Truth in Advertising

First up, a quick answer to someone who commented on a post last month. Yes, the "Air" label I feature here from time to time is the same label which released Hasil Adkins' first record. There are multiple labels within the song-poem universe that Adkins work was somehow connected with, at least for a few moments.

 

The song-poem world is filled with labels that tried to present themselves to the public with highfalutin names which seemed to indicate some actual connection to the legitimate music industry, such as "Hollywood Artists", "Film City" and "National Songwriter's Guild". There were also labels which chose names which sounded as much like a legitimate endeavor as any Columbia or RCA, including "Sterling", "Allstar", "MSR" and "Columbine". And then there is Halmark, which might well have been trying to confuse people into thinking they were somehow connected to the well known card company and TV sponsorship behemoth, even going so far to use the spelling "Hallmark" at times, which was likely a licensing no-no, albeit one which the larger company probably remained blissfully unaware.

Today's featured label made no such attempts. A seemingly bare bones company, not known to have any connection to any other song-poem outfit (a rarity in itself), Promo Records (much like Halmark often did), simply put the name of the song, and the song-poet, not bothering to mention the performer - although they went the extra non-mile and simply had the information typed onto the label, making the nature of the record just that much more apparent, to those in the know.

All of the records listed on the "Promo Records page at the song-poem database are one-sided acetates, and that's largely what I own, too - a bunch of them. But today, here's what appears to be an honest-to-goodness single release (although the crappy sound may indicate it actually is another acetate), with songs on both sides, credited to the author of the lyrics, which no doubt would confuse anyone not in the know, as the lyricist is male, and the singer female.

Both songs are pretty low-key, with basic instrumentation playing basic country arrangements. But there is something that connects with me about "Why Did Love Send Your Arrow?" I enjoy the chord changes, really like what the guitarist is doing in certain spots, and the singer's emoting strikes me as effective and sincere, even when the lyrics fail her and hit a spot (near the end) where they simply don't scan with the music at all. See what you think.

Download: No Artist Named: Why Did Love Send Your Arrow?
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On the flip side is the Gospel-inflected "My Prayer". Whatever I found to enjoy on the first song is absent here. This is very earnest, but doesn't have any aspects that connect or entertain me. While it's only 20 seconds longer than "Arrow", it seems almost twice as long to me.

Download: No Artist Named - My Prayer
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