Love : “Forever Changes” (1967) : <i> Elektra</i>

Before the Doors, L.A. had Love. As legend has it, Morrison and Manzarek dreamed that their new band one day would be “as big as Love.” As things turned out, of course, Love has been left in the shadows that the Doors cast over the city, and it’s a pity, because “Forever Changes,” in its own hallucinated way, is every bit as essential a record as the Doors’ debut, released the same year. Indeed, it is arguably the greatest example of pure psychedelic rock ever recorded. This is airy psychedelia, the sort that has become stock fodder for ‘60s mockery, except that Love’s sound--even today--is so irresistibly beautiful. The vocals by Arthur Lee and Bryan Maclean combine with a then-innovative blend of strings and guitars to create softly flowing, ethereal moods worthy of the band’s name. Lee’s acid-soaked lyrics, meanwhile, are by turns brilliant and incoherently stratospheric, as his titles suggest: “Andmoreagain,” “Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale,” “The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This.”

Want acid visions without blotter side effects? You can do no better than to close your eyes with a good pair of headphones and a copy of “Forever Changes.”