly wants him to do well and he doesn't disappoint. You expect to cut him slack, but are thrilled that you don't have to. That a man who has had a life as hard as Lee's can still produce such lovely music is truly exhilarating.
Love, of course, no longer exists. The band sitting in is in fact Baby Lemonade. What personality they normally possess as a band (they did a very good album that I own called HIGH LIFE SUITE) is completely submerged in channeling the original album. The band is rounded out by first-rate horn and string sections. The result is something truly magical. Is it as good as the original album? No. Is it a good introduction to the album? I would guess that it is, though I do think that anyone wanting to possess an even moderately decent music collection is going to want a copy of the original. For me the joy was seeing Arthur Lee alive and well on stage.
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