Saint – Warriors Of The Son – 1984

This was the first release from Saint. The first issue was very limited and generally sold at their live shows. They did a tour warming up for Stryper and this is when the majority of these first issue EP’s were sold. The EP was immediately re-released on Morada records and this is the release most vinyl owners have. The album has been re-released on CD a few times with various remastering attempts. The original recording is a little rough around the edges so the remasters aren’t all that good. In my opinion that rough sound suits them well. This is a great Heavy Metal EP from what became a legendary Christian Metal Band.

Tracklist
1 – Plan 2 – 6:23
2 – Legions Of The Dead – 4:22
3 – Abyss – 4:11
4 – Warriors Of The Son – 3:56
5 – Vicars Of Fate – 3:53
6 – Time’s Wasting – 4:36

Credits
Bass – Richard Lynch
Drums – Tim Lamberson
Engineer – Dee Harrington, Richard Lynch, Tom Nunes
Engineer, Cover, Layout – Jason Carter
Guitar – Dee Harrington, Jerry Johnson
Music By – John Mahan (tracks: 3, 5, 7, 8), Richard Lynch
Producer – Richard Lynch
Vocals – Josh Kramer
Words By – Gene McClendon (tracks: 4), Richard Lynch

Mass – New Birth – 1985

While not a Christian album Mass were Christian musicians. This 1985 release from them had a cult following and was in fact re-released in 2007 by the Christian record company Retroactive Records. I had never heard this album before so this was my first exposure to them. Upon hearing it I am surprised that it was not better received. There are definitely 3 radio singles here and as an 80’s secular DJ I would have played the heck out of a few tracks. That said the reasons the album didn’t make it are as follows in my opinion. First of all the album was produced by Tony Platt who has also produced Uriah Heep, AC/DC, Motorhead and Iron Maiden so the production is good but here’s where it all went wrong. RCA released “Do You Love Me” as the first single and it was not the right first release. It was a second or 3rd release single. The first single should have been “Watch Her Walk” or “Too Far Gone” As a DJ I would have played Watch Her Walk very heavily. All that said my one only other suggestion would have been “More Cowbell” and no I’m kidding.

Tracklist
1 – Too Far Gone – 3:56
2 – Crying Alone – 4:25
3 – Time – 3:44
4 – Back To Me – 4:24
5 – Do You Love Me – 3:40
6 – New Birth – 3:49
7 – Left Behind – 2:55
8 – Voyager (Look For The Edge) – 4:07
9 – Day Without You – 4:23
10 – Watch Her Walk – 3:40

Credits
Vocals – Louis D’Augusta
Guitars – Gene D’Itria
Bass – Kevin Varrio
Drums – Joey “Vee” Vadala
Producer, Engineer – Tony Platt

Bruce Hibbard – Never Turnin’ Back – 1980

This was Bruce’s second album and perhaps his most popular. It has that West Coast Easy Listening sound that was/is referred to as Adult Oriented Rock (AOR). It has a jazz/funk feel and the vocals are excellent with Bryan Duncan and Randy Thomas from Sweet Comfort Band providing harmonies. The single was “Never Turnin’ Back” which peaked at #14 with 25 weeks on the CCM charts. That said the real single should have been “Straight And Narrow” which had apparently played well on Christian Radio but was way to uptempo for the CCM charts in 1980.

Tracklist
1 – Never Turnin’ Back – 3:14
2 – Calling – 4:21
3 – You’ll Never Let Me Go – 4:17
4 – It’s A Shame – 3:18
5 – You’re So Good To Me – 4:36
6 – Forgiven – 3:07
7 – Straight And Narrow – 3:15
8 – All Of Me – 3:44
9 – Love Will Always Make A Way – 4:13
10 – We Are All His Children – 4:34

Credits
Backing Vocals – Bryan Duncan, Judy Cotton, Kelly Willard, Randy Thomas
Backing Vocals, Bass, Guitar, Producer – Hadley Hockensmith
Bass – Chuck Fiore
Drums – Bill Maxwell, Keith Edwards
Guitar – Dean Charts
Keyboards – Harlan Rogers
Lead Vocals – Bruce Hibbard
Percussion – Alex MacDougall
Saxophone – Glen Myerscough

Truth – On The Road – 1977

The choir/group known as Truth regularly toured churches through the 70’s to support and sell their albums. This album was recorded over 3 concerts in Dallas, Memphis, and Mobile. This album is extremely easy listening which I guess is to be expected considering the setting at the time.

Tracklist
1 – I Just Feel Like Something Good Is About To Happen – 3:15
2 – Greater Is He That Is In Me – 2:42
3 – I Want Jesus More Than Anything – 3:17
4 – Give Them All To Jesus – 4:03
5 – I Lost It All To Find Everything – 4:11
6 – Love, It Comes In All Colors – 3:00
7 – Amazing Grace – 1:32
8 – Would You Believe In Me – 3:24
9 – The Church Triumphant – 5:34
10 – A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Hell – 3:25
11 – Didn’t He Shine – 3:30
12 – Whatever It Takes – 3:52
13 – Jesus, I Heard You Had A Big House – 3:23
14 – Thank You (Medley) – 8:53
15 – The Lord Is My Light – 3:33
16 – If My People Will Pray – 3:26
17 – It Is Well – 3:57
18 – It Is Finished – 4:54
19 – He’s On His Way – 3:00
20 – Get All Excited – 2:30

Credits
Art Direction – Bob McConnell
Engineer – Lee Hazen, Warren Peterson
Photography By [Cover photos and production assistance] – Greg Golden
Producer – Bob MacKenzie (2)
Recorded By [Live Recording By] – Lee Hazen Recording Service, Prestige Recording Service
Remix – John Thompson*, Warren Peterson

The 77s – Cornerstone Is Dead… Long Live Cornerstone – 2012

Upon the death of Cornerstone Festival in 2012 The 77’s requested and received copies of all of their performances over the years. This album represents what they thought we’re the highlights of their appearances. The album is an excellent collection of their songs and historic appearances. The quality is not the best but I don’t know if it’s just because my copy is poor or if the recordings are poor. Poor or not it’s still a great listen.

Tracklist
1 – Ping Pong Over The Abyss (1984) – 3:46
2 – A Different Kind Of Light(1984) – 3:48
3 – Caught In An Unguarded Moment (1986) – 3:17
4 – I Can’t Get Over It (1990) – 6:15
5 – Don’t This Way (1990) – 7:48
6 – This Is The Way Love Is (1992) – 9:05
7 – God Sends Quails (1992) – 6:51
8 – Make A Difference Tonight (1992) – 5:33
9 – Mezzo (1994) – 2:39
10 – Nuts For You (1994) – 6:23
11 – Nobody’s Fault But Mine (1995) – 6:04
12 – Tattoo (2000) – 4:56
13 – Woody (2000) – 5:28
14 – The Jig Is Up (2001) – 4:43
15 – The Years Go Down (2001) – 6:03
16 – Medley 1 (2002) – 12:00
Unbalanced
Indian Winter
Bright Star
Rocks In Your Head
Snowblind
Honesty
17 – Mercy Mercy (2003) – 3:18
18 – Unbalanced (2003) – 8:32
19 – Blue Sky (2006) – 4:39
20 – Outskirts (2006) – 10:58
21 – Medley 2 (2008) – 13:48
Keep Your Lamps Trimmed And Burning
Riders On The Storm
Pearls Before Swine
Money (That’s What I Want)

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Marc Ludena
Bass, Vocals – Jan Eric, Mark Harmon
Drums [Forever Pounding & Thrashing] – Aaron Smith
Drums, Vocals – Bruce Spencer
Executive-Producer – Jeffrey Kotthoff, Jimmy Perry
Guitar – John Flanagan
Guitar, Keyboards – David Leonhardt
Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals – Mark Tootle
Keyboards, Guitar, Percussion – Scott Reams
Mastered By [Audio Restauration & Mastering] – Kevin Fromer, Scott Reams
Vocals, Guitar – Michael Roe

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Lo-Fidelity Records
Copyright (c) – Lo-Fidelity Records
Recorded At – Cornerstone Festival
Mastered At – EnergyGlass
Mastered At – Chubs The Clown’s Studio
Manufactured By – Oasis Disc Manufacturing
Pressed By – Disc Makers

Daniel Amos – Live At Cornerstone 2000 – 2000

Recorded at the 2000 Cornerstone Festival Daniel Amos nailed this concert. They played over 2 hrs and this album is a reflection of that concert. It has a nice selection of their songs but it would have been nice to hear some more of their early stuff. I don’t feel the album was very well engineered but it is what it is. Again a must have for any Daniel Amos fan.

Tracklist
1 – Introduction – 1:02
2 – Ghost Of The Heart – 2:38
3 – Hell Oh – 4:04
4 – Prayer Wheel – 4:25
5 – I Didn’t Build It For Me – 2:13
6 – If You Want To – 5:24
7 – Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You – 5:05
8 – Tracking The Amorous Man – 3:10
9 – Alarma – 3:27
10 – Grace Is The Smell Of Rain/Glory Road – 6:51
11 – Virgin Falls – 4:02
12 – Terry Taylor Speaks (Tattoos And Alarma Chronicles And The Band) – 3:33
13 – Walls Of Doubt – 3:49
14 – Terry Taylor Speaks (Tough Year, Death, Dad, Intimacy With Jesus – Suffering) – 5:08
15 – Broken Ladders To Glory/Zoom Daddy – 10:25
16 – The Twist/CoCo The Talking Guitar – 4:58
17 – Safety Net – 3:33
18 – Arthur Fhardi’s Yodeling Party – 3:36
19 – Theo’s Logic – 2:46
20 – Band Introductions – 0:31
21 – Big, Warm, Sweet, Interior Glowing – 4:22
22 – Big Guns – 4:03
23 – I’ll Get Over It – 6:41
24 – Sanctuary – 5:36
25 – I Love You #19 (Audience Band) – 6:37
26 – Shape Of Air – 3:56
27 – Through The Speakers – 2:54
28 – Let’s Spin – 5:10
29 – Applause – 1:18
30 – I Didn’t Build It For Me (Reprise) – 2:07
31 – Applause – 1:18
32 – The Happy Wanderer – 3:19

Credits
Bass – Tim Chandler
Design [Art Design] – Dennis Preston (2)
Drums – Bruce Brown (5) (tracks: 2-10), Ed McTaggart
Engineer [Assistant Engineers] – Josh (87), Rob (78)
Engineer [Co-engineer] – Zeo Brothers Productions
Engineer [House Sound] – Zeo Brothers Productions
Executive-Producer – Bradley S. Hamilton
Guitar – Greg Flesch
Layout – Adam Gongwer
Organ [B3] – Phil Madeira
Organ [B3], Backing Vocals – John J. Thompson* (tracks: 2-10)
Producer [Produced By], Engineer [Engineered By] – Rev*
Vocals, Guitar – Terry Taylor

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Millenium Eight Records
Distributed By – M8 Distribution
Recorded At – Cornerstone Festival
Manufactured By – Acutrack

Petra – Captured In Time And Space – 1986

Captured In Time and Space is the first live album from Petra and the last album to feature Greg X. Volz. It was recorded during three separate performances of the band in Tennessee and South Carolina during their 1985 tour. It doesn’t really seem to support any album release in particular but covers several albums of work. Strangely the release of this album was different between the cassette copy, the CD copy, and the LP version. Just to add to this rather strange way of releasing an album, the UK vinyl version is even different than the U.S. version. Rather an odd way (and poor) to release an album in my opinion. The copy here is a hybrid of the LP and CD copies.

Tracklist
1 – Beat The System – 5:02
2 – Computer Brains – 5:01
3 – Clean – 3:02
4 – Grave Robber – 5:01
5 – Speak To The Sky – 5:17
6 – Hollow Eyes – 6:06
7 – The Rock Medley – 6:11
8 – The Mellow Medley – 5:04
9 – Jesus Loves You/The Race – 4:04
10 – Bob’s Solo – 2:27
11 – Louie’s Solo – 2:05
12 – God Gave Rock And Roll To You – 1:18
13 – The Praise Medley – 8:22
14 – Godpleaser – 5:27
15 – It Is Finished – 8:48

Credits
Artwork [Cover Illustration] – Melvin L. Prueitt
Bass Guitar, Keyboards [Keyboard Bass] – Mark Kelly
Concept By [Cover Concept Consultant] – Randy Rogers
Design, Art Direction – Dave Rogers
Drums [Acoustic Drums], Electronic Drums – Louie Weaver
Edited By – Bret Hurst, Chuck Sugar, Steve Dady
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Guitar Synthesizer [Synth-Guitar] – Bob Hartman
Keyboards – John Lawry
Mastered By – Todd Van Etten
Producer, Recorded By – Jonathan David Brown
Vocals – Greg X. Volz

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Jubilee Communications, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Star Song
Recorded At – Knoxville Civic Coliseum
Recorded At – Memorial Auditorium, Greenville, SC
Recorded At – Township Auditorium
Edited At – Rivendell Recorders
Mastered At – Future Disc

REZ Band – Twenty Years Live – 1992

Recorded Live in 1992 at Capernicus Centre in Chicago this album chronicles their hits from the previous 20 years. It is an excellent collection of the hits of the previous 20 years but of course the album can’t feature every hit from the previous 11 albums. The album is very well recorded and is a must have for your Rez collection.

Tracklist
1 – Waves – 2:49
2 – Military Man – 3:29
3 – Afrikaans – 3:02
4 – Attention – 3:47
5 – Colours – 3:36
6 – Players – 3:25
7 – The Struggle – 3:50
8 – Fiend Or Foul – 5:00
9 – Alienated – 2:00
10 – Paint A Picture – 4:26
11 – Wendi’s Rap – 4:43
12 – Right On Time – 5:10
13 – Love Comes Down – 3:25
14 – White Noise – 5:09
15 – My Jesus Is All – 4:42
16 – Lovespeak – 3:25
17 – In Your Arms – 3:36
18 – Bargain – 4:50
19 – Shadows – 4:47
20 – Somebody To Love – 2:50
21 – Every Time It Rains – 4:29
22 – Where Roses Grow – 9:12
23 – Light/Light – 4:00
24 – Glenn’s Rap – 5:56
25 – I Will Do My Last Singing – 4:27

Personnel
Guitar – Glenn Kaiser vocals
Vocals – Wendi Kaiser
Keyboards, Guitar – Stu Heiss
Bass, Keyboards – Roy Montroy
Drums – John Herrin

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Grrr Records
Copyright (c) – Grrr Records
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded Live in 1992 at Capernicus Centre in Chicago

Stryper – Live At The Whiskey – 2014

This album was recorded live at The Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles. It includes all their big hits as you would expect but also includes 3 songs from their 2013 album No More Hell To Pay. This includes a cover of the Doobie Brothers hit, “Jesus is Just Alright” that’s pretty true to the original. All in all a good Live album from Christian Musics biggest Heavy Metal band.

Tracklist
1 – Legacy – 4:38
2 – Marching Into Battle – 4:44
3 – You Know What To Do – 4:40
4 – Loud ‘N’ Clear – 3:42
5 – Reach Out – 5:12
6 – Calling On You – 3:40
7 – Free – 3:46
8 – More Than A Man – 4:40
9 – The Rock That Makes Me Roll – 5:02
10 – No More Hell To Pay – 5:05
11 – Jesus Is Just Alright – 5:08
12 – Always There For You – 4:24
13 – All For One – 4:30
14 – The Way – 3:57
15 – To Hell With The Devil – 5:26
16 – Soldiers Under Command – 7:04

Credits
Art Direction – Giulio Cataldo
Artwork, Layout – Nello Dell’Omo
Band, Bass Guitar, Vocals – Timothy Gaines
Band, Drums [Drums/Visual Timekeeping] – Robert Sweet
Band, Lead Guitar, Vocals – Oz Fox
Band, Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar – Michael Sweet
Edited By [Editing] – Kenny Lewis
Mastered By – Danny Bernini
Mixed By – Danny Bernini
Mixed By [Live Mix] – Jacob Anderson
Photography By – Irene Kelly Gaines, Jeff Serpa, Bob Duda
Producer [Produced By] – Michael Sweet
Recorded By – Patrick Shevelin

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Frontiers Records
Copyright (c) – Frontiers Records
Recorded At – Whisky A Go Go
Edited At – Mixed Emotions
Mixed At – Spirit House
Published By – Sweet Milena Music
Published By – Bug Music
Published By – Songs Acquisitions Co. LLC
Published By – Songs MP
Published By – Universal Music Publishing Group
Recorded – Whisky A Go Go in LA

2nd Chapter Of Acts & Michael & Stormie Omartian – Together Live – 1983

This concert was recorded at Church On The Way, Van Nuys, CA. This is certainly not a Rock & Roll concert and though all we have is audio I think we can rest assured there wasn’t a light show or pyrotechnics. But seriously this is a decidedly easy listening and praise oriented album. The one exception was the one Matthew Ward song which even I found to be a little on the Rock and Roll side for a church concert in 1983. Nowadays it wouldn’t be an issue but in 1983 I’m betting there were some odd looks at the opening guitar riffs. Good version of the song however. Anyway, if you’re a fan of either of the headliners your gonna love this album, the songs are very well done and there is good testimony on a lot of the tracks.

Tracklist
1 – Rejoice – 3:05
2 – I Fall In Love / Change – 4:20
3 – Lightning Flash – 2:52
4 – Bread Of Life – 2:14
5 – Come Holy Spirit – 2:45
6 – Easter Song – 3:15
7 – Here I Go – 2:30
8 – ‘Til The Walls Fall Down – 2:53
9 – Nobody Can Take My Life – 3:24
10 – Mainstream – 4:33
11 – See This House – 3:04
12 – Believing For The Best In You – 3:27
13 – Dr. Jesus – 3:28
14 – Praise His Name And See It Happen – 3:07
15 – Which Way The Wind Blows – 4:22
16 – Killing Thousands – 4:12
17 – Mansion Builder – 3:23
18 – Haven’t You Heard – 3:37

Credits
Backing Vocals – 2nd Chapter Of Acts (tracks: B4 to C4)
Bass – Herb Melton
Cover [Cover Coordination] – B. Charlyne Hinesley
Design – Stan Evenson Design
Drums – Jack Kelly
Engineer – Buck Herring
Guitar – Peter York
Photography By – Mark Hanauer
Piano – Michael Omartian (tracks: B4 to C4)
Piano, Vocals – Annie Herring (tracks: A1 to B3, D1 to D4)
Producer – Buck Herring
Synthesizer – Greg Springer
Vocals – Matthew Ward (tracks: A1 to B3, D1, D3, D4), Nelly Greisen (tracks: A1 to B3, D1, D3, D4)
Vocals, Written-By – Michael And Stormie Omartian (tracks: B4 to C4)
Written-By – Anne Herring (tracks: A1 to A3, A5 to B1, B3, D2 to D4)

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Distributed By – Word Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Published By – Birdwing Music
Published By – Cherry Lane Music Pub. Co.
Published By – Ears To Hear Music
Published By – Holicanthus Music
Published By – Latter Rain Music
Published By – MCA Music
Published By – See This House Music
Published By – Word Music
Recorded At – The Church On The Way
Edited At – Weddington Studios
Remixed At – Weddington Studios
Recorded live at Church On The Way, Van Nuys, CA.