Love - Alone Again Or
Hippies. Gotta love 'em. Well, not really. They were basically just a bunch of dirty people who didn't want to wear shoes and thought the world could do with more love, marijuana and macrobiotic food. I don't really relate to them, to be honest, preferring caffeine and pizza. I'm ok on the love thing, but not necessarily on the Love thing.
This song is a little strange. There are a million influences - the whole hippie thing shines through in the awful, awful, awful lyrics (talking about how people are the greatest is a new lyrical low). The minor chord fingerpicked guitar part is almost classical and the string part almost orchestral. And then you have the horns, which sound like Love came across a passing mariachi band and decided to drag them into the studio. It's all rather unfocused. It all enough to make you wonder whether they weren't .. stoned?
Actually, it would be a safe bet that, yes, they were stoned. Off their heads. Only people smoking a boatload of marijuana could make music like this. In the same way that only people smoking the quantities of marijuana and taking the kinds pharmaceuticals endemic to the love generation could really appreciate this.
Not even Arthur Lee's strong showing on the Rock Nutter Scale (tm) - he spent time in prison on weapons, drugs and assault charges - nor cover versions by The Damned and hipster icons Calexico can redeem this song.
Verdict: Best left well enough alone
Tomorrow: The Rolling Stones - Beast of Burden
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