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about
Another one from the Archives. This song has a rich History for me. It’s called “Promise.” I wrote in 1969. (Man, that’s getting to be a long time ago!) At the time, I was just transitioning from the band “Saratoga” into the first version of “Kansas.” Saratoga played it for a while, and then when we formed Kansas, they played it.
Lyrically, it is rare, since it is one of the very few “romance-themed” songs that I have written.
This recording is interesting, since it was an experiment. I had just completed the recording of “Seeds of Change,” and I had decided it was time to build my first Recording Studio. After researching the equipment that I could afford, I purchased a Soundcraft board, an Otari 24-track recorder, several good Mics, and a great Lexicon reverb unit. I was very anxious to get started. I had always sat at the Console with the engineers on the Kansas albums, but I had never done any engineering myself, at least not on a 24-track.
I needed a song that I could experiment on, and I thought of “Promise.” I quickly put the tracks together, using my Emu Drum Machine. The guitar solo was played on my old Les Paul. I knew who was going to do the vocals – Mike Gleason. Earlier, I had begun corresponding with him when was living in Wichita, after he had sent me a demo tape.
I told him that I was very impressed with his vocal work, and much to my surprise, he and his family pulled up stakes and moved to Atlanta. I called him up, and he came to my house immediately. His instincts for the song were perfect.
So, “Promise” is the first Studio recording I ever made (in my Home Studio), and it is the first time I recorded with Mike Gleason.
lyrics
I, I don’’t know what to do, all I see is you
Everywhere I go,
You, you never pay no mind, you treat me so unkind,
Don’t you see me here
Cause’ I love you, I love you now
Girl, I’ll always treat you fair, I hope that you’’ll be there
When I need your love,
Promise, I tell you now I’m real, the way I really feel,
Everything is you
I love you, I love you now
If you ever leave me I will surely lose my mind
Nothing else could ever do, cause’ you were so hard to find
Girl, you got to make your mind, there’s nothing more to find,
I’ll be with you now
When, we’re getting old and gray, I hope that we can say
We knew that it was right
Cause’ I love you, I love you now
credits
released July 11, 1969
All tracks by Kerry Livgren. Vocals by Mike Gleason.
I love it cause it has the core of the future Kings X with Doug Pinnick and Jerry Gaskell and Greg X. Volz of Petra. Incredible band. Good recording and ridiculous solos fro Phil as usual. Great long set list too! relayer1
I got Phil's TIME double CD set years ago and two of the songs from this original release are on it, so when I saw his offer to download it, I jumped on the opportunity to hear the rest of the album! andykercher