JAMES HENRY, KENNY BLACKMAN, DP. MARCOS SANTOS, MARTY HOLLAND, performing at Great American Music Hall, July 1991. Photo by TOM MORGAN.
Dec 31 2025
The offering today is title Track from the album Love Is The Main Flame by Don Paul and the Suspect Many. We cut it at Olde West in San Francisco between December 1990 and March 1991 with PETER ECKART or DAVID DENNY as our engineers. Again I was blessed by musicians. JOHN BAKER on Keyboards and DHYANI DHARMA MAS on Guitars remained mainstays. GEORGE CREMASCHI returned on Fretless Bass for many of the album’s Tracks; MARTY HOLLAND played on several. Drummers were KENNY BLACKMAN and JOHN LAW. RICHARD HOWELL from Etta James’ touring-band, JAMES HENRY from Rick James’, added immeasurably. Likewise STEVE FUNDY on Electric Guitar. The Studio was once more a playground.
We overdubbed tremendous enhancements. INDIA COOKE on Violin swings, swings, swings on “Love Is The Main Flame”, dancing like water with John Baker’s piano, and rips into “Aoww, Like A Hammer Blown” with the ferocity of a born, improvising sympathizer. The Trio of singers known as JoiJoi (pronounced with proper brio “Joy-Joy!”, LOUISE ROBINSON, MICHELLE JACQUES, and DARLENE SPEARS), grace “Love Is The Main Flame”. “When That Evening Sun Goes Down”, and “Let The Children Come.”
In late July 1991 we played one of San Francisco’s finest venues, the Great American Music Hall. That Wednesday night was phenomenally loaded in the City. DONOVAN played Slim’s, with the American Music Club opening. Boukman Ekperyans was at DNA to promote its Grammy-nominated first album, Vodou Adjae. And GIL SCOTT-HERON performed at the Kennel Club, out within Blacks’ Fillmore neighborhood, with MICHAEL FRANTI and CHARLIE HUNTER. Oh, those San Francisco bills! We were very pleased to draw 158—and to enjoy the inspiration that Rebel Poets ALFONSO TEXIDOR, Q. R. HAND, VERNON EDGAR, and DEVORAH MAJOR and their improvising musicians (HENRY KAISER, DHYANI, GEORGE, JOHN, STEVE, MARCOS SANTOS) and INDIA with her New World Trio of EDDIE MARSHALL and KASH KILLION) shared like fire works in the rococo, born-for-burlesque-in-1907 setting of the GAMH. Thank you, again, ANNIE O’TOOLE, and DERK RICHARDSON and CLAUDE PALMER and photographer TOM MORGAN for being there! Everything lifted on that night.
The Track for me keeps its energy. Please Download if you like and please Like if you like! Cheers on New Year’s Eve!
“Love Is The Main Flame”
They say love is the main thing
Love is the main thing
Never know when it come up Never know how it happen
Say love makes more happen
Makes more than itself
Never know what it bring up Never know where it take you
Love may be djinn Love may be demon
Arises you pursue
Burns and it soothes
And love ‘s like a pool
Where truths may be found
And love is a current
Like lightning or river
Love leaps wild cross lines
Love ‘s like anthrax or tonic
Makes you crazy andnoble
For one or for all
Love can do anything
And it always changes names It always changes names
I say love is the main flame
Deeper than brain
Love is the main flame Deeper than brain
Fever and tonic
Burns and it soothes Current and pool
And it always changes names
It always changes names Ooh’mm Love is the main flame.
1990, a song recorded with the Suspect Many
at Olde West in San Francisco, Copyright Paul/Baker, Out of the Fog Lyrics,
for our album Love Is The Main Flame
