Entry date: 7-17-2024 - North Bound Train - Letters to My Friends

Dear Friends,

I could easily become an east coast beach bum. Shark watcher, maybe, or just a guy on the beach who is having fun doing nothing. That could be my life.

I like the feel of the beach towns up here in Maine. They have something that is hard to beat, in my opinion. They have the beach, but they also have a certain history. It’s hard to explain.

*****

North bound train passed me by

Going the way of smiles and lies

North bound train don’t despair

You cut through more than just the air

North bound train you feel my pulse

The beat gets tricky when dreams engulf

North bound train just one more stop

I’ll think of you when I drop

*****

Sometimes you find these records in the strangest ways. Love’s Da Capo was one of those strange discoveries for me. It’s kind of a schizophrenic record in a lot of ways and I think that is why I dig it.

From the first to the second song, for example, there is a total mood change.

“Stephanie Knows Who” is this wild little psychedelic romp and then “Orange Skies” is this weird flute jam. Both have their place and I’m sure people who were playing around with different drugs in the late 1960s were like, “Wow, man. That’s groovy.”

I would love to fire up the time machine and go see a Love show circa 1967. I bet they were amazing. A group of interesting personalities, from what I’ve learned, and listening to this record, I have to think that Arthur Lee was kind of a mad genius.

“Que Vida” is another really interesting song. It is totally pop music, but it has this Latin thing going on, as well. It’s the longest song on the first side, too, but its most striking feature is the way that Lee sang it. His voice seems like he was putting on some kind of airs, although which ones, I have no idea. It’s very feminine, though, compared to the sound of the next song.

One of the two reasons I bought Da Capo was the song, “Seven and Seven Is.” When I first heard it, I thought it was so cool. I wanted to do a cover of it, but I have never gotten around to it. The song rocks, though, and is definitely an outlier on this record. These guys must have been able to blast through a great garage set.

“The Castle” is another psychedelic jaunt, complete with harpsichord. Lurch would have been proud. The instrument is actually pretty prominent on a lot of the recording. Not a lot of people were rockin’ the harpsichord back then or even now.

“She Comes in Colors” is the other reason I bought this record. I don’t remember where I heard it first, but I’ve always had an affinity for it. I never get tired of it.

I also never get tired of “Revelation” which makes up the entirety of side 2. It’s just a jam, but it is pretty rad. It’s another reason why I would have loved to have been able to see this band back in the day. I can imagine that they would occasionally just go off on long, psychedelic jams. I love those.

The musicianship on Da Capo is pretty fantastic. Beyond Arthur Lee, I don’t really know much about the band, and I don’t even really know much about him. He was just always kind of the guy that came up when Love was brought up.

I know the guys in the Damned obviously enjoy Love. They certainly have aped some of their style from time to time. I can see why and I’m glad that they did. The Damned are a much more interesting band thanks to Love, so I am indebted to them, too.

Da Capo is well worth the investment if you can find a copy. About the cheapest I have seen it is $25, but you won’t regret spending that for even a slightly beat up copy. Good stuff. Good stuff right here.

“All the time.”

***** 

See you tomorrow.

Oh, AI, you like me. You really like me.