The Psych Ward

[silentseason]

In my non ending attempts to delve into absolute minutiae, the following thread will be short (only three original entries) and if you're not of the obsessive oriented mindset then I don't recommend entering this Ward. It will be transcriptions (as close as my hearing will allow) of band dialogue whilest recording songs. The abbreviations for personel are as follows: AL=Arthur Lee; JE=Johnny Echols; MS=Michael Stuart; BM=Bryan Maclean; KF=Kenny Forssi; BB=Bruce Botnick; JH=Jac Holzman; ?=unsure who said this.

Any additions, deletions, corrections or otherwise are welcomed.

[silentseason]

TRACKING SESSION HIGHLIGHT DIALOGUE FOR "YOUR MIND AND WE BELONG TOGETHER" (JAN 1968)

AL: Really get into to it this time Echols(?), this is your take. Michael Stuart, this is your take.
<false start>
AL: Alright, this is gonna be <cut off>
?: Arthur Lee, this is your <cut off>
AL: This is gonna be take 22, Bryan Maclean's take.
<false start>
AL: Ready with 22?
<false start>
<laughter>
AL: Ready with take 23?
<good start by band that eventually disintegrates>
?: These earphones are breaking up....there's a crack, crack...
?: They OK to you, Mike?
BM: You hear that sound?
?: Alright to you?
MS: Uh, I don't know, the earphones don't sound too good.
?: Well, yeah. We need <cut off>
AL: Ready? We're gonna roll take 24, just for you.
<false start>
AL: OK, let's take it from the top again, Echols...Hold it.
?: Bryan, you in tune man?
AL: Ready? Rolling with take 26.
<false start>
AL: Hold it, hold it, hold it, let's get a better start. Take 27.
<false start>
AL: Hold it, Echols...c'mon, you're playing too hard on the strings. Take 28.
<false start>
AL: Take 29.
<false start>
AL: Hold it, you're rushing it a bit I think man. It's supposed to go bom, bom, bom bom <taps out beat>. Take 30.
<false start>
AL: Take 31.
<false start>
AL: Hold it, hold it, hold it.
BM: <unintelligble>
<false start>
AL: You guys should relax a little bit, man, you're getting <cut off>
<false start>
AL: Take 35.
<false start>
AL: Hold it, what happened to the sound of your guitar? You got it up as loud as you had it? Alright, you ready? Take 36.
<false start>
AL: Hold it, Bryan; you speed up, man.
KF: Me?
?: Bryan.
AL: Bryan speeds up.
<Band plays a complete take of the song. Although a bit ragged, it is a good take, particularly Johnny's guitar solo>
AL: Hey listen Echols, man, I don't understand your trip, man. You stay in one range in the guitar throughout the whole thing, man. Cause you know you're the one who says you can blow in the studio, man. Nobody to bug you. You gotta blow, man. Alright, you ready to take it from the top?
<later after a successful take>
AL: That solo was really out of sight, man.

[jamestkirk]

Great song-great post

[silentseason]

TRACKING SESSION HIGHLIGHT DIALOGUE FOR "7 AND 7 IS" (JUN 1966)

BB: We're rollling, take 1
JH: Seven plus Seven is, track 1....Ah, we're rolling Arthur. We've rolled back to the beginning of the reel, we're holding the last four.
JE: Man, if I knew this was the last time, man, I'd put everything into it.
?: Put everything into it...
JE: Yeah, but then we mess it up and I can't do it.
?: Alright, put everything into it.
BB: Here we go Arthur, seventy-seven.
JE: If nobody drags, we can do it.
?: Who
<laughter>
JE: Nobody drags.
?: Okay, Johnny!
JE: D minor, going to the A, ...one...two...three...four...POW....POW...
<band plays a whole take of the song>
JH: You want to hear that track up until the point where we have to tack it on?
JE: Can we add that ending on?
JH: Yeah, we can add the ending on, that's no problem.

[jamestkirk]

Best sixties punk grunge groundbreaker!

7 & 7 Is....brilliant live with Baby Lem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65CqDLUR ... re=related

[silentseason]

TRACKING SESSION HIGHLIGHT DIALOGUE FOR "THE RED TELEPHONE/WOOLLY BULLY" (AUG 1967)

BB: Rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling, take one. Hillside, Hillside.
<false start>
AL: Ready?
BB: Rolling, take one, Hillside.
AL: 1...2...1, 2, 3, 4.
<band plays a brief start of song>
BB: <unintelligible>(whistles)...Hello...one more please, take two. Wait a minute, take two.
JE: <laughs>
BM: What? <more laughter> It's a high pitched fucking noise, man...It's real loud, it's wheeee, that was fuckin' weird.
JE(?): You should see your face.
<laughter>
BM: Shit.
BB: Are his eyes out of his head?
AL: Hey c'mon Echols, you're wasting my time, and you know your time is money.
BM: Turn it off.
BB: Here we go, rolling. Take..two.
BM: Turn me down, please.
AL: Hey gimme my money, you time.
BM: This earphone, could you turn it down some, please?
AL: OK time, lets have the money.
BB: We're rolling, take two.
BM: Did you turn it down?
?: Just in time.
AL: Gimme the money....OK we were rolling along just fine there and all of a sudden Bryan farted and sent the whole thing haywire.
?: It's especially loud there and like...
BM: Why me? Why me?
BB: We are rolling.
?: Arturo.
AL: Ready? Dos..
?: Two.
?: <simulates farting noise>
AL: Uno, dos, one two three quatro.
<false start>
AL: Ready?
BB: I thought you were going to go down to what's his name's street down there.
?: Whittier?
BB: Whittier Boulevard.
Many: Woolly Bully <laughter>
?: What are you laughing about?
<band breaks into impromptu jam of 'Woolly Bully'>
?: <laughter>...Oh, Cisco...
AL: Hey listen, money is time.
BB: Hey Poncho.
?: It's time for...
AL: Money is time these days, you know what I mean?
?: Hey this is, take two.
?: Time for time, it's time for money....

[silentseason]

While these brief snatches of the band recorded "as it happened" may not be alot both in quantity or length, these do offer some real glimpes into the life of the band as they are unguarded moments and not formal interviews. What comes to light are confirmations about who they were and solidifies some of the characteristics that have been offered as fact of both the band and individual personalities. Here are some thoughts about these and other less serious matters:

-As the band developed Arthur took much more control of matters, production wise. In the '7 and 7' take, Holzman and Botnick are the ones leading the session. In 'Woolly Bully' Arthur is in co-control with Botnick. By 'Your Mind', it is all Arthur, and he will get the take he wants regardless of how many takes were needed.

-Another point of contention is that either Arthur was essentially the band, or the band contributed almost as equally to the product as Arthur did, depending on your viewpoint. The '7 and 7' tracking session validates Johnny's point that the band was a big contributor to the final recorded discs. Note that he is the main player in this session, talking about what could be done to augment the track as well as adding on the bluesy ending to the song.

-Bruce Botnick as the all business producer is shown in the 'Woolly Bully' sessions. It is somewhat comical as he sounds more like a teacher trying to get his class to focus rather than a producer at times.

-Bryan, by virtue of his denials of passing the gas for the 'Woolly Bully' track, is shown to be the jokester of the group, as has been inferred many times. I can't be sure of the voice at times but he seems the likely voice that said "OK Johnny" in a smart ass way in the '7 and7' session, which also supports the legend of him being a bit much at times.

-The infamous "Time is money" proclamations multiple times by Arthur show him to be somewhat obsessed with making money, again another personality quirk that has been touched upon many times. And again, it is a testament to how much of a contradiction Arthur could be, in that he never emphasized touring, which is itself the lifeblood of a band being ultimately financially successful.

-Arthur singled out Johnny almost always as "Echols", an nice but strange homage to his childhood friend.

-I am interested in the reference Botnick made to Whittier Blvd. in the Woolly Bully session. It is an inside joke that I am curious as to what the meaning is.

-Backwards and forwards: the 'Woolly Bully' session not only referenced the two year old hit from Sam the Sham and the Pharoahs, but also predated the song "Cisco Kid" from War by the 'Cisco' and 'Pancho' utterances after the jam ended. Clairvoyant?

[BallroomDays67]

Botnick was making reference to the song "Whittier Blvd." by Thee Midnighters. Arthur counts off "Uno, dos, one, two, three, quatro", which is the intro to "Wooly Bully." Botnick apparently had that confused as being the intro to "Whitter Blvd.", which actually starts off "Let's take a trip down Whittier Boulevard! Arriba, arriba!".

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

[silentseason]

Botnick was making reference to the song "Whittier Blvd." by Thee Midnighters. Arthur counts off "Uno, dos, one, two, three, quatro", which is the intro to "Wooly Bully." Botnick apparently had that confused as being the intro to "Whitter Blvd.", which actually starts off "Let's take a trip down Whittier Boulevard! Arriba, arriba!".

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

Thanks Bally; mystery solved. And what a great garage jam as well. Never heard that one before and it got my blood pumping hearing the energy they put into it.

[silentseason]

What the song titles would be if strictly by lyrics (or at least my spin on them). Thankfully one of Arthur's greatest talents was the naming of songs, which even without hearing them the titles alone make the songs interesting. Without his imagination the album Forever Changes might have been a bit more pedestrian in this regard. See what you think:

Forever Changes:

1. Alone Again
2. Call My Name
3. More Again
4. Waiting
5. Old Man
6. Hillside
7. What's Happening
8. And So The Story Ended
9. Hummingbirds
10. No Papers
11. This Is The Time
12. I Do Wonder

[BallroomDays67]

Interesting idea. It's pretty close to your track listing, but here's how I would have it:

1. Alone Again
2. You Can Call My Name
3. Andmoreagain
4. Round and Round
5. Old Man
6. Sitting On a Hillside
7. Crowds of People
8. Served My Time
9. Hummingbirds
10. No Papers On You
11. This Is the Time
12. I Do Wonder

The actual song titles are indeed much more interesting and creative.

[silentseason]

That is a good interpretation of FC titles. Here are some possibilities for Da Capo:

1. Stephanie Knows Who
2. Orange Skies
3. With Pictures and Words (which was the working title)
4. Trapped Inside A Night
5. Leaving On The Double
6. She Comes In Colors
7. Can You Feel It


Not the same impact as FC but still interesting.

[silentseason]

LoVE:

1. My Little Red Book
2. Can't Explain
3. Slip Away
4. All I Want Is To Be Myself
5. Softly To Me
6. No Matter What You Do
7. Lonely Guitar
8. You I'll Be Following
9. Gazing
10. Hey Joe
11. Signed DC
12. That's Where I'm At
13. Mushroom Clouds
14. Love You And More
15. Goodbye Virginia

[silentseason]

Your Mind single:

1. I'd Like To Understand
2. Keep On