Tiles Essays: Presents Of Mind Special Edition
"Presents Of Mind" Reissue Liner Notes
written by Chris Herin, 2004
“Presents of Mind” was originally going to be called “Weights and Measures,” but as we progressed through the recording
process “Presence of Mind” became a contender and ultimately better reflected the essence of the songs’ lyrical concepts.
Concepts that focus on how the human mind adapts to the many different and changing situations life “presents.” Although
not technically a concept album, many of the songs reflect an adaptation or resourcefulness theme - which alludes to the
title's textbook definition: a calm state of mind that allows one to act effectively in emergencies; to project a sense of
ease, poise, or self-assurance. Indeed a familiar reference to one of the more difficult character traits many of us
struggle to nurture. Although a little glib, we could not resist the opportunity for word play and substituted "presents"
for "presence." We thought the multiple meanings of both the title and the individual words: presents as in gift, or to
present an award; to feel a presence, or to have presence; to mind as in to obey, to mind as in to look after; to have
presence of mind, or to have a gifted mind - offered little twists, turns, and subtleties for people to ponder… …and allowed
the visual interpretation of “Presents of Mind” to stray into unusual and surrealistic territory.
We also set out to achieve some specific musical goals. We wanted the music to be adventurous and challenging, while
retaining a strong sense of melody supported by emotion and energy. Our philosophy toward recording and arranging changed
since finishing the austere ‘Fence the Clear.’ We plunged into arranging without considering the restrictions of our live
instrumentation and acknowledged that some songs just wouldn't be suited for live performance, or would have to undergo
significant adaptations for the stage. Although satisfied with the final results of ‘Fence the Clear,’ a sense that some of
the songs were under-produced lingered. Therefore, all self-imposed constraints were stripped away and we added keyboards,
backing vocals, mandolin, banjo, parlor guitars, and anything else that seemed appropriate, to our hearts’ content. We kept
careful watch on the possibility of over-producing; and fortunately our instincts and co-producer let us know when a song
was finished. Sometimes less is more, or less is less; or more is more - it just depends.
Several songs on “Presents” were held over from the “Fence the Clear” sessions: ‘Ballad of the Sacred Cows,’ ‘The Sandtrap
Jig,’ and ‘Facing Failure.’ These songs weren't substandard leftovers – the arrangements simply weren’t finished. So we
held them back from ‘graduating,’ fixed them up, and released them with confidence. The earlier demo versions were mixed by
Terry Brown during the “Fence the Clear” sessions and are now available as bonus tracks on the new Special Edition of “Fence
the Clear.” I guess it makes for an interesting example in the evolution of song writing and arranging.
The bonus tracks included in this Special Edition of “Presents of Mind” were originally released on the Japanese version. ‘
Ambition’ was left unfinished from the sessions for our debut album. We went back into the studio in February 1999 and
finished the vocals, keyboards and lead guitar and had Terry do the mixing to complete the song. I also recorded a new
version of “In the Corner” – the original version which had appeared on a demo of long ago – mostly to act as a segue
between ‘Reasonable Doubt’ and ‘Ambition.’
The multimedia portion is decent quality bootleg video that comes from our November 1999 tour of Europe as the opening act
for the first leg of Dream Theater’s Metropolis 2000 tour. The first bit is our sound check in Lyon, France at the
Transbordeur on November 21st followed by complete versions of ‘Patterns’ and ‘Modification’ from the show later that night.
The last segment is our sound check in Munich, Germany at the Colosseum on November 18th. Many thanks to Dream Theater for
the opportunity to play for a lot of great progressive rock fans!
Chris Herin, January 10, 2004
Detroit, MI
"Presents Of Mind" Reissue Liner Notes
written by Chris Herin, 2004
written by Chris Herin, 2004
We also set out to achieve some specific musical goals. We wanted the music to be adventurous and challenging, while retaining a strong sense of melody supported by emotion and energy. Our philosophy toward recording and arranging changed since finishing the austere ‘Fence the Clear.’ We plunged into arranging without considering the restrictions of our live instrumentation and acknowledged that some songs just wouldn't be suited for live performance, or would have to undergo significant adaptations for the stage. Although satisfied with the final results of ‘Fence the Clear,’ a sense that some of the songs were under-produced lingered. Therefore, all self-imposed constraints were stripped away and we added keyboards, backing vocals, mandolin, banjo, parlor guitars, and anything else that seemed appropriate, to our hearts’ content. We kept careful watch on the possibility of over-producing; and fortunately our instincts and co-producer let us know when a song was finished. Sometimes less is more, or less is less; or more is more - it just depends.
Several songs on “Presents” were held over from the “Fence the Clear” sessions: ‘Ballad of the Sacred Cows,’ ‘The Sandtrap Jig,’ and ‘Facing Failure.’ These songs weren't substandard leftovers – the arrangements simply weren’t finished. So we held them back from ‘graduating,’ fixed them up, and released them with confidence. The earlier demo versions were mixed by Terry Brown during the “Fence the Clear” sessions and are now available as bonus tracks on the new Special Edition of “Fence the Clear.” I guess it makes for an interesting example in the evolution of song writing and arranging.
The bonus tracks included in this Special Edition of “Presents of Mind” were originally released on the Japanese version. ‘ Ambition’ was left unfinished from the sessions for our debut album. We went back into the studio in February 1999 and finished the vocals, keyboards and lead guitar and had Terry do the mixing to complete the song. I also recorded a new version of “In the Corner” – the original version which had appeared on a demo of long ago – mostly to act as a segue between ‘Reasonable Doubt’ and ‘Ambition.’
The multimedia portion is decent quality bootleg video that comes from our November 1999 tour of Europe as the opening act for the first leg of Dream Theater’s Metropolis 2000 tour. The first bit is our sound check in Lyon, France at the Transbordeur on November 21st followed by complete versions of ‘Patterns’ and ‘Modification’ from the show later that night. The last segment is our sound check in Munich, Germany at the Colosseum on November 18th. Many thanks to Dream Theater for the opportunity to play for a lot of great progressive rock fans!
Chris Herin, January 10, 2004
Detroit, MI
