L.A. Aria has been through more time warps than the StarShip Enterprise! I wrote it in 3:4. We tried it briefly in 4:4. Then we recorded a version at the GoatShed with the whole song in 5:4. Finally we reverted to the original 3:4 where the song, to me anyway, always felt happiest – though we have kept the bridge in 5:4. Looking back, I’m wondering why we didn’t try it in 13:8 – or maybe we did!
It’s one the earliest songs written for the project – second I think, after ‘This Trail Of Tears.’
The subject of the song does not cover any new ground – the lure of Hollywood on naïve country girls who find a rude awakening on the West Coast, together with the triumph of superficiality over substance that is Los Angeles.
For every wannabe who does succeed there are tens of thousands who don’t make it, and many of these fall prey to the sharks who feed in the waters of that disappointment.
The song is not, however totally bleak. The narrator, or ‘observer’ in this piece, hints that there is someone who rises above it above all, who is true to herself and isn’t prepared to play, the Hollywood game.
lyrics
In this City Of Angels how come no-one has wings?
Is it beauty’s obsession with nothing deeper than skin?
And out on the boardwalk, the dream-girls parade up and down,
But you, you move like a river, you don't make a sound.
In this City of Angels so few make the screen,
But there’s always somebody prepared to offer that dream
And somewhere in casting, the blonde girls go down on their knees
But you, you’re strong like a river, ou’ve no-one to please
Under the spotlight, camera’s roll,
Rock and roll, in the limelight,
Hold that smile, Romeo, oh Romeo,
Do you love me?
In this City of Angels you can live among stars
It’s ‘Say hi to Joni’ and everyone plays the guitar,
Everything’s scripted and they’ve all got a word-perfect part
But you, you’re deep as a river, it comes from the heart
Beautiful album that has both incredible musicality and technical ability. Marjana and Gleb are easily my favourite prog duo who never fail to deliver masterpiece after another. And Lighthouse is no exception. The collabs on this album are just absolute class, too. Check them out! jazzbedamned
Big, clanging psych-rock from this Arizona outfit fuses monk-like vocals with slow-winding guitars for songs that feel like strange hymns. Bandcamp New & Notable May 2, 2016
Dark, angry, heartfelt...some of these lyrics are hard to read, but there is something valedictory about the journey they take you on, if you are prepared to go.
Rachel's songs are not for the faint-hearted but that voice...how can you NOT listen?
Dark beauty, like being strangled by a velvet glove.
And all the while Jon's playing and arrangements are the perfect accompaniment. His melodies carry Rachel's lyrics with subtlety and suppleness. Mike Ashton