Present Tense

Infobox Album | Name = Present Tense
Type = Album
Artist = Sagittarius


Released = 1968
Recorded = 1968
Genre = Baroque Pop
Length =
Label = Columbia Records
Producer = Gary Usher & Curt Boettcher
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:rc60tr29klkx link]
Last album =
This album = "Present Tense" (1968)
Next album = "The Blue Marble" (1969)

"Present Tense" is the first Sagittarius album, released in 1968 by Columbia Records. Though the record was basically a Gary Usher solo project, he enlisted many top LA session musicians, and heavily utilized Curt Boettcher as a songwriter, musician, vocalist, and producer (even going so far as to include two tracks that Boettcher had produced on his own as the leader of the group The Ballroom). The album also contains the recording "My World Fell Down", which had no Boettcher involvement, albeit the LP version was edited, with the musique concrete bridge from the single version being excised (though a few extra bars of music were added in between the first and second verses). Most people feel that the LP version of "My World Fell Down" is decidedly inferior to the single version. The single "Hotel Indiscreet" also had a similar fate when it reached the LP.

The album was reissued on CD by Sundazed Records in 1997 with 9 bonus tracks. Two of these are the original single versions of "My World Fell Down" and "Hotel Indiscreet", as well as another track from The Ballroom, a Sandy Salisbury song, and the instrumental track for a song that was recorded by Chad & Jeremy. The track listing given below reflects the original LP.

Track listing

#"Another Time" (Boettcher)
#"Song to the Magic Frog (Will You Ever Know)" (Boettcher/O'Malley)
#"You Know I've Found a Way" (Boettcher/Mallory)
#"The Keeper of the Games" (Boettcher)
#"Glass" (Marks/Sheldon)
#"Would You like to Go" (Alexander/Boettcher)
#"My World Fell Down" (Carter/Stephens)
#"Hotel Indiscreet" (Gordon/Griffin)
#"I'm Not Living Here" (Boettcher)
#"Musty Dusty" (Boettcher)
#"The Truth Is Not Real" (Usher)

Bonus Tracks
#Artificial Light (Of All the Living Lies) (Badale/Levitt)
#Get the Message (Gordon/Griffin)
#Mass # 586 (Usher)
#Love's Fatal Way (Boettcher/Naylor)
#My World Fell Down (Single Version)
#Hotel Indiscreet (Gordon/Griffin)
#Lonely Girl (Salisbury)
#The Keeper Of the Games (Demo)
#Sister Marie (Instrumental)