Every original LoVE song in capsule: 1966-68

[silentseason]

Nothing new here, just a compilation of all the song posts previously done. They are in order into one thread for convenience.

[silentseason]

"My Little Red Book" from LoVE, side one song one.
-Running time: 2:30
-Recorded at Sunset Sound January 25, 1966. Last song recorded that day.
-Written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach, one of two non orginals from first album.
-Lead vocal: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-From the motion picture "What's New, Pussycat?" that Arthur and Johnny saw. They liked the song but when they set about organizing it they had to play from memory and ultimately sped up the song and into a major key.
-Original version done by Manfred Mann.
-Released in March 1966, it was the most radio friendly, pop song of the band's career; it was also their first national hit, peaking at # 52.
-Band appeared on "American Band Stand" on June 18,1966 to promote the song. Reportedly Arthur and Bryan's horseplay during the Bobby Fuller Four
performance earned them a permanent non-invite back from Dick Clark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftO9ClIhFAo

-First Elektra song ever to play on top 40 radio. Jac Holzman said when he first heard the song on his car radio he pulled over to cry in joy.
-Fun Fact: Purportedly Bacharach did not like the bands version of his song, but Snoopy had this to say: "They wrote it and we took it".

-Lyrics:

I just got out my little red book
The minute that you said goodbye I thumbed right through my little red book
I wasn't gonna sit and cry And I went from A to Z I took out every pretty girl in town
They danced with me and as I held them

Chorus:
All I did was talk about you
Hear your name and I start to cry
There's just no getting over you... oh, no...

There ain't no girl in my little red book
Who could ever replace your charms
And each girl in my little red book
Knows you're the one I'm thinkin' of
Oh won't you please come back
Without your precious love I can't go on
Where can love be I need you so much
[repeat chorus]

Oh won't you please come back
Without your precious love I can't go on
It's haunting me I need you so much

All I did was talk and talk about you
Hear your name and I start to cry
There's just no getting over you
All I did was talk and talk about you
Hear your name and I start to cry
There's just no getting over you... oh no

[silentseason]

"Can't Explain"
From: LoVE, side one, song two
-Running time: 2:35
-Recorded: January 24, 1966 at Sunset Sound
-Written by: Echols/Fleckenstein/Lee
-Lead vocal, drums: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Recorded during first official recording session for Elektra; reportedly Snoopy was not present this day so Arthur was drummer during this session.
-Second song recorded that day.
-Original title 'What A Shame'. The Rolling Stones, Now! album (issued in Feb 1965) had a song with this name which prompted then bassist John Fleckenstein to point this out. Even though he had left the band at the time the song was recorded they gave Fleck songwriting co-credit, his only one for LoVE.
-New lyrics were written in the studio at the time it was recorded.
-IMHO: The guitar break, though brief and not flashy, really drives this song.
-Fun fact: This is the LoVE song that can't escape ties with Britain. Even after changing the title from 'What A Shame', the new name bears almost the same title (though they are completely different sounding) as the Who's first hit in 1964, "I Can't Explain".

-Lyrics:

Can't explain
Nothin' seems to go right
Can't explain
Nothin' seems to go right

Well now you wake up in the mornin'
Find your poor self dead
Well now you wake up in the mornin'
Find your poor self dead

What a shame
You always wanna start a fight
Can't explain
You always wanna start a fight

Let it go, what I say, yeah
Can't explain
You always wanna start a fight
Can't explain
You always wanna start a fight

Let it go, one more time, yeah

[silentseason]

"A Message To Pretty"
From: LoVE, side one, song three
-Running Time: 3:10
-Recorded: January 27, 1966 Sunset Sound. Last session for first album.
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead vocal, harmonica: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-B side to "My Litte Red Book".
-One of only three recorded songs to feature Arthur's harmonica playing.
-Written by Arthur about a girlfriend he had named Anita Billings, who he nicknamed "Pretty".
-One of two songs from debut album over three minutes in length.
-Arthur wrote the song on the organ, which was then translated to guitar by Johnny and Bryan.
-Cover of this song recorded by at least 12 different groups.
-Quotable: The first album was the most guitar laden of the group's three. Johnny has this to say about how they created this sound:
"I played all of the lead guitar parts, and flourishes, and Bryan did the finger picking. We would begin with us both playing acoustic guitar on the basic tracks. Afterwards, the two of us would work out a natural rhythmic counterpoint. We would play off each other, in effect, orchestrating cello, and viola parts on the guitars. He had a way of weaving in and around the song, giving it a more intricate feel. Bryan had an innate ability to hear harmonic balance, and was a supremely gifted musician, who was integral to the sound of the group."
-IMHO: First recorded instance of Arthur's "vindictive" lyrical musings as he wistfully expresses his regrets at ever seeing his tormentor's face. This theme would surface again in "Your Friend And Mine" and "Doggone". Maybe not a pleasant aspect of Arthur's personality but undeniably part of the edginess that made him a genius.
-Fun Fact: Group appeared on "Where The Action Is" to promote the song, their second and last mainstream media appearance. Apparently there was a small controvery regarding Bryan's trousers as they would only shoot him from the waist up.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYNPWMku ... re=related

Lyrics:

People try to tell me
What they think is right
I don't listen to them
Don't know day from night
I go through life searchin'
Tryin' to find the one
I go slip, slip, you go slip, slip
Away

And I don't need you to help me find my way
I can make it if I just don't see your face

Once I had a problem
Didn't know what to do
Now I've got no problems
All I had was you
Guess I'll keep on searchin'
And try to find the one
'Cause I go slip, slip, you go slip, slip
Away

[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)

[silentseason]

"Softly To Me"
From: LoVE, side one, song five
-Running time: 3:10
-Recorded: January 26, 1966 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Bryan MacLean
-Lead vocal and rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-One of four songs written solely by Bryan, which combined with the two more in which he was listed as co-writer on gives him a total of 6 songs in the LoVe catalogue.
-One of three songs where Bryan was the lead vocalist.
-Quotable: Michael has this to say about this song:

"...the phrasing and the sophistication...that's a great song, born (shall I dare say it?) of genius."

-IMHO: A prime example of Bryan's writing style. The lyrics (Orange, Sugar, Chocolate, Hot Cinnamon and lovely things and you) support the widely stated view that Bryan's "hopeless romantic" style of writing provided a softer counterpoint to the band's darker, aggresive lyrical tendencies. The blend of these two opposing styles was a huge part of what gave the band its unique sound.
-Fun fact: The band went to Dallas in June of '66 to promote the first album in a rare promotional jaunt. While there one of the activities was an album signing session, which according to Johnny the band provided their own unique slant on:

"These were usually promotional events, like the Dallas, Love field tie-in. They gave us the key to the city, and had us signing albums, hour after hour at Neiman Marcus department store. Elektra along with our management, had us doing this kind of thing to generate sales. After a while, I would be so tired of writing my own name, I'd sign Lee Harvey Oswald, or Jack Ruby. Anything to overcome the mind numbing (and finger numbing) boredom.

PS: If you happen across a Love Album signed by John F Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald, or Jack Ruby.... It's authentic, one of us signed it. By the way after enduring this assault on our digits, we were required to go on stage, and try to play music. Not one of our best shows."

Lyrics:

I could love you more and more each day for a million years
And I'd sit around all day just crying happy tears
To dance and sing my life away (life away)
And laughing with you, my darling, softly to me

Orange, sugar, chocolate, hot cinnamon and lovely things and you
And darling, you know there was really nothing else that I could do

And my darling you will never know how elegant
you'll always be to me
And my darling I was so in love it was evident for anyone
To see, and I suppose they already do
And how come so suddenly everything depends on you

And if I kissed you once I'd probably do it again
But then that's not so inconceivable, my friend

[silentseason]

"No Matter What You Do"
From: LoVE, side one, song six
-Running time: 2:40
-Recorded: January 24, 1966 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead vocal and drums: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Another session one song from the first album where Arthur filled in for Snoopy on drums.
-Described by Johnny as a true group effort, with Arthur singing it and the group placing music around this.
-Quotable: Johnny has this to say about Don Conka, original drummer for LoVE:

"Donald Conka, he was not a finesse drummer, or someone who would sit back, and establish a groove. He was from the Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich school of drumming. The type of drummer, who would have his kit in front of the bandstand, not in the back. Conka enthralled the crowd for at least an hour, non-stop. "

-IMHO: One of the less memorable songs in the LoVE catalogue. It seems to get lost in the 14 song offering of the first album without really standing out.
-Fun Fact: What would you rather do: win the lottery or discover the pre-Elektra LoVe album? Johnny gives a bit of info on it:

"Jerry Hopkins had the tapes in early 1965. He took them somewhere to have copies made, and somehow they were misplaced. It really is too bad, those sessions were way better than the ones done at Sunset Sound. They're probably sitting in an old dusty box in a garage somewhere in the valley, waiting to be discovered. One never knows!"

Lyrics:

Do you remember me
I'm the one you talk about
Do you remember me
I'm the one you booted out

No matter what in the world you do
Yeah, I'll always be in love with you
No matter what in the world you say
Girl, I'm gonna love you anyway

Do you remember when
You said that I was your true love
And you'd take care of me
And watch me like the stars above

I just gotta hear you play it one time for everybody now

I just gotta hear you play it one time for the world now.

I said I'm gonna love you anyway
You know I'm gonna love you anyway.

[silentseason]

"Emotions"
From: LoVE, side one, song seven
-Running time: 1:55
-Recorded: January 27, 1966 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Johnny Echols/Arthur Lee
-Lead/Rhythm guitar: Johnny Echols
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-Only instrumental recorded by LoVE
-Both guitar parts are played by Johnny
-Written by Johnny in the early 60's while still in high school at Dorsey High in Los Angeles. Besides playing with Arthur, Johnny had another group that played surf type music. He carried this over to LoVE.
-Quotable: While this song was credited to both Johnny and Arthur, in fact it was completely written by Johnny. Additionally, it began life under a different title. The orginal name was "Lonely Guitar"; however, at the time that the debut album came out Elektra head Jac Holzman changed the title to "Emotions" and also gave Arthur co-credit for writing the song. He promised to fix this oversight but never did. Johnny explains the reasons for the discrepancies:

"It was either Herb Cohen at Third Story Music, (who was acting as administrator for our publishing) or Jac who came up with that name. I can't recall if I ever knew who actually made the decision, though I blamed Jac. Since he was the only one of the two, who was arrogant enough to make such a move entirely on his own. I always felt Emotions, was such a lame name. I would have been happier, if they had called it "Theme from Elektra Knows Best."

"He changed the title of the song "Lonely Guitar" which I wrote when I was twelve, to "Emotions" and listed Arthur as co-writer, even though he was well aware that Arthur wasn't involved in any way. Jac Claimed, the title Lonely Guitar sounded too much like Herb Alperts' Lonely Bull. He maintained the mis-credit was just a mistake. The two of us never saw eye to eye."

-IMHO: Johnny considered this a filler song for the first album, but I love this song almost as much as any on the debut. Also deserving of credit is Snoopy; his drumming on this cut is subtle yet really provides a nice accompaniment to the haunting guitars.
-Fun fact: This song was the unofficial theme to the movie "Medium Cool" as it surfaces repeatedly throughout the film, which depicts events during the 1968 Chicago Democratic convention. It is particularly effective right at the end; you can see it here:

http://veehd.com/video/4516075_Medium-Cool-1969

BTW-He played a camera man in the movie, but Peter Bonerz would later surface again in Chicago, playing Bob Newhart's office mate dentist Jerry Robinson in the 70's sitcom The Bob Newhart Show.

[silentseason]

"You I'll Be Following"
From: LoVE, side two, song one
-Running time: 2:25
-Recorded: January 25, 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
-Quotable: Just minding your own business you never know who you might meet as Michael relates in this story:

"Kenny and I were great car enthusiasts, and we used to spend many evenings out in the garage of my pad on Kirkwood...him working on his restored black XKE Jag and me on my old '59 356 Porsche, while smoking joint after joint of the relatively low-grade weed of the times.
Which is exactly what we were doing one hot summer night when a beat yellow XKE, with a rusty and dented right front fender and the front bumper hanging catywhampus on the frame, pulled up and stopped a few feet away. "That's a nice Jag," the stranger said. "Do you fellows happen to know where Stanley Hills Drive is? I'm lost."
So Kenny told him it was off Lookout Mountain and how to get there. And as the stranger pulled away and headed back down to Laurel Canyon, Kenny says, "Poor Charlton Heston, he could lead the chosen people to the promised land, but he can't find Stanley Hills Drive."

-IMHO: This song has it all: great harmonies, driving bass that rocks, and Arthur at his cryptic best lyrically. The interpretation to the lyrics on this song are wide open on any of the stanzas. What were Johnny and Conka holding? What was in the shoebox behind the icebox? It has an endless supply of possible meanings which aids it rather than hinders. Seemingly simple yet brilliant.

-Fun Fact: This is a song where Arthur may have taken many "trips" to the areas listed (Florida, Georgia, Baghdad) but he did not physically travel to any of the areas at the time he wrote this song. The same can be said for "She Comes In Colors" in which Arthur claims to have been in "England Town" when in fact at the time of it's creation he had never left the USA.

Lyrics:

I went to Georgia
I went to Florida
I went to Missi
Tripped in Missippi, but now
You I'll be following

I went to Baghdad
I went to Laurel
Tripped in the canyon
My head is still bent, but now
You I'll be following

I went to Johnny
I went to Conka
One of them told me
That he was holding, but now
You I'll be following

I went to Frisco
Bumped into Cisco
He had a shoebox
Behind his icebox, but now
You I'll be following

[silentseason]

"Gazing"
From: LoVE, side two, song two
-Running time: 2:40
-Recorded: January 24, 1966 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead vocal and drums: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Quotable: How did the band make the transition from a cover band to LoVE? Johnny gives some insight into the genesis of how the band's unique sound was born:

"Arthur and I, went to Ciro's together and thought the Byrds were so cool, especially Gene Clark, and Jim McGuinn. The group gave an absolutely stellar performance, their harmonies were spot on. After seeing them, and noting all those chicks in the audience, we decided then and there, that's the direction we wanted go musically. It would be hard to overstate the effect they had on us that night, just mind blowing!"

-IMHO: The much quoted lyric "a mulatto soul so rare" is perhaps Arthur's most personal lyric and a real example of the lyric similarity shared between Arthur and Jim Morrison. Both exhibited the anguish and aloneness of their human existance most poignantly; Arthur in 'Gazing' and Morrison in the Dawn's Highway section of Peace Frog. Also interesting is the fact that the lyrics for these two songs were written independently of the music, which was created solely by the groups without help from the lead singer.
-Fun Fact: The Whisky A Go Go was the bands favorite place to play and was made famous by their gigs there. Johnny gives some reasons why this came about:

"The Whisky had been experiencing a decline in revenue, since the days when Johnny Rivers was king. It was the beginning of a changing of the guard in Hollywood. And because there were so few patrons, the Whisky had a reputation for not paying their acts. This caused many groups to be leery of playing there, making the situation even worse. So when we were booked, we came with our own audience who filled the place beyond capacity, they made money and paid us well. Soon other successful groups began to accept bookings. It was a win-win for every body."

Lyrics:

In a gazing dazzling glare
As an image stood before me
But he knew not where

And ... souls so rare
Intercepted by graviation
Through the mist like air

From the pits of Eden
This image he came from there

One time now
Johnny's turn now

Driven out by Eden's flash
And the pop art politician
But he knew not where
This image he came from there

[silentseason]

"Hey Joe"
From: LoVE, side two, song three
-Running time: 2:38
-Recorded: January 26, 1966 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Billy Roberts 1962
-Lead vocal and rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-The second of two cover songs ever done by the group, both of them on the debut album.
-Bryan's other vocal from the debut. He had heard the Byrds use it in their shows and brought it over when he became a member of LoVE. It became a concert highlight for him.
-Was reportedly the song that ultimately convinced Jac Holzman to sign the band to Elektra.
-Quotable: Michael on his philosophy on drumming:

"I never taped my hands. I just had calluses, and playing drums is so physical, it's the best workout, but that being said, every drummer would be better if he or she maintained a healthy lifestyle, including eating the right food, avoiding tobacco, alcohol and drugs, getting plenty of rest and a short daily workout, especially if you are not playing drums every day."

-IMHO: Classic LoVE phrasing done by Bryan in his vocal interpretation of the song. Note the uneven, almost staccato delivery by Bryan that would surface in a more pervasive way in Forever Changes.
-Fun fact: Exactly what are the lyrics of Hey Joe? Johnny explains that the most famous version as sung by the Leaves and Hendrix are actually a modification in the song done by him. He purposely changed some of the lyrics to perhaps discourage the Leaves from using Hey Joe, in that is was intended to be LoVE's first single. It didn't work out as the Leaves put their version out first and had a hit with it:

"I was surprised anyone used my lyrics, they were purposely written to make no sense. When Herb Cohen, (from Third Story Music) asked me to write them down. I thought he he was messing with my head, and he did in fact mess with my money. This is another one of those weird things that happened, in the life and times of a group, of misfits, who had the audacity to call themselves Love."

See The Leaves version here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWv03Wgz0PQ

Lyrics:

Hey Joe where you goin with all that money in your hand now
Well I said hey Joe where you goin with all that money in your hand
Well I'm goin after my woman she's been runnin around with some other man now
Well I said I'm goin after my woman she's been runnin around with some other man
Well I'm gonna go downtown gonna buy me some blue steel 44's
And when I catch up to that woman she ain't gonna be runnin no more
All right
All right

Well I said hey Joe I heard you shot your woman dead
Well I said hey Joe I heard that you shot your woman dead
Well yes I did I shot them just like I said now
Well you see I shot them just like I said
Well hey Joe tell me where are you gonna go
Well I said hey Joe now tell me where are you goin to go
Well I guess I'll go back to my favorite Mexico
Well I guess I'll go back to where I know a man can be free
Well there ain't goin to be no hangman putting no noose around my neck honey child
Well I said there ain't goin be no hangman putting no noose around me
Well hey Joe where you goin with all that money in your hand
Well I said hey

[silentseason]

"Signed D.C."
From: LoVE, side two, song four
-Running time: 2:44
-Recorded: January 26, 1966 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead vocal and harmonica: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-The "D.C." is Don Conka, orginal LoVE drummer who was unable to maintain membership in the group due to personal probems.
-Redone by Arthur for the "Out Here" album. That version was twice as long and more electrified than the debut album version.
-Quotable: Johnny relates his first encounter with Don Conka:

"I was one of those kids, who couldn't seem to get enough of school. So just before entering the eleventh grade, I attended summer school at Hollywood high. One Friday morning, I noticed a huge crowd of people heading for the parking lot, (obviously the wrong direction, school hadn't even started yet.) Being a rather curious young man, I joined them. My eyes soon found the object of all that attention! A short skinny dude, with a mop of black hair, in the back of a "Woody" that had been turned into a pickup truck. He'd just finished setting up his drums, and had started to play.

I stood there, and proceeded to have my mind blown. His Name was Donald Conka, he was not a finesse drummer, or someone who would sit back, and establish a groove. He was from the Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich school of drumming. The type of drummer, who would have his kit in front of the bandstand, not in the back. Conka enthralled the crowd for at least an hour, non-stop. One couldn't help notice the effect he was having on the girls in attendance. Either they stood watching [him] with adoring eyes, or they were dancing, either way they were all tuned in...too him. This skinny little dude with all the hair, was a star!

When he had finished playing, and while he was drying the sweat off with a towel, I walked over and introduced myself. I informed him that I was a guitar player, and that I was working down the street at the Sea Witch. His eyes lit up, "oh you're playing with Fleck?" Surprised I said yea! Then Don informed me that he had known John Fleckenstien since grade school. We'll be there tonight, I replied.... He said "cool I might fall by." That was the beginning of a lifelong friendship."

-IMHO: Arguably the best song on the first album. The sparse guitar and drums are the perfect compliment to the stark lyrics and Arthur's harmonica. The instrumental break in the middle is chilling.
-Fun fact: Arthur played the song to Johnny on a small Wurlitzer organ which Johnny then translated to guitar chords. Johnny sees some similarities to "House Of The Rising Sun"; I think that they are very disimilar songs, but you decide.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAUhze7Scug

Lyrics:

Sometimes I feel so lonely
My comedown I'm scared to face
I've pierced my skin again, Lord
No one cares
For me

My soul belongs to the dealer
He keeps my mind as well
I play the part of the leecher
No one cares
For me, cares for me

Look out Joe, I'm fallin'
I can't unfold my arms
I've got one foot in the graveyard
No one cares
For me, cares for me
Cares for me
Signed D. C.

[silentseason]

"Colored Balls Falling"
From: LoVE, side two, song five
-Running time: 1:50
-Recorded: January 25, 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
-Written as a loose jam after the band had enjoyed various sensory altering aides.
-Quotable: Everyone has embarrasing moments in life, and as a performer having it onstage is probably that much worse. Johnny offers this bit about one of his lesser moments:

"When we were at the Brave New World, the group did a bunch of "cover" songs. We played many of the songs that were popular at the time. One of the most embarrassing moments I ever had on stage, was when several members of the Byrd's came to see us, and Arthur had us play "Tambourine Man. For years afterward, David Crosby would kid me about it. I still cringe, when I remember that night."

-IMHO: Shortest song ever by the band, and it ends just as it seems to be gathering momentum after Johnny's guitar solo. I get an incomplete feeling listening to this song.
-Fun fact: I must confess I can't decipher the meaning of the song's title, if there was one intended. Best I can figure is the line "falling stars appear" is referring to the title. Perhaps this is another example of Arthur's cryptic method or tripping lyrics?

Lyrics:

As I sit here thinking
Wondering where I am
Knowing that I could be here but I just sat
That's where I'm at

People walk the shadows
Falling stars appear
Other blinding matches come with their cats
That's where I'm at

I could never go there
It's too close far behind
Hope I never see you
So I won't go run and hide

[silentseason]

"Mushroom Clouds"
From: LoVE, side two, song six
-Running time: 2:45
-Recorded: January 26, 1966 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Lee/Echols/Forssi/MacLean
-Lead vocal: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-An older composition, written during the time the band was still known as the Grass Roots.
-A song about nuclear war, with Hiroshima the inspiration for it.
-One of only two songs credited to the original four band members, the other song being 'Revelation'.
-Quotable: Michael describes some of his experience in LoVE in regards to the mixed racial makeup of the band and how they were received in public:

"Never once, during my years with the group, did I ever witness or experience any vestige of racism directed against any of the members of Love. I suppose there could have been a kind of "second hand" racism... in that, there were parts of the country where no agent in his right mind would have booked us, (like maybe a small town in the deep South), but we wouldn't have been booked into a small market anyway. All our gigs were in large cities, where, for the most part, (even back in the post-JFK mid-sixties), people had sophisticated concepts of racial equality (and where Elektra had good distribution.) I never met anyone who felt our racial diversity was anything other than just another component of our uniqueness."

-IMHO: How many bands use nuclear war as a subject, and on their debut as well? Perhaps this song illustrates more than any other the band's depth and diversity as well as the inherent darkness of their vision.
-Fun fact: An original line in the song "Father help us find the way, to walk beside you everyday" was taken out at Jac Holzman's insistence, supposedly because it was too religous. Arthur's new replacement line was a jab at this intrusion: "I don't want you bothering me".

Lyrics:

Mushroom clouds are forming
And the sky is dark and grey

Little children dying
In an age of hate and war

We can love again
Only God knows when
Help us with our problems

I don't need you bothering me
Can't you tell me that I'm free

Mushroom clouds are forming
And the sky is dark and grey

[silentseason]

"And More"
From: LoVE, side two, song seven
-Running time: 2:56
-Recorded: January 24, 1966 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Lee/MacLean
-Lead vocal, drums: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-This was the first song ever "officially" recorded by the group, for their Elektra output.
-This is the only actual song co-credited to just Arthur and Bryan, who were the groups main songwriters.
-The song "Andmoreagain" from Forever Changes is somehow related to this song. I'm not sure what the relation is other than a similar title as lyrically they are dissimilar.
-Quotable: Johnny gives his take on the reception the band got being on the vanguard of racial relations:

"As a racially mixed group in the sixties, we faced a double whammy. There were many places in this Country we just couldn't play, by their choice, or ours. All of the south, and most of the mid-west, was off limits. Much of the country between the east and west coasts, expressed the attitude "you folks need not apply." Our agents would secure bookings, only to have them canceled, after the venue realized the groups racial make-up. Others insisted we play to a segregated audience, (we absolutely refused to be a part of that insanity). When the group did manage to play a gig outside California, the police would often monitor our Hotel, to find out who was visiting our rooms. The whole scene seems so bizarre now! Arthur and I, were so embarrassed, and put-off, to be caught up in something so out dated, and un-cool. We began to claim that we didn't tour that often, by choice."

-IMHO: This song seems to be a bit of a filler song, one that met the need to have a certain quantity on the first album. Lyrically it is the most simple of the debut album.
-Fun fact: This is a total guess on my part and if I'm wrong then someone please advise me of this, but since this was a combination writing effort by Arthur and Bryan I would think that the lines "If you try to follow, girl/Please stay close behind" and "I don't want to waste your time/I just want to make you mine" are pure Arthur and the lines "One, two, three, four I love you/And I always will/'Til the sun falls off the sky/Gonna love you till I die/And More" are pure Bryan.

Lyrics:

Love me for a little while
Love me if you can
'Cause I want to be your man
And I want to understand
You

If you try to follow, girl
Please stay close behind
'Cause I wanna be with you
And I wanna love you too
Or three

I don't want to waste your time
I just want to make you mine

One, two, three, four, I love you
And I always will
'Til the sun falls off the sky
Gonna love you 'til I die
And more

[silentseason]

"No. Fourteen"
From: LoVE, deluxe edition
-Running time: 1:42
-Recorded: January 26, 1966 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead Vocal: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar, potato harp: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-This was originally issued as the B-side to the '7 and 7 Is' single in summer 1966.
-Did not make it onto the debut album.
-Original working titles were: "Virginia-Get Me Straight" and "New Song".
-Another debut album song whose genesis came from the band hanging out and jamming.
-Quotable: Johnny states this about early LoVe boosters Vito and co.:

"For a few months, in the summer of 65, Arthur and I lived upstairs at Vito's, with Bryan, and Karl Franzoni. So it was convenient for us to go downstairs to rehearse.

Vito was at the center of everything at the time, and knew all the "players." They would often come to his studio, where he would hold court. He introduced us to Professors Leary and Hoffman. We were all very curious about this new drug they were touting that would expose all the secrets of life. Through one of them, we met a gentleman named Owsley, and he, by way of David Crosby, hooked us up with our first trip. I'm still waiting for all the secrets of life to be revealed!"

-IMHO: This is perhaps the oddest song from the first album. Something almost like a sing-a-long. I think it's strangeness, along with (if you listen closely) Johnny playing the harp in the song, gives it a kind of goofy charm.
-Fun fact: Classic LoVE song that has more questions than answers: Where did the title come from? Who is Virginia? What were the red and blue pills from the doctor? As always, the best songs are the ones with open-ended interpretations, and this one is a prime example.

Lyrics:

Wake up in the morning
Don't know what to do
Wake up in the morning
Feeling kinda blue

Going down to Virginia
Going down there
That way
Going down to Virginia
Virginia gets me straight

Went to bed last night, babe
Couldn't sleep a wink
Went to bed last night, babe
Didn't sleep a wink

Going down to Virginia
Going down there
That way
Going down to Virginia
Virginia gets me straight

Going to see my doctor
To see what he can do
Gimme some of those capsules
Either red or blue

If they don't make it
If they go that way
Going down to Virginia
Virginia gets me straight

[silentseason]

"Stephanie Knows Who"
From: Da Capo, side one, song one
-Running time: 2:33
-Recorded: October 2, 1966 RCA Studio B, Hollywood
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead vocal: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Michael Stuart
-Saxophone: Tjay Cantrelli
-Harpsichord: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-The first song on the band's second album and right away it is obvious that this is a brave, new LoVE. The sound is radically different from the debut album, with emphasis now on a jazzier free-form feel. It was arguably the most stark sonic change ever made by the band.
-New line-up changes: Snoopy has moved from drums to keyboards, and new recruits Tjay Cantrelli (old acquaintance of Johhny and Arthur) on sax/flute and ex Sons of Adam member Michael Stuart on drums now complete a seven member group.
-The subject of the song was Stephanie Buffington, who Arthur and Bryan were both vying for at the time the album was recorded.
-Quotable: Michael believes that one of the seeds of the groups eventual dissolution had to do with the rivalry between Arthur and Bryan for Stephanie:

"We're onstage at the Whisky, debuting Da Capo. We're playing the first cut on the "A" side, "Stephanie Knows Who". Stephanie is standing at the edge of the stage looking up with loving eyes... at Bryan. That is all, because Arthur loved Stephanie, and in the end it was a crushing defeat by a subordinate, and one he could neither forget nor forgive."

-IMHO: If you wanted to convert someone into a LoVE fan, I believe out of all their recorded output Da Capo is the one specific recording to start with.
-Fun fact: Another name in Arthur's pantheon of females named in a song he wrote. I am counting four. They are: Pretty, Virginia, Stephanie, and Plastic Nancy.

Lyrics:

What's in your life, dear Stephanie
What's in your life for me
Aches and pains they cloud your sight
But tired you did you said you did

What can I say, dear Stephanie
Who shall I next inform
Of love and poetry that you bring
Your eyes, your hair, your everything

What am I now, dear Stephanie
Am I you in disguise
The words they come so naturally
I save them all for Stephanie

Hey, all right
Talk to me all the time
From A to B and in between
Say it sweet all the time
All the time, yeah ...

[silentseason]

"Orange Skies"
From: Da Capo, side one, song two
-Running time: 2:49
-Recorded: September 27, 1966 RCA Studio B, Hollywood
-Written by: Bryan MacLean
-Lead vocal: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Michael Stuart
-Flute: Tjay Cantrelli
-Was the B side to two singles: the 'Stephanie Knows Who' single which was withdrawn and 'She Comes In Colors' EK 45608 which was issued in December 1967 well over a year after both were recorded.
-Only song written by Bryan to be included on Da Capo. Also only Bryan penned song where he contributed no vocals.
-Was the first song he ever wrote, at the age of 17. He was a roadie for the Byrds and based this song off of their 'The Bells of Rhymney'.
-Quotable: Johnny states this about 'Orange Skies':

"Bryan's version of "Orange Skies" was quite different than the one you hear on "Da Capo." His, was very much a show tune, sans flute....with no jazz flavor, and no Gary Mcfarland scatting at the end. I'm making no judgments, as to which version was better....only that they were most assuredly different!"

-IMHO: The different backgrounds and all the divergent tastes of LoVE seem to mesh best on this song than on any other in the band's catalogue. It is to their credit that they were able to make this masterpiece from it's humble beginnings.
-Fun fact: Originally this song was slated to be sung by Johnny because of his ability to mimic the vocal styles of Johhny Mathis. Unfortunately because of the key that the song needed to be in it was concluded that ultimately it fit best for Arthur's abilities and Johnny never was able to be lead vocalist on any of LoVE's recordings.

-Lyrics:

Orange skies
Carnivals and cotton candy and you
and I love you too you know I do

Nightingale
Prettier than anything in the world
And I love you too
You know I do

You make me happy
Laughing, glad, and full of glee
And you don't have to try, girl
For you it comes so naturally
Right here in my arms

[silentseason]

"Que Vida"
From: Da Capo, side one, song three
-Running time: 3:37
-Recorded: September 28, 1966 RCA Studio B, Hollywood
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead vocal: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Michael Stuart
-Flute: Tjay Cantrelli
-Organ: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-Translation of song's title to english means "What A Life". Was originally titled "With Pictures and Words".
-The band made use of Elektra's extensive collection of sound effects catalogue to insert the popping champagne cork and sleigh bells into the song.
-An edited version was the A side of single EK 45613, issued in 1967. B side was 'Hey Joe'.
-Quotable: Michael on the musical chemistry developed during his time in the band:

"The chemistry I developed with Bryan and Johnny and Kenny and Arthur probably wasn't as profound as it would have been if, either, 1.) I had been been with the group from the beginning, or, 2.) we had played more often after I joined. I would say, as a rough estimate, 80% of the live gigs I played with Love were in the first 6 months after I joined. So, that's not very good.

It's really hard to develop a musical chemistry if you don't play, or ... "generally speaking, the more often musicians play together (especially live onstage in front of an audience) the better the opportunity for a musical chemistry to develop between them." That's Michael's Law of Musical Chemistry."

-IMHO: No great controversy here but between Snoopy and Michael the best drummer was Michael by a large margin. The later incarnations of LoVE had good drummers as well, but again I would list Michael as the best percussionist in the long history of the group.
-Fun fact: Michael describes how the back cover photo of Da Capo was received by some of the band:

"I believe those back cover shots were taken in the office upstairs at The Whisky by Guy Webster. He was standing up on a 6 foot ladder shooting down and placing us in different poses. Later, when we saw the final product, Snoopy said he thought his picture made him look like a penguin... and Bryan said he thought he looked like a little kid playing in a sandbox. Bryan says, "I look like a real badass there, don't I?"

-Lyrics:

With pictures and words
Is this communicating? The sounds that I've heard
The growling voice then fading
And yes my heart was beating
Or was it just repeating

With nickels and dimes
You soon will have a dollar
Am I in your time
I see no need to swallow
Or catch a plane to travel
My mind's not made of gravel

Can you find your way
Or do you want my vision
It's dark there, they say
But that's just superstition
And in my last inspection
Is this the right direction

I once had a girl
She told me I was funny
She said in your world
You needed lots of money
And things to kill your brother
But death just starts another

[silentseason]

"7 and 7 Is"
From: Da Capo, side one, song four
-Running time: 2:15
Recorded: June 17 and 20, 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
-Released as single EK 45605 along with 'No. Fourteen' in the summer of 1966. It was the groups highest charting single ever, reaching # 33. Unfortunately Elektra's limited resources and national image may have helped stunt is chart potential, among other reasons.
-Last song to have Snoopy on the drum kit, and also the last to have Jac Holzman produce for the group.
-It took 40 plus takes to get this song recorded as the sound the group was trying to get didn't seem to register with what Holzman and Bruce Botnick expected.
-Alot of the song's lyrics are childhood references, with Arthur's own unique slant painting the picture.
-Was originally a slow tempo folk song before Kenny and Johnny turned up the volume and speed level to create the "controlled chaos" that everybody knows.
-The title refers to March 7, which was Arthur and one time girlfriend Anita Billings birthdays.
-The bluesy coda after the atomic explosion was part of an old song Johnny had written years earlier. Arthur promised him co-songwriting credit but did not follow through with this promise.
-Quotable: Johnny on how the songs from Da Capo were not performed live before recording the album:

"With the exception of Revelation, none of the songs were played live before we recorded them. Things were evolving so fast, that most of them were not completely written, or finalized until we were in the studio. Rothschild was not too happy with what [seemed] to be a group that was unprepared. The reality was, that's just how we worked, there were always last minute changes, depending on how things sounded, when played back over the monitors. Both he, and Jac were really bothered by the abrupt change in musical direction. They had expected to release an album more like the first one."

-IMHO: If you listen to this song and can't get excited you might want to check for a pulse.
-Fun fact: Due to the enormous number of takes required to get this song properly recorded, Arthur and Snoopy switched off on the drums during various takes. By around the twentieth take Snoopy had gotten the drumming part down and his final recorded drumming for the band was his best. He ended up with blisters on his fingers for his efforts. Wonder if Ringo Starr ever talked to Snoopy before recording 'Helter Skelter'?

-Lyrics:

When I was a boy I thought about the times I'd be a man
I'd sit inside a bottle and pretend that I was in a can
In my lonely room I'd sit my mind in an ice cream cone
You can throw me if you wanna 'cause I'm a bone and I go
Boo-bip-bip, boo-bip-bip yeah!

If I don't start cryin' it's because that I have got no eyes
My father's in the fireplace and my dog lies hypnotized
Through a crack of light I was unable to find my way
Trapped inside a night but I'm a day and I go
Boo-bip-bip, boo-bip-bip, yeah!

One... Two... Three... Four!

[silentseason]

"The Castle"
From: Da Capo, side one, song five
-Running time: 3:00
-Recorded: September 30, 1966 RCA Studio B, Hollywood
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead vocal: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Micahel Stuart
-Harpsichord: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-The title is a reference to the band's legendary communal residence "The Castle", which wasn't an actual castle but a dilapidated mansion in the Los Feliz section of LA during the bands occupancy in 1966.
-Actual address of The Castle is 4320 Cedarhurst Circle.
-The first and second album covers were not shot at the Castle.
-Some of the lyrics are a reference to Stephanie Buffington, who was also the subject of the song "Stephanie Knows Who".
-Quotable: Michael on the recording of Da Capo:

"Several thoughts stand out. One thing is, it seemed at the time, as though Paul Rothchild was a "hands off" kind of a producer... almost a producer in name only. I don't remember him coming out from the booth to make a suggestion or making any comments via the mic from the booth to any members of the group, at all, not one time.
But, as on Forever Changes, Arthur had very little instrumental responsibility, so, during the laying down of the instrumental tracks, he spent most of the time in the booth, behind the glass with Paul and Dave Hassinger (and on "Revelation," Bruce Botnick), therefore it could be that Paul was making some important suggestions back there where we couldn't hear.
Every cut went off fairly well... more or less like clockwork, to my recollection, without astronomical numbers of takes on any one song."

-IMHO: This song to me is the hidden gem of Da Capo. Not the most revered or celebrated song in the band's catalogue, it is somehow a "connector" between the debut album and Forever Changes, encompassing that folk/mysterious/eclectic sound in a unique blend. The multiple false endings also give it a standout quality.
-Fun fact: Johnny relates one story from his time living at the Castle:

"The future mother of my daughter, and my now ex wife made the biggest impression on me obviously. Otherwise the encounter that stands out the most, was when I came home really tired, and badly in need of sleep, and found Grace Slick, in my bed. She was spending a few days at the Castle with the rest of the Airplane. And I walked into my room, and found her splayed out on my bed, sleeping like a baby. I assume she had gone to the wrong room. Ever the diplomat I informed her " you gotta split man!" Grace glared at me, jumped up and stormed out, leaving her clothes in my chair. I guess back in the day, she wasn't accustomed to being ordered out of a dudes bed. Though we had a good laugh about it later, that night she was not a happy Diva. "

-Lyrics:

Here's my baggage, hand me my staff
I'm leaving on a plane, a boat or raft

A my love, B I love, so hard to choose
If that were in my mind, it I would use

Goin' back to Mother
Leaving on the double
Think I'll go to Mexico

[silentseason]

"She Comes In Colors"
From: Da Capo, side one, song six
-Running time: 2:43
-Recorded: September 29, 1966 RCA Studio B, Hollywood
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead vocal: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Michael Stuart
-Flute: Tjay Cantrelli
-Keyboards: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-Was released in an edited version as Elektra single EK 45608 with 'Orange Skies'.
-Quotable: Did the Rolling Stones, who saw the band on multiple occasions at the Whisky, cop the idea for their song "She's A Rainbow" from 'Colors'? Michael has this to say:

"Arthur never complained at the time (in my presence) about having been ripped off by The Stones, but obviously, their hit "She's A Rainbow" is a direct steal from "She Comes In Colors.". I mean, "she comes in colors" is not your everyday expression, and apparently I guess Mick thought since Love was just "an underground group with a cult following" not enough people would notice to make a difference, so therefore he could probably get away with it. Which he did."

-IMHO: I do believe that the Stones did take the idea for 'Rainbow' from this song, as well as 'Going Home' from 'Revelation'. Their attendance at the the Whisky is too obvious to ignore. Further proof can be found in the Stones album 'Satanic Majesties Request'. The music and even the cover is a rip off from Sgt. Peppers. The Glimmer Twins had yet to come into their own as truly unique artists.
-Fun fact: Time for the name game. Arthur Taylor Lee was originally Arthur Porter Taylor. Tjay Cantrelli's true name was John Barbieri. And Michael Stuart now goes by Michael Stuart-Ware.

Lyrics:

A thought in my head, I think
Of something to do
Expressions tell everything
I see one on you

Whoa, whoa whoa, my love she comes in colors
You can tell her from the clothes she wears

When I was invisible
I needed no light
You saw right through me, you said
Was I out of sight?

When I was in England town
The rain fell right down
I looked for you everywhere
'Til I'm not around

[silentseason]

"Revelation"
From: Da Capo, side two, song one
-Running time: 18:57
-Recorded: Late September/early October 1966 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Lee/MacLean/Echols/Forssi
-Lead vocal, harmonica: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Michael Stuart
-Saxophone: Tjay Cantrelli
-Harpsichord: Alban 'Snoopy' Pfisterer
-One of the first instances a rock group recorded a one song side ever.
-Longest song in the history of the band.
-Original name of the song was 'John Lee Hooker'.
-An extended blues/rock/jazz jam, played live this song could stretch to as long as an hour. Some times in the midst of the song the band would do a cover of 'Gloria'.
-Was the last time that Tjay and Snoopy would record as LoVE on their respective instruments.
-Title came from fan Annette Farrel, who would attend LoVE shows in flamboyant, gypsy clothing.
-Quotable: Johnny sets the scene for how Revelation was recorded:

"We were aware that "Snoopy" was a classically trained pianist, so we decided to push the envelope a bit, and see where it led. After adding Tjay to the mix, we pushed it a little more. The group was intrigued by the prospect of "fusing" Jazz, Classical, and R&B with Rock&Roll. Revelation was to be [the] culmination of that concept. And was meant to be recorded "live" in studio.

We had intended to include some of the dancers from BIDO LITO'S, in order to recreate a club atmosphere, but the musicians union would not allow us to do that. The problems started with Paul Rothschild, who was busy with the Doors, so he couldn't make the session. Being that he had never heard "Revelation," before attempting to mix the hour long track, down to an eighteen minute cut. He had absolutely no clue as to what we were trying to accomplish. So he wound up splicing the song in the wrong places, leaving the best parts on the cutting room floor. The solo's that needed to build in a natural order, were chopped up, with no rhyme or reason.

If we had worked out a shorter version in advance, we could have forestalled many, if not all of the problems arising from such a long track. Putting all the drama aside, I still think it's a fine song, and a cutting edge piece of music. It's just too bad we were unable to get the "real deal" on tape."

-IMHO: Probably the most controversial song in the history of the band, it seems to have a polarizing effect on all who listen to it: either you love it or hate it. I love it, if nothing else it showcases the musical abilities of the band along with the sheer ambitiousness of trying to capture this song in the studio. Highlights are the ferocity of Arthur's harmonica solo and Tjay's solo section in combo with the support of Michael's drumming.
-Fun fact: Chalk up another LoVE missing song scenario. Beside the pre-Elektra lost tapes, the non-existant but infamous nonetheless Gethsemane album, what would side two of Da Capo been like if Revelation was shelved? No one will know, but Revelation is so much a part of Da Capo's legend that if it hadn't been attempted there would be much more theorizing about it than about what alternate side two songs would be without Revelation.

-Lyrics:

Hey you
Child, standin' over there
Girl, you look so good
Yeah, you look all right
Hey girl
Hear me callin' your name
Baby, the way uou walk
Say you drive me insane
Oh you're lookin' so good
When you're in my bed
Baby, I feel so good
Till you give me a little head
On your knees, on your knees
So good, all right, do it, yeah
Say it's sweet, say it's sweet
All right, yeah yeah
Get it on, do it, baby
Do it baby
Tell me baby, do you want my lovin'
All right, baby
So good, you're so good
Oh hear me talkin' to you, mama
So good, get it on
Get it on, baby
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
You're so good, so good
So good, so good
So good, so good, so good
Yeah, yeah, yeah, all right
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,yeah, yeah
All right, do it, baby
On your knees, oh yeah
Everybody, everybody
Everybody, yeah yeah
I said they need somebody
To love, to love, to love
To love, to love, to love
To love, to love, to love
Love, love, love, love
Love, love, love, love
All the time, all the time
All the time, yeah
All the time
All the time I feel all right
All the time I feel so good
All the time I feel all right
So good, I feel allright
Yes it is, yes it is
Yes it is, mama, yes it is, mama
Yes it is, mama, feel all right
Feel all right, feel all right
I wanna scream
I feel, I feel, I feel good
I feel so good
Feel all righ, feel all right
I feel so good
I feel so good, yeah
Everybody, everybody feel good
Everybody feel good
Yeah, yeah
Feel so -
Can you, can you feel it, mama
Can you feel it, mama
can you feel it, mama
Do you feel like I do
Do feel all right
Do you feel all right, yeah
I feel all right
I feel all right
I feel all right
I feel all right, yeah
Yeah, yeah

[silentseason]

"Alone Again Or"
From: Forever Changes, side one, song one
-Running time: 3:15
-Recorded: September 10, 1967 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Bryan MacLean
-Vocal: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar, vocal: Bryan MacLean
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Michael Stuart
-Original title was 'Along Again'. Arthur suggested adding 'Or' to the end when Bryan was suggesting potential titles for the song, using or to separate each suggestion. Arthur with his unique vision determined that adding the 'Or' to the end might sound good.
-Now pared down to five members, LoVE again grew in leaps and bounds with this album, an orchestral setting to Arthur's dark visions. This song in particular has often been heralded by Jac Holzman as the doorway into Forever Changes, setting up and making possible the rest of the album's disturbing view.
-Was issued as Elektra single twice, first as EK 45629 in 1968 with 'A House Is Not A Motel' and again in 1970 as EK 45700 with Good Times. It was a local hit but not so nationally.
-The fact that one of Bryan's songs was choosen as a single over his raised Arthur's ire and drove another wedge into the band's breakup. This was a view espoused by some of the band but was not universally held by all.
-Was used as a jingle in a Miller Beer commercial.
-Originally Bryan was slated to be lead vocalist on this song. In post production work Arthur's harmony vocal was mixed over Bryans resulting in the unique sound.
-Quotable: Bryan's original version of the song was much different than the recorded version. Johnny relates:

"We had the rather "expensive" habit of finishing the prep work on songs in the studio, rather than at our homes. So sometimes we had no real idea what the song would eventually morph into, until we were all together laying down tracks.

Alone Again, is a prime example. When Bryan first played it for me, it was more of a bluegrass tune, with a catchy instrumental hook.
In reality, it almost didn't make the cut. It just didn't seem to have that indefinable "something". It had a great "hook" but that was it. I was noodling over in the corner, When David Angel walks by and said "do that Spanish riff again". Then he brought Bryan over, and after much cajoling, convinced him we should try the song with a more Spanish feel. A very reluctant Bryan agreed, and [we,] with a whole lot of input from David, came up with the song you hear on record. Without Mr. Angel it would be a very, very different song."

-IMHO: I'm a "less is more" person and the lyrics to this song support this thesis. Though not complex, with no literature pretentions and short (only 11 lines long), this was Bryan's best offering for the group, an absolutely powerful personal statement. If Bryan's goal was to write timeless lyrics he hit a grand slam on this song.
-Fun fact: You have to listen hard at the beginning of the song due to the fact that Bryan would often play with steel finger picks. On this occasion it was determined that the beginnig was so soft and subtle that a low volume was needed so Bryan's noisy guitar wouldn't spoil the mood.

-Lyrics:

Yeah, said it's all right
I won't forget
All the times I've waited patiently for you
And you'll do just what you choose to do
And I will be alone again tonight my dear

Yeah, I heard a funny thing
Somebody said to me
You know that I could be in love with almost everyone
I think that people are
The greatest fun
And I will be alone again tonight my dear

[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

[silentseason]

"Andmoreagain"
From: Forever Changes, side one, song three
-Running time: 3:15
-Recorded: June 9 and 12, August 11 1967 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead vocal: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar: Billy Strange, Johnny Echols
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Michael Stuart
-One of two songs on Forever Changes involving the Wrecking Crew controversy. In short, at the beginning of the album sessions the band was vastly underrehearsed and unable to produce a usuable track. After some discussion between Arthur and Bruce Botnick, a plan was hatched to bring in top LA session players (aka the Wrecking Crew) to record the instrumentals, while the vocals and some overdubs would be the band's contribution. This idea produced two album cuts before the whole band went back and got down to serious rehersal and finished the album themselves.
-Bruce Botnick claims the band was physically broken up by the Wrecking Crew being brought in, but both Johnny and Michael flatly and emphatically deny this.
-IMHO: The two Wrecking Crew cuts are excellent, but I really would have prefered that they used the band's versions instead of the Wrecking Crew. The electrified version of 'Andmoreagain' that survives via the deluxe disc is testamony to how good the band was.
-Quotable: Johnny gives some inside info on what went down with the Wrecking Crew controversy:

"Several members of the Wrecking Crew, played on Daily Planet, along with Kenny and I. A rhythm guitarist, joined Love on one other track. ( I'd have to listen to the cd, to remember which one, since the song titles were different at the time.) Don Randi also played piano on "Bummer in the Summer." Forssi and I were on all of the tracks. My favorite songs to play, were "A House IS Not A Motel," and "Your Mind and WE." If I had to choose one in particular, it would be "House" because Michael establishes a really "smoking" groove. The song sticks in my mind, because I played the second guitar solo, without being able to hear the first one. Yet it sounds as though the two guitars were playing off each other. It still amazes me to this day, how that young boy was able to pull that off. That's called playing outside one's self".

-Fun fact: The song titles on Forever Changes are the most potent and psychedelic of the bands career and more evidence to Arthur's imagination. Clear your mind and look at them and evelope the strangeness they exibit.
-Update: Michael has stated in the Big Takeover Magazine article that ultimately his drumming and Kenny Forssi's bass were what ended up on the recorded version of "Andmoregain". He gives specific reasons why and I accept them as valid and have thus made a change in the personel listing for this song.

-Lyrics:

And if you'll see Andmoreagain
Then you will know Andmoreagain
For you can see you in her eyes
Then you feel your heart beating
Rum-pum-pum-pum

And when you've given all you had
And everything still turns out
Bad, and all your secrets are your own
When you feel your heart beating
Rum-pum-pum-pum

And I'm
Wrapped in my armor
But my things are material
And I'm
Lost in confusions
'Cause my things are material
And you don't know how much
I love you
Oh, oh, oh...

And if you'll see Andmoreagain
Then you might be Andmoreagain
For you just wish and you are here
Then you feel your heart beating
Rum-pum-pum-pum

[silentseason]

"The Daily Planet"
From: Forever Changes, side one, song four
-Running time: 3:25
-Recorded: June 9 and 10, September 25 1967 Sunset Sound
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead vocal: Arthur Lee
-Backup vocals: Johnny Echols, Bryan MacLean, Kenny Forssi, Michael Stuart
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols, Billy Strange
-Rhythm guitar: Carol Kaye
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Jim Gordon
-The song title refers to the fictional newspaper in Superman.
-Second of the two "Wrecking Crew" songs on Forever Changes.
-Originally Carol Kaye was slotted to play bass on this song. She struggled with the complexity of it and was replaced by Kenny whose fluid playing worked out perfectly.
-Controversy exists in regards to who actually played drums on this cut. Official records and Johnny say that Hal Blaine was the drummer. Michael swears that Hal Blaine wasn't even in the studio that day and that Jim Gordon was the true drummer. I choose to go with Michael's memory mainly because out of human nature one would probably pay closer attention to someone playing your specific instrument.
-Gordon himself would later achieve greater fame in his involvement with Delaney and Bonnie and Derrick and the Dominoes. Unfortunately he ran into tragic circumstances in the 80's and has been incarcerated since 1983.
-Out of the background vocals, I can hear: face, heart, hands. Not sure what else might have been spoken. Anyone?
-Reportedly arranged by Neil Young, who was originally slated to produce the album with Bruce Botnick. He dropped out of the project quickly.
-Quotable: Michael provides more info regarding the Wrecking Crew controversy:

"... stuff like giving Hal Blaine the credit for playing drums on "Daily Planet". It was Jim Gordon. (Hal was a member of the Wrecking Crew alright, but he was tied up at another session, so Jim took his place, as he sometimes did). Another mistake contained in some of the interviews was giving Carol Kaye credit for playing bass on the same cut. Kenny played the bass part. Carol was bumped over to rhythm guitar. And that we were all crying really big tears when Elektra brought in the studio cats and chicks. Although we were, in fact, all sitting on the couch sulking and pissed off and wanting to kill somebody, we weren't crying. I think maybe whoever said we were crying, got us mixed up with "The Babies" who also did some recording at Sunset Sound."

-IMHO: Kenny's inclusion on bass is vital to this song. With all the weird twists and turns it takes (maybe more than any other on the album) his bass really drives the song and makes it one the albums best. Listen to this song and just concentrate on the bass part sometime.
-Fun fact: Reality and image are usually exclusive. Want proof? Look at the back cover photo of Forever Changes. Johnny appears to be praying to God; Kenny and Michael are sternly contemplating something; Arthur is holding a broken vase in an artistic statement to say that Flower Power is dying. In reality, Johnny is hiding a joint, Kenny just took a long drag from a cigarette and exhaled just as the picture was snapped, Michael was bummed out over a bad haircut, and Arthur serindipitously just picked up a vase that Michael accidentally broke. Bryan? Perhaps he was just having a laugh at the whole thing, or maybe glad that he wasn't going to look like he was a kid in a sandbox again.

-Lyrics:

In the morning we arise and
Start the day the same old way
As yesterday the day before and
All in all it's just a day like
All the rest so do your best with
Chewing gum and it is oh so
Repetitious
Waiting on the sun

Down on Go-stop Boulevard it
Never fails to bring me down
The sirens and the accidents and
For a laugh there's Plastic Nancy
She's real fancy with her children
They'll go far, she
Buys them toys to
Keep in practice
Waiting on the war

I feel shivers in my spine
When the iceman, yes his ice is melting
Won't be there on time
Hope he finds a rhyme
For his little mind

I can see you
With no (hands/face)
Eyes I need you
You're my (heart/face)

Look we're going round and round

[silentseason]

"Old Man"
From: Forever Changes, side one, song five
-Running time: 2:57
-Recorded: August 12, 1967 Western Recorders Hollywood
-Written by: Bryan MacLean
-Lead vocal, rhythm guitar: Bryan MacLean
-Lead guitar: Johnny Echols
-Bass: Kenny Forssi
-Drums: Michael Stuart
-Piano: Don Randi
-This was Bryan's only vocal offering for Forever Changes, and only his third (and last) recorded vocal with the group.
-This song was based on the "Troika" movement from famous composer Sergei Prokofiev's 'Lieutenant Kije Suite' from the 1934 Soviet film.
-In this song are traces fo the beginnings of Bryan's spiritual and christian recordings that he would pursue later on after he left the group. Bryan denied that the "Old Man" in the song was his father, insteading stating that it was just a generic wise elder man.
-This song almost did not make the cut for inclusion on Forever Changes. Bryan was not happy with the orchestration, instead preferring a more simple, direct folk song.
-Johnny almost sang lead. Bryan's pitch wasn't originally working within the technical limitations of Sunset Sound. They moved the recording over to Western Recorders (which had double the tracks of Sunset) and were able to make his voice work for the song.
-Michael's drumming consisted only of cymbals on this track.
-Quotable/myth buster: Would like to add a new wrinkle to this series when and where possible. Alot of false myths have followed the band and I hope to dispell them when appropriate. In this instance, the original incarnation of LoVE was a group in the truest sense, and not just sidemen complimenting Arthur as has been sometimes supposed. Johnny explains how songs would come to fruition:

"Arthur was always more of a keyboard player, than a guitarist. Back in 1964, I taught him a few chords, as did John Lucky. These were the basics, C_ E_ Em_A_ Am _F_ and G. For Arthur that seemed enough. He didn't want to put in the time, or effort required to become proficient on the instrument. In a kind of weird way, his lack of guitar skills, is what made it work for us. When a [group] of people are given cart blanche, to develop a song, you have a huge palate of idea's to draw from. He allowed Bryan, Kenny, and I, the freedom to create music and play chords, that we felt fit the song. Add to that, the exceptional rhythmic foundation that Michael laid, and you have a formula that worked. The outlines Arthur showed us, and the subsequent tracks, were often "light years" apart."

-IMHO: This is probably the least known of all of Forever Change's tracks, but that doesn't lessen it in the least. It was Bryan's most passionate vocal delivery of all his songs as he is really emphatic throughout, but especially in the mid-section.
-Fun fact: Perhaps 'Back In The USSR' would be a more apropos title for this song. Besides the Prokofiev influence, album orchestrator David Angel has Russian ancestory. Angel, in some ways the unofficial "sixth" member of LoVE for Forever Changes, was a renaissance man: a classical and jazz musician who earned his living by scoring TV and films in Los Angeles. He was recommended to album co-producer Bruce Botnick by Botnick's mother. His ability to translate Arthur and Bryan's visions to the strings and horns of Forever Changes is impossible to understate as far as importance.

-Lyrics:

I once knew a man
Been everywhere in the world
Gave me a tiny ivory ball
Said it would bring me good
Never believed it would until
I have been loving you

Dear old man
He'd seen most everything
Gave me a piece of good advice
Said it would do me well
I couldn't really tell until
I have been loving you

Now it seems
Things are not so strange
I can see more clearly
Suddenly I've found my way
I know the old man would laugh
He spoke of love's sweeter days
And in his eloquent way
I think he was speaking of you
You are so lovely
You didn't have to say a thing

But I remember that old man
Telling me he'd seen the light
Gave me a small brown leather book
Insisted that he was right
I only heard him slightly
'Til I heard you whisper
Took you up all in my arms

Dear old man
Wise old man
Fine old man, now

[silentseason]

"The Red Telephone"
From: Forever Changes, side one, song six
-Running time: 4:45
-Recorded: August 12, 1967 Western Recorders Hollywood
-Written by: Arthur Lee
-Lead vocal: Arthur Lee
-Lead guitar, background vocal: Johnny Echols
-Rhythm guitar, background vocal: Bryan MacLean
-Bass, background vocal: Kenny Forssi
-Drums, background vocal: Michael Stuart
-Harpsichord: Don Randi
-Working title of this song was 'Hillside'.
-The song's title comes from the infamous hotline between Washington DC and Moscow during the height of the Cold War. It was the last line of communication to avoid nuclear holocaust.
-The title plays in perfectly with Arthur's widely stated belief that he was not going to live much longer around the time he penned this song.
-Johnny speculates that some of the inspiration for the song may be from the 'Marat/Sade' movie, which he saw at the theatres with Arthur in February 1967.
-The 'Phil' in the lyrics refers to then Whisky A-Go-Go manager Phil Tanzini.
-Myth buster: One of the worst myths to dog the band was the 'Donut Shop Robberies'. It purports that Johnny and Kenny committed armed robberies on LA area doughnut shops to support their drug addictions after the band had split. As is the case in most rumours, pieces of facts were taken and twisted to fit a story. To set the record straight: these never happened with Johnny or Kenny, and there has never once been a shred of evidence to support this false theory. If you ever come across it in the future, pass the word: completely untrue.
-Quotable: Michael relates his thoughts on the famous LoVE billboard promoting Forever Changes in Los Angeles in late '67:

"First of all I was extremely flattered that the billboard was located above the Liquor Locker,... located near the corner of Crescent Heights on Sunset, it was the primary booze outlet to all the stars who lived in Laurel Canyon.

The funny thing about the configuration of our faces is, I don't think Bob Pepper knew who was who in the group, or maybe he didn't care. He was just working off the photos he was handed and trying to come up with something artistically interesting. But the bottom line is, turning our faces into the shape of an organic human heart was a stroke of genius, one that (barring any evidence to the contrary) had to have come from the creative mind of Bob Pepper, himself.

I guess it might have gone something like...Bob's burning the midnight oil, trying hard to come up with something unusual, only perhaps using the stereotypical valentine, but then suddenly his subconscious harkens back to an anatomy class he took in college... and the light bulb goes on, "Hey, wait a minute..."

I didn't catch it the first time I saw it, either. My Dad was the first to mention to me that the shape resembled a human heart."

-IMHO: My favorite song from Forever Changes, my complaint about it is that it isn't long enough. The lyrics, orchestration and band are all in unison in conveying the pervading feeling of paranoia.
-Fun fact: The best in-studio goof of the band ever captured was during a take of this song, during which they easily slid into a raucous version of 'Woolly Bully'. Despite whatever happened before and after, this was a priceless moment of band unity, even when you include Arthur's "Time is money" prompting.

-Lyrics:

Sitting on a hillside
Watching all the people die
I'll feel much better on the other side
I'll thumb a ride

I believe in magic
Why, because it is so quick
I don't need power when I'm hypnotized
Look in my eyes
What are you seeing (I see...)
How do you feel?
I feel real phony when my name is Phil
Or was that Bill?

Life goes on here
Day after day
I don't know if I am living or if I'm
Supposed to be
Sometimes my life is so eerie
And if you think I'm happy
Paint me (white, ...)

I've been here once
I've been here twice
I don't know if the third's the fourth or if the -
The fifth's to fix
Sometimes I deal with numbers
And if you wanna count me
Count me out

I don't need the time of day
Anytime with me's OK
I just don't want you using up my time
'Cause that's not right

They're locking them up today
They're throwing away the key
I wonder who it'll be tomorrow, you or me?
We're all normal and we want our freedom
Freedom... freedom... freedom... freedom
Freedom... freedom... freedom... freedom
Alla God's chilluns gotta have dere freedom

[silentseason]

"Maybe The People Would Be The Times Or Between Clark And Hilldale"
From: Forever Changes, side two, song one
-Running time: 3:30
-Recorded: 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
-Title is so long that it would not fit in the subject header.
-The title of the song refers to the block of Sunset Boulevard that the Whisky A Go-Go is located. The actual address of the Whisky is 8901 W Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood CA.
-The 'Slop Affair' referred to in the lyrics was a resteraunt also located Sunset Blvd, the 'Eating Affair'. I could not find out any info on it.
-Not counting the overdubbing sessions this was the last song recorded for Forever Changes, three months after the project started. This is a testimony to perserverance as the first two LoVE albums only required a week each to record.
-Unsung heroes: They got no individual glory for their outstanding contributions to Forever Changes, but I think the string and horn players who played on the album deserve mentioning. They are: violin: Robert Barene, Arnold Belnick, James Getzoff, Marshall Sosson, Darrell Terwilliger. Viola: Norman Botnick. Cello: Jesse Ehrlich. String Bass: Chuck Berghofer. Trumpet: Bud Brisbois, Roy Caton, Ollie Mitchell. Trombone: Richard Leith.
-Quotable: Johnny on the song's meaning:

" Between Clark and Hilldale, is very much an auto biography. It tells of a young boy, who always wanted to be "somebody". He moved away from familiar surroundings, to make his way in the larger world. He became a success, everyone loved him, played his music, and wanted to know him. Soon he was the "big-shot" Living in the penthouse, where everyone could see him on the "roof". Soon he begins to wonder if those people who now profess to love him really do, (I wonder if it's me)? This was one of my favorite songs, not only because of its meaning, it was just plain fun to play."

-IMHO: The groove on this song is the most infectious of the album, and I think this is a 'Michael song' as he pushes the beat as Arthur kept urging him to do on this album.
-Fun fact: The 'LoVE' logo was designed by Elektra art direction Bill Harvey, who also designed the Doors logo. I believe Arthur's estate has legal rights to it now. The band name 'LoVE' came only after the band went through various name changes: The LAG's (LA group), the American Four, the Grass Roots (which was stolen from them), contenders Asylum Choir and Summer's Children before LoVE was settled on. Right name for the band: a simple four letter word that has a multitude of drama behind it.

Lyrics:


What is happening and how have you been
Gotta go but I'll see you again
And oh, the music is so loud
And then I fade into the...

Crowds of people standing everywhere
'Cross the street I'm at this slop affair
And here they always play my songs
And me, I wonder if it's...

Wrong or right they come here just the same
Telling everyone about their games
And if you think it obsolete
Then you go back across the street
Yeah, street

When I leave now don't you weep for me
I'll be back, just save a seat for me
But if you just can't make the room
Look up and see me on the...

Moon's a common scene around my town
Yeah where everyone is painted brown
And if we do get stuck away
Let's go paint everybody gray
Yeah, gray, yeah