Tribute albums are notoriously slippery affairs at the best of times, so the likelihood of taking apart one of Rock History's greatest, most otherworldly albums and expecting to re-invent it with panache sounds like an extremely tall order.
Consequently, while this writer was intrigued when a good friend recently pressed this relatively obscure Spanish-label tribute CD into his hot little hand, he was intrigued, but not exactly expectant. I mean, let's come clean here: Love's 'Forever Changes' stands alone: a timeless record where beauty and darkness collide like nowhere else. It is without question a high entry in this writer's Top 20 albums of all time.
So the odds really were against 'Unloved Again' being much cop, not least when most of the artists proffering tracks are obscure provincial Spanish indie outfits who haven't travelled much beyond their country's borders. Yet, against very steep odds indeed, 'Unloved Again' acquits itself remarkably well and after several detailed listens actually asserts itself as something of an essential sister item to Arthur Lee and co's seminal 1967 album.
Let's not get things out of proportion here, mind. No-one's suggesting anything here surpasses the spine-chilling magnificence of 'Forever Changes' itself, but – taken on its' own terms – 'Unloved Again' is a consistent and often surprisingly vital listen.
The only musicians this writer was previously familiar with were the Berlin-based singer/ songwriters AIDAN BARTLEY and DAVID JOHN HULL. Individually, they provide two of the album's stand-out tracks, with Bartley stripping the apocalyptic 'A House Is Not a Motel' of its' frenzied guitars, but instilling it with a Bad Seeds-style intensity, tumbling pianos, discreet chamber-folk strings and a super charismatic vocal and Hull turning 'The Good Humour Man, He Sees Everything This Way' into a seemingly endless, dreamy affair which is truly enchanting.
All the other artists are unknown quantities, but in the main they bring something notable to the table. Yes, there are a few underachievers, but mostly they're the ones who play it straight and without the necessary imagination. THE TEA SERVENTS' 'Live & Let Live' is probably the weakest track here, simply because it's a faithful, but pale facsimile of the original. Likewise BISCUIT'S pedestrian 'Bummer In The Summer' – although it's lifted by a lithe flute solo – and to a lesser extent LITTLE FISH'S 'The Daily Planet', though its' bright Fender Rhodes piano, '70s-style disco rhythms and funky elasticity win you over in the end.
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None of these are howlers, however, and much of the remainder is inspired. Although 'Forever Changes' is rightly regarded as Arthur Lee's masterpiece, Bryan Maclean's two wonderful tracks, 'Alone Again Or' and 'Old Man' are equally essential and here both remain in safe hands. DA CAPO grace 'Alone Again Or' with a nocturnal, G Love & Special Sauce-style jazzy stroll, while LA BUENA VIDA'S take of 'Old Man' has a lovely floaty, ambient vibe all its' own and its' gentle caress soon weaves its' way inside your heart.
That all-important 'what-the-fuck-was-that?' moment must surely go to THE MARRIED MONK. Their (his?) version of 'Andmoreagain' is virtually unrecognisable, as its' machines-running-down-at-3AM electronica and beyond the grave vocal reduces it to an eerie shell capable of scaring the listener shitless. Even better, though, are KERKHOFF'S dry, but soulful re-make of 'Maybe The People Would Be The Times or Between Clark & Hilldale' which completely discards the bossa nova playfulness of the original and the epic, grandstanding versions of 'The Red Telephone' (CARROTS) and 'You Set The Scene' (LA HABITACION ROJA) which may not give you goosebumps like the originals, but make up for it with majesty and muscle respectively.
This tribute to 'Forever Changes', then, flies in the face of unenviable odds with spirit and creativity intact. According to the Grabaciones en el Mar website, it's currently available at the bargain price of 6 Euros and it's an obscurity that's more than worth such a modest price of admission. As tribute albums go, 'Unloved Again' is a real David and Goliath act and frequently quite extraordinary.
(http://www.grabacionesenelmar.com)
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