Forever Changing: The Golden Age Of Elektra Records, 1963-1973
(Elektra/Rhino)
Whether you were there or missed it the first time around and want to hear what the big deal was, Forever Changing is as close as we’re likely to get to the sound of the Sixties in the 21st century. The dates don’t match, but the cultural explosion was so extensive it couldn’t be contained by the calendar, and here is audible proof. Ostensibly a tribute to Jac Holzman, Elektra Records founder in 1950 and president until 1973, this 5-CD box set fascinates with its breadth and depth. At 117 tracks, more than half never before on CD, Forever Changing reflects the multifaceted sounds made by some of the most exceptional musicians of the day. Label mainstays Judy Collins, the Doors, Love, and Phil Ochs are well represented, while obscurities like Simon Stokes & the Nighthawks, Dick Rosmini, and Hamid Hamilton Camp appear next to success stories Carly Simon, Harry Chapin, and Bread. Debut recordings from the Stooges, MC5, and Queen are joined by rarities from the Beefeaters (later the Byrds), Stalk-Forrest Group (who became Blue Öyster Cult), and Eric Clapton & the Powerhouse as well as eccentricities like Nico, the Holy Modal Rounders, and David Peel & the Lower East Side. The set’s book focuses on the songs and the artists, giving a perspective that shouldn’t be unexpected. Among its allegories, Forever Changing, a titular play on Love’s masterpiece, summarizes the rise of one of the first independent recording companies, run by an executive with a taste for folk music and audio engineering, into a music industry force that’s astounding once detailed. For hardcores, there’s also a $200 special edition in a 12-inch-by-12-inch box with a hardbound book and extras including a CD-ROM of Holzman’s book, Follow the Music. That’s no “Little Red Book.”
This article appears in February 16 • 2007.