The Awakening were a group of lads from southern Ontario Canada. They came together in 84/85 and started doing some recording. In 1986 they set out to record a demo album later entitled “Two Worlds”. It was recorded in 16 tracks which was rare for a demo of that period by some unknown Canadian Christian band. The whole album was produced for $14,000. The boys went out and supported the album playing gigs where and when they could selling the demo album along the way. In early 1987 Reunion Records contacted the band with an interest in signing them. After a successful signing the band recorded two alternative tracks for the album but the other tracks were all just remixed from their demo. I believe that attests to the quality of that demo. This album is the result of all that work and it is an excellent New Wave/Pop album. This is another one I missed in the 80’s which is a pity because it is so good.
Tracklist
1 – You Can’t Hide – 4:06
2 – All You Need To Know – 3:33
3 – My Only Hope – 2:49
4 – Two Worlds – 5:04
5 – Distant Light – 4:09
6 – Turn Them Away – 3:28
7 – Fireside – 5:16
8 – The Only Way – 4:33
9 – The Forest – 5:32
Credits
Art Direction, Design – Heather Brown
Bass – Allan Powell
Co-producer – Glenn Koehler
Drums, Vocals – Mike Powell
Engineer – Andrew Horrocks, Lloyd Walker
Executive Producer – Dan Harrell, Jeff Moseley, Michael Blanton
Guitar, Vocals – Andrew Horrocks
Lead Vocals, Keyboards – Ian Tanner
Photography By – Deborah Samuel
Producer, Engineer – Richard J. Hutt
I have this great album.They released another one in 1988..More info and interesting stories can be found here http://awakeningiantanner.blogspot.com/2009/06/sanctified-lp.html
You have to find a copy of “Into Thy Hands”. Good luck… it’s rare. It was an OUTSTANDING album by The Awakening, and their last that was actually released. It is a true artrock record; so rare in 80s ccm. They also recorded another cd’s worth of material before the band broke up, but it was never officially released. If you can find (lead singer) Ian Tanner’s blog, he might want to share it with you. There are some amazing tracks, my favorite being “7 sails”, which I heard live for the first time at their last show, Creation ’89.