Never Been Any Reason

This was written by Mike Somerville, who was the band's lead guitarist from 1973-1980, and again from 1994-2003. The song is about a guy who returns home - possibly from a tour - and has it out with his woman.

The band formed in southern Illinois in 1969 but went through a number of member changes before arriving at their core lineup in 1973. They honed their craft playing colleges and clubs in the midwest, which is where they developed "Never Been Any Reason." According to lead singer John Schlitt, they would sometimes introduce it as a song by Three Dog Night because club owners didn't want them playing original songs.

This song, along with the rest of Head East's debut album, was recorded at Golden Voice Recording, a tiny studio in Mike Somerville's hometown of South Pekin, Illinois. Instead of making a demo and pitching it to record companies, they just made the Flat As A Pancake album and released it independently on their own Pyramid Records label in 1974. They produced it themselves, keeping it simple and faithful to the arrangements they honed from playing the songs on the road. When they were done recording, they had 2,000 vinyl copies pressed and sent one to every radio station and promoter in the area they thought might be interested. They ploy worked; "Never Been Any Reason" earned airplay on KSHE in St. Louis and Y-102 in Kansas City, leading to a deal with A&M Records, who signed the band and re-released the album in June 1975.