Month: June 2025

Horizon – Futuristic Triangle – 1993

This is the first album from Sammy Hall and his 2 sons using the band name Horizon. I don’t know who played what instrument as Sammy didn’t document it on the album information. This album is made up of secular cover tracks with the exception of Amazing Grace. We have here the following covers;

Hold On Tight to Your Dream originally by ELO
In My Life originally by The Beatles
Back to Paradise originally by 38 Special
Some Gave All originally by Billy Ray Cyrus
To Love Somebody originally by Bee Gees
Against the Grain originally by Garth Brooks
Homeward Bound originally by Simon & Garfunkel
Bridge Over Troubled Water originally by Simon & Garfunkel

I’m guessing this was just a fun project for Sammy and his sons as they just self released it and if they took it too serious it would have been licensing nightmare. But remember this was 1993 and the record companies hadn’t lost their minds over licensing yet. Horizon would go on to record several more self released albums similar to this one.

Tracklist
1 – Hold On Tight to Your Dream – 3:04
2 – In My Life – 2:25
3 – Back to Paradise – 3:46
4 – Some Gave All – 4:08
5 – To Love Somebody – 3:41
6 – Against the Grain – 2:21
7 – Homeward Bound – 3:17
8 – Bridge Over Troubled Water – 4:46
9 – Amazing Grace – 1:03

Credits
Sammy Hall
Monte Hall
Brannon Hall

Cliff Richard – Now You See Me… …Now You Don’t – 1982

I do believe the only artist on this list to be officially “knighted” is Cliff Richard. Not bad for a pop star and teen heart throb from the 1950’s and 60’s. Then again John Lennon was a fan and he is said to be the first real “rock star” from Great Britain. Sir Cliff Richard has also been a devoted Christian and has recorded several Gospel themed albums. The one in question here is the very best as it is simply a pop album with Gospel themes rather than a Gospel album that tries to sound pop. The album is also unique in that it also generated a comeback of sort for the artist in his native land after several years of unsuccessful pop albums. NYSMNYD went Gold in England and had several radio hits on both side of the Atlantic. Released in 1982 Christian music was constantly gravitating toward “pop stars” who professed a Christian belief (Bob Dylan, Joe English), but this album never saw Christian distribution and many missed this great album. Thief in the Night is much heavier song musically than the normal Richard bubble gum and is the center piece to the whole project. It rocks and like the rest of the albums sounds like it was influenced by Mark Williamson and Chris Eaton. The album has a bit of an Ambrosia feel with silky, pop driven rockers and big ballads meant for radio consumption. But the rockers stand out like the previously mentioned Thief in the Night and the bombastic Son of Thunder. “Little Town” Chris Eaton arranged version of O Little Town of Bethlehem would also be recorded by Amy Grant and Michael W Smith. Richard’s version would be the best. One last song of note is the song Christian radio gravitated to; Water is Wide is a stunningly beautiful remake of the traditional tune. Simply, if not a bit over-produced, the song would chart on CCM radio and be Richards only real CCM hit. He would later do a duet with Van Morrison that would also hit CCM radio.

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

Tracklist
1 – The Only Way Out – 3:20
2 – First Date – 3:33
3 – Thief In The Night – 3:50
4 – Where Do We Go From Here – 2:53
5 – Son Of Thunder – 3:58
6 – Little Town – 4:03
7 – It Has To Be You, It Has To Be Me – 4:17
8 – The Water Is Wide – 3:50
9 – Now You See Me, Now You Don’t – 3:00
10 – Be In My Heart – 4:38
11 – Discovering – 4:50

Credits
Autoharp – Craig Pruess
Bass Guitar – Andy Pask, Mark Griffiths, Mo Foster, Paul Westwood
Bells [Sleigh Bells] – Craig Pruess
Design – Cream
Drum Programming – Craig Pruess
Drums – Dave Mattacks, Graham Jarvis
Electric Piano – Graham Todd
Electric Violin – Paul Hart
Engineer Assistant – Tony Richards
Engineer – John Kurlander
Engineer – John Walker
Engineer Assistant – Steve Cook
Engineer [Strawberry] – Keith Bessey
Guitar – Bill Roberts, John Clark, Mart Jenner
Harmonium – Craig Pruess
Mastered By – Gordon Vicary, Keith Bessey
Mixed By – Keith Bessey
Mixed By [Assisted By] – Howard Gray
Photography By – Brian Aris
Piano – Craig Pruess, Graham Todd, Peter Skellern
Producer – Cliff Richard, Craig Pruess
Saxophone – Mel Collins
Sequenced By – Craig Pruess
Synthesizer – Craig Pruess, Dave Cooke
Vocals, Backing Vocals – Cliff Richard
Wind Chimes – Craig Pruess

Companies, etc.
Marketed By – EMI
Distributed By – EMI
Manufactured By – EMI
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – EMI Records Ltd.
Printed By – EMI Services Benelux B.V.
Recorded At – Abbey Road Studios
Recorded At – Strawberry Studios
Mastered At – The Town House
Mixed At – The Town House

Reneé Garcia – Living In The Vertical – 1987

This is the first of 2 solo albums from Reneé. I first saw this album posted in our Facebook group and found it in the stack so gave it a listen. It was described in that post as the “CCM Madonna”. While I generally don’t agree when people compare artists on this one I feel the poster was correct. This album has a definite Madonna pop dance style sound but quite frankly Reneé’s vocals are better. Honestly though I was never a fan of Madonna’s vocals. Anyway a little back ground on Reneé is that she was born in Indiana and moved to Nashville in her mid 20’s. She actually sang backup on several Amy Grant tours before this album so she had some good exposure in the industry. Chris Eaton produced the album and he is well known for “finding” a lot of his projects but I don’t know if this project was his idea or the record companies. Anyway this is a great album and really should have been much better known but perhaps it was just a little late in 1987 for this sound.

Tracklist
1 – More Than Fascination – 4:30
2 – Running From A Legacy – 4:15
3 – I See Love – 5:30
4 – Deepest Love – 6:23
5 – Living In The Vertical – 4:10
6 – I’ve Got My Eye On You – 4:20
7 – The Bounce – 3:57
8 – Imagination – 4:35
9 – I Want To Be Used For You – 4:27

Credits
Administrator [Covert Operations] – Terry Hemmings
Art Direction – Bill Brunt Designs
Backing Vocals – Chris Eaton, Mark Williamson, Reneé Garcia
Bass [Fretless] – Steve Greetham
Cymbal [Additional] – Lang Bliss
Drums, Bass, Programmed By [Percussion], Keyboards – Chris Eaton
Engineer – Laurence Burrage, Steve Boyce-Buckley
Engineer [Additional] – David Holmes, John Revenhall, Jon Sweet
Executive-Producer – Dan Harrell, Jeff Moseley, Michael Blanton
Guitar – Neil Costello
Lead Guitar – Peter Brooks
Mastered By – Glenn Meadows
Mixed By – Glenn Tommey, Raine Shine
Photography By – Peter Nash
Producer – Chris Eaton
Programmed By [Additional Keyboards] – Richard Osborne
Rhythm Guitar [Additional] – Richard Osborne
Saxophone – Martin Green

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Reunion Records
Copyright © – Reunion Records
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Made By – Discovery Systems – 18A0100B
Recorded At – The Justice Room
Recorded At – Square One Studios
Recorded At – Swot Productions
Mixed At – Crescent Studios
Mastered At – Masterfonics

Philadelphia – Search And Destroy – 1985/2000

Philadelphia were one of the early Christian metal acts starting out in 1982 though they had been together previously as a secular band called Survivor. This is their second album and was about as poorly as their first which wasn’t good. That reception was not due to the quality of the music, it was due to the early fear of heavy metal music in the Christian genre. Personally I think the album was perfect for the era and I’m surprised it wasn’t better accepted. The original vinyl and cassette are very rare but no numbers were published. Lucky for Philadelphia fans the album was re-released for the first time in 2000 by Millenium Eight Records. This release was limited to only 1500 copies and included 5 new tracks. “Please My Love” and “Kids in America” were recorded during a reunion in 1999, while the 3 live songs, “Warlord”, “Razor’s Edge”, and “One Way Out” were recorded at the Cornerstone Christian music festival in 1986. This playlist includes those tracks. The album was again re-released in 2019 on Roxx Records. This release had reworked album art which is a huge improvement over the original poor art.

Tracklist
1 – Search And Destroy – 6:02
2 – Bobby’s Song – 3:51
3 – Oh My Boy – 5:10
4 – Judgement Day – 3:51
5 – Mirror Man – 3:08
6 – Fastrack – 4:32
7 – Showdown – 4:27
8 – Decision Time – 5:56

2000 CD Release Bonus Tracks
9 – Please My Love – 5:22
10 – Kids In America – 3:55
11 – Warlord – 7:26
12 – Razor’s Edge – 5:57
13 – One Way Out – 5:06

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Brian Clark
Drums – Brian Martini
Executive Producer – Bill Bafford
Guitar – Paul Scholling, Ronn Flowers
Layout, Design – Scott Waters
Mastered By – Rob Colwell

Aunt Bettys – Aunt Bettys – 1996

Of all of Mike Knott’s multiple incarnation, Aunt Bettys is by far the most puzzling, controversial and utterly brilliant. Mike Knott should be a rock star and the Aunt Bettys should have been the vehicle to deliver him to that status. Combining the most frenetic writing, best of his previous work and a band recording live in the studio to create a loud and passionate rock and roll project. Not as pop and sweet as the Lifesavers, or as dour and dark as LSU, Aunt Betty’s took the best of Jane’s Addiction and kicked it in the ass. Much of the debut is made up of previously recorded or written songs from Mike’s repertoire, but here the versions seem faster, heavier, wilder. Many struggled with this release and the “not-so-sanitized” versions of some songs. “Jesus” still ranks among the best of Knott’s career. “Rock and a Bomb” is just a great song…period! But this is a rock and roll record and songs like Addict make it a 90’s classic. The version of Double is great, though here is the one time I would choose the original. The band would release other material but the flight to the bright lights never took off. Suffice it to say that no matter the incarnation, Knott is utterly brilliant and deserved much more than he received from the industry.

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

Tracklist
1 – Jesus – 3:36
2 – Mother Trucker – 3:00
3 – Star Baby – 1:48
4 – Skinny Bones Jones – 3:35
5 – Lush – 3:31
6 – Feel – 3:48
7 – Rocket & A Bomb – 4:47
8 – Addict – 2:06
9 – Speeder Mode – 2:53
10 – Kitty Courtesy – 3:06
11 – Little Fighter – 3:36
12 – Suicide Sex Doll – 2:09
13 – Jane – 3:11
14 – Cruel – 1:37
15 – Double – 3:25
16 – Rock And Roll – 2:17

Credits
Art Direction – Jennifer Roddie
Band, Bass, Backing Vocals – Brian Doidge
Band, Drums, Percussion – Chuck Cummings
Band, Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals – Andrew Carter
Band, Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Michael Knott
Engineer [Additional Engineers] – Bob Moon, Kevin Leonard
Executive-Producer – Lara Hill
Illustration – Tim Okamura
Management – Cahn-Man
Mastered By – Brian Gardner
Photography By – Jon Gipe
Producer, Engineer, Mixed By – Gene Eugene, Mark Rodriguez, Michael Knott
Written By – Michael Knott

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Elektra Entertainment Group
Copyright © – Elektra Entertainment Group
Recorded At – The Green Room
Mixed At – The Green Room
Mixed At – Sound Kitchen
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering
Published By – Almo Music Corp.
Published By – Stormie Lane Music
Pressed By – Specialty Records Corporation

Love Chapter Band – City Of Refuge – 1980

Since we uploaded the last album from this band I have learned a little bit about them but still not very much. As I understand it the band was lead by Bard and Doug Buss. They were BC (Canada) Christ’s Ambassadors and part of the Ambassadors in Mission (AIM) program of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. This was their second album on a Praise Records label with this one Being on Tunesmith. But again there I am out of information. I know they did tour across Canada appearing at several PAOC churches but they never made their way to our little town. As for the album it’s another 70’s style album and as usual from them it’s excellent.

Tracklist
1 – It’s Your Friends – 5:23
2 – Don’t Get Caught – 3:32
3 – What Does It Take – 3:12
4 – Don’t Pull That Trigger – 5:00
5 – Just When – 2:49
6 – Stepping Stones – 3:23
7 – Give It Up – 3:36
8 – Learn To Lean – 3:17
9 – City Of Refuge – 7:03

Credits
Lead Vocals – Bard Buss, Doug Buss, Ken Torrance, Dave Russell
Background Vocals – Tracy St. Laurent, Donna Mae Henkel, Barb Buss, Doug Buss, Ken Torrance, Dave Russell, Trev Lindberg
Guitars – Ken Torrance
Bass – Doug Buss
Piano, Synthesizer – Barb Buss, Bob Buckley
Drums – Ed Liu
Percussion – Ed Liu, Tom Wilkstrom, Ken Torrance
Sound Man – Tom Wilkstrom
Master – Bernie Grundman

Companies, etc.
Recorded, Mixed – Little Mountain Sound Co.