Month: February 2019

Amy Grant – Straight Ahead – 1984

For a church-goin’ teenager in the 80s, Amy Grant’s albums were almost required listening. Along with musicians like Michael W Smith and David Meece, she helped fill out the actual ‘pop’ corner of CCM.

Amy’s music had a broad appeal. Parents liked the positive lyrics sung by a friendly, wholesome girl-next-door; youth choir directors liked both the lyrics and the quality of the music. And teens, I think, appreciated that her music sounded different than any easy listening Christian music they’d heard before. Here was a Christian pop singer with just enough of an edge to make a sheltered teen feel a tiny bit rebellious. (Okay. Maybe that was just me.)

On to the album itself. For the most part, the songs of Straight Ahead have aged well. There are some recognizably 80s synth settings and electric guitar stylings, and the fade-to-black endings stuck out a little, but nothing sounded as dated as I thought it might. And whatever you think of the style, the production values are fantastic. This is a well-engineered recording of a tight band. Amy’s vocals are always good, with clarity of enunciation and sound, and lyric-appropriate colour and shading.

Track Listing:
1 – Where Do You Hide Your Heart 3:56
2 – Jehovah 5:56
3 – Angels Watching Over Me 4:10
4 – Straight Ahead 3:47
5 – Thy Word 3:21
6 – It’s Not A Song 3:27
7 – Open Arms 3:23
8 – Doubly Good To You 3:13
9 – Tomorrow 3:23
10 – The Now And The Not Yet 3:37

Credits:
Arranged By [Strings] – Alan Moore (3)
Art Direction – Dennis Hill (6)
Engineer – Jack Joseph Puig
Engineer [Additional] – Daniel Garcia*, Gene Eichelberger, Jim Baird*, Jerry Mahler, Kevin Burns, Steve Ford
Executive-Producer – Dan Harrell, Gary Chapman, Michael Blanton
Photography By [Amy’s photos] – Aaron Rapoport
Photography By [Traffic light] – Michael Borum*
Producer – Brown Bannister

Daniel Amos – Shotgun Angel – 1977

Shotgun Angel is Daniel Amos’ second album, following their 1976 debut with this classic in 1977.

How many times did I have to explain to the record store staff that Daniel Amos is not a person? It’s the prophet Daniel and the prophet Amos. Maybe I didn’t have to explain it at all, but I felt like I did.

Had DA stuck with this format, they would have been one of the most progressive “Southern Rock” bands around. It sounds country, but it clearly has a different edge. It’s nowhere near top 40 country, and nowhere near Hank, but still has the right harmonies and the right instrumentation to make you think about it.

Upbeat songs like “Black Gold Fever” and “Meal” sound southern, Texan, and progressive all at once.

“Praise Song” has quite a dirge feeling to it rather than the upbeat feeling we usually expect from modern praise. It really is a praise song, but contemptlative, with the sort of thoughtful lyrics that DA became known for.

“Father’s Arms” has a soothing vocal track and a strong rock feel to it. A medley of violins and bold guitar sounds make this a compelling song that almost defies genre.

The title track “Shotgun Angel” is a good old trucker tune, which was a subgenre in the 70s. Anything that could be played alongside CW McCall’s Convoy would do just fine. This one is a good storytelling song that has a nice country twang to it, steel guitar, diesel sounds, CB radio and all.

“Bereshith Overture” is an orchestral interlude that fits right in, but it’s hard to explain why. By the time we get to “Better” we have already had some apocalyptic scenes and been introduced to what’s almost a Pink Floyd sound. The idea that they can play with the music and the story all along the way like this certainly is consistent with Pink Floyd’s contemporary work.

“Sail Me Away” and “Posse In The Sky” round this album out with more soothing sounds. It’s top quality stuff, but hard to believe that this was the setup for one of the best CCM punk/new wave bands of the 80s.

Track Listing:
1 – Days And Nights – 2:20
2 – Black Gold Fever – 3:01
3 – Praise Song – 3:51
4 – Father’s Arms – 4:26
5 – Meal – 2:07
6 – Shotgun Angel – 3:41
7 – Finale: Bereshith Overture – 2:19
8 – Lady Goodbye – 2:29
9 – The Whistler – 2:57
10 – He’s Gonna Do A Number On You – 1:57
11 – Better – 2:24
12 – Sail Me Away – 5:04
13 – Posse In The Sky – 4:35

Credits:
Backing Vocals – Ed McTaggart, Jerry Chamberlain, Mark Cook (2), Marty Dieckmeyer, Terry Taylor
Bass Guitar – Marty Dieckmeyer
Drums – Ed McTaggart
Guitar – Jerry Chamberlain, Terry Taylor
Keyboards – Mark Cook (2)
Lead Vocals – Jerry Chamberlain, Mark Cook (2), Terry Taylor
Percussion – Ed McTaggart
Producer – Jonathan David Brown

Lost Dogs – Scenic Routes – 1992

The “Lost Dogs” are a CCM supergroup that started in 1992. They are a collection of experienced musicians that have all been in multiple successful CCM bands. The name fits when things start out, but they went on to make a dozen or so studio albums.

Scenic Routes is the debut album from this group and on the cover it states “Lost Dogs are Terry Taylor, Mike Roe, Derri Daugherty.” That’s an impressive lineup to begin with.

That’s Terry Taylor (DA, Swirling Eddies), Mike Roe (77s), Derri Daugherty (The Choir, Swirling Eddies). They are also joined by Gene Eugene (Swirling Eddies, Adam Again) on this album. Of course these guys were all in other bands besides the ones I’ve listed, but this is an impressive group resume already.

Considering these guys are all from various CCM punk bands, this is an unexpected but excellent change of pace. The songs range from blues to folk to country to traditional, all with excellent arrangements that work well with the voices of all three singers. “Built For Glory, Made To Last” is a great example of hearing them all sing together, sharing both lead and backing vocals.

The Stephen Foster classic “Hard Times Come Again No More” is a 19th century standard that they have fit perfectly into this set. (Trivia: re-watch the barroom scene with the piano player in the movie Tombstone.)

“I Am A Pilgrim” was made famous by The Birds but is listed here as a traditional. Once again, the Dogs deliver on this one with a great country folk feel and strong harmony.

“Lord Protect My Child” is a Bob Dylan cover done well, which can be an extremely tricky thing to pull off. They stay true to the feel of a Dylan song, but don’t try to imitate too closely. That seems to be what makes it work.

There are some excellent original tunes with lyrics that range from serious and biting to funny and biting. The album moves along at a good pace, and although it goes through some dark places (“Why Is The Devil Red” and “The Last Testament Of Angus Shane” among others), at the end leaves you with a breath of fresh air.

Even the original songs on this album sound like traditionals and classics. It’s the hallmark of excellent writing.

Track Listing:
1 – Scenic Routes – 2:29
2 – You Gotta Move – 3:54
3 – Built For Glory, Made To Last – 5:29
4 – Bullet Train – 5:24
5 – The Fortunate Sons – 4:37
6 – The New Physics – 4:06
7 – I Am A Pilgrim – 3:41
8 – Lord, Protect My Child – 4:53
9 – Amber Waves Goodbye – 3:53
10 – Bush League – 1:53
11 – Old And Lonesome – 4:53
12 – I Can’t Say Goodbye – 5:00
13 – Why Is The Devil Red? – 2:52
14 – Smokescreen – 2:27
15 – The Last Testament Of Angus Shane – 4:09
16 – Hard Times Come Again No More – 2:13
17 – Breathe Deep – 3:34

Credits:
Art Direction, Photography By [All Photography] – Anna Cardenas
Band [Lost Dogs Are], Guitar, Piano, Vocals – Gene Eugene
Band [Lost Dogs Are], Guitar, Vocals – Derri Daugherty, Mike Roe*, Terry Taylor
Engineer [Engineered By] – Gene*
Engineer [Engineered With] – Derri*, Rob Watson, Terry*
Guest [With], Dobro, Banjo, Pedal Steel Guitar – Greg Kellogg
Guest [With], Drums, Percussion – Burleigh Drummond
Guest [With], Violin – James Sitterly
Producer [Produced By] – Derri Daugherty, Gene Eugene, Mike Roe*, Terry Taylor

Allies – (self titled) – 1985

Sometime in 1985 we were surprised to find this record in our local shop, arriving with no fanfare, but clearly a rock’n’roll album by the cover.

The military look doesn’t translate into the themes in the lyrics or the music too much. There’s no “Onward Christian Soldiers” here, just some straight-up radio rock something along the lines of Journey or Foreigner. Just enough synthesizer and guitar mix to remind you what decade this is, and some strong vocals make this a solid sound.

The Allies log is a capital A with (almost) a circle around it. It’s not the punk rock A for Anarchy, but it’s close, just not very punk. There is no punk connection on this album at all. It seems like the marketing approach was a shotgun approach rather than just selling the great musicianship that is on this album.

Track Listing:
1 – Surrender – 4:36
2 – Second Chance – 3:54
3 – Don’t Run Away – 3:28
4 – Send Me – 4:27
5 – Don’t Keep Him Waiting – 3:57
6 – Don’t You Worry – 5:07
7 – Morningstar – 5:03
8 – I’ll Be Your Brother – 3:56
9 – Pardon Me – 4:22

Credits:
Bass – Matthew Chapman
Design [Allies Emblem] – Coen Van De Poll
Design, Art Direction, Artwork By [Illustration] – Kurt Triffet
Drums – Jim Erickson
Engineer [Second] – Mike Mierau
Guitar, Guitar [Solo], Bass, Vocals – Randy Thomas
Guitar, Lead Vocals – Bob Carlisle
Keyboards [Acoustic Keyboards& Electric], Vocals – Sam Scott
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Photography By – Ken Reece
Producer – Randy Thomas
Producer, Recorded By, Mixed By – Dino Elefante
Sequenced By [Syntheizer] – Tim Heintz
Vocals – John Elefante

Steve Camp – Justice – 1988

This is the 10th release from Steve Camp and by this point in his career Camp had music mastered.

The quality of this album is excellent and the song writing spot on. While he is usually classed as easy listening I would argue this album really isn’t. I found it to be upbeat and edgier than previous releases.

The highlight of the album for me is Camp’s cover of the Larry Norman song “Great American Novel”. He covers it with a Springsteen feel that is perfect for the song. All in all a great release in my opinion.

Track Listing:
1 – Justice – 4:35
2 – Playing Marbles With Diamonds – 5:03
3 – Don’t Tell Them Jesus Loves Them – 5:19
4 – Living Dangerously In The Hands Of God – 5:04
5 – Do You Feel Their Pain? – 6:18
6 – Hell Is Burning While The Church Sleeps – 4:28
7 – Great American Novel – 4:57
8 – Servants Without Scars – 4:04
9 – Love That Will Not Let You Go – 5:09
10 – I Believe In You – 4:25

Credits:
Art Direction – Barbara Catanzaro-Hearn
Artwork By, Design – Peter Nomura
Engineer [Assistant] – Carry Summers, Howard Steel*, Kevin Twit, Wade Jennings
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Mixed By – Bill Schnee (tracks: A1, A3, A5, B4), David Schober (tracks: B1, B3), Jeff Balding (tracks: A2, A4, B2, B5)
Photography By [Collage] – Mark Tucker (7)
Photography By [Portrait] – Victoria Pearson (2)
Producer, Arranged By – Steve Camp
Recorded By – David Schober

Darrell Mansfield Band – Live – 1983

Recorded in January 1980 and released on MRC in 1983, this live album features mainly songs from Darrell’s Get Ready album. The concert was recorded on a 2 track system at Calvary Chapel in California. The Get Ready album was released in 1980, so these songs were probably completely unknown to the audience at the time.

This band knows how to entertain. The live versions of these songs give them plenty of life. Darrell always has had a great stage presence, and he brings it out here.

MRC was not Darrell’s regular record label, and in fact this is the only album of his released by them. Darrell was signed to Polydor at the time and appears courtesy of Polydor.

The Amazing Grace guitar intro to “Mr. Rock and Roll” is the perfect setup for this song. As often happens, this fast paced tune is even faster live and the band just hums through it.

The band does an extremely polished version of “That’s Alright” from Darrell’s 1979 debut solo album. They catch the power of this song perfectly, and Darrell’s harmonica playing abilities are really let loose.

Track Listing:
1 – LIfesaver
2 – Mr. Rock And Roll
3 – That’s All Right
4 – Heaven Southwestern
5 – Power Of Love
6 – Get Ready

Credits:
Arranged By – The DMB
Artwork – Rick Griffin
Bass Guitar – Jimmy Perez
Drums – Donny Vosburgh
Electric Guitar – Tony Dean
Electric Guitar [Rhythm] – Dennis Carothers
Keyboards – Jeff Lams
Lead Vocals, Harmonica – Darrell Mansfield
Photography By – Chuck Schmid

Greg Scheelar – Run Very Fast – 2008

Greg Scheelar is an independent artist from Winnipeg Canada.

His CD, Run Very Fast, is a decidedly easy listening affair but don’t let that discourage you from giving it a listen.

If you want an upbeat track try “St. Anselms Prayer”, it should have your toes tapping. The album is very strong lyrically and very well produced.

It actually features several members from The Real 80’s CCM family (meet them in our Facebook group). Join us in supporting independent artists and give this album a listen.

Track Listing:
1 – Dancin With The Glory
2 – Prayer of Confession (Confiteor Deo)
3 – Run Very Fast
4 – My Jesus I Love Thee
5 – Gloria
6 – St. Anselms Prayer
7 – Abide With Me
8 – The Moon And The Stars

Jerusalem – Volume 1 – 1978

Beakthrough Swedish rock reached North America in 1978 thanks to Jerusalem and the vision of Ulf Christiansson. At that time there was precious little rock’n’roll available in the CCM scene, as the metal breakout of the late 80s was still a decade away.

Jerusalem are the Swedish pioneers of hard rock that parallel what Resurrection Band were doing in Chicago, but with a European stamp.

Everything about this band and this debut album is pure fun, pure rock, and pure CCM. They could have been a Swedish April Wine or some other band. The fact that they chose record a separate English version of their albums was a bit of a struggle for them, but it was a choice that allowed them to become a worldwide sensation over the next few years.

Track Listing:
1 – Noa – 3:30
2 – Jesus Is The Most Fantastic – 2:23
3 – Maybe – 4:22
4 – Daddy Who Has Made – 3:50
5 – Mr. Ego – 3:22
6 – Come To Me – 3:40
7 – If You Only Care To Listen – 4:08
8 – Neutral – 2:42
9 – Days Passing By – 4:54
10 – What If Jesus Is Right – 3:34
11 – High Tide – 5:26

Credits:
Bass – Bertil Sörensson
Drums – Danne Gansmoe
Keyboards – Dan Tibell
Vocals, Guitar – Ulf Christiansson

Quickflight – Decent Beat – 1983

This was the second, and last, album from Quickflight. After their first album their record label, Tunesmith, closed their doors and Quickflight had to find a new label.

They found a new home at Star Song and this album was on its way. They headed into Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, BC to record this album.

It was one of the first Christians recorded in digital format and was recorded almost entirely using synthesizers and sequencers. The result was a pretty distinctive sound for the time. New wave was in but this recording style made this album stand out.

Track Listing:
1 – Water Of Life – 4:58
2 – Remote Control – 2:43
3 – In The World – 3:52
4 – Safety In Numbers – 3:10
5 – System Breakdown – 4:15
6 – Fantasy – 4:00
7 – Fade To Glory – 4:25
8 – Messages – 2:00
9 – D.M.X. – 2:32
10 – Metro Alien – 5:14
11 – I Dream – 2:52

Stronghold – Fortress Rock – 1982

Stronghold were a 70’s holdover hard rock band. I’ve seen them referred to as heavy metal but I would argue they are a hard rock band in the tradition of late 70’s rock.

With hints of Black Sabbath and/or Jethro Tull this album celebrates that hard rock sound. Personally I think the Vocoder was over used but it does give their distinctive sound that their fans loved.

This is a hard rock album that will leave you wanting for more as it is only a 8 track album.

Track Listing:
1 – Stronghold – 4:45
2 – Barabbas – 5:35
3 – Dreams & Pretty Pictures – 4:31
4 – No Superstars For Jesus – 6:55
5 – Daybreak’s Coming – 6:37
6 – Desert Walker – 5:05
7 – The Called – 3:59
8 – Nobody Owes You Nuthin’ – 4:02

Credits:
Bass – C.C. Cupp
Drums, Percussion – Jay Molina
Guitar – Pete Moore
Vocals, Keyboards – Gary Smith