Month: August 2019

After the Fire – Laser Love – 1979

I was surprised to discover that this was After the Fire’s second album. In case you don’t know, none of After The Fire’s albums were released in the U.S. until the band broke up in 1982. Quite frankly while listening to this album I kept thinking, these guys do “The Cars” better than The Cars. This album came out in 79 and The Cars in 1978 so they were probably recorded around the same time so who knows who came first. I swear I will never understand why none of these After The Fire’s album were released in the U.S.A. or Canada for that matter.

Tracklist
1 – Laser Love – 3:28
2 – Joy – 3:17
3 – Take Me Higher – 4:31
4 – Life In The City – 4:13
5 – Suspended Animation – 4:52
6 – Like The Power Of A Jet – 3:07
7 – One Rule For You – 3:24
8 – Time To Think – 3:28
9 – Timestar – 4:36
10 – Check It Out – 3:21

Credits
Band – Andrew Piercy, I. A. J. Twidell, John Russell, Memory Banks
Design – Roslav Szaybo
Producer – After The Fire, John Leckie, Muff Winwood, Rhett Davies, Rupert Hine

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – CBS Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – CBS Inc.
Marketed By – Gramophone Record Co. (Pty.) Ltd.
Distributed By – Gramophone Record Co. (Pty.) Ltd.
Published By – M.P.A.
Printed By – Interpak

Bryan Duncan – Holy Rollin’ – 1986

This is Bryan’s second album after the breakup of Sweet Comfort Band. I think this is the album however that showed us where he was really going with his music. He settled on a style that suited him well. Dare I say it was far better than anything he ever did with SCB. This album has some blues undertones with Pop overtones and it works well. Bit of trivia on this album is that Bob Carlisle of Allies sings somewhere on this album or at least he was credited for it.

Tracklist
1 – Only Wanna Do What’s Right – 4:56
2 – My Little World – 3:48
3 – Lead Me To The Water – 4:43
4 – Hope Of The Brokenhearted – 3:57
5 – Holy Rollin’ – 3:30
6 – Remember Me – 3:58
7 – So Far, So Good – 3:43
8 – Your Everlasting Love – 3:45
9 – Givin’ Up Givin’ Up – 4:12

Credits
Alto Saxophone – Richard Elliot
Arranged By, Vocals, Keyboards – Bryan Duncan
Baritone Saxophone – Stephen “Doc” Kupka
Drum Programming, Sequenced By [Keyboards Sequencing] – Chuck Barth
Engineer [Assistant] – Jeff Park
Graphics [Graphic Design] – Paul Gross
Guitar, Programmed By – Dennis Brown
Photography By – Aaron Rapoport
Producer, Engineer, Drums, Keyboards, Arranged By – Larry Brown
Tenor Saxophone – Emilio Castillo
Trumpet – Lee Thornburg
Trumpet, Arranged By [Horns] – Greg Adams
Vocals – Bob Carlisle

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Pressed By – Electrosound Group Midwest, Inc.
Published By – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Published By – Fanatic Music
Published By – Drummer Music
Published By – Del Zorro Music
Published By – Suma-Booma
Published By – Franne Golde Music
Published By – Rightsong Music
Published By – Rafaelson Music
Recorded At – Salty Dog Recording
Recorded At – Sound City Studiosaxophone – Richard Elliot

Servant – Remix – 1982

This album has a bit of a history behind it. As the story goes, after “Rockin’ Revival” Servant decided to leave Tunesmith records and open their own record company “Rooftop Records”. This idea lasted for only 2 albums when they went over to Myrrh. Anyway upon announcing that they were leaving, Tunesmith for some reason decided to issue a remix album. They picked the most popular 10 songs from the first 2 albums and remixed them and produced an album. The band were not impressed at this but were not in a legal position to do anything about it. This is nothing unusual in the record industry but was relatively rare in the Christian music industry at the time. Anyway that’s the story and this is the album that came out of. The remixes aren’t extreme just slight changes.

Tracklist
1 – Shallow Water
2 – Babylon
3 – Suburban Josephine
4 – Isolated
5 – Fly Away
6 – I’m Gonna Live
7 – Ad Man
8 – Jesus Star
9 – Rockin’ Revival
10 – Cup Of Water

Bob & Pauline Wilson – Somebody Loves You – 1981

Bob and Pauline Wilson were originally members of the 70’s Jesus Music band Seawind. They decided to do their own thing in 1981 though Bob appeared on a Seawind album in 1982. Pauline actually won a Grammy in 1979 for her vocals on a Sesame Street album. Yes the Grammy was for best children’s album. Anyway this was the only album Pauline and Bob put out together. After this album Bob went on to be a very successful studio musician appearing on dozens of CCM albums. Pauline continued to record albums most with her old band mates at Seawind. Apparently Bob and Pauline divorced somewhere along the line here which may explain the sudden split of their career paths. The first single of the album was “You Can’t Hide” did not single but the track “Joyful Melody” did single peaking at # 12 with 18 weeks on the charts. The style of this album is decidedly funk. Not just a little Funky but full head on high speed funk. If your a fan of funk you’ll love this album.

Tracklist
1 – I’ll Keep My Eyes On Jesus – 3:44
2 – With Love In Your Eyes – 4:32
3 – Joyful Melody – 4:29
4 – Vision: Power And Glory – 1:36
5 – You Can’t Hide – 4:18
6 – Somebody Loves You – 4:24
7 – Lullabye Of Love – 4:04
8 – In The Spirit – 4:18
9 – Jesus Is My Lord – 4:12

Credits
Art Direction – Leo McIntire
Backing Vocals – Edie Lehmann, John Bahler, Mark Vieha
Bass – Ken Wild
Bass, Guitar, Backing Vocals, Engineer – Kevin Clark
Concertmaster – Gerry Vinci
Design [Inner Sleeve] – Dennis Hill
Drums, Percussion, Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Producer – Bob Wilson
Engineer [Assistant] – Norman Graichen
Guitar – Bud Nuanez
Keyboards, Saxophone, Flute – Larry Williams
Liner Notes – Davin Seay
Mastered By – Chris Bellman
Percussion – Paulinho Da Costa
Photography By – Harry Langdon
Saxophone, Flute – Kim Hutchcroft
Trombone, Conductor, Strings – Bill Reichenbach
Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Jerry Hey
Vocals, Percussion – Pauline Wilson

Companies, etc.
Mastered At – Allen Zentz Mastering
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Golden Sound Studios
Mixed At – Golden Sound Studios
Recorded At – Tape Recorders, Inc., Hollywood, CA

The Crosstones – The Singles Collection – 1977 to 1982

Some of you may know about the Little Bobby Emmons And The Crosstones album I Remember. What you may not know is that The Crosstones actually released several singles over the years both Christian and mainstream. As I listened to all these songs I decided it was time to put together a collection of the best 10. Of course selecting the best 10 is very subjective but I have taken what I think are the best of their 70’s and 80’s releases. The band actually started out as Bobby and the Discounts then were The Last Generation before settling on The Crosstones. So here you go for your 50’s loving ears are my picks for their best songs.

Tracklist
1 – Doreen (Bobby & the Discounts) – 1977
2 – One Way (The Last Generation) – 1977
3 – Oh Jesus (The Last Generation) – 1977
4 – My Song To Jesus (Last Generation) – 1977
5 – (I’ve Got A) Crush On You – 1982
6 – Dream Girl – 1982
7 – Joanne – 1982
8 – Since Love’s Been Knockin’ – 1982
9 – Bye Bye Baby – 1982
10 – Look My Way – 1982

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.
Producer, Arranged By – Bob Emmons

Angelica – Angelica – 1986

Guitarist Dennis Cameron from Ontario had a choice early in his career. He could join Holy Soldier, or Bloodgood, or go his own way. He chose to go his own way and this is the result. It is the first of four albums he made as Angelica and most consider this to be the best one. Now for the strange story of this album. Cameron had chose Andy Lyon as the vocalist but something went wrong and Andy left very early in the sessions. Now he was faced with finding a replacement and of the people offered to him by the studio one was Bob Rock. I think it goes without saying that Bob was chose pretty quickly as even at the time he was already legendary. The album is a mix of light metal and arena rock and does what it does well. As I said earlier most consider this to be Angelica’s best album, and in my opinion it’s in no small part because of the vocals of Bob Rock. Bob did not go on to work on the next or subsequent albums.

Tracklist
1 – There’s Only One Hero – 4:05
2 – Are You Satisfied – 3:30
3 – I Believe – 3:45
4 – Danger Zone – 3:42
5 – Shine On Me – 3:05
6 – Only A Man – 3:40
7 – One Step At A Time – 3:31
8 – Will I Ever Learn – 3:20
9 – Take Me – 3:32
10 – Ahh! – 3:00
11 – S.O.S. – 3:50
12 – Face To Face – 3:23

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Backing Vocals – Ken Tamplin
Bass – Robert Pallen
Drums – Scott Ernest
Engineer – Dave Jahnsen, Eric Kibby
Guitar – Dennis Cameron
Illustration – Jeff Foster
Keyboards – Marc Hugenburger
Photography By – Michael Seeley
Producer – Dennis Cameron
Vocals – Andy Lyon (barely)
Vocals – Bob Rock (uncredited)

Silverwind – Silverwind- 1980

Silverwind’s self-titled debut album in 1980 was sometimes billed as “the Christian Abba” due to the sound they put out on the lead track “Taking The Narrow Street” and several of the others. The distinctive sound of two female lead singers in harmony is what makes it for Silverwind. John Rosasco helped ensure success for this album by producing the band’s debut. John also made records with City Limits, Rick Cua, Joe English, Stormie Omartian, Steve Camp and others.

 

Tracklist
1 – Taking The Narrow Street – 2:35
2 – When I Looked Into Your Eyes – 3:42
3 – Your Love – 2:43
4 – Give Him Your Heart, Child – 3:11
5 – I Don’t Worry – 2:20
6 – I Am In Love – 2:42
7 – Ode To A Lost Innocence – 4:02
8 – Never Had A Reason – 3:08
9 – Walking This Road – 2:58
10 – I Will Bless The Lord – 4:24

Credits
Bass – Leon Gaer
Drums – Paul Leim
Guitar – Bill Walker, Hadley Hockensmith
Keyboards, Synthesizer – John Rosasco, Larry Muhoberac
Percussion, Steel Drums – Vince Charles
Piano – Larry Muhoberac
Producer – John Rosasco, Tony Salerno

Connie Scott – Hold On – 1987

This is Connie Scott’s third solo album. For this one she moved to Vancouver based Image 7 Records after leaving Sparrow. The president of Image 7 (aka Image VII) Gerry Scott.

Connie shows up for this one with a Modest-Madonna look and a Dionne Warwick sound. Roy Salmond produces on this album, making it a high quality all-Canadian affair.

 

Tracklist
1 – You’ll Never Know – 4:42
2 – You Never Leave Me Longing – 3:20
3 – Run To The Light – 4:10
4 – Don’t Curse The Darkness – 4:10
5 – Lost Affections – 3:15
6 – Hold On – 5:40
7 – Heartsound – 4:30
8 – Love Is All That Matters – 3:17
9 – Heaven Is My Home – 4:30
10 – More Love – 2:03

Credits
Arranged By – Roy Salmond
Design, Layout – Stan Buchanan
Photography By – Francis Cheng
Producer – Roy Salmond

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Image 7 Records Inc
Manufactured By – Word Records Limited
Recorded At – Inside Trak Studios
Mixed At – Inside Trak Studios
Recorded At – Profile Sound Studios

Altar Boys – Gut Level Music – 1986

The Altar Boys are back with their 3 album and their best up to that point. It is a rockin album with no silly ballads to spoil it. Of interest is the Donna Summer “Unconditional Love” cover. Whoever had this idea nailed it. The song works fantastic in their style. I actually went back to listen to the Donna Summer version and it was actually pretty good too but this version tops all other versions. Strangely the song was originally written by Michael Omartian who I guarantee never imagined a version like this. Probably the best track on the album was You Found Me and it was a staple on most mixed tapes of the period.

Tracklist
1 – You Are Loved – 4:12
2 – G.L.M. (Gut Level Music) – 4:04
3 – I’m Not Talking About Religion – 3:58
4 – I Question It – 2:45
5 – You Found Me – 3:42
6 – Unconditional Love – 3:33
7 – There Is A Love – 4:18
8 – Calling To You – 3:12
9 – Final Hour – 2:56
10 – Life Begins At The Cross – 4:09

Credits
Bass – Ric Alba
Drums – Jeff Crandall
Engineer [Original Release] – Doug Doyle
Executive-Producer – Gregory Hays
Guitar, Lead Vocals – Mike Stand
Producer [Original Release] – Terry Scott Taylor
Producer [Original Release], Engineer [Original Release] – Rob Watson
Remastered By – Keith Sorrells

Joe English – Held Accountable – 1982

This was the second album from Joe and he turned it up a bit for this one. There’s a couple good tunes with likeable guitar riffs courtesy of George Cocchini. One of the things that stands out to me is that Joe credited 13 songwriters including himself. That’s an awful lot of writers for a 10 album song but I have read that Joe loved to work with lots of people so maybe that’s the reason. Outside of a couple tracks this album falls right in with West Coast AOR style of the time. The single First Love reached #9 on the charts hanging around for 21 weeks.

Tracklist
1 – Best Things – 3:09
2 – We Live When We Die – 3:15
3 – My Strength Is In The Lord – 4:55
4 – First Love – 3:53
5 – Voice Of Triumph – 3:48
6 – Wake Up – 3:53
7 – Learn To Celebrate – 2:40
8 – Where You Gonna Run – 3:29
9 – Thief In The Night – 4:28
10 – The Best Is Yet To Come – 3:42

Credits
Songwriter, Guitar – Paul Brannon
Songwriter – Jay C. Coble, Jr.
Guitar – George Cocchini
Songwriter – Tom Douglas
Songwriter – James Isaac Elliott
Producer, Songwriter, Drums, Vocals – Joe English
Songwriter – Linda Lang
Keyboards – John Lawry
Songwriter – Fred Lewis
Songwriter – Will McFarlane
Executive Producer, Songwriter – Ray Nenow
Songwriter – Don Rogers
Songwriter – Scott Roley
Songwriter – Roddy Smith
Producer, Songwriter – John Rosasco
Songwriter, Bass – Tim Smith