Forever Changes: A House Is Not A Motel

[silentseason]

"A House Is Not A Motel"
From: Forever Changes, side one, song two
Running time: 3:25
-Recorded: August 11 and September 10 1967, Sunset Sound
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead vocal: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Michael Stuart
-Some of the lyrics originated in a chance meeting between Arthur, Johnny and a Vietnam vet in San Francisco at a gig with Janis Joplin. The vet explained how when blood seeps into the mud it will turn gray. It was a frightening experience as the inebriated soldier offered to show them this with his service revolver. Fortunately cooler heads prevailed.
-The guitar run at the end is Johnny soloing against himself. It was double tracked, but on the second solo Johnny had to play from memory as the headphones he was using did not function properly.
-Quotable: Michael relates some of the mood during the practice sessions for Forever Changes:

"The rehearsals for Forever Changes all took place at Arthur's new (Trip) house in the canyon... again, up to the top of Kirkwood, sharp left at Elmer Valentine's pad... then crank it around and up a small single-lane blacktop and dirt road that I haven't yet been able to find on the map, because you need like a microscope. The rehearsals started around one, as usual, but this time there was no playing of records or showing tricks by pigeons and very little joking around, just a little getting high and then right to the business of learning the tunes."

-IMHO: The guitar dual at the end is one of the most effective uses of a guitar to artistically effect war. For that era, I think it is just as good as Hendrix's "Star Spangled Banner", and it came two years prior to it.
-Fun fact: The title emerged from the bands residency at the Castle. Whenever some overly rowdy guests were making too much noise Arthur would sometimes call out "This is a house, not a f****g motel".

-Lyrics:

At my house I've got no shackles
You can come and look if you want to
In the halls you'll see the mantles
Where the light shines dim all around you
And the streets are paved with gold and if
Someone asks you, you can call my name

You are just a thought that someone
Somewhere somehow feels you should be here
And it's so for real to touch
To smell, to feel, to know that you are here
And the streets are paved with gold and if
Someone asks you, you can call my name
You can call my name
I hear you calling my name yeah all right now

By the time that I'm through singing
The bells from the schools of wars will be ringing
More confusions, blood transfusions
The news today will be the movies for tomorrow
And the water's turned to blood, and if
You don't think so
Go turn on your tub
And it it's mixed with mud
You'll see it turn to gray
And you can call my name
I hear you calling my name

[jamestkirk]

One of my favorite LoVE songs...and of course the guitar duel is Johnny outdoing himself twice!

His brilliance on guitar is highly underrated, except by those who know and love him! One of the best & one of the first to use the dual neck 6 & 12 string guitars onstage.