December 2024 – Real 80s CCM

Buddy Greene – Praise You, Lord…. – 1986

Buddy Greene was born and raised in Macon GA and had been a part of the local music scene since he was 10 years old. Later he scored a position in Jerry Reed’s band. I doubt there was a better learning opportunity for any performer due to Jerry’s varied styles and work with so many great artists. In 1985 Buddy and his wife moved to Nashville to continue his music career. In late 85 Bob MacKenzie was able to pull together an album deal for Buddy with Refuge/Fortress records and this album is the result of that deal. The album was a bit of a departure from the regular Refuge album in that it is a country album but there’s no Rock or New Wave here which is what we were used to from Refuge. I’ll be honest 80’s country is not a genre I generally like but I must say I love this album as it is some really good quality country. Naturally I missed this one in the 80’s but that might be for the best. I probably wouldn’t have appreciated it back then.

Tracklist
1 – Praise You, Lord – 3:48
2 – Keep Your Head In The Word – 3:30
3 – Holy Father – 2:52
4 – He Is – 3:30
5 – Since Jesus Came Into My Heart (Tender Love And Care) – 3:21
6 – Lord, I Want To Thank You – 2:04
7 – Virtuous Woman – 3:54
8 – More Like You – 2:50
9 – Rest Awhile – 2:52
10 – Short Of The Mark – 2:52
11 – Oh Lord, How I Need You – 3:02

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Buddy Greene, Don Potter, Jon Goin, Russell Barenberg
Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica, Harmony Vocals, Jaw Harp – Buddy Greene
Backing Vocals – Tim Holder, Tricia Walker
Bass – Duncan Mullins, Jimmie Lee
Choir – Alex Mebane, Ashley Cleveland, Buddy Greene, Dawn Rodgers, Doug Mills, Karen Staley, Lynn Hodges, Phil Madeira, Ric McClure
Dobro – Jerry Douglas
Drums – Kenny Malone
Electric Guitar – Brent Mason, Jimmy Nalls
Engineer [Additional] – Spence Chrislu
Executive-Producer – Bob Mackenzie
Fiddle – Sam Bush
Harmonica, Harmony Vocals – Buddy Greene
Harmony Vocals – Karen Staley, Tricia Walker
Keyboards – David Innis, Gary Prim
Mandolin – Bobby Clark, Sam Bush
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Mixed By – Brent King
Percussion [Wooden Agogos], Tambourine – Bubba Smith
Photography By – Mike Mitchell
Producer – Bubba Smith
Rap [The Rap-it-ups] – Alex Mebane, Ashley Cleveland, Dawn Rodgers, Doug Mills, Karen Staley, Phil Madeira
Recorded By – Doug Sarrett, Lynn Fuston
Tambourine – Bubba Smith
Words By, Music By – Ashley Cleveland, Buddy Greene, Rufus H. McDaniel, Rusty Ingraham, Debbie Kaye, Pete Kaye

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Fortress Records
Copyright © – Fortress Records
Distributed By – Refuge Music Group
Mastered At – Mastermix
Mixed At – Downstage Studio
Recorded At – Center Stage Studio
Recorded At – Hummingbird Studio, Nashville, TN
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio
Recorded At – Downstage Studio
Published By – Ariose Music
Published By – SpiritQuest Music
Published By – The Rodeheaver Co.

The Call – Live Under The Red Moon – 2000

Kind of an odd live release from The Call here. For some reason Mark Heard and the guys at Fingerprint records in conjunction with Conspiracy Music decided to release a The Call live recording from 1990. This album was recorded on the support tour for Red Moon album at The Coach House in San Juan, CA in the Fall of 1990. As the band was under contract to MCA Records in 1990 I am assuming this was a recording the band arranged. Further making this release a little stranger is the choice of tracks. Normally when you put out a live album you leave a lot of the newest tracks and concentrate on the bands singles from across their catalogue. This album actually includers 5 tracks from Red Moon so it’s actually a relatively correct album of that tour. While rarely done I think it’s kind of cool. The album itself is poorly recorded with some soft clipping and horrendous compression but we’ve done the best we could to make it sound a little better. As for the album it’s great and was sought after for one main reason in the CCM industry and that is for the live version of “I Still Believe” which is very very good. Anyway there are several great The Call albums in the 2000’s but this is probably my favourite.

Tracklist
1 – Floating Back – 4:17
2 – A Swim In The Ocean – 7:27
3 – This Is Your Life – 4:02
4 – I Don’t Wanna – 5:19
5 – You Run – 7:32
6 – Family – 4:16
7 – Same Old Story – 3:52
8 – Even Now – 5:01
9 – Red Moon – 3:15
10 – Oklahoma – 5:29
11 – You Were There – 4:29
12 – I Still Believe (Great Design) – 5:30
13 – Let The Day Begin – 4:25

Credits
Bass – Ralph Patlan
Drums, Vocals – Scott Musick
Engineer [Live Sound Engineered By] – Kraig Black
Engineer [Recording Engineered By] – Jim Scott
Executive-Producer – Dan Russell, Monte J. Robison, Taylor Robison
Guitar, Vocals – Tom Ferrier
Keyboards, Vocals – Jim Goodwin
Lead Vocals, Bass, Guitar – Michael Been
Mastered By – Peter Thomas*
Percussion, Backing Vocals – Dan Hallas
Photography By – Dorothy Greco, Lindsay Ljungkull
Producer – Michael Been, The Call

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Conspiracy Music
Copyright © – Conspiracy Music
Mastered At – Future Disc
Recorded At – The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano

Glenn Kaiser, Larry Howard, Trace Balin, Darrell Mansfield – The Blues Night – 1994

I’m a little unclear as to the origins of this concert. The album itself says “The Blues Night” has been recorded during the Blues – Tour in November ’93 in Gouda, Holland”. I have no idea who’s tour this was but it really doesn’t matter but the historian in me wanted to know. Anyway this album is a real treat because of the inclusion of Trace Balin. Before this album she was better known as a pop oriented artist but since this album she became known as a blues singer. Musically there is no stand out moment on the album but that’s not a criticism. In fact the album is solid from start to finish and there’s not a bad track on it. Each artist contributes a few tracks and it all comes together for the full album.

Tracklist
1 – Darrell Mansfield – Boom Boom – 3:07
2 – Darrell Mansfield – You Know It Ain’t Right – 4:10
3 – Darrell Mansfield – The Mission – 5:14
4 – Trace Balin – Jesus Mentioned My Name – 4:46
5 – Trace Balin – A Better Way – 4:03
6 – Trace Balin – When I Get To Heaven – 3:51
7 – Glenn Kaiser – Great Change – 3:31
8 – Glenn Kaiser – Witness Cloud – 2:15
9 – Glenn Kaiser – Somebody On Your Bond – 2:53
10 – Glenn Kaiser – Shaky Ground – 5:09
11 – Larry Howard – Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven – 9:11
12 – Larry Howard – It’s Only You – 10:37
13 – Jam Session – Everyday Will Be Sunday – 5:55

Credits
Artwork – Hotline Maarssen
Bass Guitar – Leo Song
Design – Hotline Maarssen
Dobro – Rob Glickman
Drums – Michael Fickling
Edited By – Johnny Hulst
Engineer – Johan Van Loo
Harmonica – Darrell Mansfield
Lead Guitar – Glenn Kaiser, Larry Howard, Rob Glickman
Lead Vocals – Darrell Mansfield, Glenn Kaiser, Larry Howard, Trace Balin
Mixed By – Johan Van Loo, Larry Howard
Producer – Gerrit aan ‘t Goor
Rhythm Guitar – Glenn Kaiser, Rob Glickman

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Spark Music
Copyright © – Spark Music
Distributed By – The ForeFront Communications Group, Inc.

Bob Dylan – Saved – 1980

“Saved” was Bob Dylan’s second “born again” album. This series, starting with “Slow Train Coming” in 1979, stretches up to the disputed territory of “Infidels” in 1983. It’s a pretty short period of Bob history but a pivotal one that serves as one of the Great Walls of Before and After in his career.

It starts out with a traditional country gospel number, A Satisfied Mind, that was sung by a lot of cowboys before Bob got his hands on it. Maybe this is a leftover influence from his Nashville Skyline or other previous endeavours. Porter Wagoner had a pretty good run with it in 1957.

There is no country music on this album though. The opening track is a strained, rock influenced plea that begs you to listen to the whole album. There are a lot of soul-styled tracks, such as Saved, Solid Rock, and Pressing On. It’s also a lot of jangly piano rock, recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Sheffield, Alabama.

One of the great mysteries of Bob’s born again albums is how earnest they all are. Every bit is on the nose and every lyric so convincing you can’t believe anything but what you’re hearing. And then for some 75 other albums he only hints at spirituality.

Don’t be fooled though, the Gospel according to Bob started some twenty years before this album. His early lyrics, and his later lyrics all talk about God and make direct references to the divine and our human relationship to it.

So with this one, enjoy the pleasure of Bob actually perhaps talking about what he’s talking about for once. Less metaphor in one sense, and more on the nose.
That doesn’t keep him from writing fantastic poetry throughout though.
“Covenant woman, got a contract with the Lord…”
“I’ve been broken, shattered like an empty cup / I’m just waiting on the Lord to rebuild and fill me up / And I know He will do it ’cause He’s faithful and He’s true / He must have loved me so much to send me someone as fine as you”

Now the spiritual talk and divine relationships cross over into human relationships. Nearly the opposite of his “secular” writings.

Lastly, let’s remember Bob’s voice. He has used several different voicings through his career, and this one is fairly nasal, putting some people off. But remember to ask your most highly trained singing friends and they will confirm – he knows how to sing. This is just how he does it. He puts every part of every word where he wants it and it works.

Tracklist
1 – A Satisfied Mind – 1:58
2 – Saved – 4:00
3 – Covenant Woman – 6:03
4 – What Can I Do For You? – 5:54
5 – Solid Rock – 3:55
6 – Pressing On – 5:11
7 – In The Garden – 5:58
8 – Saving Grace – 5:01
9 – Are You Ready – 4:42

Credits
Artwork [Cover] – Tony Wright
Bass – Tim Drummond
Drums – Jim Keltner
Engineer – Gregg Hamm
Engineer [Assistant] – Mary Beth McLemore
Guitar – Fred Tackett
Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica – Bob Dylan
Keyboards – Spooner Oldham
Keyboards, Vocals – Terry Young
Mastered By [Engineer] – Bobby Hata
Mastered By [Supervisor] – Paul Wexler
Photography By – Arthur Rosato
Producer – Barry Beckett, Jerry Wexler
Vocals – Clydie King, Mona Lisa Young, Regina Havis

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – CBS Records Canada Ltd.
Distributed By – CBS Records Canada Ltd.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – CBS Inc.
Copyright © – CBS Inc.
Recorded At – Muscle Shoals Sound Studios
Mastered At – Amigo Studios
Lacquer Cut At – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Don Mills, ON

Scott Anderson – Somebody Loves You – 1989

This is Scott’s first album and while it is lesser known artist this was a great album. I really don’t know much about how Scott got into CCM but I have spoken to him very briefly about his current work. Some tracks have a great blues feel that I have been told becomes more prominent on his next album. The album also has a great sense of humour and while 80’s humour doesn’t always translate to today it stands well on this album. Some times I try to point out a best track but in this case the album really works best when listened to as a whole.

Tracklist
1 – Somebody Loves You – 3:58
2 – I Ain’t Clowning Around (No More With God) – 3:12
3 – I Believe In Him – 4:55
4 – Give It All You Got – 3:53
5 – I Forgot – 4:25
6 – Penny Arcade – 1:55
7 – Too Cool For Sunday School – 5:11
8 – I’m Not That Kind Of Guy – 4:56
9 – Peanut Butter And Jelly – 3:12
10 – What I’m Living For – 3:42
11 – I Belong To You – 4:45

Ketty Lester – I Saw Love – 1984

60’s crooner Ketty Lester actually retired from the music industry in the early 70’s after a pretty successful career including 5 charting singles with “Love Letters” making it to #2 on the R & B charts. She actually quit music to concentrate on her acting career where many remember her as Hester-Sue Terhune on Little House on the Prairie. She did however return to the studio to produce this gospel album in 1984. While this is a pretty run of the mill 80’s soul gospel album with excellent vocals it is actually a very important album in the CCM industry. Hidden in the soul tracks is the track “Let’s Talk About Jesus” which is the first female gospel rap song. Now admittedly she is not a rap artist and this is not a rap album but this one track is unlike anything on this album and unlike anything she had ever done before. It is my firm belief that of this album had been released on a CCM label and not a soul label we would all know this track as it is an excellent example of early rap that was not being done in the CCM industry. So if your listening to this album as a whole you’re going to be a bit surprised when you get to track 10.

Tracklist
1 – One Day At A Time – 3:49
2 – Jesus Laid His Hands On Me – 2:33
3 – The Children – 3:09
4 – Jesus, You Touched Me – 3:20
5 – She’d Never Heard Of Anyone Called Jesus – 3:17
6 – I Saw Love – 3:19
7 – Have You Heard – 2:10
8 – When I Saw Jesus – 3:32
9 – Jesus Here I Am Again – 2:42
10 – Let’s Talk About Jesus – 3:40

Gary Chapman – Everyday Man – 1987

This is Gary’s 3rd album and my personal favourite. While his wife at the time, Amy Grant, was with Myrrh Records, Gary cut this album for Reunion Records. Reunion was trying to turn it up a notch at this point in history and this album was a huge help. This album showed a rockier side of Gary and there are some great pop tracks on this album. The album is still a little heavy on the ballad’s but this is Gary Chapman so he’s forgiven. Ballad’s after all were his cash cow. “I Love That Girl”, written by Randy Stonehill, could have easily singled on commercial radio but unfortunately Gary didn’t have the crossover success of his wife. I should also point out that this is a prime example of why you don’t ever put out a song with your girls name in it because like the internet, music is forever and you’re stuck with it for life. All joking aside that song is begging for a country cover as I think it has top 20 written all over it. Anyway if you avoided this on back in the 80’s like I did give it a listen now, it’s pretty good.

Tracklist
1 – Everyday Man – 3:33
2 – When Where Together (Love’s So Strong) – 3:42
3 – Love History – 4:55
4 – Breakin’ Hearts – 4:47
5 – Love Like Blood – 4:09
6 – Around The World – 3:52
7 – The Hurt Is Worth The Chance – 3:52
8 – Love That Girl – 4:41
9 – Cecil, (Life Goes On) – 6:09
10 – Your Love Stays With Me – 3:07

Credits
Art Direction – Bill Brunt, Mary Hamilton
Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Amy Grant, Chris Harris, Gary Chapman, Ricky Skaggs, Wayne Kirkpatrick
Bass – Mike Brignardello
Coordinator [Production Coordinator] – Kimberly Smith, Steve Lindsey
Drums, Percussion – Keith Edwards
Engineer [Assistant] – Ben Williams, Billy Whittington, Carey Summers, Dave Parker, Jean Kinney, Jeff Coppadge, Keith Odle, Michael Koreiba
Executive-Producer – Dan Harrell, Michael Blanton
Guitar [Guitars] – Jerry McPherson
Guitar [Guitars], Pedal Steel Guitar – Gary Chapman
Keyboards – Michael W. Smith, Phil Naish, Shane Keister
Mandolin – Mark O’Connor
Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
Mixed By – Brent King, Frank Filipetti, Jeff Balding
Overdubbed By [Overdubs Recorded By] – Brent King, Gene Eichelberger, James Baird, Jeff Balding, Joe Scaife
Percussion [Additional] – Terry McMillan
Photography By – Chuck Kuhn
Producer – Brown Bannister, Gary Chapman, Mark Wright
Recorded By – Gene Eichelberger, Jeff Balding, Joe Scaife
Stylist – Mary Beth Felts
Written-By – Gary Chapman

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – BMG Music
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – BMG Music
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word Records Limited
Distributed By – Word Records Limited
Recorded At – The Music Mill, Nashville, TN
Recorded At – Sixteenth Avenue Sound
Overdubbed At – The Music Mill, Nashville, TN
Overdubbed At – Riverock Studio
Overdubbed At – Sixteenth Avenue Sound
Overdubbed At – OmniSound Studios
Overdubbed At – GroundStar Studios, Nashville
Overdubbed At – Masterfonics
Mixed At – Masterfonics
Mixed At – Sixteenth Avenue Sound
Mixed At – The Music Mill, Nashville, TN
Mastered At – Masterdisk Corp.

The Rhythm Praise Band – Cruisin – 1980

Here we go with another band I can’t find any info about. This album was released on Tunesmith who were well known for finding obscure artists and this one is no exception. Though a Canadian label this is most likely a U.S. based band due to the Spanish content on the album. They were managed out of Colorado so that might be a clue also. The album has a seventies rock feel to it with, as I said, a Spanish flair to it in spots including a Spanish track. I really liked the album and am surprised I didn’t see it back in the 80’s as we were Tunesmith addicts and with this cover I know we would have bought this one if we had seen it. Too bad we missed it back then because this is an excellent album and definitely deserves to be listened to.

Tracklist
1 – Cruisin With My Lord – 3:36
2 – Lori’s Song – 3:10
3 – Where Is The Love – 3:21
4 – Prepara Tu Alma – 3:59
5 – Jesus That I Know – 3:28
6 – You’re Blind – 3:23
7 – He Is The Light – 4:39
8 – I Can Do – 3:01
9 – Riding The Line – 3:28
10 – You’re His Puppet – 2:45

Credits
Producer – Bobby Murrieta
Executive Producer – Jim Stengel & Brian Van Cleave
Keyboards & Synthesizers – Bobby Murrieta
Lead & Rhythm Guitar – Armando Nunez & Kenny Milton
Bass Guitar – Bobby Murrieta & Kenny Milton
Drums & Percussion – Jim DeBilzan, Linn-Drum Computer
Vocals – The Rhythm Praise Band
Additional Background vocals – Neal Burum

Companies, etc.
Recorded & Mixed at Scott’s Music & Prosound Clovis, New Mexico ; Eaglear Productions, Greeley, Colorado
Mastered by LRS

Trilojē – Trilojē – 1984

What if I told you there was an album with Joe English on drums, Dann Huff on guitar, and Steve Camp on Keyboards you would be very interested right? Well believe it or not this is that album but don’t get too excited because this album features three pretty well unknown artists. As near as I can figure out vocalists Kevin Thiel, Diane Thiel, and Joan Anderson were background vocalists for Steve Camp and Steve decided to produce an album for them. Most of the crew for this album were from Steve’s crew and I can only imagine this was all envisioned by Steve. All that said regardless of this recipe for success this was a one off album that didn’t really sell all that well. First of all the name they chose was pretty poor. I assume it was some sort of play on there being 3 members in the “band”. The album is very strongly Easy Listening and is nothing remarkable. I don’t deny they are great vocalists but the album just doesn’t have a hook to keep you listening. It is a fairly good album but nothing remarkable.

Tracklist
1 – In All Your Ways – 3:28
2 – Break Away – 3:04
3 – Lead Me To Life – 3:43
4 – Stolen Love – 3:12
5 – One Heart – 2:45
6 – Light Your Candle – 4:10
7 – Faith By Faith – 3:02
8 – Strong Love – 3:10
9 – Capture My Heart – 3:28
10 – Down The Road – 2:36

Credits
Basses – Tim Smith
Drums & Percussion – Joe English
Engineered by – Hank Newberger, Wally Grant, Peter Braden & Paul Klingberg
Executive Producer – Steve Wyer
Guitars – Dann Huff, Jeff Oliver, George Cocchini & Paul Brannon
Produced by – Steve Camp
Sax Solo – Dennis Solee
String Arrangements – John Rosasco
Synthesizers – Rhett Lawrence, John Rosasco & Steve Camp
Vocals & Vocal Arrangements by Kevin Thiel, Diane Thiel & Joan Anderson

Companies, etc.
Recorded at The Gold Mine, Nashville, TN & Chicago Recording Co., Chicago, IL.
Additional Recording at Weddington Studio, North Hollywood, CA
Mixed at Chicago Recording Co., Chicago, IL.
Mastered by Steve Hall at Future Disc, North Hollywood, CA

Michael Card – The Beginning – 1989

The 9th studio album from Michael Card is another like the others. That’s not as negative as it sounds as this was the magic that Card did. He put out albums very consistently and every one had great tracks so his fans constantly had new material to listen to. This album was successful with 3 charting CCM hits. Jubilee made it to #1, Lift Up The Suffering Symbol to #5, and They Called Him Laughter to #15. You just can’t argue with the success Card had. Anyway not much more to say about the album, if you like Card you will like this album. If you’re not a fan of easy listening than this one isn’t for you.

Tracklist
1 – The Beginning – 5:03
2 – In The Wilderness – 3:11
3 – Jubilee – 2:42
4 – Lift Up The Suffering Symbol – 3:32
5 – The Word Is So Near – 2:17
6 – Meditation #3 Shema – 4:13
7 – God Will Provide A Lamb – 4:06
8 – They Called Him Laughter – 3:05
9 – Asleep On Holy Ground – 5:15
10 – A Face That Shone – 3:21
11 – Barocha – 2:43

Credits
Arranged By, Orchestrated By – Alan Moore, Bergen White
Art Direction – Barbara Hearn
Concertmaster, Directed By [Director] – Gavyn Wright
Conductor [The Ambrosian Singers And Orchestra] – Bergen White
Design – Larry Vigon
Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – Barry Dixon, John Kunz
Mastered By – Denny Purcell
Musician, Acoustic Guitar – Michael Card
Musician, Bass – Craig Nelson, Gary Lunn
Musician, Drum Programming – Gary Lunn
Musician, Drums, Percussion – Paul Leim
Musician, Piano – Michael Card, Phil Naish
Musician, Synthesizer – Phil Naish
Photography By [Front Cover Photography] – Merlyn Rosenberg
Photography By [Photography Of Michael Card] – Mark Tucker
Producer – Norbert Putnam
Recorded By, Mixed By – JB , Norbert Putnam, Willie Pevear
Vocals [Vocalists] – Ashley Cleveland, Bergen White, Michael Card, The Ambrosian Singers

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The Sparrow Corporation
Copyright © – The Sparrow Corporation
Produced For – Mole End Productions
Recorded At – Digital Recorders
Recorded At – Abbey Road Studios
Mastered At – Georgetown Masters
Published By – Birdwing Music
Published By – Word Music (UK)
Published By – Whole Armor Publishing
Published By – LITA Music
Distributed By – Word (UK) Ltd.
Distributed By – Pila Music
Distributed By – 3XM
Distributed By – Finngospel
Distributed By – Sephora Diffusion
Distributed By – Emmaus
Distributed By – GMI Records (3)
Distributed By – Filadelfia Forlag
Distributed By – La Sorgente Music
Distributed By – Master Music (5)
Distributed By – Grace Music (2)
Distributed By – Master-Vision-S.A.
Distributed By – Viva Music (4)
Distributed By – Kir Music
Printed By – Sleeveprint
Made By – Sleeveprint
Pressed By – CBS, Haarlem