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1. "I've Never Seen Love Like This" - Upon hearing a demo for "Can't Find The Time", Wes Ferrell told Arnold, "write another song like that and I'll sign you." Arnold responded by writing this number with a verse or two contributed by Gulliksen. It actually surpasses "CFPlace" for commercial appeal and sets an early high water mark for the Arnold / Lorber collaboration. Listen to the "Anatomy of" version included on Big Beat's "Best of" compilation for a fascinating view of the song's construction.
2. "Lesley's World" - Penned specifically for Arnold by Alan Lorber's then wife, Lesley Miller. The track begins with Lorber improving on the intro from fellow arranger Jimmy Webb's "Up-Up And Away" to create a more interesting and personal song. Both songs address the idea of romantic escape, however, "Lesley's World" does it in a more mature way. "Up-Up And Away" sounds like it was written for teenagers while "Lesley's World" was intended for thirty-something’s. This song was actually released several months prior to the album's debut and received moderate airplay along with it's A-side, "Can't Find The Time."
3. "Congress Alley" - Arnold's friend and fellow "alley" inhabitant, Steve Martin, auditioned this song as a possible Orpheus track. Arnold wisely grabbed it but not before completely rearranging it for the band. Listen to Martin's own version available on his website (www.stephenbmartin.com) and you will appreciate the distinct differences between the two artists. After "CFPlace," "Congress Alley" is the second most covered song originally performed by Orpheus. Later versions were recorded by The Alan Lorber Orchestra, Clean Living and a group called Congress Alley, headed up by former Doo-Wop legend, Lee Andrews.
4. "Music Machine" - Another Martin penned track except this time written especially for Orpheus and about Orpheus (the machine that was "pumping out a pretty tune"). Arnold has been noted as saying this song loosely dealt with God, pointing to lyrics such as, "the things that we saw 'bout my Father and his law made me want to lay down and die" as well as "I had a thing about a bird on a wing that was calling to me from outside." One of Lorber's finest arrangements, the well-phrased lead vocal was actually done by Jack McKenes with Brian Wilson-like vocal direction from Arnold.
5. "Door Knob Song" - Arnold and Lorber use all three of Martin's compositions to complete side one of the LP and I'm hard-pressed to decide which song, this or "The Dream", does a better job of encapsulating this fantastic album. Whereas "Music Machine" only implied a spiritual theme, "Door Knob Song" dives straight into the Bible and comes out with sympathetic references to the fallen angels of Genesis as "the heroes and the villains," who are "silent when the games are named" and "seldom cry"..."they've forgotten how to fly." Scott Walker couldn't touch this track with a mile long pole. The orchestral arrangement is breathtaking and again, Arnold's phrasing rivals Sinatra at his best. The last "da da'n da" before the chello's finale still causes goosebumps. An absolute genius.
6. "I'll Stay With You" - Side 2 of the LP begins with what is arguably the band's most under appreciated song. If there is a track more deserving of Billboard's number one spot in the spring of 1968, I don't know it. Apparently, "I'll Stay With You" did receive some minor regional airplay in New England but it's power did little more than strengthen an already growing number of devoted young Orpheus fans such as Brad Delp, (lead singer of Boston) and Laura Nyro.
7. "Can't Find The Time" - So fumbled by MGM in 1967 that they reissued it a year later and again a year after that! Reaching only #80 in 1969, it would have been no less a tragedy if it had climbed to #20. This is the song that currently classifies Orpheus as a "one-hit wonder" but mark my words, it will become just a small chapter in the biography that future generations will write about Arnold and this band.
8. "Never In My Life" - Rumored to have been considered for release by 'Old Blue Eyes himself, this lovely 3/4 time gem showcases Arnold's sophisticated writing skills (only 19-years old when he wrote it), as well as Lorber's sheer enthusiasm for the material. Along with Bernard Purdie, (uncredited drummer), and Joe Macho Jr. (uncreditied bass player), Arnold creates a thrilling undercurrent, which Lorber uses as a foundation for some wild yet beautiful orchestration.
9. "The Dream" - Irene Trudel, DJ for WFMU in New York repeatedly refers to this as one of the most beautiful songs ever written. In a e-mail correspondence I had with Arnold, he revealed that after performing this song for the legendary Ali Akbar Khan in 1972, Khan was so moved he invited Arnold to stay at his home for as long as he pleased. The favor was later repaid when Arnold used his political connections to have Khan's birthday recognized as Ali Akbar Khan Day in the state of California. The late Collin Walcott, one of Khan's disciples, adds beautiful Indian instrumentation to the track and Lorber's refrained orchestration was so poignant on it's own that he later included a version (sans Arnold's voice and guitar) on the reissue of his "Lotus Palace" cond vg
2. "Lesley's World" - Penned specifically for Arnold by Alan Lorber's then wife, Lesley Miller. The track begins with Lorber improving on the intro from fellow arranger Jimmy Webb's "Up-Up And Away" to create a more interesting and personal song. Both songs address the idea of romantic escape, however, "Lesley's World" does it in a more mature way. "Up-Up And Away" sounds like it was written for teenagers while "Lesley's World" was intended for thirty-something’s. This song was actually released several months prior to the album's debut and received moderate airplay along with it's A-side, "Can't Find The Time."
3. "Congress Alley" - Arnold's friend and fellow "alley" inhabitant, Steve Martin, auditioned this song as a possible Orpheus track. Arnold wisely grabbed it but not before completely rearranging it for the band. Listen to Martin's own version available on his website (www.stephenbmartin.com) and you will appreciate the distinct differences between the two artists. After "CFPlace," "Congress Alley" is the second most covered song originally performed by Orpheus. Later versions were recorded by The Alan Lorber Orchestra, Clean Living and a group called Congress Alley, headed up by former Doo-Wop legend, Lee Andrews.
4. "Music Machine" - Another Martin penned track except this time written especially for Orpheus and about Orpheus (the machine that was "pumping out a pretty tune"). Arnold has been noted as saying this song loosely dealt with God, pointing to lyrics such as, "the things that we saw 'bout my Father and his law made me want to lay down and die" as well as "I had a thing about a bird on a wing that was calling to me from outside." One of Lorber's finest arrangements, the well-phrased lead vocal was actually done by Jack McKenes with Brian Wilson-like vocal direction from Arnold.
5. "Door Knob Song" - Arnold and Lorber use all three of Martin's compositions to complete side one of the LP and I'm hard-pressed to decide which song, this or "The Dream", does a better job of encapsulating this fantastic album. Whereas "Music Machine" only implied a spiritual theme, "Door Knob Song" dives straight into the Bible and comes out with sympathetic references to the fallen angels of Genesis as "the heroes and the villains," who are "silent when the games are named" and "seldom cry"..."they've forgotten how to fly." Scott Walker couldn't touch this track with a mile long pole. The orchestral arrangement is breathtaking and again, Arnold's phrasing rivals Sinatra at his best. The last "da da'n da" before the chello's finale still causes goosebumps. An absolute genius.
6. "I'll Stay With You" - Side 2 of the LP begins with what is arguably the band's most under appreciated song. If there is a track more deserving of Billboard's number one spot in the spring of 1968, I don't know it. Apparently, "I'll Stay With You" did receive some minor regional airplay in New England but it's power did little more than strengthen an already growing number of devoted young Orpheus fans such as Brad Delp, (lead singer of Boston) and Laura Nyro.
7. "Can't Find The Time" - So fumbled by MGM in 1967 that they reissued it a year later and again a year after that! Reaching only #80 in 1969, it would have been no less a tragedy if it had climbed to #20. This is the song that currently classifies Orpheus as a "one-hit wonder" but mark my words, it will become just a small chapter in the biography that future generations will write about Arnold and this band.
8. "Never In My Life" - Rumored to have been considered for release by 'Old Blue Eyes himself, this lovely 3/4 time gem showcases Arnold's sophisticated writing skills (only 19-years old when he wrote it), as well as Lorber's sheer enthusiasm for the material. Along with Bernard Purdie, (uncredited drummer), and Joe Macho Jr. (uncreditied bass player), Arnold creates a thrilling undercurrent, which Lorber uses as a foundation for some wild yet beautiful orchestration.
9. "The Dream" - Irene Trudel, DJ for WFMU in New York repeatedly refers to this as one of the most beautiful songs ever written. In a e-mail correspondence I had with Arnold, he revealed that after performing this song for the legendary Ali Akbar Khan in 1972, Khan was so moved he invited Arnold to stay at his home for as long as he pleased. The favor was later repaid when Arnold used his political connections to have Khan's birthday recognized as Ali Akbar Khan Day in the state of California. The late Collin Walcott, one of Khan's disciples, adds beautiful Indian instrumentation to the track and Lorber's refrained orchestration was so poignant on it's own that he later included a version (sans Arnold's voice and guitar) on the reissue of his "Lotus Palace" cond vg
