LoVE: My Flash On You

[silentseason]

"My Flash On You"
From: LoVE, side one, song four
-Running time: 2:05
-Recorded: January 27, 1966 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead vocal: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-Ostensibly an anti-drug song despite it's title, the lyrics would seem almost prophetic in lieu of future difficulties experienced by the band.
-Andrew Sandoval points out similarities between this song and "Hey Joe". Both musically and lyrically he is on the mark.
-Quotable: Although he didn't play on the debut album, Michael enthuses about these songs and how easily they transferred to the concert stage:

".... I always enjoyed playing the tunes from the first album, maybe because those are the songs I used to enjoy listening to when I was drumming with The Sons of Adam. Also, the driving rhythms of songs like "My Flash On You", "Can't Explain", "You, I'll Be Following", (and really most of the material from the first album), lend themselves so well to drums."

-IMHO: This is a Kenny Forssi standout tune all the way, as his fuzz bass dominates the song overall and the solo sections specifically. Michael offers this about Kenny's playing:

"Kenny Forssi has never gotten anywhere near the credit he deserves for being one of the all-time great bassists for any era, jazz or rock, and the impact he had on the unique sound of the group was irrefutably profound."

Fun Fact: How times have changed. As opposed to the marathon recording of today to produce an album, for the debut LoVE needed just 21 hours spaced over four days to produce 15 usuable tracks.

Lyrics:

I don't want to be in your company
I don't need you to take care of me
Let me alone, let me alone, let me alone, can't you let me be
All I want in this world is to say I'm a man that's free

People talk about the way I look
I say come on and say it, I got enough to write a book
But don't they know, don't they know, don't they know it's a waste
of breath
'Cause I don't wanna be like them, all I want is to be myself
(Lemme hear you play it one time now)

Don't try to force your smuggled drugs my way
'Cause baby, I cleansed my soul and I say that's the way it's gonna stay
But you can put me down, all around, on the ground, anyway you choose
Get your kicks with your fix, but this time I know it's you who lose
(Lemme hear you play it one more time)