Month: August 2023

Sure Conviction – Fightin’ The Battle – 1991

I’m a little hesitant about writing this review but I feel I should be honest. This is the bands first album and they self produced and released it so I give them credit for that. They shared vocal duties which is not something I usually care for because it makes for a disjointed album and this one suffers from that. My second complaint is that the vocals don’t suit the music. This is a hard rock album but the vocals almost have a worship tone to them. I feel like I’m listening to a church band who put out a rock album. But now onto the good. There is real musical skill here. The songs are well written and tight. In fact some of them are better than some published music. Now I understand they overcame these vocal issues on their next album and I can honestly say I’m looking forward to listening to that album as there is some real talent here.

Tracklist
1 – Fightin’ The Battle – 3:54
2 – Proclaiming – 3:21
3 – Time Will Tell – 3:45
4 – Turn Around – 2:56
5 – Shining Our Light – 3:33
6 – War – 2:56
7 – We Are The People – 3:31
8 – Not Ashamed – 3:46
9 – Keeping On – 3:48
10 – Bye Bye – 4:46

Credits
Matt Liffengren – rhythm and acoustic guitars
Paul Liffengren – keyboards, piano, backing vocals
Dewayne Holcomb – lead vocals on tracks 3 and 10, background vocals
Alonzo Martinez – lead vocals on tracks 6 and 8
Christopher Midgyette – backging vocals
Phil Milan – lead vocals on tracks 1, 2, 5 and 7, backing vocals
Karyn Rondeau – lead vocals on tracks 4 and 9, background vocals
Mark Siefert – backing vocals
Robert Berry – Arranged By, Instrumentation By
Mike Wible, Peter Roberts – Engineer
Peter Roberts, Robert Berry – Mixed By
Matt Liffengren, Paul Liffengren – Producer
Kelly Husted (tracks: 9), Matt Liffengren (tracks: 1 to 10), Paul Liffengren (tracks: 1 to 10) – Written-By

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Soundtek Studios, Campbell, CA

Tom Karlson – Living on the Edge – 1980

I seriously can not find a single piece of information about Tom Karlson. I can honestly say that this is the first time I have found absolutely nothing about an artist. So all we can talk about is the album itself. It’s a seventies style light rock album with a couple real rock tunes on it. I can hear a little early Larry on a few tracks but for the main part Tom makes this album his own. The album does have help from Benny Hester and Rick Crawford so this wasn’t a completely unknown project. The jacket is horrendous and does not let you know in any way that this is a rock album. There is zero chance we would have bought this in the day with that cover unless it was promoted as a rock album. It would appear it wasn’t promoted because I’ve never heard of it and I can’t find anyone else that ever heard of it either. That said it’s a pretty good album and I fully suggest giving it a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Take ‘Em – 3:52
2 – Questions – 3:53
3 – Look For Love – 4:07
4 – Yesterday, Today, Forever – 4:54
5 – Living On The Edge – 3:40
6 – Service To The Son – 3:24
7 – Dead End Street – 3:55
8 – If I Love You – 3:18
9 – Right Thru The Heart – 3:21

Credits
Gary Arthur – Bass
Bubba Chambers – Background Vocals
Rick Crawford – Background Vocals
Benny Hester – Arrangements, Background Vocals
Greg Jerden – Engineer
Tom Karlson – Songwriter, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Jeff Lams – Keyboards
Jerry McPherson – Electric Guitar
Paul Mills – Assistant Engineer, Synthesizer
John Parenti – Percussion
Brian Tankersley – Producer, Engineer, Electric Guitar, Background Vocals
Rick Thigpen – Assistant Engineer
Bobby Walzel – Saxaphone
John Wickham – Electric Guitar

Kenny Marks – Another Friday Night – 1989

Well it’s time for another fantastic Kenny Marks album. Unfortunately by the time this album came out I had already abandoned the Christian music genre. Boy did I miss a great album. The album did fairly well on the CCM charts with “I’ll Be A Friend To You” making it to #5. Strangely it also has an excellent cover of Steve Forbert’s “Running On Love” and it may actually be better than the original. The best cut on the album though is the Rock track “Nobody Else But Jesus” which is strongly in the spirit of The Boss. The album includes part 3 of the “Jeannie and Johnny” tetralogy. Unfortunately in this chapter Johnny has abandoned Jeannie and his child and as such it’s a pretty sad song but it did make it to #25. All in all another great album from Kenny.

Tracklist
1 – Running On Love – 3:41
2 – Whisperin’ A Prayer – 3:40
3 – Hope For A Broken Heart – 4:22
4 – I’ll Be A Friend To You – 3:10
5 – Next Time You See Johnny – 5:51
6 – Nobody Else But Jesus – 4:37
7 – Graduation Day – 4:53
8 – Threshold Of Regret – 3:47
9 – Somebody Loves You – 4:12
10 – You Made A Difference For Me – 3:53

Credits
Arranged By – Phil Madeira
Art Direction, Design – Jackson Design
Backing Vocals – Chris Harris, Mark Heimermann, Michael Black
Bass – David Hungate, Randy Moore
Cover [Coordination] – Amy Linde
Drums – Doug Dimmel, Larrie Londin
Electric Guitar – Kenny Greenberg
Electric Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – George Cocchini
Engineer [Assistant] – John Kunz
Executive-Producer – Lynn Keesecker
Harmonica – Buddy Greene
Keyboards – Phil Madeira, Phil Naish
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Mixed By – Marc DeSisto
Mixed By [Assistant] – Dave Parker, David Boyer
Organ [Hammond B-3] – Phil Kristianson
Percussion – Eric Darken
Photography By – Mark Tucker
Producer – Bubba Smith
Recorded By, Tracking By [Overdubs] – James Kenneth (JB) Baird
Saxophone [Saxophones], Electronic Wind Instrument [Ewi] – Mark Douthit
Tracking By [Overdubs] – Brent King, Doug Sarrett, Greg Parker
Twelve-String Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Jon Goin

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Digital Recorders
Recorded At – Recording Arts
Recorded At – Downstage Studio
Recorded At – Mastermix
Recorded At – Quad Studios
Mixed At – Sound Stage Studios
Mastered At – Mastermix

Steve Forbert – Streets Of This Town – 1988

This is an interesting album that swirled just outside the periphery of Christian music in the late 80’s. We carried it at Maranatha Village and several Christian music publications positively reviewed it and ran stories on Forbert. A brilliant singer/songwriter, Steve Forbert started his lengthy career in the late 70’s recording his only real radio hit, “Romeo Tune” on his second release in 1979, “Jackrabbit Slim.” (Highly recommend) But with “Streets of this Town,” The Christian market began to take notice. Songs like “Hope, Faith and Love,” “As We Live and Breathe” and “Search Your Heart” seemed to deal honestly with spiritual ideas and faith questions. One song from this album was covered by a pretty major CCM artist at the time (bonus points if you know the artist and song). Forberts easy going Americana Rock style is immediately likeable and would appeal to fans of John Hiatt, Jackson Browne, Julie Miller, etc.

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

Tracklist
1 – Running On Love – 3:32
2 – Don’t Tell Me (I Know) – 3:33
3 – I Blinked Once – 4:45
4 – Mexico – 3:30
5 – As We Live And Breathe – 3:18
6 – On The Streets Of This Town – 3:39
7 – Hope, Faith And Love – 3:41
8 – Perfect Stranger – 3:33
9 – Wait A Little Longer – 3:45
10 – Search Your Heart – 4:38

Credits
Bass – Danny Counts
Coordinator – Tom Zutaut
Design – Jeff Morris
Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Bobby Lloyd Hicks
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Paul Errico
Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals – Clay Barnes
Management – Praxis International
Mastered By – George Marino
Mixed By – Michael Frondelli
Mixed By [Assisted] – Gary Solomon
Photography By – Jeff Morris, Lee Thomas
Producer – Garry Tallent
Recorded By – Jan Topoleski
Songwriter [All Songs] – Steve Forbert
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica – Steve Forbert

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – The David Geffen Company
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The David Geffen Company
Manufactured By – Columbia House
Mastered At – Sterling Sound
Recorded At – Shorefire Recording Studios
Mixed At – Power Station
Mixed At – The Hit Factory
Mixed At – Shorefire Recording Studios
Licensed To – Columbia House

Iva Twydell – Secret Service – 1981

Iva, whose real name is Ivor was in After The Fire from 1978 until some point in 1980. This is his first album after ATF. He had an album before he joined ATF but I warn you know it is a completely different style than what he’s known for. Anyway this album has a lot of similarities to ATF stuff and quite frankly it’s fantastic. It has this spy/secret service/CIA theme going on which is pretty cool. The single was “Secret Service” which I personally believe would have been a great radio single but unfortunately the album was on an unknown label. I know that Ivor and ATF as a whole always had label problems and it’s sad because they were all very very talented. Interestingly the only person Ivor brought into the project that had any interesting history was the drummer Nick Brotherwood from The Alwyn Wall Band. Anyway this one is must listen and I doubt many people have heard it as it was on an obscure label and only released in the U.K.

Tracklist
01 – No Good At All – 2:14
02 – Some People – 2:28
03 – The Dance Has Just Begun – 2:38
04 – I Guess I’ll Always Be (Someone Like Me) – 3:12
05 – King Of Hearts – 2:43
06 – Part Time Hero – 2:39
07 – Cold War – 3:49
08 – Secret Service – 2:27
09 – I Surrender – 2:27
10 – CIA And The KGB – 2:32
11 – Independence – 1:59
12 – Resting In Your Love – 2:47
13 – Save Me – 2:26
14 – Cover Me – 3:35
15 – Don’t Be Afraid – 1:45

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – John McNaughton
Arranged By – Iva Twydell
Bass – Tony Hudson
Drums – Nick Brotherwood
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Andy Balmer
Organ, Piano, Strings – Graham Noon
Saxophone – Derek Williams
Sleeve, Design – Steve Bamford
Triangle – Marianda Twydell
Violin – Phil Henderson
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Flute, Synthesizer, Percussion – Iva Twydell
Vocals, Noises – Dave Balmer, Kieran McGrath
Vocals, Percussion – Tim Burgess

Azitis – Help – 1971

The band was formed in 1966 by musicians Don Lower and Steve Nelson in the Sacramento area of California. They were joined by Dennis Sullivan and Michael Welch and hit the studio in 1969. They were still using the name “Help” but changed it to Azitis (pronounced “as it is”) before completing their album as there was a conflict with a British Band of the same name. Now this is where the story gets a little foggy. One version of the story is that while recording the album Dennis Sullivan fled the project which caused great distress for the record company, Elco Records, and ended up bankrupting said record company. Dennis disputes this story and quite frankly I believe him. I can’t see a label going bankrupt because a musician stepped away, it doesn’t make sense. Anyway what we have here is a “Psychedelic” 70’s album that the band envisioned as a Rock Opera and apparently the band was disappointed that the album was produced with breaks in between the tracks. It’s pretty good and many hold it out to be spectacular. I don’t get a spectacular feeling form it but it is very very good. Luckily MODO Publishing acquired the rights to the album and re-released it in 2000 with 2 bonus tracks. We have included those tracks in our playlist.

Tracklist
1 – (Creation) Lord I Saw You Cry – 6:06
2 – There Is An Answer – 3:44
3 – Who Will Be – 3:20
4 – The Prophet – 6:06
5 – Time Has Passed – 4:56
6 – From This Place – 3:24
7 – Hope To Save – 3:59
8 – Judgement Day – 4:46
Bonus Tracks
9 – Life Worth Living – 5:08
10 – Questions Why – 3:02

Credits
Artwork – James Gardner
Bass Guitar – Donald Lower
Design – Dennis Sullivan, Donald Lower, Michael Welch, Steve Nelson
Engineer – LaMont Bench, R.S. Owens
Guitar, Flute – Michael Welch
Organ, Piano – Dennis Sullivan
Percussion – Steve Nelson
Photography By – Randall Thornton
Producer, Liner Notes – John W. Cole
Supervised By – Roger Hamilton Spotts

Companies, etc.
Published By – Sina-G Music
Recorded At – Pavilion Studios Inc., Vallejo
Copyright © – MODO Publishing

After The Fire – Radio Sessions 1979 – 1981 – 2009

Apparently After The Fire played 3 years in a row at the BBC Paris Theatre, London, England. Luckily these appearances were recorded but they stayed on a shelf somewhere until Angel Air Records released them in 2009. You can buy the CD on their website below. ATF were an excellent live band and this is a great release. Thank you Angel Air Records.

http://www.angelair.co.uk/?tcp_product=after-the-fire-radio-sessions-1979-1981

1 – Joy – 3:17
2 – A Little Sun, A Little Rain – 3:11
3 – Laser Love – 3:05
4 – Time To Think – 3:31
5 – One Rule For You – 3:15
6 – Suspended Animation – 4:52
7 – Check It Out – 3:06
8 – Like The Power Of A Jet – 2:50
1980 In Concert
9 – Laser Love – 3:26
10 – Life In The City – 4:04
11 – Can You Face It? – 3:50
12 – Who’s Gonna Love You? – 4:14
13 – Billy Billy – 6:07
1981 In Concert
14 – Frozen Rivers – 4:06
15 – Dancing In The Shadows – 2:53
16 – Sailing Ship – 3:39
17 – Bright Lights – 4:09
18 – Take Me Higher – 7:06
19 – Starlight – 5:03

Angie Lewis – Heart Dance – 1985

Angie set out to have a career in music and this, her first album, is the result of that work. After high school she enrolled at the University of South Alabama as a vocal performance major and graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. She moved to Nashville after college and soon captured the attention of Power Discs/Benson and recorded this EP. It was an immediate success and the track “Silent Weeper” climbed to #6 on the CCM charts. The album is full of great talent including Steve Taylor. It was produced by Billy Smiley of White Heart and he really nailed it in my opinion. If you like female pop music this album is a must listen. Even though this isn’t my favourite genre of music I really liked this album and listened to it a few times.

Tracklist
1 – Heartdance – 3:10
2 – Lonely Warrior – 4:16
3 – O Lord Your Love – 4:58
4 – Silent Weeper – 5:43
5 – High Rise – 3:47
6 – Be Still – 3:13

Credits
Jeff Balding – Recorded, Mixed
Mike Brignardello – Bass
Jackie Cusic – Background Vocals
Mark Gersmehl – Songwriter, Arrangements
Mark Hammond – Drums
Gary Janney – Background Vocals
Greg Jennings – Guitars
Bonnie Keen – Background Vocals
Shane Keister – Synthesizers, Percussion, Vocoder
Gordon Kennedy – Guitar Solos
Brent King – Recorded, Mixed
Angie Lewis – Songwriter, Vocals
Gary Lunn – Bass
Donna McElroy – Background Vocals
Farrell Morris – Percussion
Phil Naish – Keyboards, Synthesizer
Gary Pigg – Background Vocals
Brent Rowan – Guitars
Billy Smiley – Producer, Songwriter, Arrangements
James Stroud – Drums
Steve Taylor – Arrangements, Background Vocals
Hank Williams – Mastered

Bill Price – Brave The Proud The Few – 1986

This is the second album from Bill but I really can’t find out very much about him. I found that there are quite a few copies of this album for sale and it’s on almost all the streaming sites but that’s all I could find. I did find him on Facebook and he seems to have had a long career in the radio business and still performs mainly at his church. He might be doing more than that musically but like I said it was difficult to put the pieces together. Anyway the album is a really good pop album and the production is fantastic. It’s one that should be listened to.

Tracklist
1 – His Love Has Carried Me Away
2 – The Brave, The Proud, The Few
3 – Jesus You’re The One
4 – I Want To Thank You Lord
5 – Great Is The God Of Heaven
6 – He Takes Care Of Me
7 – Walkin’ Down The Street
8 – We’ve Got To Tell Them
9 – Steppin’ In The Shadows

Credits
Drums – Brian Willis, Brian Brickley
Bass – Rich Gooch, Mark KIngen, Bill Price
Keyboards — Gary Hemenway, Rob Farley, Scott James
Guitars, Procussion – Bill Price
Saxophone – Susie May
Background Vocals – Dave Bray, Russ Finley, Scott James, Curt Cassingham, Jeff Michel, Linda Price, Melani Bray, Laura Evitt, Martin Woodrow, Bill Price
Engineers – Scott James, Curt Cassingham
Mix – Scott James
Produced by – Scott James and Bill Price

Companies, etc.
Recorded at – Northstar Recording Studio

Diller & Anderson – Diller & Anderson – 1983

Diller & Anderson are Ronnie Lee Diller and Steve Anderson. The duo met up in 1975 and soon after started a band called Radiance. Radiance enjoyed some success in the NW USA but never put an album out. In 1980 the guys left the band to work as a duo. They quickly recorded this album and self released it. The album starts out early 80’s country rock but then transitions to more of an early 80’s easy listening album. All in all it’s a pretty good album and I’m pretty sure we would have been happy listening to this one in 1983 if it had been available to us. As I understand it their next 2 albums are much more rock oriented but I haven’t heard either of them yet but I am looking forward to hearing them.

Tracklist
1 – Fallin’ Fallin’ – 3:20
2 – Hearts A Fire – 3:32
3 – Annabelle – 3:52
4 – Valuable – 3:12
5 – Tarnished Treasures – 4:35
6 – Makebeliever – 4:05
7 – Sweet Jesus – 3:14
8 – The Way, The Truth & The Life – 3:17
9 – Echo Of Your Voice – 3:35
10 – Everybody’s Gonna Bow To Him – 4:30