This demo is a bit of an odd situation. The band had already had a successful album in 1984 with Exit Records. So this demo came out after they already had a record deal. Exit Records went bankrupt in 1987 the same year as this demo so I know there’s a story as to what happened between the band and Exit. The band were an established Hard Rock/Metal ban as their first album was very well received. Why they had to shop around a demo I’m a little unsure. The band however did have a new lead singer on this demo with Dave Campanaro replacing Tony Gunn. So all the clues, new lead singer, defunct record company, lead me to believe there is a story here. Anyway let’s talk about the demo. It’s only 4 tracks but quite frankly they are 4 album ready tracks. They continue their Hard Rock/Metal style that I liked so much on their studio album. If you liked the album you’ll love this demo.
Tracklist
1 – Some Kind Of Lover – 4:46
2 – Don’t Let Me Walk Away – 3:45
3 – Power – 4:49
4 – Come Back – 3:07
Credits
Bass, Backing Vocals – Chris Salmon
Drums – John Delaney
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Pat Boylan, Tim Larkin
Vocals – Dave Campanaro
Mad Max was a great Metal band from Germany and this was their first album on a label. They did have an off label release in 1982 that did have some limited distribution with Roof Music in Germany. The lineup here was different than the demo and most reviewers consider this the best makeup of the band. The album had a much more U.S. commercial metal sound than their previous effort. The band has continued putting out albums up until 2018. The lineup has changed fairly steadily but you have to respect the effort to stay rockin.
Tracklist
1 – Fly, Fly Away – 4:18
2 – Evil Message – 3:46
3 – Losing You – 4:08
4 – Stranger – 4:41
5 – Yours Sincerely – 2:22
6 – Shout And Cry – 5:12
7 – Rollin’ Thunder – 4:20
8 – Riding Through The Night – 4:13
9 – Thoughts Of A Dying Man – 6:07
Credits
Bass – Jürgen Sander
Drums – Uwe Starck
Engineer [Assisted] – Otto Rasche
Engineer, Mixed By – Karl Trapp
Guitar – Jürgen Breforth, Wilfried Schneider
Producer – Karl Trapp, Mad Max
Vocals, Guitar – Michael Voss
Companies, etc.
Published By – Roadster Music
Copyright (c) – Roadrunner Productions B.V.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Roadrunner Productions B.V.
Distributed By – CNR
Distributed By – Indisc
Distributed By – SPV GmbH
Distributed By – Disctrade
Distributed By – Madrigal
Distributed By – Music For Nations
Recorded At – Karo Musikstudio, Münster
Mixed At – Karo Musikstudio, Münster
This was Keith’s 3rd studio album and the first on his own label however Sparrow Records still handed international distribution. Keith was determined to get his music to the people at an affordable price or even free at his concerts. Yes he gave away free copies of this album for people who couldn’t afford the retail price. I was unable to find the retail price but it would be interesting to see as Keith heavily subsidized the album himself. A rather lengthy booklet was included with the record with song explanations, scripture discussion, and just general testimony from Keith. As for the album it is decidedly easy listening and Keith’s real skill was his song writing in my opinion. Notable people joining him on this album was Matthew Ward and Bob Dylan. It is reported that Keith was good friends with Dylan.
Tracklist
1 – So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt – 4:36
2 – Pledge My Head To Heaven – 3:53
3 – If You Love The Lord – 4:05
4 – Romans VII – 3:24
5 – Lies – 3:42
6 – I Want To Be More Like Jesus – 4:20
7 – Unless The Lord Builds The House – 3:56
8 – Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful – 4:17
9 – You Love The World – 2:36
10 – Grace By Which I Stand – 4:49
Credits
Art Direction, Design – Stan Evenson Design Inc.
Backing Vocals – Keith Green, Kelly Willard, Matthew Ward
Bass – Hadley Hockensmith
Drums – Bill Maxwell
Engineer – Bob Cotton, Gordon Shryock
Engineer [Second] – Billy Taylor, Peter Haden, Wally Duguid
Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith
Harmonica – Bob Dylan
Lead Vocals – Keith Green
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Organ – Harlan Rogers
Percussion, Congas – Alex Acuña
Piano – Keith Green
Producer – Bill Maxwell, Keith Green
Written-By – Keith Green, Kelly Willard (tracks: B1), Melody Green (tracks: A1, A3, B1, B2)
OK lets see if I can get the story of where these guys came from right. Follow along now. It all starts with the Oakridge Boys in the early 70’s. In 1974 the backing band for the Oak Ridge Boys put out an album using the moniker “The Oakes Band”. It was on the label “Rockland Road” (foreshadowing alert) which appears to be a tiny label owned by The Oak Ridge Boys”. Then in 1977 Skip Mitchell, Don Breland, and Mark Ellerbee from The Oakes Band did this project. Joining them was Garland Craft and vocalist Christine Lakeland. Now if you made it through that let’s talk about the music. The album was first released in Sweden with 11 tracks and was then released in the United States a few months later with 10 tracks. This is odd as they were an American band and most of the album was recorded in Nashville but I’m sure there’s a good backstory to it. The United States version omitted the #11 Track “Did You?”. That track is included in the playlist as we have uploaded the Swedish version.
The album is great and in fact I would say it is probably a notch up from most of the Jesus Music albums of the day. “For Crying Out Loud” is a pretty good 70’s rocking song but my favourite track is a blues/southern gospel song entitled “The Shelter”. That style will always be timeless. As you can see there’s a few different styles on this album which really was typical of the period. That said they do a great job with all the styles and this will go down as one my favourite 70’s albums.
Tracklist
1 – Planet Time – 5:30
2 – Jesus Wasn’t In It For The Dollar – 2:14
3 – The Shelter – 4:35
4 – I Could Be Forever – 3:04
5 – Somebody Lead Me – 3:38
6 – Alpha And Omega – 1:35
7 – For Crying Out Loud – 3:52
8 – Children – 4:10
9 – All His Love – 3:12
10 – Heaven Is A High Place – 3:12
11 – Did You? – 3:52 (Swedish Version Only)
Credits
Skip Mitchell – Guitar
Don Breland – Bass
Mark Ellerbee – Drums
Garland – Keyboards
Christine Lakeland – Voclas
This is Steve’s 7th studio album and his second with Sparrow Records. Sparrow was a good move for Steve as they let him turn up the volume and fun. This is a great pop album and was a pleasant surprise at the time as many of us were afraid of Steve going straight worship. The album spawned 3 singles with “Stranger to Holiness” doing the best climbing to #5 on the charts. “Surrender Your Heart” made it to #33 and “Even Now” Made it to #31. As usual most of the tracks were far to poppy for CCM to allow them on the charts. I would be interested to see how the real singles did on California Christian radio. As usual Steve’s album had all sorts of special appearances including Marty McCall (Fireworks), Dann Huff (Whiteheart), Rob Frazier (who also helped with some writing and producing), and Dave Perkins.
Tracklist
1 – Help Is On The Way – 4:08
2 – Lazy Jane – 3:20
3 – Surrender Your Heart – 4:44
4 – Bad News For Modern Man – 4:57
5 – Stranger To Holiness – 4:24
6 – On The Edge – 3:52
7 – Asleep In The Light – 4:01
8 – Shake Me To Wake Me – 4:32
9 – Going Through The Motions – 4:07
10 – Even Now – 3:59
Credits
Backing Vocals – Carol Buckley, Gary Pigg, Marty McCall, Susie Allenson
Bass – Neil Stubenhaus
Drums, Drum Programming [Linn] – Paul Leim
Engineer [Assistant @ Bill Schnee] – Dan Garcia
Engineer [Assistant @ Bullet] – Alan Henry, Bill Heath, Chris Hammond, Dan Mundhenk, Randy Holland, Willie Pevear
Engineer [Assistant @ Sunset] – Peggy Mac, Stephen Shelton
Engineer, Mixed By – Terry Christian
Executive-Producer, Management – Steve Wyer
Guitar – Dann Huff
Guitar, Soloist [Lead Guitar] – Michael Landau
Keyboards – Alan Pasqua
Mastered By – Herb Melton, Steve Hall
Photography By – Raul Vega
Producer [Lead Vocals], Backing Vocals, Arranged By [Backing Vocals] – Rob Frazier
Producer [Lead Vocals], Synthesizer, Arranged By [Synthesizer] – John Rosasco
Producer, Mixed By, Backing Vocals, Arranged By [Backing Vocals] – Steve Camp
Saxophone – Jim Horn
Soloist [Lead Guitar] – Dave Perkins
Synthesizer – James Newton Howard, Smitty Price
Synthesizer, Programmed By [Fairlight] – Rhett Lawrence
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Sparrow Corporation
Mixed At – Sunset Sound
Recorded At – Sunset Sound
Overdubbed At – Sunset Sound
Overdubbed At – Bill Schnee Studios
Overdubbed At – Weddington Studios
Overdubbed At – The Sound Factory
Overdubbed At – Bullet Recording
Mastered At – Future Disc
Pressed By – KM Records Inc.
This is another album that leaves me stranded on the intersection confused whether to pick the Hard Rock road or the Metal road. To me it’s in the style of Def Leopard and other very commercial Heavy Metal. However you want to catalog it they did it well and this is an album that would easily be in my top 200. Rock Of Offense was the first and only full-length release from First Strike who were a band out of Sacramento, California and formed in 1979. I personally can’t stand the album cover and I’ve read that the band was of this opinion also. Point of trivia about this album is that it was produced by Michael Roe who is a member of the 77’s.
Track Listing:
1 – Out of Control – 3:03
2 – Hurt by Love – 3:00
3 – I Want You – 3:52
4 – Loneliness Kills – 3:41
5 – Hard Times – 3:21
6 – Slow Poison – 5:31
7 – Your Love – 4:06
8 – Dirty Loving – 3:25
9 – Prisoner – 3:24
10 – Money – 3:35
Credits:
Pat Boylan – Songwriter, Guitars, Background Vocals
Johnnie Delaney – Songwriter, Drums
John Golden – Mastered
Steve Griffith – Assistant Producer, Engineer, Background Vocals
Tony Gunn – Vocals
Tim Larkin – Songwriter, Guitars, Background Vocals
Mary Neely – Executive Producer
Michael Roe – Producer, Background Vocals
Chris Salmon – Songwriter, Bass
Eric Volz – Executive Coordinator, Background Vocals
Daryl Zachman – Engineer
This was the first album from 4•4•1 though they did have a demo I haven’t found yet. They formed in 1983 in Arcadia, California and did their first demo in 1984. They sent it to Randy Ziegler from the now famous (in CCM circles) at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa among others. Randy liked what he heard and brought the band in to play warm up for Undercover and a others. This single “Break Out” reportedly debuted at #1 in California CCM radio station KYMS. I’m not real confident on this however as that is a pretty rare feat. Outside of California the album wasn’t initially well known but as news of it leaked across the country more copies had to be printed. Anyway what we have here is a great New Wave / Pop album. It should appeal to fans of either style.
Tracklist
1 – Judgement Game – 3:41
2 – Love’s Irony – 3:14
3 – Fish On The Car – 4:28
4 – Mom And Dad – 3:26
5 – Show Me – 5:47
6 – Break Out – 3:00
7 – In His Presence – 4:34
8 – Looking At You – 3:27
Credits
Backing Vocals – Bruce Swift, Kenny Samuels
Bass – Glenn Holland
Cymbal – Steve Giali
Drums – Steve Giali
Engineer – Doug Doyle
Guitar – John Giali, John McNamara
Guitar [Addtional] – Doug Doyle (tracks: B1)
Harmonica – Darrell Mansfield
Keyboards – Glenn Holland
Keyboards [Additional] – Rob Watson (tracks: B1)
Performer [4•4•1 Is] – Glenn Holland, John Giali, John McNamara, Steve Giali
Producer – Doug Doyle
Saxophone – Alan Palmer
Timbales – Terl Bryant
Vocals – John McNamara
Without a doubt this is the best Christian blues album of all time. We all knew Mansfield’s blues abilities but I for one was impressed with Kaiser’s abilities. Kaiser’s voice is absolutely perfect for blues. Most of the album is cover tunes from Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Willie Johnson, Rev. Gary Davis, and James B. Vaughan. Kaiser however did write 6 tracks for the album and they fit in perfectly. If one knew nothing about the blues you would have a difficult if not impossible pick out the Kaiser written tunes. The album is an acoustic effort only featuring Guitar, Dobro, Harp, and Standing Bass. This album should be required listening for any Christian rock fan.
Tracklist
1 – Great Change Since I’ve Been Born – 3:12
2 – Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burnin’ – 2:53
3 – Shaky Ground – 4:22
4 – Nobody’s Fault But Mine – 3:08
5 – Go Tell Pharaoh – 1:53
6 – You Got To Move – 2:18
7 – In The Light Of The Morningstar – 2:45
8 – Celestial Shore – 4:50
9 – Jesus Is Comin’ Soon – 3:20
10 – God Don’t Never Change – 2:35
11 – What You Did – 5:11
12 – I Belong To The Band – 3:10
13 – You Got To Die – 4:41
14 – Cornerstone – 1:33
15 – We Shall See The King – 3:58
Credits
Design [Cover Design] – Cornerstone Graphics, Janet Cameron
Dobro, Guitar – Rob Glickman
Engineer – Ed Bialach, Roger Heiss, Roy Montroy
Mixed By – Roger Heiss
Photography By – Mike Tabor, Terry Wheeler
Vocals, Guitar, Dobro, Dulcimer, Blues Harp [Very Little Harp] – Glenn Kaiser
Vocals, Handclaps [Clapped, Stomped], Blues Harp [Blew Serious Harp] – Darrell Mansfield
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Grrr Records
Copyright (c) – Grrr Records
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Pressed By – Disctronics USA – 112929
Published By – Grrr Music
Published By – EMI Robbins Catalog Inc.
Published By – Chandos Music Inc.
Published By – Tradition Music
This was the third album from Mass and their first on Enigma. Actually it’s an EP not an album but who cares. Again Mass was not a Christian band per se but a band of Christians and the track “Holy One” should leave no doubt. I rate this album as one step above the commercial metal of the day. Enigma loved their metal bands so Mass was a natural fit but personally I believe Mass’s music wasn’t aimed at the commercial crowd but instead it was aimed at real fans of the genre.
Tracklist
1 – Pedal To The Metal – 3:45
2 – Can’t Get Enough – 3:01
3 – Want It Back – 2:56
4 – Over You – 4:00
5 – Take You Home – 2:53
6 – Holy One – 6:02
Credits
Art Direction – Lisa Sutton
Bass – Kevin Varrio
Cover [Art] – David Lomeli
Cover [Back Photo] – Dan Muro
Design [Logo] – Nic Luciano
Drums – Joey “Vee” Vadala
Engineer [Assistant], Engineer [Additional] – Nelson Ayers
Guitar – Gene D’Itria
Management – Hernando Courtright, Stuart Weintraub
Mastered By – Jack Skinner
Other [Production Assistant], Other [Preproduction] – Hirsh Gardner
Producer, Engineer, Mixed By – John Rollo
Producer, Written By, Arranged By, Lyrics By – Mass
Vocals – Louie St. August
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Medusa Records
Copyright (c) – Medusa Records
Recorded At – The House Of Music, New Jersey
Mixed At – The House Of Music, New Jersey
Mastered At – Sterling Sound
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia
