Morgan Cryar’s fourth album turned it up the Rock and Roll knob another notch. The top single was “Pray in the USA. This song was an anthem at the time and spoke out at the problem of removing prayer from Schools. Strangely the song did not chart on the CCM charts but it just wasn’t mellow enough. Several other songs did single on the CCM charts. All in all this is a very very good album and Pray in the USA in particular filled a empty space in Christian music due to it’s Springsteenish sound.
Tracklist
1 – Pray In The USA
2 – I’m Not Alone
3 – Underneath Your Feet
4 – I Gotta Know
5 – I Need The Rock
6 – Break The Chain
7 – Sibling Rivalry
8 – Under The Rug
9 – Strength Of The Weak
10 – Hideaway
Credits
Bass – Doug Pinnick
Drums – John Andrew Schreiner
Guitar – Ty Tabor
Producer – Roy Salmond
Vocals – Morgan Cryar
Interesting to hear the pre-King’s X playing on this by Doug Pinnick and Ty Tabor, especially on the opening track. It’s also notable that there is no mention of King’s X drummer Jerry Gaskill. I couldn’t find the album liner notes anywhere, but I had always heard Jerry was a part of Morgan’s band, too. Maybe he only toured with them.
I read someplace else that Doug and Ty didn’t actually play on this album, but that’s Doug doing the ad-lib vocals late in “I’m Not Alone.” With so much vocal stacking and saturated reverb everywhere (hey, it was the ’80s, right?!), it’s really hard to pick his voice out anywhere else. But the guitars all over this album are unmistakeably Ty, so I’m calling foul.
There’s alot here that sounds like the 1983 self-titled CCM debut from Sneak Preview (especially “I’m Not Alone”), the trio that became King’s X. This leads me to believe that Ty and Doug had a hand in writing for this album as well and weren’t just hired musicians. A quick peek at AllMusic confirms this, with Ty and/or Doug writing or co-writing all but two tracks, “Sibling Rivalry” and “Under The Rug.”
Thanks for posting this. It’s an interesting “archaeological artifact” in the evolution of my favorite band, King’s X. Here’s another tidbit related to Morgan Cryar and King’s X. Members of fellow Sam Taylor-produced and -managed “Houston” band Galactic Cowboys were a part of Morgan’s touring band: bassist Monty Colvin and drummer Alan Doss.
Thanks again!
I still own the original vinyl of this album. I consulted the liner notes and Ty Tabor is listed as one of four guitarists on the album (the others are Dane Deviller, Jerry McPherson, and Roy Salmond. Doug Pinnick is not listed for bass, but is listed under Additional Vocals as well as being in “The Morgan Tabernacle Choir” which provided background vocals for I Need The Rock and Pray In The USA.
Under Special Thanks, the liner lists “Vito, Ty, Jerry, Doug & Jay – for going those 24,621 miles.”
I attended one of the concerts for the tour of this album and I remember being told (later?) that Cryar’s live band included the members of King’s X. I seem to remember a moment in the concert where Cryar was singing while sitting on the shoulders of Doug Pinninck as he played bass.
I think Doug’s bass tone was completely different back in those days, so even if he had played bass on the album, I don’t think I could have picked it out. As for guitars, I don’t know Deviller or Salmond, but McPherson is an excellent guitarist and has played with just about everyone throughout his career. AllMusic has him credited on 1159 albums. I suspect he’s played on more than that. But I knew I heard Ty’s guitar work on this album. His tone has changed over the years, but his playing is pretty distinct.
Thanks for the confirmation from the liner notes of King’s X as Cryar’s touring band. And Cryar riding on Doug’s shoulders?! I bet that was a sight to see!