This has to be one of the most mysterious albums I have come across and it is without a doubt the strangest album from Randy. It is his one and only album with Refuge Records. Randy put this album out in 1987 but his previous album was in 1981 on Spirit Records. A 6 year gap in albums when you are at your height is bizarre enough but then this album got completely ignored by the entire industry. I know it didn’t sell well as it took us a long time to find a copy so maybe Refuge just didn’t distribute it very well but that is strange too as Randy was a very highly respected artist. There is also radio silence on this album with no one talking about it. The internet’s a big place but this album takes an incredibly small space on it. In fact there’s very little info on what Randy was doing at this point in his career. The album itself is actually very very good and is probably now my favourite album from him. I would say the single is “The Day Death Died” which is a great rock & roll track. Probably his hardest track ever. The other highlight of the album is probably the only CCM track about Santa Claus but be warned it is a very sad song actually about abortion. That said it is a stunningly good track.
Tracklist
1 – Amazing Grace – 1:15
2 – Hearts On Ice – 3:22
3 – Grumble Alley – 3:30
4 – Ti Chapé-Kum Ba Ya – 4:33
5 – Eyes Of The Heart – 3:34
6 – Streets Of Mercy – 2:57
7 – I Wish It Were Only Make Believe – 3:55
8 – No Cross, No Crown – 3:04
9 – The Day Death Died – 3:52
10 – Nuclear Hymn – 3:27
Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Cover [Concept] – Randy Matthews
Art Direction, Design – Jeff Spencer
Backing Vocals – Anthony Nelson, Demetrius Alexander, Duane Hamilton, Eddie Williams, Grace Rosenburger, Greg Tornquist, Kim Hill, Monty Matthews, Robbie Anderson, Roger M. Major
Booking – Barbara Matthews
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Greg Tornquist
Engineer – Gary Wysocki
Engineer, Remix – John W. Thompson
Keyboards, Acoustic Guitar – John W. Thompson
Management – Dave Peters II, Image Communications International
Photography – Peter Nash
Producer – John Thompson
Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Refuge Music Group
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Refuge Records
Copyright © – Refuge Records
Copyright © – Stowaway Music
Copyright © – Group Seven Music
Copyright © – Morning Gate Music
Recorded At – Morning Gate Studio, Franklin Tennessee
