Kerry Livgren -Reply

[Craig Shipley]

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From:   Brad M. Lauchnor[SMTP:blauchno at DEQ.STATE.UT.US]
Sent:   Wednesday, February 12, 1997 11:39 AM
To:     Multiple recipients of list BOC-L
Subject:        OFF: Kerry Livgren -Reply

>>> Jerry <stayer at PI.NET> 02/12/97 12:03am >>>

Don't know if you mean me or Guizar, but I'm a Kansas fan, yes.
Kansas up to the point where Livgren left. Livgren's first solo
album, Seeds Of Change, is a brilliant album, especially Mask Of
The Great Receiver, sung by Ronnie James Dio. After that he was
in a band called AD (AOR, simpler rock). And his Christianity was
clear when he was still playing with Kansas, btw. His lyrics were
less cryptic on his solo albums and on the AD albums, though.

Shipley here. Dug out the DECADE CD (Sparrow SPD1320, if you want to order it). It contains all of
the music from SEEDS OF CHANGE and TIMELINE with songs from PRIME MOVER, ONE OF SEVERAL
POSSIBLE MUSIKS, ART OF THE STATE, RECONSTRUCTION and a couple of unreleased cuts. Two fully
packed CD's, with a 32-page booklet (you can also buy Kerrys' book SEEDS OF CHANGE, about his spiritual
journey). Livgrens' Christianity didn't really kick in until 1979 (his first song as a Christian was "Just One Way",
so, while his earlier material had heavy spiritual overtones, they were not written from a "Christian viewpoint";
I stand corrected.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I've got that solo album "Seeds of Change" at home. Under the
stacks of other vinyl and dust, pretty good album. The Dio song
is "mask of the great Deceiver" not Receiver :) Can't think of the
other song. Something with "King" in the title, I'm sure...

The song is "To Live For The King". According to the booklet, Dio was selected for his vocal range and expressiveness.
Quoting the booklet "I chose Ronnie James strictly on the basis of his vocal abilities. Even though he had begun to sing
for Black Sabbath, Ronnie is no Satanist. People have asked me why I included him in my solo album and the answer is that
I saw him as the right singer for the two songs. In addition, his work on my album gave him an opportunity to sing lyrics which
are diametrically opposed to what he does in Black Sabbath. This provided a clear witness to him about Christ". He writes more
about this choice elsewhere; "Whether they believed in what they were singing or not, they put all their hearts into it. Ronnie
James' improvisation at the end of "To Live For The King" was certainly witness to that. Some of the lyrics he added amazed Brad (Brad Aaron, engineer for SoC and two previous Kansas albums) and I, considering that he came up with them ad lib." ...and that's the word on Dio.

Listing to it now, it isn't a bad release, but it sure ain't SONG FOR AMERICA....

Craig Shipley
craigs at pyramid.com

(who can still squeeze his way into his Kansas black 'n silver tour tee. Disregard the beer gut showing underneath, must have shrunk in the wash...)

Brad L.  blauchno at deq.state.ut.us


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