This We Dug: “Forever Changes”
(“Then and now” powerhouse Kristen Tobiason salutes Arthur Lee and all who sailed with him.)
“And if you think I’m happy. Paint. Me. WHITE.”
Arthur Lee’s lyrics are as punk rock as they come. Bold, sociopolitical, but metaphorical and spiritual as poetry. When I first heard “Forever Changes” in 1983, I had no idea that these compositions would change the way I viewed music from that time on. It added dimension to the roots that dug deep, in blues and jazz, and, as an aspiring writer, spoke a language I could relate to.
Lou Damien showed up one sunny afternoon at our house on Mission Street, a white stucco cottage we rented, with red steps and railing, at the split of Park Blvd and Meade Avenue. I remember his smug “look what I got,” Cheshire Cat grin. And he held a large, tell-tale brown, square bag, from his most recent Off the Record purchase. “You’ve got to hear this. ‘Red Telephone.’ Now,” he said, excitedly. Lou was so influenced by this record, he took to wearing the trademark red-&-green spectacles worn by Lee in the ’60s.
“Forever Changes” is one of those artistic masterpieces that came out in 1967. Perhaps, this was Arthur Lee’s “Sgt. Pepper’s,” “Pet Sounds” or “SF Sorrow,” tho’ I tend to set it on a different level. “Alone Again Or”; “The Daily Planet” (which incidentally was produced by Neil Young); “ A House is not a Motel”; “Maybe the People Would Be the Times or Between Clark and Hilldale”; “Bummer in the Summer” … Every song is a work of art.
“But you can go ahead if you want to
cause I ain’t got no papers on you
(no, I don’t — I ain’t got no papers on myself)”
I was lucky to get to see Arthur Lee and Love perform on their “Forever Changes” tour in 2003. Even heavy in his cups, he gave a magical performance, making up some of the words he couldn’t remember as he went along, and towards the end led the crowd in an “anti-President Bush” chorus that was an echo of times past.
I saw him play again in 2004, this time with original member Bryan MacLean. They did a phenomenal set and were fucking ON energetically. The Zombies, who headlined, seemed geriatric in comparison. It’s hard to believe that Arthur is no longer among us.
At the Che Reunion picnic in May, I got to hear Lou Damien’s daughter sing “You Set the Scene” on the grass of our Graveyard Park stomping grounds. The circle was complete, and it was a time for us to reflect on many things. Arthur Lee was one of them.
“This is the time and life that I am living
And I’ll face each day with a smile
For the time that I’ve been given’s such a little while
And the things that I must do consist of more than style
There are places that I am going!”
— Kristen Tobiason
More “This We Dug”!
- This We Dug: A Certain Ratio
- This We Dug: X
- This We Dug: Wire
- This We Dug: The Sex Pistols
- This We Dug: Laurie Partridge
- This We Dug: Johnny Thunders
- This We Dug: K.C. and the Sunshine Band
- This We Dug: Iggy Pop
- This We Dug: the Red Krayola
- This We Dug: X-ray Spex
Tags: Arthur Lee, Bryan MacLean, Che Games for May, Forever Changes, Graveyard Park, Kristen Tobiason, Lou Damien, Love
November 3rd, 2009 at 3:21 pm
I saw one of those Forever Changes concerts about a year before Arthur Lee died, at The Fillmore. It was truly magical. His young band, featuring full horn and string sections, seemed to be having a great time. Kristen, I wonder if you saw Johnny Echols rather Bryan MacLean.
November 3rd, 2009 at 6:46 pm
if ya saw Bryan MacLean you saw a ghost:)…. Forever Changes is one
greatest albums of all time and I gotta say Bryan Macleans song “Alone again or” is just fuggin beautiful…
LOVE is my fave band of all time, since I was about 12 years and my step father pulled his LOVE records from a closet and told my brother and I “if ya like that stuff, check these records out”, we were listening to stuff like The Yardbirds, Troggs and Small Faces… that day changed my life.
As much as I love Forever Changes I would have to say, if I had too choose, and thanks god I don’t, I would choose the first album and the 7&7 is single over Forever Changes because those records are the ones that first sucked me in….. 7&7 is, is just as much a master piece as forever changes and it just one tune…. and then Decapo and Four Sail, killer records..
November 3rd, 2009 at 7:10 pm
I’d sit inside a bottle and pretend I was seeing Bryan MacLean.
November 4th, 2009 at 4:46 am
I never really got Love and Mr. Lee until I did some Sandoz and listened to it again. At that point I think I must have heard it a million times. Then I heard it.
There’s a reason they called that music psychedelic.
I think that was at your and Tommy’s place.
Leighton et. al. had a weird night later with the nutcracker dolls…
If’n you remember.
Az for me…I fear that-a-one’s burned into the hard drive forever.
Damn.
Patrick Works
All good trips…perfect record to this day.
November 4th, 2009 at 5:15 am
That was my eighteen birthday party in wonderland which could be an article unto itself. Those were fun days when we lived at that house and you all were on Florida street. Daze.
November 4th, 2009 at 5:49 am
Hello…I saw Arthur Lee in San Diego on one of my trips down there at a street fair maybe 5 years ago. When I was in the 7th grade my neighbors were in a band called “The Rush” so I would go outside their rehearsal space and listen to them practice…one time I was there and Arthur Lee was there hanging out with them, as they were getting ready to do a show together at Palomar College…they gave me 10 tickets to pass out at earl warren jr. high for the show for free…i remember being so stoked about that…of course my parents didn’t let me go to the show…aargh…but a few months later I went and saw Clear Light at a place called the pacesetter…first time ever seeing a band with 2 drummers, and it was rumored to be their last show as somebody in the band was drafted…ah memories!
November 4th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Soon after I moved to San Francisco in 1989, I was walking down Haight Street and saw Greg Marx working the door at the I-Beam, a great club that’s been closed for quite awhile now. He said he’d let me in to see LOVE that night. Arthur Lee showed up with a band that was probably Baby Lemonade. Between every song he would step up to the mic and mumble something imperceptible, then the band would launch into another song. They played 5 songs, 2 of them covers including a great version of Instant Karma! (We All Shine On).
Pat, what happened with the nutcracker dolls?
Gary, thanks for hipping me on to Clear Light. I’m very slowly catching up to an awareness of 60’s psychedelic bands that many in the S.D. underground music scene had/have. A couple bands that I like from a CD I have called Green Crystal Ties, Vol. 6 are SEOMPI (Self Expression on Musically Potential Instruments), a heavy prog-pyche group called the Black Sabbath of Texas http://www.myspace.com/seompiawol , and The Frantics, not the northwest band, but from the Badlands.
November 4th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
Matthew: I have to say I’ve never been called a “powerhouse” before. I love it:
I’m like the nutritional energy bar of the Che Underground.
November 4th, 2009 at 6:01 pm
new years eve 1994 sat through 10 punk bands at the spirit to see and hear the great arthur lee and baby lemonade
he kicked off the new year with seven and seven is and the guitarist gave a very outstanding solo on house is not a motel
up close his face resembled a mixture of all races
i remember playing forever changes at tommy and kristens and burdening everyones ears with those compositions
sometimes music is the only thing that makes sense
david angel conducted the horns and strings and wrote the arrangements
bob pepper created the album cover
our beautiful child heard me playing the album and wanted to learn some of it and chose you set the scene
it is the most complicated one to learn and yes it was sung for my dear friends on their departure back home
….gotta go but ill see you again
November 6th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Gary, you saw Clear Light very cool, I really like that band.
I saw Arthur Lee a few times and it was always great, once @ Bimbos in San Francisco Arthur jumped off stage made his way through the crowd and stop for a couple of secounds and looked at my wife and I, it was strange but very cool, I wanted to shake his hand but could not seem to move my arms, a little star struck I guess.
November 7th, 2009 at 12:24 am
thanks kristen for this reminder as to the man’s genius and for finally prompting me to seek out what lee’s thoughts on hendrix were..and vice versa….only to discover they actually united together at one time shortly before jimi’s death. perfect.
satisfying was the reference to the crazy world of arthur brown…..
i still find it hard to believe i saw the madman perform FIRE live on american tv….i must’ve been around 12.
between that and viet nam and monkees reruns…..my world would be thrown assunder.
November 7th, 2009 at 12:25 am
or perhaps torn.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:10 am
please don’t get me wrong….i loved the monkees!!!
November 7th, 2009 at 4:15 am
when i was a kid would look out my window and sing “I wanna be free” i remember getting that fist monkees album for christmas when it came out…i still tear up over that song.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
thanks for reading it clay!
November 8th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Thanks Kristen for this well-deserved tribute. You are a powerhouse and some warm cocoa on a rainy day, too.
Where to start with one of my all time favorites? I have very fond 10th grade memories of listening to the first Love LP in Dave Fleminger’s car, being blown away by “My Flash on You”- the lyrics, the swagger, and of course that fuzztone! But my favorite from the 1st album is “Message to Pretty”- the vulnerability in Arthur’s vocal on that gives me an irreplaceable little chill every time.
But, of course we’re all chiming in here because Forever Changes was so monumental. Every note, every lyric seems to fit so perfectly in place, but so many little pieces are just perfect on their own:
“The news of today will be the movies of tomorrow.”
The guitar solo on “A House is Not a Motel”.
How the verses on “Clark and Hilldale” complete the previous line.
“I ain’t got no papers on myself!”
The sense of seeking answers, and perhaps finding some that sets the mood for the whole LP.
Not much point going on- it’s like dancing about architecture for me to keep writing. Just listen again, folks, and reacquaint yourself with how amazing this record is.
I had the great pleasure of seeing Arthur in 1994 in NYC when he had Das Damen as the backing band. He had recently gotten out of prison, and as he said was “just trying to get back on my feet”. He looked a little tentative on that stage (in a rather small club- it wasn’t too much bigger than the Casbah), but when he sang, he filled that room with his unique, beautiful voice, singing his monumental songs.
RIP Arthur and Bryan- we miss you.
November 9th, 2009 at 1:16 am
“Orange, sugar, chocolate, hot cinnamon
and lovely things and you.”
We’ll dance and sing our lives away.
November 9th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
how come so suddenly
everything depends on you
December 7th, 2009 at 9:17 pm
Clearlight and Monkees on this LOVE thread, funny conncetions, did ya know that Clearlight is the band playing the music on The Monkees “Porpoise song” from the movie HEAD, that’s why it’s sounds so good:)….
Sorry had to geek out….