Introduction
Arguably the greatest psychedelic album, this record fused a variety of influences with excellent performances and arrangements.
Preparing For The Album
According to Ken in the break between Da Capo and FC 'We were spending our money and enjoying life a little bit'. The band was quite surly in manner to the press, and rarely gave concerts outside the LA area. They became cocooned in 'The Castle' an old Bela Lugusi mansion on the hillside up Mulholland Way. This lent them an air of mystery, but ultimately lessened their exposure. Their non-appearance at the Monterrey festival is frequently cited. According to some the band should be called 'Hate' not 'Love'. People speculated that they had assaulted a visiting interviewer and that Maclean had engaged in wild sexual acts. There was even a rumour that Lee had murdered roadie Rappaport. The closed nature of the group, made such false rumours proliferate.
Lee trusted no-one, including their label Elektra. He felt they would just try to rip them off. He managed to renegotiate his initial contract claiming that he was a minor when it was initially agreed (making it invalid). Lee himself was hardly upfront with the rest of the band - ensuring from early on that all the royalties went to him. Maclean later said that Lee was the leader, as he could beat him up if he wanted. Bryan and Arthur were seen by the others as the leader and his deputy. They went out walking their dogs together, and went back to Arthur's house to work out on versions of the songs on accoustic guitar. Stuart was friends with Forssi, as they were both relatively withdrawn and quiet.
Remarkably the band was on the verge of splitting while the album was being recorded. They rehearsed rarely (only Forssi and Lee taking any interest). They kept in shape mainly through live shows. Maclean preferred playing tennis to rehearsal. Drugs was also a major problem affecting probably the whole band. Lee seemed to take it best. Although he was on acid 24 hours a day according to Holtzman, his enthusiasm for the band was undimmed. Echols was heavy with Heroine addiction (selling his guitar once for it), as was Forssi. Maclean was not yet in the desperate state he would be in the late 60s/early 70s, but he was far from drug free.
Artwork
Arthur came up with a rough idea for the Love logo, this was finished off by WS Harvy. It's been described as an imitation of the Byrds logo, but with it's 'male' and 'female' symbols it's quite distinctive. The watercolour on the front cover was by Bob Pepper. It resembles the Beatles' Revolver album cover somewhat. The faces are presented alla Mount Rushmore. They seem to melt into or grow out of each other. This can probably be seen to refer to the oneness / universality of the pychedelic experience (ironic in view of their imminent break up). It may also be meant to suggest the coastline of the African continent. This would relate it to the sixties' exploration of other cultures. In Live and Let Live Arthur Lee mentions the American Indian civilization (see below). Maclean felt the colours made it look rather garish, and said the band had no say in it. Posters advertising the album aroung LA were slightly different, suggesting last minute changes. There was no smile on Arthur's face and there was a ring around his iris suggesting that he was looking right.
The photo on the back cover (by Ronnie Haran) was taken in the garden of Arthur's house. Other photos of the group on other releases were also taken here (by it's stairwell, or by an old chimney stack). The pose is typical for a pop album - each group member looks in different directions and there is a variety of expression. This makes it a more dynamic and interesting picture. Bryan seems to be laughing at the whole enterprise (or on an 'up'?) and Forssi looks away (disinterested, distracted). Stuart and Lee look out menacingly, while Echols seems lost in meditation. Arthur's holding a vase of broken flowers (possibly artificial). This appears to be a satiric comment on flower power. Love isn't just about 'love' but also addresses the downside of drugs and paranoia. A later reissue of the album replaced this photo with one of Arthur alone (the credits were also altered to make it appear much more Arthur's work).
The Songs
Alone Again Or This was written when Bryan was living alone (no girlfriend, but not literally - as he was with roadie Neil Rappaport). He said the inspiration may have come at night, with the sound of his mothers flamenco dancing in his ears (which he had been exposed to since childhood - she dragged him to her dance lessons). Botnick claimed the Flamenco rhythm on the track was due to his influence. The 'Or' in the title was added by Arthur. He also claimed he came up with the words of the song, just singing it straight off when he heard the song ('yeah, I know what the words are'). This is reminiscent of the story of Lennon and 'Getting Better'. But it may not be true.
It certainly took time to finish this song. The song originated well before the FC sessions, probably before the first album. As well as the lyrics which took Maclean a long time to find, the bass part was a while coming too. Forssi said the latter took time as there were many chord changes in the song. He said it took him 2 days to perfect it. There was originally a bridge section in the song (dropped in favour of the instrumental break).
Maclean later tried to distance himself from the lyrics saying they were only of their time and that they should be taken literally. Some say the girl he is waiting for in the song is Androulla Moreno (a girlfriend at one time of Arthur's and Bryan's).
The mix proved controversial. Maclean insisted he took the lead vocal in recording, but in the mix Lee emphasized his harmony vocal. Lee said the guitar started out far too low in the mix, and to hear the listener had to adjust his equipment. Maclean felt it should have had more 'punch' (like Eleanor Rigby') and was not happy with the guitar/bass sound. While he may have wanted a simpler sound in some respects Maclean was happy with the arrangement by Angel. Later he said 'He went even beyond what my concept of the song was'. BM claimed he helped blend the arrangement into the song, Angel taking care of the notes for the trumpets. The arrangement he felt made the song a success. He asked Agel to do something like the orchestration to Rimsy-Korsakov - Capriccio Italian - and to use baroque strings -he names Haydn - under the trumpets). 7 string players were used on the recording, the horns from the LA Philharmonic.
A House Is Not A Motel This song links strongly to the last: it starts quietly like the last ended and is in the same key as that ending. The ambition of the album to create a suite of songs/unified album is apparent.
The title is often seen as a take on the Bacharach/David song 'A House Is Not A Home'. The lyrics are in a cryptic 'stream of consciousness' style. It makes no sense literally but is suggestive. Maclean later claimed Lee's songs were weakened by his 'abstact' lyrics.
The guitar duel at the end (between Lee and Echols) breaks out after the subdued but expectant opening. The compressed sound in the recording makes the guitar explosion at the end all the more powerful. The spluttering guitar at the end suggests the complete mental fragmentation of drugs.
Andmoreagain This beautiful accoustic guitar led piece offers the strongest contrast to the raving electic lead earlier. There has been alot of controversy about who was responsible for what on this album. This was the second track the session players were involved with (see section on Daily Planet). Maclean said he did all the lead guitar work (Forssi said he only did rhythm), except for single string leads. It has even been rumoured Lee played virtually all parts (surely highly unlikely - though in saying he could play all the instruments Botnick may have been true). Forssi said he could only play guitar (not very well) and do vocals - don't think so!
Sometimes seen as a successor to 'And More' off Love's first album, this is clearly referring to Androulo Moreno. The voice is near off key at points ('And I'm'). The harmonies are very strange and psychedelic. Some think this is Lee's best song.
Daily Planet This was recorded on the first day of studio time. Neil Young was originally going to produce it, just as he was on the verge of leaving Buffalo Springfield. He wasn't well though. Some claim he helped arrange the piece. Again session players were brought in. These were from Phil Spector's old 'Wrecking Crew'- Hal Blaine (drums) along with Don Randi and Billy Strange. According to Forssi the girl (most likely Carol Kaye) who was trying to get the bass part down was having trouble (as there were so many changes and session players could only read from charts). As they hadn't wrote it they couldn't feel it. He described Hal Blaine's playing on drums as 'wacking his kit like a wet dish rag'. Forssi's remarks are extreme, and suggest he still hadn't got over the embarrassment of session musicians taking over. Guitar and drum overdubs were added so the track sounded more like Love. Overlapping vocals appear here as later.
The theme of the song is clearly the repetitious nature of life ('look we're going round and round'), and the need for drug induced change. We are told that rhymes are only for narrow minds (probably because of their constricting effect). This is ironic as he makes playful use of rhymes throughout the album. Lee later said 'my singing is the key to the whole thing' and that while he had a certain kind of voice he could use it how he wanted. From the mournful voice of Andmoreagain to the snarling tone of Daily Planet - we already have the full range.
Old Man Bryan Maclean dismissed suggestions that this was about Arthur Lee (who was obviously young at the time anyway). Maclean said the words should be taken literally, and (apparently slightly embarrassed) said they were of their time. In his words 'I was very romantic and dramatic', 'I was about 20 at the time'. Meaning can be read into the lyrics though. Later Maclean became a 'born again Christian'. Even at the time of FC he later said that he had similar beliefs (and was talking to the band members about it, though they looked askance). Maclean at this time was very self conscious about his singing voice which he felt was very weak (he tried to model it on David Crosby). Whenever he heard this song he said he crawled under his bed! Nevertheless Maclean made sure he sang it. He had been unhappy about Lee's singing of Orange Skies on the Da Capo album. He felt AL was singing out of his range and had gone off pitch. It was the closest they came to fighting. He has said there wasn't an actual old man it was about, but that he may have wanted a father figure at the time (his own having died). Apparently he was interested in the musical (phonetic) effect of the words in his songs, as much as their literal meaning.
Maclean said he took much longer on his songs than Lee: 'I worked on my songs, I constructed them'. Maclean said the melody for this song was taken partly from the Troika of Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kije Suite (just the opening notes of the latter?). The arrangement was particularly controversial. David Angel (who had worked with Andy Williams, and later played in a jazz band with Maclean) did -for me- a fine job on this song. The twisting strains of the strings aroung the main melody, and the fanfares from the brass (announcing the 'revelation') seem perfect. For Maclean though it was all "too busy". He wanted a simpler folk song type of piece. He claims he was strongly influenced by folk (blues and Appalachian music), claiming it brought out his Irishness. This can be heard on the version off Ifyoubelievin. After hearing the initial playback Maclean expressed his feelings clearly to Angel who was hurt. Things were made up later when Maclean heard Alone Again Or.
The Red Telephone There was actually a red telephone at Arthur's house. There were tales of it continually ringing, and Arthur throwing it around the room in frustration. Of course the title also suggests nuclear apocalypse (as maybe the 'war' in the Daily Planet does). Lee later said he felt this album would be his final words to the world. Death could be felt in it he said. Maybe nowhere is this more evident than on this track. Arthur apparently looked out from his window from The Castle and liked to look at the happenings below ('sitting on the hillside / Watching all the people die'). Some band members felt this reflected his inferiority complex. Much the same observational lyrical sense is at work on the Daily Planet.
This disturbing track manages to suggest it's paranoia just through the phrasing. The staccato way of highlighting words has a strange chanting almost occult effect. It's been described as a kind of nursery-rhyme rap. Jonathon Eisen described it as 'Sensual pronounciation'. He sees the drama arising out of the impact of the words. It's a dramatic song like Old Man because of the production as well. The arrangement doesn't merely seem to serve as a backdrop, it seems to have it's own voice in the development of the song. The message is clear - AL wants to be counted out of the rat race, but he finds drugs boring ('the fifths to fix'). It's nihilistic. Someone giggles a bit after one of them says 'we want our freedom'. They repeat the word 'freedom' like some mantra. Also, before the line 'We're All Normal And We Want Our Freedom', they hum some long held notes. All this seems to refer to the rampant 'Eastern psychedelia' around at the time. But are they taking it seriously?
Maybe The People Be The Times Between Clark and Hilldale With it's upbeat nature, this sounds like a paean to the Sunset Strip. A word omitted in the last line of one verse is the first in the next. It's a playful way of fooling rhyming expectations. Clark and Hilldale were cross-streets that marked the start and end of the Sunset Strip's hippist block. We're told if you don't like this music you should go to the other side of the street. The division between the hippest and the nerds is clear. AL wants us to join him in this celebration of psychedelia.
Live And Let Live According to Forssi Arthur had this one in his mind for quite some time (pre-first album). Forssi claimed he helped write this. Often the theme is said to be about the deprivation of the Indians' from their land (like Neil Young's 'Broken Arrow'). Images of imprisonment and entrapment (made my soul a cell) ring ironic in view of Lee's present imprisonment. The guitar solo at the end relates back to A House Is Not A Motel. It feels more controlled but still powerful. The next track feels like breaking out into the open - the freedom of the drug experience?
The Good Humour Man He Sees Everything Like This The opening figure reminds me of the start of The Red Telephone. Instead of that nightmare journey, we have an idyll. Some feel the horns impart a rather doleful feel to this track. The horns don't have the urgency of elsewhere on the album. Contrasting to the smooth legato opening is the 'da da' section with the staccato strings and the jumpy ending. To me it sounds like Arthur was on an 'up'. Maclean later claimed that the biggest influence on Lee's music was himself. This is questionable, but there was some influence. Lee tracks like Que Vidas and The Castle off Da Capo indicate this. FC moved even further from R&B to a neo-classical / baroque style. It has also been suggested Lee wanted to bring a simpler, folkier feel to the album. Lee said he was doing piano-based songs during FC (later turning to guitar-based).
Bummer In The Summer Arguably out of place stylistically, this track serves -apparently- as light relief before the culmination. Arthur puts on a Dylan accent, and gives us some quick-scat singing. The middle section is a delightful Bo Diddley guitar break. This is further evidence of the stylistic variety in the album, and the ability of the musicians to adapt to this. The lyrics as earlier suggest the need to accept a freedom - without papers on people (a reference to AL's suspicion over record contracts?).
You Set The Scene AL said the title means just what it says. So he is ambitiously addressing the listener - at least by the end. Similarly he moves from his own past memories (pictures) in the song to an emphasis on the now ('it's time'). The listener is urged to accept change through drugs and join the hippest. Lee has since denied or deflected the drugs question. But here he describes a vision of the world 'rearranging'.
Arthur has admitted this is really two songs fitted together. The quiet start and crescendo ending have been compared to AHINAM earlier. The use of cut up strings and tempo changes are very effective. The horns (from AAO, recurring) at the end (while possibly slightly off-key) appear to surge to a positive ending. This song balances The Red Telephone at the end of side 1. Both are epic and unpredicable journeys. Some compare this song to 'A Day In The Life' (Beatles). The seams between the two different ideas are far less apparent in Love's effort.
The Release
The group felt the albums release was of low priority for Electra. The Doors now seemed to be their favourites. The label described the album in a publicity leaflet as a 'vast study in moods'. It seems to have received more publicity in Britain, were Electra aimed it at the college scene. Posters were put on buses. It was said the band would come over if it was a big hit. As suggested earlier though - the band were never ready to promote themselves anyway (their non appearance at Monterey is often cited). In Britain the album got to 24, in the US it only made 154. The critics acclaimed the album however.
Post FC Tracks
During FC another track called Wonder People (aka I Still wonder) was in the session books. Many other tracks though were done before the classic lineup finally split. In January 1968 two tracks were done: Your Mind And We Together / Laughing Stock. These were issued as a single. It's sometimes questioned how many of the classic lineup appeared on these songs. Apart from Lee it seems likely that Echols is involved. The biggest question mark concerns Maclean. Later he said he didn't remember these tracks - but that may be because of faulty memory caused by the drugs he later took. According to Ken Brooks Maclean played on LS but not on YMAW. But in Castle 8 (ed David Housden) it says that BM was on the session sheets for the latter. YMAW consists of overdubbed acoustic guitar and vocals. These two tracks were to be part of a followup album called Gesthemane. This was never released because Electra felt the tracks were of low quality. In addition to the above tracks...
3 songs by Maclean (that Lee felt too much like FC, so left out):
Tired Of Sitting
People
Blues Singer
All of these 3 tracks are available on 'ifyoubelievin' (available on Sundazed Records). Excellent tracks on the cd include Barber John (Bee Gees-like vocals), She Looks Good, Claudia, Kathleen and (a much slower version) of Orange Skies. Some tracks are from the late 60s others are remakes from the early 80s. You can hear sound samples of some of these tracks at various cd stores on the net, and samples of the FC tracks too.
8 more songs by Lee:
The Time Has Come For Some Counting To Be Done
Peaceful Times Again
Six Cents (Or Sense)
Freeway Flyers
Uptown n' Down
Sanctuary (Lee/Echols)
The Outlaw In Me (Lee/Maclean)
Only For A Moment (Lee/Maclean)
A later song by Lee - probably not originally from the FC or Gesthemane sessions but sounding like it - is 'This Is My Song' (from the 'Out There' album).
It seems unlikely that a full version of Gesthemane can ever be compiled. If it existed it would surely have surfaced by now.
The Breakup
It seems Bryan was the first to quit. Far from feeling he was helping to create a masterpiece with FC, he felt it was very hard work and even boring. Later he said he only heard the album once. He preferred the Bee Gees' 'Horizontal' album to FC.
Among the reasons he gave was that the others were too heavy on drugs. In retrospect Maclean himself was hardly drug-free.
Other reasons for the split included musical differences. They are sometimes seen as the first interacial group, and this is partly reflected in their musical diversity. Maclean was interested in the Bee Gees music while Echols and Forssi were into Hendrix and Clapton. Maclean claimed Lee said he would allow more of his songs on the albums than he did. But when the album lineup was selected he always found a reason to leave them out. Later Lee ventured into a more R&B sound. He said he had been persuaded to do FC 'semi-soft'. As with another group in LA - Buffalo Springfield - the very stylistic diversity that made them special was also the means of their downfall. Sandy Pearlman described the Kinks as another band with such diversity. He says Love blended their contrasts instead of leaving them in opposition (like the Kinks on 'Village Green'?). He stressed the link between the seamless rhythm and perfect performance and the listless malaise of the lyrics. FC blends sweet orchestration and hippie idylls with snarling guitar breaks and nihilistic vocals. The overall effect was of dignified paranoia.
A third explanation is that the others had got tired of the financial deal Arthur had negotiated for himself with Elektra. Michael Stuart and Tjay ended up getting a partial court settlement with Arthur (who ended up having to leave the Castle not being able to afford it's rent).
Later Lives
In later life Stuart became a professional photographer, then a court bailiff. He apparently changed his name (to avoid interviews?). Arthur continued making music and touring with a new Love lineup. Presently he is in jail for firing a gun in the air. Bryan Maclean became a born again Christian and worked as the musical leader in a church. Recently he was doing in his words: 'spooky Christian music'. He died last Christmas (from a heart attack). Post-Love Ken made decorative house ornaments. He died recently (of brain cancer). Johnny -it's alleged-was a doughnut stand robber with Ken post FC, but later became a recluse in the Arizona Desert.
Sources
E-mail me at:simonbrewer@postmaster.co.uk if you have any comments, ideas, info....
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