The Promise

Hal Bynum | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 15, 2002)
• Original Release Date: April 15, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• ASIN: B000065X1T
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #420,232 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Promise

2. An Old Man's Prayer

3. There Ain't No Good Chain Gang

4. Two Women

5. Russell C. Skidmore, Coal Miner and Soldier, Retired

6. The Strange Disappearance of Lyla

7. Love at First Sight and Forever

8. The Change (A Kind of a Christmas Carol)

9. Tryin' to Lose Weight

10. Fathers and Sons

11. Winter Beaches

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist

Already a songwriter of great stature and popular appeal, having written songs like, "Lucille," recorded by Kenny Rogers, "Chains," by Patty Loveless, "Papa Was a Good Man," by Johnny Cash, "There Ain’t No Good Chain Gang," by Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, "Nobody’s Fool," by Jim Reeves, and "The Old, Old House," recorded by such varied artists as George Jones, Bill Monroe and Ralph Stanley, Hal Bynum made his mark on country music long ago. With the release of his third album as a solo artist, The Promise, Bynum extends his craft and solidifies his stature as a writer of remarkable talent and as a performer with unusual sensitivity and depth.

Over the last few years, Bynum’s spoken word recordings have found a deep and loyal following in America and the world beyond, as more and more thoughtful people discover his profound and unique style of self-expression: his art. Is it country? Yes, but it’s also much, much more.

Product Description

Hal Bynum continues to transform the art of the spoken word in his latest release, The Promise, produced by David Hoffner on Beauregard Records. Never has Bynum’s voice been so full and expressive as on the title song in which he once again captures the hearts of his listeners with an intimate and revealing pledge of constancy to his wife. "Hal Bynum says what all men want to say, but can’t find the words, and what all women want to hear, but rarely do," says Bill Cody, radio personality on Nashville’s famed WSM 650. "He is undisputedly our most requested artist."

While containing the same wonderful arrangements by Hoffner, The Promise CD takes us through a greater variety of musical styles and emotions than Bynum’s earlier release on Warner Bros. Records. Bynum moves easily from his spoken word recordings to the rousing, "There Ain’t No Good Chain Gang," a duet with Tommy Cash, to the quirky "The Strange Disappearance of Lyla," to the very funny "Tryin’ to Lose Weight." In his recitations, Bynum takes us through a myriad of emotional journeys; from the heartfelt and intimate title song, to the jarring and hair-raising "Russell C. Skidmore, Coal Miner and Soldier, Retired." In this piece it impossible not to feel the shadow of Sept. 11, for it portrays a type of horror that is never forgotten and never dims with time. Many of these stories deal with the passage of time, and none more vividly and effectively than "An Old Man’s Prayer." On it, Bynum delivers a deft and inspired vocal performance combined with Hoffner’s apt backgroun! d arrangement that will leave even the most jaded pessimist with a wistful tear. Bynum leaves us with the haunting "Winter Beaches," a fitting end for such a thought provoking and enjoyable journey.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a timeless voice, October 6, 2002

By 

john w edwards (Johnson City, TN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Promise (Audio CD)

in book form, you cant miss, but when you add a voice that is as timeworn, yet so smooth. one that will take you back your your younger days, and imagine listening to your dad, or grandpa. this man is not only a fine musician, but a natural born storyteller. please do yourself a favor, and give it a try, it'll make you a better person for it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUPER CD, July 25, 2002

By 

"brennbama" (ALABAMA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Promise (Audio CD)

Hal your new CD is GREAT !!! GOD BLESS YOU & keep up the good work.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally - More Bynum!, July 23, 2002

By 

Judy White (Grand Prairie, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Promise (Audio CD)

After falling in love with Hal Bynum's work in his wonderful earlier CD ("If I Could Do Anything"), it seemed a long wait for "The Promise" to come out -- but the wait was well worth it! This talented wordsmith and storyteller is at it again... touching us at the deepest level and saying all the things we wish we had the words for. "Two Women" and "An Old Man's Prayer" remind us both of the older generation we love, and of the place we will all find ourselves one day. In "The Promise" and "Love at First Sight and Forever," Bynum continues to put into words for men everywhere their unexpressed devotion, as he did before so aptly in "A Lover's Prayer" and "There'll Be Love." Always apparently simple and straightforward, Bynum's songs and stories are finely crafted reminders of what is most important in life -- "Fathers and Sons" should be required listening for all fathers of boys, and "The Change" goes to the heart of both family relationships and the true meaning of Christmas. Whether serious or humorous or mysterious, Hal Bynum's work brings us back to a sense of respect for life and those with whom we share it. He helps us feel like better people, and more determined to live that way! Thanks, Hal, for another winner!