September 2021 – Page 3

Swirling Eddies – Outdoor Elvis – 1989

This is the second album from The Swirling Eddies which were just a new and improved version of Daniel Amos. I’m going to ruffle a few feathers today in that I don’t believe this is some super duper album. Everywhere on the internet people go on about what a wonderful album this was but I just don’t get it. Yes the album had some great tracks. The radio single “Driving In England” is a fantastic song as is “Mystery Babylon” and a few others. My complaint about the album is the silly songs. It detracts from the actual talent that is on the album. If you want to do a silly album then do a silly album but having both quality songs with silly songs just detracts from the whole album in my opinion. I don’t even find the silly songs funny but maybe I did when the album came out but I don’t remember it that way. So if you can struggle through the stupid tracks you have a great album here and it would have been one of my favorites but they ruined it for me.

Tracklist
1 – Outdoor Elvis – 4:07
2 – Driving In England – 3:33
3 – Urban Legends – 3:09
4 – Tiny Town – 3:22
5 – Attack Of The Pulpit Masters – 3:08
6 – Mystery Babylon – 2:31
7 – Arthur Fhardy’s Yodeling Party – 2:06
8 – Hell Oh – 3:24
9 – Blowing Smoke – 3:00
10 – Hide The Beer, The Pastor’s Here – 3:25
11 – Hold Back The Wind, Donna – 4:04
12 – Knee Jerk – 3:35
13 – Don’t Hate Yourself – 1:00
14 – All The Way To Heaven – 3:06
15 – Rubber Sky – 3:10
16 – CoCo The Talking Guitar – 0:52
17 – Yer’ Little Gawd – 3:21
18 – Billy Graham – 1:12
19 – Potential – 3:27
20 – Strange Days – 2:40
21 – Elimination (The Band That Won’t Go Away) – 3:16

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Jeb McSwaggert
Band [The Eddies], Bass, Trombone – Berger Roy Al
Band [The Eddies], Drums – Hort Elvison
Band [The Eddies], Guitar – Greg Flesch
Band [The Eddies], Guitar, Backing Vocals – Jerry Chamberlain
Band [The Eddies], Guitar, Backing Vocals, Keyboards [Additional] – Gene Eugene
Band [The Eddies], Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Rob Watson
Band [The Eddies], Lead Vocals, Guitar – Terry Taylor
Design Concept [Cover Concept By] – Terry Taylor
Directed By [Horns] – Dan Michaels
Engineer [Engineered By] – Gene Eugene
Guest [Our Guests, The Little Eddies], Backing Vocals – Miracle Babe
Guest [Our Guests, The Little Eddies], Percussion – Ed McTaggart
Horns – The Horns O’Plenty
Photography By – David Dobson
Producer [Produced By] – Terry Taylor
Written-By [All Songs Written By] – Terry Taylor

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Alarma Records
Copyright © – Alarma Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Produced For – Quagmire/Billy Bong Productions
Recorded At – Mixing Lab A
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Mixed At – Mixing Lab A
Mixed At – Mixing Lab B
Glass Mastered at – Nimbus, Virginia
Published By – Broken Songs

Christian Gonzales – Till The End Of The Night – 1985

This is the only French (France French) CCM artist I am aware of. This album was released in France in French and in North America in English. Unfortunately we have been unable to find the French version but we’re watching out for it. I can’t find any information about Gonzales but he must have been known in the industry as there are some heavy hitters helping him out on this album. Joe English, Rick Cua, and Hank Williams to name a few contributed. Furthermore I am confused by the song Survivor Blues in which he sings about growing up Jewish and I can hear a Jewish accent at time on different tracks. Of course just because he grew up Jewish does not mean he later became Evangelical but that’s just speculation. This is one of the albums from Refuge that I find frustrating as the names of the tracks are sometimes different on the jacket, the sleeve, and the label. I’ve seen this a few times and I always wonder how this happens. I would think they would all be working from the same base info but obviously not this time. This is a great pop album and is one I missed in the 80’s so I’m glad I stumbled on it now.

Tracklist
1 – Got A Message – 3:30
2 – What Ever’s Happ’nin’ – 3:33
3 – Till The End Of The Night – 4:08
4 – Hey There – 3:45
5 – Hold On – 3:45
6 – Real So Real – 4:19
7 – Fighting, Fighting – 3:49
8 – Survivor Blues – 5:53
9 – More Than A Man – 4:41
10 – Swallow & Crow – 5:42

Credits
Backing Vocals – Donna McElroy, Kim Fleming, Vicki Hampton
Bass – Christian Gonzales, Duncan Mullins, Larry Paxton, Rick Cua
Design – Bill Brunt
Drums – Dave Adams, Graham Hollingsworth, Joe English
Guitar – Christian Gonzales, George Cocchini
Keyboards – Bob Halligan Jr., John Rosasco, Tommy Greer
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Mixed By – Chris McCollum
Percussion, Harmonica – Terry McMillan
Photography By – Mark Tucker
Producer – Marc Brunet, Ray Nenow
Recorded By – Chris McCollum, Johnny Shines
Saxophone – Denis Sollee, Sam Levine

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Sephora Diffusion
Copyright © – Refuge Records
Recorded At – Redan Recorders
Recorded At – Great Circle Sound
Recorded At – Studio Saint-Nom la Bretèche
Mixed At – Le Semaphore
Mastered At – Mastermix
Designed At – Private Eye Studio

Gogo Street – Gogo Street – 1988

I know nothing about this band. Nothing! Except I love every single song. I have no idea when I acquired this cassette as it was never released in the United States. It was imported from the UK and what little I have been able to discover about the band is that they hailed from Glasgow, Scotland. When one things of pop/new wave from the 1980’s, the musical styling of Gogo Street is exactly what they think of. Ranging from keyboard driven soulful new wave akin to General Public and to anthemic dance grooved new wave like Men Without Hats. There is really no CCM comparison outside of maybe 441, Kaja or Crumbacher. It’s really an album with listening to to discover for yourself. The album kicks off with “Prisoner of Conscience,” sounding most like General Public of a more keyboard driven Duran Duran. Music and melody is immediately likeable with vocals reminiscent of Spandau Ballet. “Turn to Gold” follows with the most interesting musical composition on the album. Though driven by the danceable beat that flourishes on the entire album, the guitar and keyboard interplay really sets this one apart. That as well as the great vocals. The favorite on the album is “Never Ending Love” that always reminds of Dexy’s Midnight Runners. Must be that Celtic riff that runs throughout the background while a more sustained driving keyboard leads the song along. It’s really one of the saddest testaments of the 1980’s CCM scene that bands like this simply disappeared and never made their way to the states. They would have immediately found an audience and would have fit nicely into the Southern California alternative/new wave scene of bands like Undercover, Crumbacher and Modern Mission.

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

Tracklist
1 – Prisoner Of Conscience – 3:18
2 – Fools Gold – 2:53
3 – Never Ending Love – 3:18
4 – Song Of The Vineyard – 2:43
5 – Journey (To The Centre Of Your Heart) – 3:19
6 – Tale Of Two – 3:04
7 – Dreaming Of Neverland – 2:31
8 – Uncrossable Miles – 3:06
9 – Paradise Found – 3:21
10 – 2000 Years – 3:32
11 – Words From Numbers – 3:27
12 – World Without End – 3:32
13 – Cross My Heart – 3:22

Giantkiller – The Alternative – 1980

Giantkiller was a British band that had a solid following in England but just a cult following in North America. They originally self released this album but it was picked up by Kingsway Music in the UK and Star Song in North America. Strangely they added a track, “Refuge From The Wind” for the two label releases. I don’t quite know how to classify them but I would say this was progressive new wave for 1980. At time you definitely hear a seventies rock sound and almost punk at others. This is one that I missed in the 80’s which is too bad as it would have been right up my alley. I kind of doubt it was released in Canada so that’s probably why I didn’t hear them at the time. Production on the album was a little weak and I would love if a real producer found the original tracks and remixed them.

Tracklist
1 – Voices – 3:29
2 – Dirty Hearts – 2:41
3 – Refuge From The Wind – 2:22
4 – Problem Page – 3:02
5 – Living In The Cities – 2:14
6 – Innocent Blood – 4:13
7 – Kicking In The Gates Of Hell – 3:28
8 – Fire In My Heart – 2:55
9 – Children Of The Promise – 5:03
10 – King Of Kings – 3:30
11 – Stand And Be Counted – 3:55
12 – Kingdom Come – 5:23

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Alan Hiscox
Drums – Steve Purton
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Paul Herbst
Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals – Pete Gilgan
Producer – Terry Gavaghan
Vocals – Richard Nicholson

Lamb – Live – 1981

Lamb was formed in the early 70’s by Joel Chernoff and Rick Coghill. They are generally credited with being responsible for the origin of popularized Messianic Jewish music. I have to admit that I had no idea the sub genre of the CCM genre even existed in the 80’s. This album was on Sparrow Records so really we should have had some exposure to it. But then again we grew up in a town with one Jewish family so I guess we weren’t going to get any exposure to their culture. The album was recorded Live at Messiah College in Grantham, PA on June 29, 1980. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this album. While it’s obviously not evangelical in nature the songs are good and cross over easily to the evangelical community. They are very good performers and I can say that based on this album I would have loved to have caught one their live shows. It has kind of a folky sound, not Don Francisco folky but more of a traditional folk sound. It’s a pretty good album and I’m guessing you never heard it in the 80’s so give it a chance now.

Tracklist
1 – Hallelujah – 3:51
2 – The Sacrifice Lamb – 5:14
3 – Dance And Sing – 4:00
4 – Ramah – 5:24
5 – Build My World – 3:32
6 – Ba-Ruch Ha-Shem – 3:35
7 – The Least I Could Do – 4:55
8 – Shu-Vee – 2:49
9 – Engraved Invitation – 5:32
10 – Jonah – 5:12
11 – Hey, I Love You – 2:53
12 – I’ll Be A Fool – 3:36
13 – Comfort Ye My People – 6:35
14 – Clap Your Hands – 4:54
15 – In The Morning / I Love The Lord – 3:36
16 – Break Forth In Joy – 3:34

Credits
Composed By – Dana Langford, Joel Chernoff
Cover [Cover Design], Illustration – Julius Ciss
Engineer – Rick “Levi” Coghill
Engineer [Assistant Engineer], Photography By [Inside Cover Photograph] – Peter Yesner
Instruments, Vocals, Producer, Engineer, Composed By – Lamb
Mixed By [Mix-Down Engineer] – Skip Plant
Photography By [Back Cover Photograph] – Igal Hoffman
Photography By [Reference Photography] – Barbara Redman, Steve Meilach
Production Manager [Production Coordination] – B. Charlyne Hinesley

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Messiah College
Copyright © – Messianic Publishing Co.
Mixed At – Susquehanna Sound

Mercy Rule – Overruled – 1989

Michigan’s Mercy Rule started out as “AZ-IZ” but changed their name sometime in the mid 80’s. They had a track on the 1988 Underground Metal sampler which probably led top a record deal with R.E.X. Music. Strangely they also had a track appear on the 1990 Word UK sampler Metal Mission which was not their record company. Not unheard of but strange. This album was self produced by the band and unfortunately it shows. They have a very commercial metal sound and I can’t help but to think if a top rated producer had stepped in this would have been a much more popular album. I also believe there would have been more from the band but unfortunately this is the only offering from them. The guitar work really shines on this album and there is lots of great vocal harmonies. All in all a pretty darn good album and if you’re a metal head be sure to give it a listen.

Tracklist
1 – You Lied To Me – 3:00
2 – Cecilia – 3:40
3 – Real Love – 3:30
4 – Lonely Heart – 3:40
5 – Don’t Cha Know – 4:10
6 – Black And White – 4:45
7 – Prodigal – 3:25
8 – If You Only Knew – 6:35
9 – There’s A Love – 3:20
10 – Stand Up On The Rock – 3:00

Credits
Artwork [Cover] – Jeff Spencer/Sudden Images
Bass, Keyboards, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Bruce Tordrup
Drums, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Rich Favazza
Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – George Favazza
Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar – Aaron Byrnes
Photography By – Frank Leet
Producer, Arranged By – Mercy Rule
Producer, Engineer – Rick Young

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – R.E.X. Music
Copyright © – R.E.X. Music
Recorded At – Talent Live Recording Studios

Abraham And Moses – ‘Til You Came In… – 1980

I really can’t find much info on this album. As near as I can tell it was only released in Canada on New Born Records which was a division of Praise Industries Corp. Abraham is Abraham B. Cardenas and Moses is Moses Perez. I can not find that they recorded or even assisted on any other albums. Strangely the studio support musicians are mainly from the band Glad but there appears to be no other connection. The album was recorded at Susquehanna Sound productions in Pennsylvania which is the same state as Glad came from. That’s it, that’s all I got for this worship oriented album. It’s actually pretty good and while we owned almost the entire Praise Industries library back in the 80’s we did not own this one as I’m guessing the name scared us away.

Tracklist
1 – Upon You Lord – 3:10
2 – ‘Till You Came In – 4:03
3 – Natural High – 3:22
4 – You Send Me Love – 3:06
5 – I’ll Follow You – 4:15
6 – Cool – 3:20
7 – We Should Fly – 4:52
8 – Open Your Heart – 4:42
9 – A Prayer For You – 1:40
10 – Work – 3:45

Credits
Arranged By [Strings And Horns] – Walt Straiton, III
Arranged By, Bass – Don Nalle
Arranged By, Drums – Mark Farley
Arranged By, Piano, Keyboards – Bob Kauflin
Design – Craig Heisey
Flugelhorn – Jim Gambini
Lead Guitar – Chris Davis
Percussion – Craig Lauterbach
Photography – Nick Frey
Producer, Arranged By – Moses Perez, Abraham B. Cardenas, Ed Nalle
Producer, Engineer – Scott Gelnett
Rhythm Guitar – Moses Perez, Abraham B. Cardenas
Vocals – Moses Perez, Abraham B. Cardenas

Edin-Adahl – Big Talk – 1989

Edin-Ådahl finished out the 80’s with what might be their best album. Now to be clear I know it did not sell well but this is often blamed on distribution problems and not on the quality of the album. Unfortunately right around the time this album was released there were problems over at Refuge records. This album is a superb pop album that was the exact right sound for the time period. The lead tracks sets the feel for an album that is a solid pop effort. I will admit that I missed this one in the 80’s but I’m sure glad I got to hear it now. It feels as fresh and fun today as it did back then.

Tracklist
1 – Going Back – 3:50
2 – Missin’ You – 6:05
3 – Wider Than The Ocean – 4:04
4 – Man Of The Street – 3:56
5 – Big Talk – 3:50
6 – Mystical Moments – 5:25
7 – Write It On The Wall 3:25
8 – Utopia – 3:27
9 – Lonely Without You – 4:37

Credits
Frank Adahl – Songwriter, Keyboards, Guitars, Vocals
Simon Ådahl – Songwriter, Keyboards, Guitars, Bass, Vocals
Bertil Edin – Songwriter, Keyboards, Guitars, Bass, Vocals
Lasse Edin – Keyboards, Vocals

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Refuge Records
Copyright © – Refuge Records
Distributed By – Spectra Distribution
Distributed By – Mainroads Music Group

Pilgrim Outlets – Do You Know Him – 1974

This is one big time serious ALBUM YOU SHOULD OWN! (AYSO) But good luck with that. It’s nearly 50 years old and has been out of print for most of those 50 years. For those fortunate enough to track down a copy by hook or by crook know just what a gem this funkadelic soul masterpiece truly is. It is legit with a capital “L” and sounds so good even right now as I listen to it. As far as I have been able to track down, this is the only full length release, while there are some singles floating around. It also appears that in the decade since I first reviewed this album, some streaming services have added their music. The title track kicks off the album with such a soulful jam, tight harmonies and a blistering lead vocal. Very few Christian label releases ever matched this mainstream release. Songbird was a traditional Gospel label that was eventually sold to ABC. I have asked everyone I know from that era and no one can remember any distribution to Christian/Bible bookstores. The soul styling of the title track only hints at what is to be found inside. The members share lead vocal duties and the interaction between them is fun and funky. The cover of Parliament’s “I Want to Testify” is worth the price of admission. The slower soul tunes are packed with real emotion, something sorely lacking in the general world of CCM and the Jesus Music of the time. Even Andrea Crouch and the Disciples never quite reached the authenticity of this great album. In the review over a decade ago I neglected to give kudos to the musicianship that fills this album. Most notable are the amazing bass lines and soulful, gospel organ that permeate the project. Check out “Standing in the Need of Prayer” for evidence. It’s almost unfair to review and so heavily promote this album since for most it will be nearly impossible to find. For those that have it and those that do track down a copy, they will know exactly what I’m talking about. I have seen the vinyl on-line for anywhere from $50 to $100. For some it may be worth it!

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

Tracklist
1 – Do You Know Him – 3:33
2 – I’m Sorry – 3:20
3 – I Just Want To Testify – 3:40
4 – Standing In The Need Of Prayer – 3:24
5 – Where Could I Go – 3:25
6 – Didn’t Think I Could Make It This Far – 3:52
7 – Here I Am Jesus – 2:13
8 – Don’t Let The Devil Fool You – 2:50
9 – A Letter – 3:27
10 – Get On Up – 4:00

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Steve Apirana – No Turning Back – 1992

New Zealander Steve Apirana is back with his second album and while I liked his first album this is a huge improvement from that album. This is a straight up blues album and it is good, real good. Again this album wasn’t released in North America which is a pity because I think it would have sold pretty good. Most people will recognize the title track as done by DeGarmo and Key bur in fact it’s a traditional so they didn’t get credited. That said this version is very good and I think I prefer it to the D&K version. Track 7 is kind of an instrumental but has some humming. The real gem of the album is the last track “It’s No Miracle”. It’s a spoken word track over a fantastic instrumental score and at 10 minutes long it’s definitely one not to miss. All in all this is probably the best album I have listened to this month and if you like blues I bet you’re gonna love this one.

Tracklist
1 – That Same Old Road – 4:54
2 – Hear Me Knocking – 3:51
3 – Postscript – 5:45
4 – No Turning Back – 4:19
5 – Song For The Bride – 6:33
6 – I Choose To Follow – 4:58
7 – E Te Ariki – 5:31
8 – It’s No Miracle – 10:02

Credits
Steve Apirana – Producer, Arranger, Songwriter, Guitars, Lead and Background Vocals
Alison Ahu – Background Vocals
Ainsley Apirana – Lead and Background Vocals
Kuru Apirana – Drums
Tai Brown – Sounds, Haka, Vocals
Leza Corban – Background Vocals
Graham Flaws – Bass
Steve Garden – Producer, Engineer, Arranger, Drums, Percussion, Keyboards
Dallas Graham – Keyboards
John Misky – Sounds, Haka, Vocals
Pepe Nahu – Sounds, Haka, Vocals
Stuart Pearce – Keyboards
Donna Tai Rakena – Flute, Background Vocals
Jay Tamati – Sounds, Haka, Vocals
Ray Totorewa – Sounds, Haka, Vocals

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Someone Up There Records
Distributed By – Someone Up There Records
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Riverside Productions
Copyright © – Riverside Productions
Recorded At – Progressive Studios
Licensed To – Southern Heartland Music Company Pty Ltd