Kerry Livgren/AD - Portrait II (remake) video free download

Jim Kotowski

I get the Trans-Siberian Express reference, some of the keyboards I found to be cheesy as well. But I found the guitar parts to be good, and the vocals are fine, too. I love this guy's voice. But I can't help finding it unfortunate that he changed the lyrics to make them more overtly Christian. I have wondered for a long time what it was about Christians, or Christianity, or the themes and lifeways thereof that made Christian "rock" so lame, so cheesy, so tiresome. Ironically, the so-called spiritual dimension in this case saps the music of SOUL. It seems to me that it was inevitable that Christianizing this song would not do it any favors. And it's unfortunate that all Christians can't celebrate all of life, as Livgren once celebrated Alfred Einstein, a Jew and a physicist, a great mind. Einstein was (and is) an expression of The Christ that lives and moves in all things and beings even if he did not wear the Christian label....I really think that's part of it, is that Christians believe that all things have to be expressed in dogmatically Christian terms, when Jesus Christ made every effort to give GOD the credit--"The Father abiding in me doeth the work" (my personal belief is that the imperial force of Rome put a different sort of lyric in Jesus' mouth, such as "I (personally) am the truth, and the way, and the life."). They do not see that every celebration is a celebration of the Christ Spirit that has no borders or bounds or labels. So celebrating the Jew, Einstein, and his talents and vision, without ever overtly mention Jesus, IS celebrating Christ (I say this with every irony, knowing that Jesus was a Jew). Therefore their lyrics, in repeating endlessly that Christian "labeling", become rather tiresome. Perhaps this lyrical restrictedness spills over into the music ...If you think about it, this was not always the case. Christmas carols, for instance, are of course Christian-themed, but generally are lovely, fun, and extremely varied in their harmonies, melodies, and lyrics. Perhaps they dig a little deeper into the legendarium of the Christian (and pre-Christian) world, as well as the natural world, giving a deeper musical and lyrical extension to the work. Perhaps these days there is simply less evident expression of the staggering complexity, variety and unity of Life (and therefore the Creator behind it), seeing as how the fullest expression of this--Nature--is disappearing in favor of increasingly banal expressions of humankind's technology and infrastructure (one has to note that some of this destruction of Nature is occurring in the name of Jesus Christ when the 'evidence' of His favor is taken to be the exceedingly destructive 'prosperity'--meausured in dollars--of western civilization. Nominal Christians can in this way use spiritual experience, and perhaps their bank accounts, as a means of denying the ecocidal, suicidal ways and means we have of achieving our 'wealth'. When they do this, they ironically prove the atheist Marx right when he indulged in his own brand of labeling, calling all religion "the opiate of the people".)...Yes, the more I think about it, the clearer it seems to me: if Christians would stop neglecting The Mother, and embrace Her ("Honor thy father AND they mother,", the Commandment says), maybe their lives would have more meaning, and their songs more SOUL!

Greg Gannon

Excellent - about Jesus Christ re: this version, awesome!

Brett Owen

I understood "Closet Chronicles" was about Howard Hughes and "Portrait" was about either Einstein or Tesla. I love Kerry but this sounds like a really cheesy 700 Club/ Hour of Power/TBN/Trans-Siberian-Polar Express reinterpretation of Kansas!

trfesok

True enough. He doesn't look like a short, dark Middle Eastern Jew here! The Renaissance painters has an excuse -- they had never seen a real Israelite. But this photo is definitely outdated ethnically in the 21st century.

trfesok

Actually, the original is about Albert Einstein. "Closte Chronicles" is about Hughes.

IwshIcldstrtover

Just so everyone can see what you deleted, here is a portion of it as it appeared in my mailbox this morning: " Whatever! I feel sorry for you in fact. I was hoping you might be a good person with love in your heart but it is painful obvious you are a person I don't trust to be anyone worthy of my time and someday you WILL find as I did, that what the c... more" All I see is hate in everything you have said. Do not talk to me about "love".

IwshIcldstrtover

How dare you talk to me about "love in your heart" like you did in the message to me that you posted, and then deleted! Look at the profane thing you just said to me! Do you call that "love"? I call that hate! If you don't believe in the God of the Bible, then why did you come to this video? Just to cause trouble for those of us who do believe in the God of the Bible? You are here to do nothing but call people names and ridicule us!

IwshIcldstrtover

I feel really sorry for you. Satan has blinded you. All I can do is pray for you.

IwshIcldstrtover

Really? then why does Jesus talk more about hell than heaven? And if you read it , He gives a rather detailed description about it and who will go there!

IwshIcldstrtover

Sadly, you are just one of the many who does not understand.

Capt'n Neckbeard

And here I thought it was about a gay king.

Maisie33

What difference does it make what Jesus looks like? I don't care-we're all made in the image of God, so it really doesn't matter to me. These 'pictures' of Jesus are simply to remind us of Him. Arguing over what His skin tone is is completely bside the point.

fraroc

The original song is undeniably better, but science can't explain absolutley everything. I really hate religious fanatics (Livgren may be christian, but he's not a wackjob), but that dosen't mean that I don't believe in God.

thespacemonk

This is an unfortunate remake. Over-thought and silly. Come on 'Christians', do your research and get down to the REAL work of healing. Or you can keep waiting for another 2 millennia for your Roman myth to re-appear...read Caesar's Messiah by Joseph Atwill then let's talk.

musicman70707

In his autobiography "Seeds of Change" Livgren says that when he wrote the original 'Portrait' song, he was into a form of religion called The Urantia Book. He says 'Portrait' was about the author of that the Urantia book, whose name I do not know. After Livgren became a Christian he changed the words to make them about Jesus Christ - hence "Portrait II." I must confess I don't like the music to this version as well as the original though. Don't know why he changed it so much.

Morro Bay

There is no way possible that Jesus looked like the man that painting. It is western man creating god in his own image.

maxwelljrdn

@RuubW and then we now have Portrait IIII, he remade the remake of Prime Mover again in 2008 (Which makes Prime Mover III). He added more guitar solos, a new deeper drum sound, and kinda cleared up the sound a bit and brought it out of the fog. By that I mean, listening to this version here, it sounds more like a live version than a studio. he cleared that up.

autumnblond

At age 14 when listening to the original songs by Kansas, I thought they were singing about Christ. I thought the message was cleverly hidden to send out the message into the secular world. I had no idea the songs were about Albert or Howard. Even today, I believe the orignal versions were pointing the listener to Christ. It pointed me to Christ. Kerry was(is) a genius. lol I am so glad that he made this version for those less apt to see Christ in the other versions.

OatmealMango7

@CHRISTSmusicians well, Kerry admits he was seeking and yet not seeing truth yet in those days. I know that when I first heard that original song, it made me begin a journey of seeking spiritual things.

OatmealMango7

@bobbyles dude - i wouldn't go to a church that elevated the pastor that way. i'm with you: I honor the office, but the man in the office is not to seek it.

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