Victory – Victory – 1987

Don’t know much about this band except that Steve Patrick of Holy Soldier was the lead on this project. Strangely he is credited as Steve O’Donnell and there is a Sean O’Donnell credited also. None of the rest of the names in the band seem to have done anything else so this little gem will remain a mystery. I was researching Steve Patrick and was happy to see he’s still making music. His most recent album is country and is actually pretty darn good.

Tracklist
1 – Kill ‘Em With Love – 5:47
2 – Hell On Wheels – 6:17
3 – Emerald Stare – 4:31
4 – Revelation – 2:30
5 – Grave Beneath The Willow – 5:59

Credits
Bass, Keyboards – Kelly McDonald
Drums – David McNinch
Keyboards, Lead Guitar – Sean O’Donnell
Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar – Steve O’Donnell

Joshua – The Hand Is Quicker Than The Eye – 1982

Joshua Paharia formed the band Joshua in 1983. Later the same year he became a Christian and the band suddenly made lyrical changes to reflect this. This is their first album and it’s pretty darn good. It straddles the hinge of Heavy Metal and Hard Rock and does it well. Strangely the album was a huge success in Japan with “November Is Going Away” making it to #1 on some Japan chart. The album was released in 1984 with 2 bonus tracks in Japan. Those bonus tracks were included in subsequent releases of the album through the years and they have also been included here.

Tracklist
1 – Falling Again – 4:19
2 – November Is Going Away – 4:57
3 – Sweet ‘Lil Hurricane – 3:11
4 – A Song For Lisa – 4:20
5 – Let’s Breakaway – 4:47
6 – Broken Dream – 3:01
7 – Flying High – 4:17
8 – Portrait Of A Woman – 4:25

Credits
Joshua Perahia – lead, rhythm & acoustic guitars, vocals
Donnie Gougeon – keyboards, backing vocals
Mahlon Hawk – bass guitars, backing vocals
Tony Zaccaglin – drums, percussion
Stephen Fontaine – lead & backing vocals

Evie – Unfailing Love – 1981

This was Evie’s album for 1981. She generally put out an album every year which unfortunately, in my opinion, diluted the quality of her albums. This album was pretty well received and some even called it innovative though honestly I don’t hear anything different than her earlier albums. The album had one single on the CCM charts. “How I Love You Lord” made it to #9 with a very strong 27 weeks on the chart. A quick skim through the studio musicians doesn’t reveal any interesting names except for Al Perkins who I think was on every studio musician album in the 80’s.

Tracklist
1 – How I Love You Lord – 3:45
2 – Bind Us Together – 3:20
3 – The Cross Where Jesus Gave His Life – 3:40
4 – Be Still – 4:10
5 – I Love My Jesus – 3:30
6 – Unfailing Love – 5:50
7 – A Picture Of You – 3:50
8 – All The Glory – 3:30
9 – You Gave A Song – 3:10
10 – The Lord’s Prayer – 3:40

Credits
Arranged By [String Arrangements], Conductor – Stan Endicott
Backing Vocals – Evie
Bass – Darrel Cook
Design [Cover Design] – Finn Tornquist
Drums – Keith Edwards
Engineer – Chris Taylor
Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith
Keyboards – Harlan Rogers (tracks: A1, A2, A3, A5, B2 To B5)
Keyboards [Extras], Guitar [Extras], Mandolin [Extras], Synthesizer [Extras], Producer, Arranged By, Backing Vocals – Pelle Karlsson
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Kelly Willard (tracks: A4)
Photography By – Allwil, Dannsted
Steel Guitar – Al Perkins

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Produced For – White Field Music
Recorded At – Whitefield Studios
Mixed At – Whitefield Studios
Manufactured By – Prim

Barry McGuire – Have You Heard – 1977

Personally I kind of find this album to be another Barry filler album. I’m not saying the man wasn’t talented but he did put out a few albums that were just sort of there. This is one of those albums in my opinion. That said the track “Communion Song” is definitely a classic worship song that you will even hear today. The track that stands out to me is “Chubby, Chubby” which is a fun song about Christians being fat. It stands out to me because I hate fat shaming (especially when hidden as humour) now and I hated it then. As someone who as a kid (right around 1977) had to hear people make fun of my overweight mother I don’t see the humour in it. Sorry Barry but you struck out on this one.

Tracklist
1 – There Is A Peace – 3:04
2 – Sometime, Someplace – 3:19
3 – Beatitudes – 3:35
4 – Ol’ Branch – 3:11
5 – Chubby, Chubby – 3:26
6 – Communion Song – 3:48
7 – My Lord – 2:34
8 – Good Ole Gospel Feelin’ – 3:04
9 – Light Of The World – 4:13
10 – Don’t Thank Me – 2:41

Credits
Arranged By [Strings] – Jimmy Owens
Art Direction – Robert Lockart
Bass – Leland Sklar
Drums – David Kemper
Engineer – Larry Emerine, Randy Cox
Guitar, Guitar [Dobro], Mandolin – Mike Deasy
Percussion – Fred Petry
Photography By – Gary Heery
Piano – Richard Souther
Producer – Billy Ray Hearn
Remix – Larry Emerine
Vocals – Bili Thedford, Janny Grine, Katherine Ward, Matthew Ward, Mike Deasy, Shirley Matthew’s Singers, The, Terry Oerlich, Terry Talbot

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Quad Teck
Recorded At – Studio 55, Los Angeles
Mixed At – Studio 55, Los Angeles
Distributed By – Word
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Sparrow Records, Inc.

Barnabas – Approaching Light Speed – 2000 Remaster

The metal decade gave us a lot of gems and Barnabas is one of them. This is the band’s second album, much more refined than their first. From day one the band showed potential, and with this release the production quality shot up dramatically. Nancy Jo Mann’s solid vocals shout out over some hard marching guitar riffs and a tight band. Even on “If Love Brings Love” with a piano part that would be Layla’s little cousin, the driving guitars won’t let you forget where you are and what decade this is.

This is the 2000 remaster by Rev Hillstrom at Creation Station Studios, Robinsdale, Minnesota. It includes a bonus track “All Alone” which was originally recorded for this album but record company politics kept it off the album at the time.

Tracklist
1 – No Freedom – 4:37
2 – Stormclouds – 4:43
3 – If Love Brings Love – 4:12
4 – Waiting For The Aliens – 6:21
5 – Warrior – 4:01
6 – Never Felt Better – 3:26
7 – Subterfuge – 5:59
8 – Crucifixion – 5:52
9 – All Alone – 5:45

Credits
Bass, Keyboards – Gary Mann
Cover [Cover Art] – Kernie Erickson
Drums, Percussion – Kris Klingensmith
Engineer – Tom Tucker
Engineer [Additional Technical Assistance] – John Hurst
Guitar – Brian Belew
Photography By – Dennis Mabie
Producer – Barnabas, Tom Tucker
Vocals – Nancy Jo Mann
Remaster- Rev Hillstrom

Companies, etc.
Millenium Eight Records

Imitators – Once and for All – 1985

Back in the days of working for KYMS I used to run the board for a pre-recorded “rock” show called The Ground Floor. The show changed names to “The Edge” and was hosted by Gord Driver who was an engineer and music producer. At some point Driver decide to start a record company. The label was short lived but did preoduce a few really good releases. There was a great jazz band called Razz, a powerful alternative/punk band called Modern Mission and the most successful, a new wave keyboard driven band called The Imitators. There only full length album, Once and For All, showed a great deal of promise but was never followed up as the band moved to New Jersey, fell into financial hardship and disbanded. Driven by a keyboard centered similar to the Psychedelic Furs, Flock of Seagulls and a touch of Duran Duran type vocals. Fans of the Christian Band 4-4-1 would find something to like here as well. Nothing too heavy, though some controversy was stirred up over the lyrics to one song that discussed Christian Youth caught in sexual sin. Realizing early on that they were “preaching to the choir” they placed the lyrical focus on encouraging a Godly lifestyle amongst the Christian Youth they were performing for on a regular basis. So lyrical content swirled around issues youth group kids could relate to.

Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/

Tracklist
1 – The Kingdom Of Heaven Is Within You – 3:27
2 – Idols – 3:57
3 – Got To Feel The Fire – 3:17
4 – I’ll Keep Holding On – 3:13
5 – Children Of The Lie – 4:21
6 – Sometimes (I Think I’m Never Gonna Make It) – 3:27
7 – Get A Little Bit Closer – 3:57
8 – The Writing’s On The Wall – 3:17
9 – Once And For All – 3:13

Credits
Bass – Robert Villegas
Design [Cover Design], Layout – Ed McTaggart
Design Concept [Cover Concept] – The Imitators
Drum Programming [Linn Drum] – Dave Spurr (tracks: B3)
Drums – Richard Cabrera
Engineer, Mixed By – Gord Driver
Guitar – David Price
Keyboards, Vocals – Philip Mason
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Performer [Imitators Is] – Barry Edge, David Price, Philip Mason, Richard Cabrera, Robert Villegas
Photography By – Alex MacDougall
Producer – Gord Driver, The Imitators
Vocals, Guitar – Barry Edge

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Lexicon
Mixed At – Asaph Recording
Mastered At – Future Disc
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Exile Records
Copyright (c) – Exile Records

Ghoti Hook – Songs We Didn’t Write – 1998

So what does a band do when their songwriter leaves the band to go back to school? They put out an album of covers, problem solved. OK I’m not sure that’s exactly why they put out this album but that is the official timeline leading up to it. The album contains cover versions of songs both from secular and Christian music. I’m not really too sure what the point of the album was but I suspect they were just having a bit of fun. I can only imagine the nightmare this album was as far as licensing goes. Anyway it’s a fun album filled with punked up versions of mainly 80’s songs (but not all) that is fun to listen to but I wouldn’t take it too seriously.

Tracklist
1 – I Love Rock And Roll – 2:53
2 – Earth Angel – 2:10
3 – True Faith – 4:12
4 – Just What I Needed – 2:43
5 – Friends – 3:37
6 – Acquiesce – 3:25
7 – I See Red – 3:51
8 – Walking On Sunshine – 3:25
9 – The Guitar Song – 3:57
10 – Hey Nonny Nonny – 3:11
11 – On The Road Again – 2:04
12 – Where Is My Mind? – 3:36
13 – Burnin’ Love – 3:15
14 – The Invisible Man – 2:09
15 – Untitled (Hidden Track) – 1:30

Credits
Bass – Christian Ergueta
Drums – Adam Neubauer
Executive-Producer – Brandon Ebel
Guitar – Jamie Tolosa
Mastered By – Brian Gardner
Producer – Ghoti Hook
Producer, Engineer – Kevin 131
Vocals, Guitar – Joel Timothy Bell

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Tooth & Nail Records
Copyright (c) – Tooth & Nail Records

Guardian – First Watch – 1989

This was the first studio album from Guardian though they did have a demo using the name Fusion and another using the name Gardian. They inked the deal for this album in 1985 with Enigma Records but the wheels of production and release moved very slowly. The album was to be produced by Oz Fox from Stryper and he wasn’t immediately available. Recording did finish in 1988 but then for some reason it didn’t get released until 1989. Quite frankly Enigma really screwed this one up. By the time this album came out they should have been on their follow up album and another tour but the screw ups over at Enigma cost themselves and the band a lot of success and the resulting money. To top this all off Enigma did a short run of the album making it difficult for people to get their hands on. This was a great metal album and if it had been properly promoted, pressed, and distributed it might have been one of the biggest Christian Metal releases. I’m not even going to bother telling you about the album, give it a listen, I know you will be impressed. Another annoying thing Enigma did was to put 2 extra tracks on the CD release. This idea wasn’t’ unique to Enigma, lots of others did it but it was a dumb idea.

Tracklist
1 – I’ll Never Leave You – 4:32
2 – Mystery Man – 4:07
3 – Livin’ For The Promise – 4:09
4 – Miracle – 4:56
5 – Saints Battalion – 3:47
6 – Kingdom Of Rock – 3:25
7 – The Good Life – 4:41
8 – One Of A Kind – 3:33
9 – World Without Love – 3:56
10 – Rock In Victory – 3:50
—CD Bonus Tracks—
11 – Hyperdrive – 4:17
12 – Marching On – 3:55

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Dean Van Eimeren
Backing Vocals [Additional Backing Vocals] – Oz Fox
Bass – David Bach (2)
Drums – Rikk Hart
Engineer [Assistent Engineer] – Allen Isaacs, Gene Eugene, Jeff Simmons
Engineer [Assistent Engineer], Coordinator [Studio Coordination] – Dave Hackbarth, Dino Elefante
Engineer, Mixed By – Dan Nebenzal
Keyboards – Brent Jeffers
Lead Guitar – Tony Palacios
Lead Vocals, Guitar – Paul Cawley
Mastered By – Eddy Schreyer
Mixed By, Engineer [Assistent Engineer] – Mike Mierau
Photography By – Steve Cooper
Producer, Mixed By – Oz Fox
Vocals – David Bach, Tony Palacios

Companies, etc.
Record Company – The Benson Company, Inc.
Made By – Discovery Systems

The Archers – Things We Deeply Feel – 1975

This is the fourth album from the Archer brothers and their first on Light Records. Things We Deeply Feel is the last album to feature female vocalist Nancye Short who sings lead on “It Wouldn’t Be Enough”. This song put The Archers on the map as it became a #1 on the Adult contemporary charts. The album also spawned a few other singles but “It Wouldn’t Be Enough” was the money track. Light records spent a lot of money on the studio band and also an embossed album cover that must have cost a fortune at the time. The album also contains the most countrified song they ever did, “You Are My Inspiration”. While this was a very successful album and Nancye was an excellent vocalist I prefer their albums once sister Janice joined the band.

Tracklist
1 – Music (He Brings A New Song) – 3:35
2 – Giver Of Life – 3:27
3 – Sit Yourself Down – 2:54
4 – Lord, You’ve Been Good To Me – 2:47
5 – It Wouldn’t Be Enough – 3:59
6 – I’m With Jesus – 3:15
7 – Brand New Day – 3:31
8 – You Are My Inspiration – 2:58
9 – If You Can’t Believe In Love (You Don’t Believe In Anything At All) – 3:17
10 – It’s Love To Me – 3:01
11 – Praise Him – 2:52

Credits
Arranged By [Rhythm Charts] – Bobby Sisco
Arranged By [Strings/Brass] – Clark Gassman
Bass – Leland Sklar
Drums – Ed Green, Hal Blaine
Engineer – Jerry Barnes
Fiddle [Electric] – Harold Hensley
Guitar – Ben Benay, Dan Ferguson, Jay Graydon, Lee Ritenour
Keyboards – David Paich
Liner Notes – Ralph Carmichael
Percussion – Allan Estes
Performer [Uncredited] – Billy Masters
Producer – Bill Cole
Steel Guitar – Red Rhodes
Synthesizer [Moog] – Clark Gassman
Vocals [Uncredited] – Nancye Short, Steve Archer, Tim Archer

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Recorded At – Western Recorders

Ron Salsbury And The J.C. Power Outlet – Ron Salsbury And The J.C. Power Outlet – 1972

This is the first of two albums by Ron Salsbury And The J.C. Power Outlet. The second one is the one most people know about but this is where it started. Ron Salsbury And The J.C. Power Outlet were one one of the first bands signed to the new Myrrh records. Most of the early Myrhh bands leaned to the easy listening style but these guys were a straight up Rock & Roll band. The album has the standard seventies Jesus Music album structure. Some great rock tunes, a couple ballads, and the mandatory country song, but these guys did it well. Here’s the real trivia about this album. Playing harmonica was Dave Edwards who would later become known to us as David Edwards the New Wave CCM pioneer.

Tracklist
1 – Suddenly – 3:35
2 – Back Home – 4:08
3 – Long Time Comin’ – 3:50
4 – Love Song – 4:03
5 – Denominations – 2:43
6 – Nick Of Time – 2:19
7 – Don’t Shine It On – 4:10
8 – Lord It’s In Your Hands – 3:55
9 – Satisfied – 4:50
10 – Real Peace – 4:35

Credits
Bass Guitar – Greg Prough
Drums, Percussion – Rick Frye
Engineer – Paul Elmore
Fiddle – Richie Yenoukian
Harmonica – Dave Edwards
Keyboards – Steve Kennedy
Lead Guitar – John Pantano
Lead Vocals – Ron Salsbury
Photography By [Cover Photo] – Eric Skipsey
Producer – Billy Ray Hearn
Rhythm Guitar – Ron Salsbury
Trombone – Bid Wallace
Vocals – Greg Prough, John Pantano

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc. – 1972
Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Los Angeles