Forever Changes (1967) — Love

This album was recommended to me by Wave, the manager of Sound Spectrum in Laguna Beach, who said it’s one of his top three albums ever. I was already excited going in, but it still exceeded my expectations.

It’s heavy in meaning, but light in sound, balancing lyrics about mortality and the ever-presence of evil and violence with a folk-psychedelic palette that feels singular to its era. A lot of the themes are still painfully relevant, and the closing track ties everything together in a way that left me thinking for hours.

This is one you set time aside for, especially for the first listen. Maybe it’ll move into casual rotation eventually, but right now it asks for (and rewards) full attention. Honestly, this might be a perfect album.