December 2020 – Page 2

Jet Circus – Step On It – 1990

I get the feeling you either love or hate this album. I’m going to be honest on first listen I didn’t like it but I didn’t hate it either. Keep in mind I listen to a new album every day so so often I forget about them 20 minutes after listening to it. I listened to this album yesterday but today felt I had to listen to it again. Then it hooked me. Ez Gomér and Terry Haw from Leviticus decided to try something new and this is it. This is the only album we got from them in the 90’s though they did record a second one but apparently there was a record label problem and it has never been released. Can you even believe Word Records released this one? If I had to describe the sound I guess I would pick “Fusion Metal” but even that’s not fair because this album is it’s own dog. Don’t give up after the opening track as the rest of the album does not incorporate rap again. Personally however “Victory Dance” works for me and I HATE rap in any form so that’s saying something. If you really only have time for one track at least make it their cover of the Gene Vincent song “Be Bop A Lula”.

Tracklist
1 – Victory Dance – 3:30
2 – Rockin’ Horse – 3:43
3 – Jet Blue – 3:18
4 – Step On It – 5:15
5 – Ghost Town – 4:09
6 – Break This Jail – 5:40
7 – Be Bop A Lula – 2:44
8 – Train – 4:07
9 – Run – 4:39
10 – Dress In White – 4:14

Credits
Bass, Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Ez Gomér
Design – Ez Gomér
Engineer [Engineered By] – Janne Mattsson, Martin Cervall
Guest [Special Thanks To], Choir – Lotta Gustavsson (tracks: 1)
Guest [Special Thanks To], Drum Programming – Jörgen Tjusling
Guest [Special Thanks To], Harmonica – Göran Norin
Lead Vocals, Guitar – Terry Haw
Photography By – Lennart Sjöberg
Producer [Produced By] – Ez Gomér, Terry Haw
Written-By [All Titles By] – Ez Gomér (tracks: 1 to 6, 8 to 10), Terry Haw (tracks: 1 to 6, 8 to 10)

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Wonderland
Copyright (c) – Wonderland
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word Records Limited
Copyright (c) – Word Records Limited
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Copyright (c) – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Studio Jam (3)
Published By – Big Rage! Productions

Amy Shreve – Peace In The Puzzle – 1986

This was an album in a series of instrumental albums released by Meadowlark Records in the 80’s. Amy is an excellent harp player and I will admit this is probably the only instrumental harp album I have ever listened to. I only discovered this series of albums recently and in a way I am glad because I would never have appreciated their quality in the 80’s when I was listening to Resurrection Band. That said I am enjoying the series now. Amy continues to release albums and tour with her ministry to this day. She successfully battled cancer in 2015 and attributes her healing to her faith. Her albums are available on her web page and if you enjoy her music I would urge you to visit her website. http://amyshreve.com/

Tracklist
1 – Invocation – 3:41
2 – Northern Lights – 3:30
3 – Crystal Night – 4:34
4 – Apogee – 4:05
5 – Hymn VII – 2:02
6 – Diamonds From Dust – 3:18
7 – Silent Partner – 2:28
8 – Peace In The Puzzle – 2:25
9 – Carol For Russia’s Children – 3:17
10 – Jester’s Lament – 4:06
11 – Twilight Pavan – 3:14

Credits
Producer – Peter York

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Birdwing Music
Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Sparrow Corporation

Geoff Moore – Where Are The Other Nine – 1984

Geoff had success in the early 80’s writing songs for CCM artist Steven Curtis Chapman. He started writing after meeting Michael W. Smith in the clothing store where Moore worked. At least that’s what Wikipedia says. In 1984 he signed a record deal with Power Discs and this album is the result. I have to admit I was a bit surprised at how mellow this album is. It’s not really the Geoff Moore I was more familiar with. I was wondering if this was because of the producer Billy Smiley (White Heart) and perhaps it was as at this point as Bill had mainly produced “The New Gaither Vocal Band” albums. It was also likely a product of the times as even in 1984 record companies were still terrified of Rock & Roll to spite it’s success. This is a pretty good album though at times I feel like I’m listening to an Imperials album with different vocals. The album was successful and even garnered a chart single, the title track made it to #11.

Tracklist
1 – Build The House – 3:33
2 – Royal Priesthood – 2:53
3 – Where Are The Other Nine? – 3:36
4 – When You Get There – 3:56
5 – One Heart – 4:10
6 – Open Your Eyes – 2:28
7 – Bread Of Life – 3:50
8 – He Shall Be Praised – 3:21
9 – Lonely Hearts Need Love – 3:09
10 – The Fight Song – 2:49

Altar Boys – Altar Boys – 1984

Altar Boys’ self titled debut album came out in 1984. This California style punk was typical of what punk was at the time, although now we seem to have a lot of splinters of types of punk – melodic, thrash, pop, hardcore, metalcore, screamo, and more. A lot of punk was poppy at the time, modelled after The Ramones, and sounding like a precursor to MXPX or Green Day. Starting to play together around 1978, musicians that would later form the bands Undercover, Lifesavors, and Altar Boys (in that order) all came out of the same scene. Mike Stand and Ric Alba ended up in Altar Boys along with Jeff Crandall and Steve Pannier, while Mike’s brother was in Undercover, and Ric had previously done some playing with Lifesavors. Ric also played with Undercover before Altar Boys. In the spirit of punk rock, these songs are all high energy and a lot of fun, a hallmark of Altar Boys from start to end.

Track Listing:
1 – Alright! – 2:24
2 – I’m Into God – 2:52
3 – Have A Clue – 2:36
4 – Where’s It Gonna Lead You – 2:24
5 – You Found Me – 3:46
6 – Take In The Son – 2:44
7 – Well O.K. – 2:36
8 – Good Life – 3:31
9 – Oh, Oh Nancy – 1:33
10 – We Love Jesus – 2:40
11 – It’s Up To You – 3:07

Credits
Art Direction – Alex McDougal
Backing Vocals – Ojo
Backing Vocals, Drums, Vocals – Jeff Crandall
Backing Vocals, Lead Vocals, Guitar – Mike Stand
Bass, Keyboards – Rick Alba
Cover, Design – Debby Edwards
Engineer – Derald Daugherty
Engineer, Producer – Joey Taylor
Executive Producer – Bradley S. Hamilton
Guitar – Steve Pannier
Photography By – Oh Oh Nancy
Saxophone [Sax] – Bill Walden
Written-By – Annis

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Ministry Resource Center
Copyright (c) – Ministry Resource Center
Recorded At – Sound Affair
Recorded At – Whitefield Studios
Mixed At – Sound Affair
Mixed At – Whitefield Studios
Published By – Oh Oh Nancy Music
Published By – Maranatha! Music

Michael W. Smith – The Big Picture – 1986

It has been said here and elsewhere (and quite often) that a CCM album’s depth, quality and creativity will be inversely proportionate to its sales success. Meaning; the better the album the fewer the people that will purchase it. This appears to remain true even for CCM’s golden boy and most popular and prolific male artist, Michael W Smith. The Big Picture, Smith’s artistic triumph remains his weakest selling album and the only album in his career not to reach even gold status. After a strong debut and the utterly forgettable argyle sock of a sophomore release (aptly titled “2”), Smith grabbed the CCM world by the throat with an album that was sonically, creatively and musically miles ahead of the rest of the Nashville pablum for the time. From the dark purple and gold hues of the artwork to the tasteful technological advances and superior production, the Big Picture is great from start to finish. What keeps the album from falling off the tracks in a travesty of technological traps is that the songs themselves are very organic and real. Taking themes from the culture and wrapping them in modern sounds with a clear and poignant response to the baggage those theme bring along makes the album the one worthy release from Smith in the Top 100. Producer John Potoker had worked with Brian Eno, Madonna and a host of others and had a huge influence on the musical direction and big production sound. Many will obviously find the music and production technique dated, but one of this lists presuppositions was to judge albums based on the time they were recorded and what was happening musically. And for that, this album is the most “current” album of Smith’s career. He would record about 10 more albums in a row that are completely indistinguishable from one another. But the strength here lies not in the production (or over-production) but in the strength of a songwriter album to have his songs outlast even the dated production technique.

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

Tracklist
1 – Lamu – 5:55
2 – Wired For Sound – 6:00
3 – Old Enough To Know – 4:47
4 – Pursuit Of The Dream – 5:00
5 – Rocketown – 4:32
6 – Voices – 5:50
7 – The Last Letter – 4:37
8 – Goin’ Thru The Motions – 4:55
9 – Tearin’ Down The Wall – 3:35
10 – You’re Alright – 4:36

Credits
Artwork By [Art Direction And Design] – Kent Hunter, Thomas Ryan Design
Backing Vocals – Chris Harris, Wayne Kirkpatrick
Bass, Chapman Stick – Tony Levin
Bass, Drum Programming – Gary Lunn
Drum Programming – Frank Doyle, Tokes, Mark Kovac
Drums – Steve Ferrone
Drums, Drum Programming – David Huff
Engineer [Additional] – Bill Heath, Bob Vogt, Clark Schleicher, Ed Goodreau, JB, Jeffrey Dovner, Jon Goldberger, Keith Odle, Ken Criblez, Mike Clute, Nick Deire, Rob Feaster, Spencer Chrislu, Tim Hatfield, Tony Volante
Executive-Producer – Brown Bannister, Dan Harrell, Michael Blanton
Guitar – Dann Huff, Eddie Martinez, Nick Moroch
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Chris Rodrigues
Horns – Jim Pugh, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker
Keyboards, Drum Programming, Backing Vocals – Michael W. Smith
Keyboards, Programmed By [Fairlight], Drum Programming – Shane Keister
Mastered By – Ted Jensen
Other [Child] – Christopher Copeland
Other [Grooming] – Jody Morlock, Julie Miller Overstreet
Other [Production Coordinator] – Kimberly Smith
Other [Styling] – Beverly Ann Moore
Percussion – Bashiri Johnson
Photography By – Dean Dixon, Larry Williams
Producer – John Potoker, Michael W. Smith
Programmed By [Synclavier] – Steve Schaffer

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Reunion Records – 1986
Copyright (c) – Reunion Records – 1986
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Power Station
Recorded At – Mediasound
Recorded At – Sigma Sound Studios, New York
Recorded At – Soundtrack Studios
Recorded At – Bullet Recording
Recorded At – The Bennett House
Recorded At – Emerald Sound Studios
Recorded At – The Castle Recording Studios
Recorded At – Blue Jay Studios
Mixed At – Blue Jay Studios
Mastered At – Sterling Sound

David & The Giants – R U Gonna Stand Up – 1989

David & The Giants finished off the 80’s with what I think is their best album. If for no other reason than the title track. They turned David Huff loose with his guitar and probably came up with their best Rock song ever. The album was a “commercial” success with three singles. “Here’s My Heart” made it to #2, “Count On Me” to #24, and finally “Love Has A Place” made it to #12. It’s rare when I agree with the CCM charts but on this album I do, though their choices of singles doesn’t line up with mine. This album however did mark the departure of Keith Thibodeaux, long time drummer of the band (though he would return in 2007). Lance Huff (David’s Son) stepped in with drum duties for the subsequent tour and future albums. This album falls in the “should listen to” category in case you missed it in 89.

Tracklist
1 – R U Gonna Stand Up – 3:59
2 – I’ll Stay With You – 4:19
3 – Love Has A Place – 4:30
4 – Joy Up In The Sky – 3:40
5 – Evolution Is Pollution – 4:20
6 – Here’s My Heart – 4:08
7 – Everybody Got A Story – 3:52
8 – Living On High Hopes – 3:36
9 – Count On Me – 3:58
10 – Everybody Needs Love – 3:52
11 – He’ll Be There – 4:22

Credits
Arranged By – Tommy Sims
Backing Vocals – Kellye Huff (tracks: 9), Tim Pedigo
Bass, Backing Vocals – Clayborn Huff
Drums, Backing Vocals – Keith Thibodeaux
Guitar, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Remix – David Huff
Harmonica – Terry McMillan
Keyboards, Programmed By, Backing Vocals, Arranged By – Rayborn Huff
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Percussion – Lance Huff
Photography – Richard Gazowski
Producer – David Huff
Remix [Assistant Remix Engineers] – Terry Ostovich
Remix [Assistant Remix Engineers], Arranged By – Scott Carter

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Giant Records
Copyright (c) – Giant Records
Published By – Huff, Huff And Huff Publishing
Recorded At – Huff Recording Studios
Recorded At – Sound Barrier Studio, Nashville
Mastered At – Mastermix
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

King James – King James – 1994

This was the introductory album, from Metal Super Group King James that was put together by Rex Carroll from Whitecross As Stryper was dissolved at this point in history Tim Gaines and Robert Sweet of Stryper jumped into the project and Jimi Bennett from Sacred Fire rounded out the group. I’m guessing that this is probably the first Christian super group though I don’t really care for the term. But historically this is the term that was being used at the time. The album is not quite as metal as you may think. It leans more Hard Rock than metal and there are actually lots of somewhat mellow tracks. It is said that the boys from Styper actually found several of the tracks to be too mellow for their liking. The idea for the group was not a multi album idea but instead a one off but as it was well received the boys came together for more albums but with an adjusted lineup.

Tracklist
1 – Hard Road To Go – 5:45
2 – Prisoner – 4:35
3 – Touch The Fire – 4:39
4 – Miracles – 4:36
5 – Desperate – 5:09
6 – Love Is Gonna Find You – 5:00
7 – Stand Up And Fight – 3:21
8 – Choices – 5:03
9 – Miracles [Acoustic Remix] – 4:34
10 – Rev Rider – 6:07
11 – Sunrise In Rio – 4:06
12 – Face To Face – 4:20
13 – Face To Face / Reprise – 3:55

Credits
Jimi Bennett – Lead Vocals
Rex Carroll – Guitars, producer
Tim Gaines – Bass
Robert Sweet – Drums
Glen West – Engineer
Denny Purcell – Master
Rick Wells – Keyboards

Haven – Your Dying Day – 1990

This was the introductory album from New Jersey metal band Haven. Released in 1990 you might have missed it in the flood of Metal albums coming out at this time but this one did have some differences. It is more of a white metal album with no keyboards confusing the sound. You certainly won’t mistake this for the glam style metal albums of the time. This is in fact a straight up metal band that relies on great guitar riffs and solid time keeping drums. The vocals are not that high pitch screaming but instead a more middle of the range quality feel. Again this is not my style of music but I can hear the quality here. These guys definitely knew what they were doing. My only complaint is the mix, it just really could have used some more range but instead feels compressed at times. That said you should definitely give this album listen if you missed it at the time. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Tracklist
1 – On Judgement Day – 5:22
2 – Deliver Me – 4:47
3 – Murder – 4:48
4 – Below The Grave – 2:49
5 – The Calling – 5:36
6 – America – 4:38
7 – Escape – 4:34
8 – Help Me Follow – 3:23
9 – I Found Love – 5:35
10 – Your Dying Day – 5:37

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Andrew Bruner
Artwork – Sudden Images
Backing Vocals – Kevin Ayers
Drums – Tim Benton
Electric Bass – Ed Bruner
Electric Guitar – Andrew Bruner
Electric Guitar, Rhythm Guitar – Kevin Ayers
Lead Vocals – Kevin Ayers
Photography By – Mike Ayers
Producer – Doug Mann, Paul Krueger
Songwriter – Haven

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Morningstar Studios
Distributed By – Spectra Distribution, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – R.E.X. Music Inc.
Copyright (c) – R.E.X. Music Inc.
Glass Mastered At – DADC – DIDX-008265

Michele Pillar – Look Who Loves You Now – 1984

This was Michele’s 3rd solo album and probably her most successful. This album was also picked up and distributed by Capitol records for/with Sparrow Records. I do not believe it was pressed under the Capitol label so I suspect this was a distribution arrangement. The album had 3 charting singles with “Look Who Loves You Now” making it to #1. She also received 2 Grammy nominations, Best Gospel Performance, Female, and Best Gospel Performance By A Duo Or Group. Unfortunately she did not win either losing out in the female category to Amy Grant who won way too many Grammy’s in my opinion. But that’s a whole other rant. Larry Carlton produced and played most of the instruments on the album. Larry was not active in the CCM community and as near as I can tell had nothing to do with Christian music as a whole so I believe his involvement was a business decision. This album would also see her step away from her solo career until 1991 as well as her record deal with Sparrow. She had some family drama in 1988 so her disappearance from then on is understood but not much is written about her disappearance from this album until then. She did not disappear entirely she did a fair amount of work with Steve Camp and appeared on his albums. Anyway historically this is one of the great all time female vocalist albums so it should really be on your playlist. Oh and she should have won the Grammy.

Tracklist
1 – Each Day He Gives Me – 3:30
2 – Look Who Loves You Now – 3:19
3 – He’ll Shine His Light On You – 3:06
4 – Just Take A Step – 3:33
5 – Emotions Wound Us So – 3:15
6 – Wandering The Night – 4:13
7 – To Worship You – 3:29
8 – Here We Go – 3:50
9 – One Day Like Him – 3:20
10 – I Want To Make A Difference – 3:27

Credits
Backing Vocals – Joe Chemay (tracks: A1, B1), Joey Scarbury (tracks: A1, B1), Larry Carlton (tracks: A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B2, B3, B4, B5), Michele Pillar (tracks: A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, B4)
Bass – Larry Carlton (tracks: A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B2, B3, B4, B5)
Design [Album Jacket] – Stan Evenson Design Inc.
Design [Lyric Sheet] – Steve Cox
Drum Programming [DMX] – John Ferraro (tracks: A3), Larry Carlton (tracks: A2, A3, B2, B3)
Drums – John Ferraro (tracks: A3), Larry Carlton (tracks: A2, A3, A5, B2, B3)
Electronic Drums [Simmons Drums] – John Ferraro (tracks: A1, B1, B4)
Guitar – Larry Carlton (tracks: All)
Horns – Don Markese (tracks: A1, A4, B1, B4), Mic Gillette (tracks: A1, A4, B1, B4)
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Mixed By – Hal Sacks, Michael Verdick
Percussion – Michael Fisher (tracks: All)
Photography By – Lisa Powers
Piano [Acoustic] – Brian Mann (tracks: B1), Larry Carlton (tracks: A2)
Producer, Arranged By – Larry Carlton
Recorded By – Hal Sacks, Larry Carlton
Synthesizer – Brian Mann (tracks: A1, B1), Larry Carlton (tracks: All)

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Room 335, Hollywood
Mixed At – Channel Recording
Mastered At – Future Disc

Mark Heard – Ashes and Light – 1984

This was Mark’s seventh album but it was actually released out of order. It was recorded after “Mosaics” but for some reason Home Sweet Home Records wanted it released first. My personal opinion is that it is a better album so of course they wanted it out first but that’s just my opinion of the reason. Bruce Brown at CCM Magazine described the album as an “acoustic effort”. I don’t really understand what album he was listening to as while there may be an emphasis on acoustic instruments on some tracks this album is not and “acoustic effort” in my opinion. It has a Dylanesque light rock/folk feel to me and in my opinion is one of Mark’s best albums. That said Bruce’s further review of the album is pretty spot on so I’m not entirely bashing the guy. There are often comparisons of this album to T-Bone Burnett and while T-Bone was not involved with the album (that we know of) David Mansfield had a strong presence on the album and of course David and T-Bone worked together for years. Mark notes on the liner notes that the album is dedicated to the memory of Francis A. Schaeffer.

Tracklist
1 – The Winds Of Time – 3:56
2 – True Confessions – 3:30
3 – I Know What It’s Like To Be Loved – 3:34
4 – Washed To The Sea – 3:18
5 – We Believe So Well – 3:26
6 – Straw Men – 3:57
7 – Age Of The Broken Heart – 4:13
8 – Can’t See Light – 4:56
9 – Threw It Away – 4:00
10 – In Spite Of Himself – 3:05

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Pat Terry (tracks: B4)
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Slide Guitar, Harmonica, Accordion [Accordian], Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Twelve-String Guitar – Mark Heard
Arranged By – Mark Heard
Art Direction [Art Director] – Tim Alderson
Backing Vocals – Dave De Coup Crank, Dori Howard
Bass – Bill Batstone, Mark Heard (tracks: A4, B4)
Cover [Concept] – Mark Heard, Stewart Ivester
Drums – Dave McSparran
Electric Guitar – Pat Terry (tracks: A4)
Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – Dan Reed
Engineer, Mixed By – Mark Heard
Fiddle, Dobro – David Mansfield
Lead Guitar – David Mansfield (tracks: B4)
Organ [Hammond] – Carl Pickhardt
Percussion – Harry Stinson
Photography By [Cover], Artwork – Stewart Ivester
Producer – Mark Heard
Synthesizer – Mark Heard (tracks: A2), Pat Terry (tracks: A5, B1, B5), Tom Howard (tracks: A3, A5, B3)

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Home Sweet Home Records
Copyright (c) – Home Sweet Home Records
Copyright (c) – Bug & Bear Music
Copyright (c) – Word Music
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co.
Published By – Bug & Bear Music
Published By – Word Music
Engineered At – Fingerprint Recorders
Mixed At – Fingerprint Recorders