LOVE was another great band from the 60's and of course VERY Doors related.
I think it would be great to have this special topic about the band who was such a big example for The Doors.
Forever Changes is the third album by American rock band Love, released by Elektra Records in November 1967. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Forever Changes 40th in its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. It has also been chosen one of the all-time greatest rock albums by several other prominent publications[citation needed]. In addition, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008.
Sooooo....what about this?...
I have read this story but I never really read the album title this way...
The title of the album came from a story that Lee had heard about a friend-of-a-friend who had dumped his girlfriend. She exclaimed, "You said you would love me forever!", and he replied, "Well, forever changes." Lee also noted that since the name of the band was Love, the full title was "Love Forever Changes".(with "changes" being a VERB... -wiki
I've always seen Forever Changes as a concept album--loosely...of loss of innocence and foretelling of the disintegration of the peace and love movement and the hippie life in general.
Conceived during the Summer Of Love (1967), this was a rather daring prophesy. It was for most the high days of peace love and grass....
I recently relistened to FC but with a twist: I played it all the way through but with the volume turned down low (I usually listen to it or any rock music loud, the way it should be). The intention was to see if there were any nuances or whatever that I may have missed or forgotten. While I didn't hear any secret messages there was one point that really did stand out very clearly: Michael is a very good drummer. I don't know if it was intuitive or whatever, but the drumming on his songs in particular really fit the piece of music it is supporting to a tee. When they are heard without the guitars overpowering them the drums are subtle but definitive. FC may have been Arthur's creation but when really heard with the ears the album is everyone in LoVE's creation; he might downplay his contribution but Michael is owed much of the sublety that is the albums highpoint. If you haven't tried listening to it like this in a while, do it. You might be surprised at what you hear.
But the drums are what I listen to first on almost every album, being a drummer myself. Michael's touch is genius. I can hear his sensitive classical training in every rock beat.
Interesting that you bring up cymbals because their use in FC was a big factor. They were effective but not jarring. Take Clark/Hilldale: a driving song where the cymbals really punctuated the drumming effect, but they were not over-loud. I'm not sure if it is the mix of the songs or any conscious effort by Michael to soften the approach (maybe both?), but it really helped shape the album. As a counterpoint, compare them with John Densmore's drumming at the climax of 'The End'. Two totally different approachs and sounds, yet both equally appropriate and essential for the music they supported.
I'm going to try another low volume listening again sometime and maybe give the bass more attention. It seemed to me that Kenny maybe got short changed a bit in the final mix. If I'm not mistaken they mixed the bass and drums in the same track and the bass may not have gotten the sound it deserved.
