Month: January 2019

Sweet Comfort Band – Hold On Tight – 1979

The 3rd album from Sweet Comfort Band gave us more of what we heard in the first two.

They are joined on this album by Richie Furay who fits in perfectly with what is an easy listening album. Really, it’s just more of the same as previous releases and doesn’t really offer the listener much to get excited about.

The highlight of the album is the track Angel. It shows that these guys could have done a Rock & Roll album, but chose instead to take the safe sales route.

Track Listing:
1 – Hold On Tight 3:20
2 – Take It – Save It 3:17
3 – Falling Star 3:04
4 – You’re The One 3:10
5 – Angel 3:10
6 – Chasin’ The Wind 3:29
7 – Don’t Tell Me You Love Me 3:07
8 – Undecided 3:53
9 – Carry Me 4:39
10 – More Than You Need 4:32
11 – Find Your Way 4:09

Credits:
Alto Saxophone, Soloist – David Hlebo (tracks: A4)
Arranged By [Horns] – Bob Wilson
Backing Vocals, Guitar [First Solo] – Richie Furay (tracks: B3)
Bass [Alembic Bass] – Kevin Thomson
Drums, Vocals – Rick Thomson
Engineer – Jack Joseph Puig
Finger Snaps – Jack Joseph Puig (tracks: A4)
Graphics [Sleeve Graphics] – Robin Hedrick
Guitar, Vocals – Randy Thomas
Horns – Seawind Horns
Keyboards, Vocals – Bryan Duncan
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Percussion – Alex MacDougall
Photography By – Alan Bergman
Producer, Keyboards [Additional], Backing Vocals, Programmed By [Synthesizer] – Tom Stipe
Strings – Sid Sharp and the L.A. Super Strings

Scepter / The Keep – (self titled) – 1984

In 1984 The Keep (then Scepter) recorded this demo to sell at their concerts.

The concerts were very well received and from what I’ve heard the cassette sold well. Most of the tracks appear on their album but there are a couple previously unheard tracks.

The tracks that also appear on the album have slightly different arrangements here. I have done everything I can to improve the quality but bear in mind this is from a cassette recorded in 1984.

Track Listing:
1 – Eye In The Sky
2 – Presence
3 – Nero
4 – Hang On
5 – Physical Evidence
6 – Forgiven Again
7 – Star

Credits:
Joseph Madden – Lead Guitar, Rythym Guitar, Vocals,
Wendell Koop – Vocals, Rythym Guitar,
Gilbert Vielfaure – Drums
Darrell Reimer – Bass Guitar
Engineer – Jon Stevens, Chris McPherson
Produced by Jon Stevens, Chris McPherson, Sceptor

Rez Band – Between Heaven ‘n’ Hell – 1985

This 1985 release from Rez/Ressurection Band did away with the Pop sound from their previous album Hostage.

This album was an attempt to enter the mainstream music scene. It was met with moderate success, but the music video for Love Comes Down did have some limited play on MTV.

The album had another apartheid related song continuing the band’s awareness of this issue. Wendi wrote or co-wrote 3 songs on this album, which was her most significant writing contribution to an album yet.

Track Listing:
1 – The Main Event – 3:03
2 – Love Comes Down – 3:08
3 – Zuid Afrikan – 5:20
4 – Walk On – 3:42
5 – Talk To Me – 4:25
6 – I Think You Know – 3:13
7 – Shadows – 5:00
8 – Save Me From Myself – 3:30
9 – Nervous World – 4:22
10 – 2,000 – 4:56

Credits:
Bass, Keyboards – Jim Denton
Drums, Percussion – John Herrin
Engineer – Roger Heiss
Engineer [Assistant] – Larry Bishop, Roy Montroy
Guitar – Stu Heiss
Guitar, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Glenn Kaiser
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Wendi Kaiser
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Producer – Rez Band

100% Proof – Power and the Glory – 1983

This was the final album from 100% Proof and I believe their best.

At this point they were tight and writing better than ever. White some consider this album to be a Metal album, but I call it Hard Rock and well done Hard Rock.

This album has the best version ever of “Jesus Loves Me” (yes the one from Sunday School). Toss in a Rockabilly tune to finish off the album and there is a very diverse album.

Track Listing:
1 – Power And The Glory – 4:40
2 – Don’t You Know – 6:34
3 – Out Of Bounds – 3:48
4 – Lost Soul – 5:14
5 – I’m Going To Win – 7:09
6 – Getting Me Down – 4:34
7 – Jesus Loves Me – 4:13
8 – Number Eight – 2:42

Credits:
Bass – Steve Harrison
Cover – Baglow Trueman & Partners Ltd., Felix Lucilla, Peter Grenville Smith
Drums – Phil Wright
Engineer – Lol Cooper
Keyboards – P. Savage
Lead Guitar – Steve Wright
Producer – 100% Proof, Lol Cooper
Rhythm Guitar – Charlie Wilson, Steve Wright
Vocals – Charlie Wilson, Phil Wright (tracks: B4), Steve Wright

Leslie Phillips – Black and White in a Grey World – 1985

Black and White in a Grey World was Leslie Phillips’ third of four albums on Myrrh Records, once again produced by Dan Posthuma.

The songs on this record sound just like her but a little older. She is more mature in music, in delivery, and with even deeper songwriting than on Dancing With Danger. There are still plenty of praise songs and messages of encouragement here. Later, Leslie would say that she felt a lot of pressure from the record company to record certain kinds of songs and that is why she eventually left to go to Virgin Records.

Leslie does a great job of pulling in the pop/new wave high energy sound into her her songs without watering down any message. This album is very well done and deserves even more critical acclaim than it got.

Tracklist
1 – Black And White In A Grey World – 4:20
2 – Tug Of War – 3:20
3 – When The World Is New – 4:31
4 – Psalm 55 – 3:48
5 – Your Kindness – 4:03
6 – The More I Know You – 5:00
7 – Smoke Screen – 3:37
8 – You´re My Lord – 4:13
9 – Walls Of Silence – 4:54
10 – You´re The Same – 4:14

Credits:
Backing Vocals – Tata Vega
Bass – Nathan East, Neil Stubenhaus
Drums – Carlos Vega, John Robinson
Guitar – Dan Huff
Keyboards – Alan Pasqua
Mixed By – Bill Schnee
Percussion – Paulinho Da Costa
Producer – Dan Posthuma

Barren Cross – Atomic Arena – 1988

This is the second album from Christian metal band Barren Cross.

It is much like the first album but has been produced to a more radio friendly level. In fact the production is much better than the previous album which actually had fairly good production on its own.

Both albums were produced by the Elefante brothers who never really go wrong on any album.

Track Listing:
1 – Imaginary Music – 4:26
2 – Killers Of The Unborn – 3:28
3 – In The Eye Of The Fire – 4:57
4 – Terrorist Child – 3:30
5 – Close To The Edge – 4:55
6 – Dead Lock – 4:18
7 – Cultic Regimes – 2:48
8 – Heaven Or Nothing – 4:10
9 – King Of Kings – 3:30
10 – Living Dead – 6:50

Credits:
Art Direction – Marco Registrada
Artwork By [Album Cover Painting] – Steve Huston
Bass Guitar, Synthesizer [Taurus Synthesizer Pedals], Backing Vocals – Jim LaVerde
Concept By [Album Cover] – Ray Parris
Drums, Backing Vocals – Steve Whitaker
Engineer – Dino Elefante, Mike Mierau
Keyboards – John Elefante
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Mike Lee
Other [Costumes] – Sharon Shubin
Other [Hair And Makeup Artist] – Lisa Lee
Photography By [Additional Live Shots] – Rebecca May, Renee Parris
Photography By [Inside Photos] – ‘Nar’ Of Limelight
Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals – Ray Parris
Vocals [Additional] – Dino Elefante, John Elefante

Steve Taylor – The Lost Demos Bootleg – 1988

Today’s offering is The Lost Demos, a bootleg of twelve classic Steve Taylor tunes. No-one’s sure where it came from, but I’m glad it surfaced.

I suggest listening to the demos back to-back with the officially-released versions. Listen for slight (or drastic) lyric variations, changes in instrumentation and tempo, and even differences in vocal delivery. Beyond the expected demo-to-pressing upticks in performance and production quality, some songs have a noticeably different feel.

Of particular note:

Hero – Compared to the Meltdown version, this is almost lullaby-like. The bell-like 80’s synth would become a harsher 80’s synth; the driving bass riffs aren’t here; and in the bridge, the ascending chord progression maintains the lighter, ‘major’ mood.

Bouquet – Starting out almost folks-y, it slides into 80’s elevator music territory – far more mellow than the officially released track (which ST has said he doesn’t much like, preferring Sixpence None The Richer’s acoustic version on the I Predict A Clone tribute album). Numerous lyric changes for this emotional story.

Whatever Happened To Sin – A faster tempo, and more lyric changes. The official version was controversial, but here we see that Steve had actually toned it down a bit.

Jenny – As with Hero, this has a different mood from the Meltdown version; slightly faster, more acoustic guitar – a lighter backing for a heavy lyric.

Lead Me – Written for the musical “Dreamer: What Really Happened To Joseph”. As far as I can tell, this version seems to have been released only on the album Jeremiah People: The Reunion.
—————————

Track Listing:
1 – I Want To Be A Clone – 2:40
2 – Written Guarantee – 2:44
3 – Steeplechase – 1:44
4 – Hero – 3:30
5 – Sin For A Season – 3:41
6 – Bad Rap (Who You Tryin’ To Kid, Kid?) – 2:57
7 – Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Number’s Up? – 4:07
8 – Guilty By Association – 3:27
9 – Bouquet – 3:04
10 – Whatever Happened To Sin? – 3:00
11 – Jenny – 3:48
12 – Lead Me – 2:45

Rick Elias and the Confessions – (self titled) – 1990

Rick Elias showed up on the CCM music scene in 1990 and wow did he make an entry.

His sound filled a huge empty spot in the CCM music scene. His Springsteen meets Mellencamp sound is done perfectly and yet he makes it his own sound.

The album is a mix of strong rock riffs and excellent acoustic guitar work. The harmonica gives the album a strong Springsteen feel. If you’ve not heard this album you need to listen to it now.

Rick went on to produce artists such as Amy Grant, Aaron Neville, and Michael W. Smith. He also went on to be a founding member of Rich Mullins and a Ragamuffin Band.

Track Listing:
1 – Confession Of Love – 4:04
2 – Streets Of Rome – 4:13
3 – Miles And Miles – 3:21
4 – Before The Fall – 3:33
5 – Someday – 6:14
6 – The Word Is Love – 4:41
7 – Riot (Comin’ On) – 3:20
8 – Without One Word – 5:58
9 – Stones – 5:13
10 – Stripped – 4:00

Credits:
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Bass – Danny O’Hanlon
Drums – Bob Sale
Engineer – Dave Jahnsen
Engineer [Additional] – Bill Baumgart
Guitar – Marc Intravaia, Rick Elias
Keyboards – Linda Elias, Rick Elias
Layout – Joe Potter
Mandolin – Marc Intravaia
Mastered By – Chris Bellman
Mixed By – Dave Jahnsen, Rick Elias
Percussion – Bob Sale, Linda Elias
Producer – Rick Elias
Vocals – Linda Elias, Marc Intravaia, Rick Elias
Written-By – Craig Krampf (tracks: 3,6), Rick Elias

The Holidays – Everything Is New – 1988

It is very difficult to find much information on this band and album. I do know that this is the first of 2 albums (there is a demo floating around too) the band put out.

I do know that 2 members went on to form a band called The Glimmer Stars but can’t find any info on them either. Though I have no info I will say is that this is a great album.

If you’re looking for CCM music with a new wave sound these guys are for you.

Track Listing:
1 – True Love
2 – Little Love
3 – This Night
4 – American Dream
5 – Grace on Grace
6 – Salvation
7 – Better Than Before
8 – Maybe Someday
9 – Breakaway
10 – I’m Just Another Boy
11 – Everything Is Now

Wayne Watson – Watercolor Ponies – 1987

This was Wayne Watson’s 5th album. Waynes is well known for his easy listening style and has received dozen Dove Awards. This is one of those easy listening albums.

Track Listing:
1 – I Still Believe – 4:45
2 – Material Magic – 4:04
3 – Watercolour Ponies – 4:41
4 – Friend Of A Wonded Heart – 5:23
5 – Is There No Harbor – 4:37
6 – The Hunger – 4:54
7 – Rose Colored Glasses – 4:53
8 – 2 Loves – 5:59
9 – Jesus Sings – 5:25
10 – Would I Know You – 3:47

Credits:
Alto Saxophone, Soprano Saxophone – Kirk Whalum
Arranged By [Strings, Brass] – Paul Mills
Art Direction – Bill Brunt
Backing Vocals – Rick Crawford, Susan Rae Hill
Bass Guitar – Mike Brignardello
Cover [Co-ordination] – Terri Short
Drums, Synth [Percussion] – Dennis Holt
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Jerry McPherson
Engineer – Paul Mills
Engineer [Assistant] – Chance Chambers, Joe Baldridge, Steve Dady
Executive-Producer – Neal Joseph
Illustration [Drawing] – Randal Martin
Keyboards [Additional], Programmed By [Synthesizer], Sampler – Paul Mills
Keyboards, Programmed By – Phil Naish
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Percussion – Bryan Lenox
Photography By – Mark Tucker
Producer, Arranged By – Paul Mills, Wayne Watson