And Now More Again

 

Love - Forever Changes [MFSL 2-402 USA 2016 2x45RPM 24-Bit 176.4kHz FLAC]

Whilst I await the arrival of a HumminGuru ultrasonic cleaner, I am ripping some more recent pressings, the majority of which should be in minty tip-top condition. Therefore, next up is the Mobile Fidelity double 45rpm edition of Love's classic Forever Changes. MoFi make big claims over their Gain 2™ Ultra Analog 45RPM 180g Series, stating that these are mastered at half speed from the original master tapes where possible, capturing and uncovering as before undiscovered sonic information. I am not technically proficient enough to understand how this makes a difference or decide whether it is just something dreamed up by their marketing department.

Possibly considered as the leaders in their field of quality reissues, they have been around for a while, MoFi have had their share of issues - most infamously a very expensive Beatles box set made from the wrong master tapes, there have also been quality control issues - likely due to production pressures on their pressing contractors, RTI. The Chicago label's dominance is now being challenged out of Kansas by Analogue Productions, who have their own pressing plant and therefore keep quality control fully in-house. MoFi have responded by upgrading to 'super vinyl' for their new releases and moving their packing & distribution away from a very busy RTI to their own facility in Nevada. 

Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab releases remain high quality products and are great investments for the serious vinyl collectors among us. So what does this release sound like....? 

Firstly, I previously posted my rip of the 2012 remaster on Rhino Records by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering. This was widely acknowledged as the best at the time of what was honestly, a badly recorded record. Since then we have had some dreadful digital remasters, which although they sparkle, the compression and over eq'ing has destroyed the space and separation of the original recording. Mono versions exist however reports suggest that the most recent are folded down from the original stereo mix. For me, I am happy with my 1987 AAD compact disc, the 2012 Rhino and very much this!

The MoFi mastering returns us to the widescreen experience of how Forever Changes was intended, the bass throbs in your left speaker - you can even hear those bass strings vibrate and the rhythm is well & truly pinned down by the patter of snares & toms and the thump of the kick drum. The guitars sit firmly to your right, whilst vocals & strings float effortlessly mid-soundstage, with the horns just behind. The primitive stereo effects deployed in 1967 are all too evident, however I am a fan of the rawness of tracks like A House Is Not A Motel and really enjoy the way the instruments swap between the channels in the mix. If you are as well, then this pressing really brings that out. The quiet sections in the left channel reveal the hiss of the original master tape, however the slightly noisier than expected vinyl does over-emphasise this. When I was cleaning the rip up for archiving, I noticed a few spikes and higher frequency blips in the spectro, on closer listening these are the sound of Arthur Lee's fingers on his highly strung fretboard and the rings on his hand occasionally hitting the strings. 

So which is the best version of Forever Changes, well that is up to the listener. Whilst I know many will be cheering for the multi-disc digital editions as conveniently packaged comprehensive versions, maybe somebody has the ridiculously expensive Electric Recording Company pressing from 2020 (I haven't heard great things about ERC value for money), the Rhino 2012 pressing is excellent value for money (but avoid the white vinyl version), maybe there is an original sixties version or seventies repress which delivers the goods. I will stick with this one for now, and continue to give my left-hand speaker woofer a good work out.

A1 Alone Again Or

A2 A House Is Not A Motel

A3 Andmoreagain

A4 The Daily Planet

A5 Old Man

A6 The Red Telephone

B1 Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale

B2 Live And Let Live

B3 The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This

B4 Bummer In The Summer

B5 You Set The Scene