July 2019 – Page 3 – Real 80s CCM

DeGarmo & Key – This Time Through – 1978

This 1978 debut album from DeGarmo & Key is one of their best. It has a range of styles, but for 1978, it was all right in the zone of 70s rock that was still more influenced by country music at the time, and the “Southern rock” that everyone wanted more of.

These guys came from the South and they brought just the right mix to launch a career in CCM, and help spark the genre.

On their later live album, he says “We tried country music, we really did. But nobody could recognize what country it was from.” Funny, but those country tones fit perfectly here even though the band really became known as a modern pure rock band later on.

The songs on this album had great longevity for the band and 3 of them made it onto the live album in 1982.

Tracklist
1 – Emmanuel – 3:03
2 – Addey – 4:11
3 – Only The Meek Survive – 3:03
4 – (Gone, Gone, Gone) Too Far, Too Long – 4:29
5 – Alleyways Of Strife – 3:10
6 – Sleeper – 2:45
7 – Wayfaring Stranger – 3:38
8 – In The Days Of Thy Youth – 1:26
9 – Chase The Wind – 5:21
10 – This Time Thru – 4:52

Credits
Art Direction, Management – Steve Lawhead
Backing Vocals – Joe Hardy, Phyliss Duncan, William C. Brown III
Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Electric Piano, Grand Piano, Organ [Hammond] – Edward DeGarmo
Bass, Percussion – Ken Porter
Design [Album] – Stan Evenson
Drums – David Spain, Max Richardson
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Classical Guitar, Harmonica, Percussion – Dana Key
Mastered By – Larry Nix
Producer, Engineer – Ron Capone
Programmed By [Arp], Backing Vocals – Carl Marsh

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Lamb & Lion Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Lamb & Lion Records
Recorded At – Ardent Studios
Remixed At – Ardent Studios
Mastered At – Ardent Mastering

Blind Beggar – Winds Of War – 1985

This is a 4 song self released EP from Blind Beggar. I don’t know much about the band other than they were from Florida. This appears to be it from them and none of the 3 members appear to have done any published subsequent work. This is a Metal EP (though “Daddies Little Girl” is a little more Hard Rock). I often speak out against self produced albums but they did a great job on this one. The mix is good and I like the production quality though I would have mixed the cymbals up a tad (I know that’s really picky). The lead track is presumably the single and is a pretty good metal tune. My favourite track was Daddies Little Girl but I generally lean to the more Rock oriented tracks. It’s only 4 songs so it’s well worth listening to. Be sure to check out the pic on the back cover. These guys missed the memo on torn pants of obnoxious colours. Instead they look like a normal rock band.

Tracklist
1 – Winds Of War
2 – Daddies Little Girl
3 – Shout It
4 – Virgin’s Child

Credits
Drums, Vocals – Joel Wilkinson
Engineer – David Lee
Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals – David Lee
Guitar, Lead Vocals – Freddy Laine
Producer – David Lee

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Last Trumpet Sound
Mixed At – Last Trumpet Sound

Shout – It Won’t Be Long – 1988

Shout was started by Ken Tamplin who left Joshua feeling the need to do something different. He recruited fellow Joshua member Loren Robinson to join him and also recruited Idle Cure guitarist Chuck King. Keyboardist Mark Hugonberger joined in having no real CCM background and the band rounded out with drummer Dennis Holt who had played with several CCM bands in his life including AD, Kenny Marks, White Heart, and even oddly enough The Archers. The album is more hard rock than heavy Metal and I actually quite liked it. It has that Def Leppard sound of fun songs with heavy drum tracks and strong lead guitars. We’re not talking some deeply though out lyrics with complicated lead guitar work here. Instead it’s a fun album to play air guitar to.

Tracklist
1 – Never Stop – 3:58
2 – Winners Or Losers – 3:42
3 – It Won’t Be Long – 4:21
4 – Find A Way – 4:49
5 – Dancin’ Round The World – 3:13
6 – Shout – 4:19
7 – Showdown – 4:02
8 – Timeless Love – 4:36
9 – Without You – 3:42

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Band [Shout Is], Bass Guitar, Vocals – Loren Robinson
Band [Shout Is], Drums – Dennis Holt
Band [Shout Is], Keyboards – Mark Hugonberger
Band [Shout Is], Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals – Ken Tamplin
Band [Shout Is], Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – Chuck King
Engineer [Mixing Engineer] – Dave Jahnsen
Engineer [Tracking Engineer] – Robert Dire
Graphics [Litho Prep By] – Gershwin Graphics
Illustration [Logo Illustration By] – Jeff Foster
Photography By – Nigel Skeet
Producer [Produced By] – Ken Tamplin
Written-By [All Songs Written By] – Ken Tamplin

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Frontline Records
Copyright (c) – Frontline Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company
Recorded At – Winetree Recording
Mixed At – Winetree Recording
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus
Published By – Broken Songs

Randy Stonehill – Celebrate This Heartbeat – 1984

Celebrate This Heartbeat starts out with an overture, which really does have a strong orchestral sound that only stops a little bit short of sounding like an outtake from The Nutcracker.

“Who Will Save The Children” is an important song on this record. The liner notes included a sign-up form to sponsor a child. Sally Struthers was working hard to get children sponsored at the time, and Randy had his hat fully in the ring starting around this time.

As usual, Randy gives us a fun song to both entertain us and challenge us on this album
Stop the World / I wanna get off / This place is too weird for me

This album is another polished studio approach from Randy, and a little farther from his rock’n’roll roots than what we were used to hearing. Fortunately we wouldn’t have to wait long for him to come back to the rock style we got to know him for.

Tracklist
1 – Overture: Celebrate This Heartbeat – 3:25
2 – Still, Small Voice – 4:04
3 – Celebrate This Heartbeat – 4:08
4 – Modern Myth – 3:51
5 – Who Will Save The Children – 5:27
6 – When I Look To The Mountains – 3:41
7 – Allison – 3:18
8 – Whatcha Gonna Do About That – 3:19
9 – Stop The World – 4:34
10 – I’ll Remember You – 4:26

Credits
Acoustic Guitar [All Acoustic Guitars] – Randy Stonehill
Arranged By [Rhythm Section And Vocal Arrangements] – Barry, Randy
Art Direction – Tim Alderson
Congas, Bongos, Percussion – Rick Geragi
Electric Guitar [Electric Guitars] – Danny Jacob
Electric Guitar [Electric Twelve String Guitar] – Mark Heard
Engineer [Engineered By] – Mark Heard
Engineer [Second] – Dan Reed
Flute, English Horn – John Clarke
French Horn – Darrel Gardner
Harp – Michael Amorosi
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Oboe – Barbara Northcutt
Orchestrated By, Arranged By, Conductor [Conducted By] – Tom Howard
Photography By – Aaron Rapoport
Piano, Electric Piano [Electric Grand Piano], Synthesizer, Timpani – Tom Howard
Producer [Produced By] – Barry M. Kaye
Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Flute – Jay “Shotgun” Leslie*
Vocals [All Vocals] – Randy Stonehill

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. – Δ26410
Engineered At – Fingerprint Recorders
Mixed At – Fingerprint Recorders
Edited At – Wilder Bros. Studios, Los Angeles
Mastered At – Future Disc
Published By – Stonehillian Music
Published By – Word Music
Published By – Tom Howard Music

Petra – Washes Whiter Than – 1979

Washes Whiter Than is the third studio album by Petra and ther first with Greg X. Volz as a band member. This album turned it down a notch from their previous albums and many refer to this as the “mellow” album. This softer sound gave the album more airplay on Christian radio. The album had 2 singles. “Why Should the Father Bother” made it to #3 on the CCM AC charts and stayed on the charts for 25 weeks. “Yahweh Love” made it to #20 on the CCM AC charts and stayed on the charts for 4 weeks.

Tracklist
1 – I’m Thankful – 2:41
2 – Why Should The Father Bother? – 3:46
3 – Morning Star – 4:47
4 – Magic Mirror – 3:27
5 – Mary’s Song – 4:00
6 – Yahweh Love – 5:38
7 – (Couldn’t Find Love) Without You – 4:19
8 – Taste And See – 3:23
9 – Magic Words – 3:31
10 – Deep Love – 3:57

Credits
Arranged By [Tracks Arranged By … With], Arranged By [Strings And Horns Arranged By], Conductor [Strings And Horns Conducted By] – George Atwell
Arranged By [Tracks Arranged By] – Bob Hartman, Robert Frazier
Bass – Chip Meyers
Design [Album Design], Artwork – George Werth
Drums, Percussion – Randy Nichols
Engineer – Andy deGanahl
Guitar – Gerald “Jit” Byron, Joel Balin
Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals – Robert Frazier
Keyboards – George Atwell
Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – Bob Hartman
Lead Vocals [Uncredited] – Greg X. Volz (tracks: 1, 4, 6, 8), Rob Frazier (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 7, 9, 10)
Management [Personal Management], Booking [Concert Scheduling] – Dan Brock Associates
Mastered By – Allen Zentz Recording
Musician [“The Crown Of Sound”] – Bob Prince
Producer – George Atwell
Producer [Album Direction] – Dan R. Brock
Vocals – Greg X. Volz

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Star Song Records
Copyright (c) – Star Song Records
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Published By – Dawn Treader Music
Recorded At – Bee Jay Recording Studio
Mastered At – Future Disc

Little Bobby Emmons And The Crosstones – I Remember – 1980

This album has a bit of an odd history. I was produced by Larry Norman for his label, Phydeaux Records. It was recorded at Emmaus Sound Studio in New Jersey. As the story goes it was then mixed by Larry back in California. Then for some reason 3 songs, What Are You Doing, I Remember, and Sometimes I Run were later remixed by Mark Heard. The distribution for the album is also strange. It was supposed to be a mail order only record from Solid Rock records yet several people have stated that they bought it in a record store so I don’t know what’s correct. Anyway on to the album. This is a 50’s album with tons of doo-wop with Christian lyrics. At times this combination sounds a little odd but for the main part it works well.

Tracklist
1 – Malt Shop In The Sky – 1:36
2 – Oh Jesus – 1:59
3 – You – 2:06
4 – I Remember – 2:13
5 – Sometimes I Run – 2:14
6 – Doreen – 2:25
7 – We’re Gonna Rock – 1:30
8 – I’m So Thankful – 1:55
9 – If God Didn’t Care – 2:18
10 – I Love You – 2:19
11 – The Lord – 2:39
12 – What Are You Doing – 2:07
13 – I Saw You – 3:29

Credits
Vocals – Bobby Emmons, Fred Pope, Terri DeLorenzo, Mary Grace Shar, Josh Shar
Musicians – Terri DeLorenzo, Bobby Emmons, Janet Pope, Fred Pope, Tom Pope, Mike Nicolose, Peggy Andreev, Richie Malfitano.
Executive-Producer – Larry Norman
Producer, Arranged By – Fred Pope, Bob Emmons

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Emmaus Sound Studio

White Heart – Emergency Broadcast – 1987

This 1987 release was kind of forgotten. The timing of the album lead many to treat it like a “filler” album. Personally I don’t get that feeling from this album and In fact the album did well on the charts with three singles. Montana Sky peaked at #3 with 16 weeks on the charts. Edge Of The Dream peaked at #13 with 10 weeks on the charts. Finally Somewhere In Between sat on the charts for 8 weeks peaking at #24. Overall a good effort from White Heart.

Tracklist
1 – Urban Renewal – 4:02
2 – Key To Our Survival – 4:19
3 – No Taboo – 4:45
4 – Montana Sky – 4:55
5 – Fashion Fades – 4:19
6 – More Sold Out – 4:41
7 – Somewhere In Between – 4:04
8 – Speed Of Sound – 3:03
9 – Lone Ranger – 4:07
10 – Edge Of The Dream – 4:34

Credits
Art Direction – Barbara Catanzaro-Hearn
Bass Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals – Tommy Sims
Drums, Percussion – Chris McHugh
Guitar, Vocals – Gordon Kennedy
Lead Vocals – Rick Florian
Vocals, Keyboards – Mark Gersmehl
Vocals, Rhythm Guitar – Billy Smiley

Darrell Mansfield – The Vision – 1983

This was Darrell’s 5th album (his first was with Gentle Faith). As his albums do this one features Darrell’s spectacular harmonica work. Through the years I always found it impossible to compare Mansfield to any other musician due his superior harmonica skills. This album has a variety of Blues, Rock, and even a tune or two that some described as Pop but they aren’t Pop in my opinion. My favourite tracks of this album were actually the lead in and exit tracks. Both are short great tunes. Of course the album is dominated by the song “Radio” which Darrell would play religiously at his live shows (Yes the pun was intended). If you like Rock & Roll this is the album for you.

Tracklist
1 – Lay Down This World – 1:07
2 – No More Blues – 3:40
3 – Hard Times – 3:26
4 – The Vision – 5:05
5 – Radio – 3:52
6 – Walk Across Heaven – 4:14
7 – Empty Hearts – 4:05
8 – Can’t Do Nothin’ Without Jesus Love – 3:55
9 – Jerusalem – 3:42
10 – Haven You Been Listenin’ – 1:25

Credits
Art Direction – Alex MacDougall
Backing Vocals – Anthony Dean, Jeff Nicholson, Rosemary Butler, Tom Howard, Virgil Beckham
Bass – Abraham Laboriel, Charlie Souza, Jeff Nicholson, John Patitucci
Design [Album Design] – Gary DeLacy, Rick Griffin
Drums – Bill Lordan, Billy Maxwell, Paul Angers
Engineer – Brook Johnson, Chris Taylor, Linda Schaffer, Willie Harlan
Guitar – Anthony Dean, Dennis Carothers, Don Gerber, Eric Turner, Hadley Hockensmith, Jerry Swallow, Steve Kara, Virgil Beckham
Keyboards – Dave Garland, Harlan Rogers, Tom Howard
Lead Vocals, Harmonica [Harp] – Darrell Mansfield
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Photography By – Linda Baily, Scott Lockwood
Photography By [Photo Tinting] – Valerie Sutter
Producer – Darrell Mansfield, Tommy Coomes, Virgil Beckham

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – A&S Records
Copyright (c) – A&S Records
Recorded At – Rocshire Studios
Recorded At – I.A.M. Studios, Irvine
Recorded At – Whitefield Studios
Mixed At – Rocshire Studios
Mixed At – I.A.M. Studios, Irvine
Mastered At – A&M Studios

Lyrix – Songs From The Heart – 1982

The band here known as Lyrix were actually the British band, Mark Williamson Band. Larry Norman signed them for a one record deal and essentially just re-released their British album, Get The Drift. Larry apparently remixed some of the songs and it is generally thought that the original British version was much better. Back to the album, this is a great Rock and Roll album that still has a flavour of the 70’s on it. It’s definitely one of my favourite 70’s to 80’s transition album.

Tracklist
1 – Don’t Turn Your Back On Jesus – 3:37
2 – Midnight Diamond – 4:00
3 – All Very Well – 4:52
4 – Susanne – 5:23
5 – Dance – 3:15
6 – Rising – 4:04
7 – Somebody Told Me – 4:45
8 – I Would Have Listened – 5:31

Credits
Arranged By – Larry Norman, Mark Williamson, Paul Cobbold
Drums, Harmony Vocals – Mark Millin
Keyboards, Harmony Vocals – Chris Eaton
Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Harmony Vocals – Rob Marshall
Lead Vocals, Harmony Vocals, Bass – Mark Williamson
Mixed By – Larry Norman, Mark Williamson, Paul Cobbold
Producer – Larry Norman, Mark Williamson, Paul Cobbold

Mark Williamson Band – Get The Drift – 1980

This is the first album from the Mark Williamson Band who you may also know as LYRIX. Several tracks from this album were released in the United States on Larry Norman’s record label using the name LYRIX and the album name “Songs From The Earth”. That said this album is a much better mix as apparently Larry remixed the album for his own release and most people agree that this is a much better mix. Larry wasn’t exactly known for his production prowess. Back to the album, this is a great Rock and Roll album that still has a flavour of the 70’s on it. It’s definitely one of my favourite 70’s to 80’s transition album.

Tracklist
1 – Midnight Diamond – 4:08
2 – All Very Well – 4:56
3 – Junior – 2:55
4 – Somebody Told Me – 5:00
5 – So Far So Good – 3:46
6 – Dance – 3:23
7 – Don’t Turn Your Back On – 3:21
8 – Feelin’ Alright – 3:58
9 – Rising – 4:00
10 – I Would Have Listened – 5:46