Month: November 2022

The Alarm – Electric Folklore Live – 1988/2000

This album was released in 1988 as a 6 song live EP recorded at the Wang Center for the Performing Arts in Boston on April 26, 1988. There had been a lag in the bands popularity so some record executive though the answer would be a live EP. I don’t quite understand why they didn’t just release a full length concert album but more on that later. The EP did not have any of their early hits and had songs that the public were probably less familiar with. Strangely a 2000 re-release had 14 tracks from the concert. Re-issues before and after this one are only the 6 original tracks. We have uploaded the full 14 track version for you to enjoy here. Live is where The Alarm really shined and while the album did not do that well I think it is some of their best work.

Tracklist
1 – Strength – 6:41
2 – Knife Edge – 4:54
3 – Newtown Jericho – 5:17
4 – Permanence In Change -5:08
5 – Dawn Chorus – 6:48
6 – Blaze Of Glory – 5:02
7 – Bound For Glory – 3:23
8 – Hallowed Ground – 3:52
9 – One Step Closer To Home – 5:34
10 – Shelter – 3:30
11 – Rain In The Summertime – 6:05
12 – Rescue Me – 8:35
13 – Spirit Of ’76 – 8:42
14 – We Are The Light – 3:44

Credits
Art Direction – Nick Egan
Bass – Eddie MacDonald
Design – Tracy Veal
Drums – Nigel Twist
Guitar – Dave Sharp
Keyboards – Mark Taylor
Mixed By, Engineer – Elliot Scheiner
Photography By – Cary Lander, Ebet Roberts
Producer – Gary Katz
Vocals – Mike Peters

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – International Record Syndicate, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – I.R.S. Records
Copyright © – I.R.S. Records
Manufactured By – Cinram
Manufactured For – MCA Records Canada
Distributed By – MCA Records Canada
Marketed By – MCA Records Canada
Recorded At – Wang Center For The Performing Arts
Mixed At – Sorcerer Sound
Mastered At – MCA Pressing Plant, Gloversville
Pressed By – Cinram

Bryn Haworth – Blue And Gold – 1989

This album was recorded right when Haworth started worked with the SW London Vineyard developing their worship and prison ministry. I always consider artists who do prison ministry to be one notch above others. Prison ministry is very difficult and just getting into a prison to play music is very labour intensive and requires a level of dedication few artists have. As for the album well it can best be classified as a rock album with some blues tracks but Haworth is really one of those artists that is difficult to pigeon hole into a genre. The album may also have the best version ever of Joy, Joy, Joy. Yes the one from Sunday School. The album was released on Edge records but strangely it was picked up and re-released by Refuge Records in 1991.

Tracklist
1 – We’re All One (’89) – 4:04
2 – Cover For Me – 3:26
3 – I Serve A Risen Saviour – 3:27
4 – Two Worlds – 4:11
5 – Give Me Your Heart – 5:04
6 – Joy, Joy, Joy – 3:27
7 – Word Of Our God – 4:24
8 – Waiting – 4:18
9 – Is This Love ? – 4:45
10 – Hurt People – 4:25
11 – Love, Acceptance And Forgiveness – 6:29

Adrian Snell – Goodbye October – 1976

This was the second album from Adrian and it picks up right up where the last one left off. Adrian was a solid performer of worship / easy listening at this point in his career and few others did it as well as him. Now to be clear this is not my style of music but I know good music when I hear it and this is going to lead to my rant. How on gods green earth did Adrian never have a CCM charting single. He had 23 albums of which I’ve heard several now and I am completely dumbfounded at how he never had a song on the charts. I know I have ranted about the charts being very selective before but this has to be one of the best examples of people being blacklisted from the charts. I have no idea why Adrian was blacklisted but honestly it’s rather obvious that he was. Anyway this is an excellent 70’s vibe worship album and if that’s your style I’m sure you will agree with me that this is an excellent album.

Tracklist
1 – Prelude – 4:25
2 – This Land – 2:47
3 – By The Waters Of Babylon (Psalm 137) – 4:54
4 – Father, Saviour, Lord – 3:32
5 – City Bound – 2:50
6 – Goodbye October – 4:30
7 – Summer Song – 2:52
8 – Jesus, I’m Alone – 3:22
9 – Jesus Is My Song – 2:45
10 – And In The Morning – 3:25

Credits
Art Direction – Phil Thomson
Bass Guitar, Mandolin, Voice [Heathen Shouts], Handclaps – Gerry Page
Clarinet, Flute, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Ken Parr
Design Concept [Sleeve Concept By], Illustration – Eugene Press
Drums, Percussion – Bernard Shaw, Keith Entwistle
Engineer – Andy Kidd, Dave Cooke, Helmut Kaufmann
French Horn – Gordon Carr
Lyrics By – Adrian Snell
Music By – Adrian Snell
Photography By – David McQuitty
Piano, Electric Guitar, Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar, Keyboards [Elka Rhapsody], Synthesizer [String & Moog Synthesizers], Arranged By – Joe King
Piano, Electric Piano, Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar, Classical Guitar, Keyboards [Elka Rhapsody], Synthesizer [String & Moog Synthesizers], Percussion [Jawbone], Vocals – Adrian Snell
Producer – John Pantry
Vocals [Female Vocals] – Elisabeth Kaufmann

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Dove Records
Recorded At – ICC Studios
Made By – Robert Stace
Printed By – Robert Stace
Published By – Thankyou Music
Lacquer Cut At – Pye Studios

Newsboys – Hell Is For Wimps – 1990

I completely missed the Newsboys era in CCM music so every time I post one of their albums it is the first time I have heard it. I really enjoyed this album when I listened to it. It has a solid sound and my only criticism is that it kind of switches from Pop to New Wave to Rock so it’s a little inconsistent but that’s a weak criticism because the album is well done. Strangely this album didn’t do very good. In fact it would be a few more albums before the band would become the powerhouse they are known as. I subconsciously considered Newboys the New Kids On The Block of CCM but that’s entirely not true. These guys had some talent and I would have really liked them back in the late 80’s early 90’s.

Tracklist
1 – Stand Up For Jesus – 3:47
2 – In The End – 3:14
3 – Simple Man – 3:43
4 – All I Can See – 4:51
5 – Ten Thousand Miles – 3:54
6 – Somethin’s Missing – 2:45
7 – Get Up For Love – 3:15
8 – Sea Of Love – 3:13
9 – Love You Tomorrow – 3:33
10 – Victory – 4:16

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Sonny Lallerstedt
Bass – Sean Taylor
Drums, Vocals – Peter Furler
Executive-Producer – Dez Dickerson, Jeff Moseley
Guitar – Jonathan Geange
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Michael Gleason
Lead Vocals – John James
Mastered By – Denny Purcell
Other [L.D., A.D., Koala Caller] – Steve Campbell
Producer – Michael Gleason
Recorded By – Sonny Lallerstedt
Technician [Drum Tech] – David Perdikis
Written-By – Newsboys

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Star Song Communications
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Star Song
Copyright © – Star Song

Randy Stonehill – Wonderama – 1992

This is an interesting project from Randy but not for the music as much as for who was the band. Rob Watson and Tim Chandler from DA are here as well as Rick Elias and drums were handled by long time LA studio musician David Raven. That’s quite the band and you can hear all their influences through the album. This album has in my opinion some of Randy’s best writing though with so many albums that’s kind of a silly thing to say. Strangely the album didn’t have a CCM single but then again while Randy indeed did have CCM singles he had very few considering the volume of his work. The CCM charts never really supported Randy’s work.

Tracklist
1 – Wonderama – 6:20
2 – I Will Follow – 3:00
3 – Barbie Nation – 4:57
4 – Don’t Be Sad – 4:15
5 – Rachel Delevoryas – 3:19
6 – Intermission At The Wonderama – 1:05
7 – Great Big Stupid World – 5:47
8 – Sing In Portuguese – 4:05
9 – Mice & Men – 3:13
10 – The Lost Parade – 4:14
11 – Lantern In The Snow – 4:36
12 – Wonderama Postlude – 0:42

Credits
Arranged By [Strings & Horn], Written-By [String & Horn Arrangements Written By], Conductor [String & Horn Arrangements Conducted By] – Rob Watson
Art Direction [Art Director] – Roz
Artwork, Design – Court Patton, Tom Gulotta
Bass – Tim Chandler
Drums – David Raven
Guitar [Guitars] – Rick Elias
Keyboards – Rob Watson
Lead Vocals, Guitar [Guitars] – Randy Stonehill
Concept By – Court Patton, Terry Taylor, Tom Gulotta
Executive-Producer – Mark Maxwell, Ray Ware
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Photography By – Linda Krikorian, Nic Nacca
Producer [Produced By], Directed By – Terry Taylor
Recorded By – G. Eugene

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Produced For – Stunt Productions
Mastered At – Future Disc
Recorded At – Mixing Lab A
Recorded At – Neverland
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Recorded At – Micronote Studios
Recorded At – McCrummy Music Studio
Recorded At – Jerry and Sharon’s Wax Lips Studio
Mixed At – Mixing Lab A
Published By – Stonehillian Music
Published By – Word Music
Published By – Buon Natalie Music
Published By – Twitchen Vibes Music

Jerry Proppe – Two Feet Deep – 1985

This is another album from Praise records out of Vancouver BC Canada. Because of this it is almost impossible to find out anything about it. Also as usual this is a fantastic artist that didn’t get the exposure he deserved. This is a frequent problem with Praise as they were able to put albums out but had no promotional skills or abilities at all. They were also very bad at paying artists which is anther story for another day. Just to be clear I have no idea if Jerry ever got paid, I’m basing that comment on MANY conversations with other Praise records clients. Anyway, what we have here is a pretty good album. It leans easy listening but there’s a couple pretty good pop tracks. With some proper promotion I can see this album having had a CCM single. While I was not able to find out much about Jerry at the time I am happy to let you know he is still making music and has a web page with some of it. While not my style of music it’s very well done and I admit to tapping my toes to a couple of tracks. If you ever read this Jerry keep it up.

Tracklist
1 – Give It Up – 3:46
2 – Why Do I Feel This Way – 3:36
3 – Livin’ Without A Reason – 3:00
4 – With My Music – 3:42
5 – Hold Fast – 3:42
6 – It’s You I Love – 3:22
7 – The Only Thing That Matters – 2:45
8 – Just A Really – 3:47
9 – Close Friends – 2:59
10 – Got To Tell You – 4:45

Credits
Arranged By – Gerhart Von Delden
Engineer – Nigel Blagborne
Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Doug Wong
Mixed By – Jerry Proppe, Nigel Blagborne
Producer – Lorbi

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Sundae Sound

Lost & Found – Welcome To The Real World-1988

Yet again I have found an album where I can’t find any info on the band. IN this case it even stranger than usual because the album was re-released in 2009 with bonus tracks but the company that re-released it, RetroCross Records, doesn’t appear to know anything about the band either. Anyway so we know nothing about the band or any of it;s members but here’s what I do know. This is a really good album. The cover looks metal but this is actually a Pop album which leans New Wave at times and Rock and Roll at other times. It lacks a consistent sound but because it’s so well done that’s irrelevant. The albums producer doesn’t appear to have ever produced an album other than this one so kudos to him for doing such a great job. This one is a must listen to.

Tracklist
1 – Welcome To The Real World – 4:35
2 – Going All The Way – 4:38
3 – Hear Me – 4:34
4 – Make It Real – 4:35
5 – Wait Of The World – 6:04
6 – I’m So Glad – 4:23
7 – How Long? – 5:05
8 – Never Alone – 4:53
9 – Smoke Screen – 4:17
10 – All The World – 5:52

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Greg Hudson
Drums – Alison Cate
Guitar [Additional] – Butch Price
Guitar, Vocals – Larry Trainor
Guitar, Vocals, Cover, Design, Artwork By – Ted Hoehne
Lead Vocals – Scott Walters
Photography By – Jim Dalool
Producer, Arranged By, Engineer, Mixed By – Bill Pearson
Vocals, Keyboards – Brian Mercer

Companies, etc.
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Angelica – Rock, Stock & Barrel – 1991

This is probably the first and maybe the only Christian album better known for a music video than the album itself. The band put together a music video for the single “Cover Me” and it was probably the best Christian music video up to the point. At least that’s what their fans said. I watched it and it’s definitely good for the genre but I certainly don’t believe it was all that great. Anyway this was their 3rd album and their best up to this point. It also strangely had yet a different vocalist than their previous 2. Three albums with 3 different vocalists was certainly something a little different. The album toned down the metal a little bit which probably helped it reach a wider audience. Strangely the band added a metal version of the Canadian national anthem on the end of the album. As they were Canadian this wasn’t overly surprising but personally I found it a bit pointless.

Tracklist
1 – The Fire Inside – 4:23
2 – Someone To Believe In Me – 4:46
3 – Cover Me – 4:54
4 – Home Sweet Heaven – 4:55
5 – A Little Love – 3:57
6 – Sail Away – 4:11
7 – Keep Pushin’ On – 4:46
8 – Bumble Boob Groove – 1:52
9 – Rhyme & Reason – 3:52
10 – Without Words – 4:26
11 – Oh Canada – 1:46

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Bass, Backing Vocals [BGV’s] – Robert Pallen
Co-producer – Daro
Design – Joe Potter
Drums – Bobby Lawrence
Engineer – Daryl Wickes, Dennis Cameron, Doug Drury, Scott Seehawer
Guitar, Backing Vocals [BGV’s] – Dennis Cameron
Illustration – Steve Firchow
Keyboards – Christophe Marchand, Daro
Lead Vocals – Drew Baca
Liner Notes – Marie Nishimori
Management [Japan Representation] – MJM Artists
Mixed By – Daryl Wickes
Other [Hair By] – Peter McLaren
Photography By [Photos] – Gary Sweetman
Producer – Dennis Cameron
Words By, Music By – Dennis Cameron

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Intense Records
Copyright © – Intense Records
Licensed From – MJM Entertainment Group Inc.
Manufactured By – Pony Canyon Inc.
Recorded At – Charico Studios
Published By – Broken Songs

Michael W. Smith – Change Your World – 1992

I have to admit yet again that I was not a Michael W. Smith in the 80’s. But this album is a fantastic early 80’s keyboard oriented pop album. But that’s actually the problem with this album, It’s a great 80’s album but it came out in 1992. This is an ongoing problem with Michael as he did some really good stuff but he always seemed to be 5 years behind. But the good news is that I didn’t really care for 90’s music so I get to enjoy this album just as it is. As per normal the album was great success on the CCM charts with 2 top 10 singles, “Give It Away” made it to #1 and “I Will Be Here For You” to #2.

Tracklist
1 – Picture Perfect – 4:06
2 – Love One Another – 4:51
3 – I Will Be Here For You – 4:32
4 – Color Blind – 5:37
5 – Somewhere Somehow – 4:17
6 – Cross Of Gold – 4:32
7 – Out Of This World – 4:23
8 – Somebody Love Me – 4:19
9 – Give It Away – 5:04
10 – I Wanna Tell The World – 4:26
11 – Friends – 4:39

Credits
Arranged By [Horns] – Chris McDonald, Jerry Hey
Arranged By [Strings], Conductor – Ronn Huff
Art Direction – Janet Wolsborn
Backing Vocals – Angelo & Veronica
Choir – Christ Church Choir, Music City Mass Choir
Concertmaster, Contractor – Carl Gorodetzky
Creative Director – Robin Sloane
Directed By – Landy & Joy Gardner, Reverend Lawrence Thomison
Executive Producer – Michael Blanton
Management – Blanton/Harrell, Inc.
Mixed By – Humberto Gatica
Mixed By [Assisted] – Alejandro Rodriguez
Photography By – Timothy White
Producer – Mark Heimermann, Michael W. Smith
Recorded By [Horns] – Humberto Gatica
Recorded By [Strings] – Brent King
Strings – The Nashville String Machine

Companies, etc.
Licensed Through – General Electric Company, USA
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Reunion Records, Inc.
Copyright © – Reunion Records, Inc.
Manufactured By – BMG Music
Distributed By – BMG Music
Pressed By – JVC

Lone Justice – This Is Lone Justice: The Vaught Tapes, 1983 – 2014

This was a great album that came out in 2014. It is a studio recording of work form the band back in 1983 before they were known to most of us. I’m a little unclear of what this recording session was. It has a few covers so it would have been difficult to release as a demo or as an album legally. That said I’m sure glad years later someone released it. The album is very raw as it was recorded by engineer David Vaught with direct to two-track tape and no overdubs. Because of this it has a great raw feeling and if you listen closely you can even hear some conversation in the background on a track or two. It’s too bad it took until 2014 but at least it did get released.

Tracklist
1 – Nothing Can Stop My Loving You – 1:58
2 – Jackson – 3:02
3 – Soap, Soup And Salvation – 4:11
4 – The Grapes Of Wrath – 2:33
5 – Dustbowl Depression Time – 2:46
6 – Rattlesnake Mama – 1:45
7 – Vigilante – 1:51
8 – Working Man’s Blues – 2:33
9 – Cactus Rose – 3:47
10 – When Love Comes Home To Stay – 3:07
11 – Cottonbelt – 3:10
12 – This World Is Not My Home – 2:30

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Greg Allen
Bass, Vocals – Marvin Etzioni
Drums – Don Heffington
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Ryan Hedgecock
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Producer – Lone Justice
Producer [Associate] – Josh Mills
Producer [This Release Produced By] – Cheryl Pawelski, Greg Allen
Recorded By – David Vaught
Rhythm Guitar, Vocal Percussion – Maria McKee

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Suite 16 Studios
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering
Manufactured By – Omnivore Recordings
Marketed By – Omnivore Recordings
Licensed To – Omnivore Recordings
Copyright © – Omnivore Recordings
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – McKee/Hedgecock/Etzioni/Heffington
Pressed By – Rainbo Records – S-88548