SONGS THAT SAVED MY LIFE # 15: WE'RE ALL NORMAL WHEN WE WANT OUR FREEDOM
Despite my wide ranging tastes in music - and my deep love for it - i barely own any studio albums that date before the 1970s. I'm not really a fan of The Beatles or The Rolling Stones and whilst i love The Beach Boys, The Kinks, The Who, The Small Faces, plus vast swathes of soul, Motown, Mod-related music and so on i've yet to buy anything beyond compilations of that music. I put this down to the sheer amount of new and old music i have gotten into, plus limits on time and money. The free covermount cds' you get with music magazines have opened my ears to a lot of older music, but aside from various artists compilations, greatest hits and best of's i've yet to delve deeper into a lot of it. There are currently only two albums i own that come from the 1960's: Pink Floyd's The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, and the album i'm going to write about today - the dark folk-rock masterpiece that is Forever Changes, by the Los Angeles band Love.
Love were formed in LA in 1965 by singer/songwriters Arthur Lee and Bryan MacLean, and played what was later termed "garage rock", with diverse influences including folk, blues, jazz, orchestral pop, flamenco and latin american music. They were signed to Elektra but never quite attained the same level of success as their labelmates The Doors, remaining a largely cult act. This may have been down to Arthur Lees' refusal to tour outside of LA, limiting the bands opportunities. From their garage rock roots they developed a broader sound over the first two albums, taking in the proto-punk of their only hit single "7 & 7 Is" and their deconstructed cover of Bacharachs and Davids' "My Little Red Book", to the more baroque pop and experimental stylings of their second album Da Capo and songs like "Stephanie Knows Who", "Que Vida!", and the side-long "Revelation". With drug abuse and deteriorating relationships in the band becoming a problem, creativity began to stagnate. At the suggestion of their label boss, Lee embraced a more acoustic folk-based direction. After enlisting session musicians to shock his bandmates from their drug-addled stupor recording finally got underway. Whilst band across the U.S were largely embracing the "flower power" movement and the Summer Of Love, Love took a different approach: Lee's cynicism with the whole scene and his growing concerns about his own mortality embued the lyrics with a much darker feel. The stripped back and more acoustic sound - electric guitars are used sparingly and to great effect - was further embellished with orchestral and string arrangements to create a melancholy and sometimes foreboding feel: from the lonely mariachi horns on opening track "Alone Again Or" to the epic orchestral climax of closing song "You Set The Scene" the whole album feels like it is foreshadowing some dark event, perhaps an end to something or someone - Lee sings of having little time left and maybe feeling better "on the other side", feeling that this would be his final statement in this life. Themes of paranoia, loneliness, alienation, unrest (personal and civil) and the general feeling that all was not well with the world permeate the songs - though there are few specific references to actual world events, only a few hints of the then current Vietnam War on "A House Is Not A Motel" which mentions blood mixing with mud and turning to grey, something that Lee allegedly heard from a veteran.
The opening "Alone Again Or" - written by MacLean and co-sang by him and Lee - is undoubtedly the best known song from the album, having been covered numerous times over the years, a paean to being kept waiting by a girlfriend given an otherworldly sadness by the mariachi horns and strings. That the song begins and ends with a lone guitar only adds to the longing feel, yet it is strangely uplifting. After this fairly gentle beginning comes "A House Is Not A Motel", a fairly stripped back folk-rock affair, with occasional bursts of electric guitar. The lyrics envision chaos and war, Lee's snarling delivery enforcing the imagery of "streets paved with blood".
"Andmoreagain" reins the darkness back in for a crooned Bacharach-inspired tune about addiction and temptations, with Lee "wrapped in my armour".
"The Daily Planet" is a Who-styled fast paced strummer, concerning the daily grind and the repetiteveness of general life - "look we're going round and round".
MacLeans' "Old Man" is probably the most florid and lyrically positive song on Forever Changes, a simple tune about being given advice by an old man who'd "seen almost everything", with minor chord changes that lend it a slightly sad feel.
Closing (in old money) side one is the dark and paranoid epic "The Red Telephone" - "sitting on a hillside/ watching all the people die" intones Lee on a song that illustrates his obsession with his mortality, and his feeling that the world was taking a downward turn, especially in the closing mantra "they're locking them up today, they're throwing away the key/i wonder who it'll be tomorrow, you ore me?", maybe a reference to the authorities and their treatment of anyone "different" - hippies, black people, minorities - and the response of people watering down their identities trying to fit in: "we're all normal when we want our freedom".
Opening side two is the musically upbeat Maybe The People Would Be The Times or Between Clark And Hilldale - the title a reference to Superman - amid images of street scenes and a place where they "always play my songs". But it doesn't take long for the cynicism to kick in, with references to conformity and racism : "Here where everyone is painted brown/and if we feel that's not the way, let's go paint everybody grey", whilst a cheerful guitar line and a trumpet mingle.
"Live And Let Live" begins with a pleasing jangly guitar strum before Lee delivers one of the oddest lines in popular music; "Oh the snot has caked against my pants/it has turned into crystal". This bizarre opening belies the darker theme of the song, which seems to concern the treatment of Native Americans by white settlers, and their domination of the land. Again, there is no outright hectoring, just hints. A shock of electric guitar appears to give an otherwise mid-tempo stroll of a song a kick up the arse.
"The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This" is a outright cynical sneer at someone who only sees the pretty things in life, ignoring the darkness that Lee feels is about to swamp us all. Lines about hummingbirds, girls with pigtails and merry-go-rounds are couched in a cheerful string-inflected tune that wouldn't sound out of place on a childrens tv show, before the song comes to a jarring end to remind us that Love are being ironic. The cynical worldview reaches a climax on the snarling, Dylan-esque "Bummer In The Summer" - "you can go ahead if you want to, cause i ain't got no papers on you" - before the climax of the album kicks in.
"You Set The Scene" begins fairly innocently - a fast fingerpicked guitar and cellos backing a friendly lyric - "where are you walking, i've seen you walking/have you been there before?", before Lee tells us he will burn. The upbeat section of the song ends abruptly about 2 and a half minutes in, to be replaced by a more stately orchestrated pace, where Lee reminds us of his own mortality and the temporary nature of things: "this is the life and time that i am living/and i'll face each day with a smile/for the time that i've been givens' such a little while/and the things that i must do consist of more than style", "this is the only thing that i am sure of/is that all that lives is gonna die", before questioning those who think that "life is just a game" if they like the part they are playing. Lee leads the song into a gentler, more romantic refrain about before circling back to the previous theme, and the song builds into a joyous climax of strings and horns.
Love were formed in LA in 1965 by singer/songwriters Arthur Lee and Bryan MacLean, and played what was later termed "garage rock", with diverse influences including folk, blues, jazz, orchestral pop, flamenco and latin american music. They were signed to Elektra but never quite attained the same level of success as their labelmates The Doors, remaining a largely cult act. This may have been down to Arthur Lees' refusal to tour outside of LA, limiting the bands opportunities. From their garage rock roots they developed a broader sound over the first two albums, taking in the proto-punk of their only hit single "7 & 7 Is" and their deconstructed cover of Bacharachs and Davids' "My Little Red Book", to the more baroque pop and experimental stylings of their second album Da Capo and songs like "Stephanie Knows Who", "Que Vida!", and the side-long "Revelation". With drug abuse and deteriorating relationships in the band becoming a problem, creativity began to stagnate. At the suggestion of their label boss, Lee embraced a more acoustic folk-based direction. After enlisting session musicians to shock his bandmates from their drug-addled stupor recording finally got underway. Whilst band across the U.S were largely embracing the "flower power" movement and the Summer Of Love, Love took a different approach: Lee's cynicism with the whole scene and his growing concerns about his own mortality embued the lyrics with a much darker feel. The stripped back and more acoustic sound - electric guitars are used sparingly and to great effect - was further embellished with orchestral and string arrangements to create a melancholy and sometimes foreboding feel: from the lonely mariachi horns on opening track "Alone Again Or" to the epic orchestral climax of closing song "You Set The Scene" the whole album feels like it is foreshadowing some dark event, perhaps an end to something or someone - Lee sings of having little time left and maybe feeling better "on the other side", feeling that this would be his final statement in this life. Themes of paranoia, loneliness, alienation, unrest (personal and civil) and the general feeling that all was not well with the world permeate the songs - though there are few specific references to actual world events, only a few hints of the then current Vietnam War on "A House Is Not A Motel" which mentions blood mixing with mud and turning to grey, something that Lee allegedly heard from a veteran.
The opening "Alone Again Or" - written by MacLean and co-sang by him and Lee - is undoubtedly the best known song from the album, having been covered numerous times over the years, a paean to being kept waiting by a girlfriend given an otherworldly sadness by the mariachi horns and strings. That the song begins and ends with a lone guitar only adds to the longing feel, yet it is strangely uplifting. After this fairly gentle beginning comes "A House Is Not A Motel", a fairly stripped back folk-rock affair, with occasional bursts of electric guitar. The lyrics envision chaos and war, Lee's snarling delivery enforcing the imagery of "streets paved with blood".
"Andmoreagain" reins the darkness back in for a crooned Bacharach-inspired tune about addiction and temptations, with Lee "wrapped in my armour".
"The Daily Planet" is a Who-styled fast paced strummer, concerning the daily grind and the repetiteveness of general life - "look we're going round and round".
MacLeans' "Old Man" is probably the most florid and lyrically positive song on Forever Changes, a simple tune about being given advice by an old man who'd "seen almost everything", with minor chord changes that lend it a slightly sad feel.
Closing (in old money) side one is the dark and paranoid epic "The Red Telephone" - "sitting on a hillside/ watching all the people die" intones Lee on a song that illustrates his obsession with his mortality, and his feeling that the world was taking a downward turn, especially in the closing mantra "they're locking them up today, they're throwing away the key/i wonder who it'll be tomorrow, you ore me?", maybe a reference to the authorities and their treatment of anyone "different" - hippies, black people, minorities - and the response of people watering down their identities trying to fit in: "we're all normal when we want our freedom".
Opening side two is the musically upbeat Maybe The People Would Be The Times or Between Clark And Hilldale - the title a reference to Superman - amid images of street scenes and a place where they "always play my songs". But it doesn't take long for the cynicism to kick in, with references to conformity and racism : "Here where everyone is painted brown/and if we feel that's not the way, let's go paint everybody grey", whilst a cheerful guitar line and a trumpet mingle.
"Live And Let Live" begins with a pleasing jangly guitar strum before Lee delivers one of the oddest lines in popular music; "Oh the snot has caked against my pants/it has turned into crystal". This bizarre opening belies the darker theme of the song, which seems to concern the treatment of Native Americans by white settlers, and their domination of the land. Again, there is no outright hectoring, just hints. A shock of electric guitar appears to give an otherwise mid-tempo stroll of a song a kick up the arse.
"The Good Humor Man He Sees Everything Like This" is a outright cynical sneer at someone who only sees the pretty things in life, ignoring the darkness that Lee feels is about to swamp us all. Lines about hummingbirds, girls with pigtails and merry-go-rounds are couched in a cheerful string-inflected tune that wouldn't sound out of place on a childrens tv show, before the song comes to a jarring end to remind us that Love are being ironic. The cynical worldview reaches a climax on the snarling, Dylan-esque "Bummer In The Summer" - "you can go ahead if you want to, cause i ain't got no papers on you" - before the climax of the album kicks in.
"You Set The Scene" begins fairly innocently - a fast fingerpicked guitar and cellos backing a friendly lyric - "where are you walking, i've seen you walking/have you been there before?", before Lee tells us he will burn. The upbeat section of the song ends abruptly about 2 and a half minutes in, to be replaced by a more stately orchestrated pace, where Lee reminds us of his own mortality and the temporary nature of things: "this is the life and time that i am living/and i'll face each day with a smile/for the time that i've been givens' such a little while/and the things that i must do consist of more than style", "this is the only thing that i am sure of/is that all that lives is gonna die", before questioning those who think that "life is just a game" if they like the part they are playing. Lee leads the song into a gentler, more romantic refrain about before circling back to the previous theme, and the song builds into a joyous climax of strings and horns.
The album was a failure in the bands homeland, although it did reach the top 30 in the UK. This line up of the band lasted for one more single before Lee sacked them all, reconvening with different members for 3 more albums to little fanfare. Whilst the band sank into relative obscurity Forever Changes slowly acquired a classic album status, heralded by musicians and critics alike. Arthur Lee made sporadic appearances during the 70's and 80's with various lineups, performing both Love and solo material, but it wasn't until the mid-90's that any notion of the original band reforming was mentioned. That idea was swiftly curtailed after Lee was sentenced to six years in prison for firearms offences. On his release in 2001 he began something of a comeback: backed by psychedelic band Baby Lemonade, he began touring as Arthur Lee with Love to great acclaim, including the Sunday afternoon "legends" slot at Glastonbury, playing Forever Changes with a full string and horn section. These tours carried on for a few years, culminating in a tour celebrating the 35th anniversary of the album featuring original lead guitarist Johnny Echols (sadly, Bryan MacLean passed away in 1998, as had Ken Forssi). Further tours in 2004/05 happened before Lee was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, passing away in 2006.
The legend of Love and the eccentric genius at their helm has grown over the decades since their heyday, and Forever Changes - along with their other albums - have been reissued many times. Much has been written about them, the stories and meanings behind the songs speculated on endlessly. But, as with all artists, you have to hear the music for yourself. I bought Forever Changes in the early 2000's when it was reissued in an expanded edition, and each listen has revealed something new. I rank this album amongst my very favourites, and i suspect that if you give it a listen, you will too.
The legend of Love and the eccentric genius at their helm has grown over the decades since their heyday, and Forever Changes - along with their other albums - have been reissued many times. Much has been written about them, the stories and meanings behind the songs speculated on endlessly. But, as with all artists, you have to hear the music for yourself. I bought Forever Changes in the early 2000's when it was reissued in an expanded edition, and each listen has revealed something new. I rank this album amongst my very favourites, and i suspect that if you give it a listen, you will too.
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