This is a band out of Illinois that I can’t find much information on. In fact I can’t really find any. I checked with Christian Tape Underground (https://christiantapeunderground.wordpress.com)and not much info there either. As a result we’ll just discuss the album. I’ll start out by saying I really like this album. If I had a criticism for the album it’s that there is not a flow in the sound of the album. We’ve got some hard rock tracks, some alternative leaning tracks, and even some rock tracks with a new wave feel. Personally I love the variation and it works great for me. The reason I bring it up is because this was a demo and generally on demos you wanted to present your style a little more clearly. Then again I never worked at a record company so what do I know. If your preferred genre is Hard Rock this is definitely a must listen.
Credits Bass – Greg Smith Drums, Percussion – Mike Kondourajian Keyboards, Vocals – Glen Smith Lead Guitar – Steve Stripling Lead Vocals, Guitar – Gary Smith Mixed By – Glen Smith, Greg Smith, Harry Heath Producer, Recorded By – Gary Manuel Recorded By – Dave Kingland, Tom McLaughlin
This was Dion’s 5th Christian album and is actually my personal favourite. While Put Away My Idols was his big Christian album I actually think this is a better album. The Pop tracks are simple and fun which was actually Dion’s strength. It’s what made him big in 60’s and I’m glad he carried it through to most of his Christian albums. The album did have 2 CCM charting singles, “Still In The Spirit” made it to #5 and “He’s In You” made it to #24 so it was moderately successful but I think it should have done better. I am going to be a bit critical of Dion now however. I can’t see one artist on this album that was from the Christian music industry. All of the studio musicians are mainstream musicians. I’m not saying none of them were Christian because I never judge who is or isn’t a Christian but none of them were ever involved in the Christian music scene. Many people argue that Dion was jumping on the Christian bandwagon while it was hot, and he was not. I do understand their opinion because Dion just didn’t seem to be a part of the community. Strange bit of trivia about the album. Track 5 is called “Only God Can Change A Heart” an the jacket but is called “Only God Can Make A Change” on the label. Proofreading was a optional thing in the record industry. Anyway that aside I really enjoy this album and you should give it a listen if you enjoy the pop style.
Tracklist 1 – Still In The Spirit – 3:35 2 – Crazy Too (Fallen In Love) – 3:32 3 – He Hears Them All – 3:48 4 – He’s In You – 3:40 5 – Only God Can Change A Heart – 2:55 6 – Daddy Says – 2:50 7 – Come To The Cross – 3:43 8 – You Can Do All Things (Through Christ) – 4:23 9 – I’ve Come Too Far – 3:21 10 – You Only Go ‘Round Once – 4:02
Credits Acoustic Guitar – Dion DiMucci Art Direction, Design – Jeffery Fey Backing Vocals – Chuck Kirkpatrick, Doug Shawe, Johnny Sambataro, Kitty Woodson, Pamela Sessody, Paul Pettitt Bass – Phil Chen Electric Guitar – John Sambataro, Leslie West, Rick Hitchcock Engineer [Assistant] – Jim Sessody, Stan Lambert, Ted Stein, Teresa Verplanck Management [Artist Direction] – Zachary Glickman Artist Management Mastered By – Bob Ludwig Percussion – Joe Galdo Photography By – Bill Tuohy Producer – Dion DiMucci Producer, Engineer – Eric Schilling Producer, Keyboards, Organ, Synthesizer – Paul Harris Saxophone, Soloist – Ed Calle Synthesizer – Larry Dermer
Jeff Johnson was making “New Age” music before “New Age” was cool. In fact, he was making it before it existed at all. More progressive rock than many of his new age instrumental contemporaries Jeff Johnson has, over the years, created a monstrous library catalog of utterly brilliant, passionate and spiritually moving music that has unfortunately escaped the attention of many in the CCM world. When “New Age” instrumental music was all the rage in CCM during the mid-1980’s Johnson was a leading artist, but many missed out on his more creative, provocative and, dare I say, commercial vocal projects. Of those many overlooked albums comes “Icons,” an utterly brilliant, and completely unforgettable album that is a must own for any audiophile. Not quite as commercial or rock influenced as “Fallen Splendor,” Icons contains some of Johnson’s best vocal music and remains his most cohesive vocal driven project. It also contains “Closed, Please Call Again,” which is Johnson’s finest song. Opening with “Tesseract,” an instrumental opener inspired by the concept of space travel as described in Madeleine L’Engle’s classic novel, “A Wrinkle In Time.” The book may be the only time in this blog I ever use the term “BYSO!” Johnson’s musically explores the “feeling” expressed in the book as the main characters travel through space using the tesseract. The album includes more of Johnson’s early progressive rock influences than on any album that follow outside of Fallen Splendor. “People in Peril” starts with limited percussive sounds and accompanying synthesizer background that is added upon as the song grows. Johnson’s wonderful falsetto is offset by a distant backing vocal that seems to challenge or respond to the lead the vocal as the song fades. The previously mentioned “Closed, Please Call Again” musically explores the heart of one postponing a response to the call of the Gospel or closed off to any true human contact. The song features some of the finest saxophone work on any Christian album. The longing heart is musically portrayed through the instrumental work and the aching vocals make this song a sheer delight. The saxophone is introduced brilliantly with a vocal and instrument interplay. There is so much more to be said about this amazing album, but space limitations prohibit a deeper discussion. Suffice it to say this is clearly an AYSO and would serve as a great introduction to the artist for those unfamiliar with his amazing collection of work.
Contributor David Lowman – https://legacyccmsgreatestalbums.wordpress.com
Tracklist 1 – Tesseract – 2:30 2 – People In Peril – 6:22 3 – Selah – 1:55 4 – Closed, Please Call Again – 7:14 5 – Birth, Dreaming, Death – 6:02 6 – Remove The Mask – 4:32 7 – Agony And Ecstasy – 3:29 8 – Waiting For The End – 4:40 9 – Ancient Icons – 3:51 10 – Windemere – 7:08
Credits Acoustic Guitar – Sandy Simpson Acoustic Guitar [Solo] – Paul Chasman Artwork – David Hastings, Kathy Hastings Backing Vocals – Sandy Simpson Bass Guitar – Rick Crittenden Bass [Oregon] – David Friesen Bells – Roger Hadley Caxixi – Roger Hadley Cymbal – Roger Hadley Drum Programming – Brian David Willis Drums – Brian David Willis Drums [Hand] – Roger Hadley Drums [Heater] – Sandy Simpson Electric Guitar – Sandy Simpson Electric Piano – Jeff Johnson Percussion – Roger Hadley, Sandy Simpson Percussion [Shells] – Roger Hadley Piano [Acoustic] – Jeff Johnson Producer – Jeff Johnson, Sandy Simpson Programmed By [Emulator] – Jeff Johnson Saxophone – Susie May Synthesizer – Jeff Johnson Tabla – Roger Hadley Vocals – Jeff Johnson Wind Chimes – Roger Hadley Written-By – Jeff Johnson
This may be one of the best Soul Gospel albums of the 80’s. As I have said before I didn’t listen to this style of music in the 80’s which is a real pity. I know I would have loved this album. Now to be clear Pastor Shirley is the star of this album but special praise should go out to Joe Neil. Joe did the primary mix for the concert and final mix for the album. You may have heard of Sam’s Tape Truck which was used for recording live concerts and Joe was responsible for Sam’s Tape Truck. The mix for a live concert is not the same mix that usually makes it onto an album. While I never heard the concert mix I can tell that Joe laid down a fantastic mix for the album. I would argue that this is one of the best mixed live albums I have heard. Anyway let’s talk about the album. This album was one of the top Soul gospel albums of the time. It made it to #1 on the Billboard Top Gospel Albums charts and the single “Hold My Mule” made it to #1 on the Billboard Hot Gospel Songs chart. It won the Dove award for Traditional Black Gospel Recorded Song of the Year and was nominated for Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female. As it stands today this is my favourite Live Soul album and I suspect it’ll be there for quite awhile.
Tracklist 1 – Never – 7:16 2 – His Blood – 6:16 3 – Feel The Spirit – 4:31 4 – Things Are Going To Get Better – 4:32 5 – Hold My Mule – 8:41 6 – Born Again – 5:02 7 – Yes Lord, Yes – 3:54 8 – Peace In The Midst Of The Storm – 4:51
Credits Al Willis – Guitar Albertina Walker – Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist Ann Caesar-Price – Vocals (Background) Bubba Smith – Agogo, Anvil, Bells, Producer, Tambourine Darius Brooks – Composer, Piano, Synthesizer Denis Solee – Sax (Tenor) Doug Moffet – Sax (Baritone) Hank Williams – Mastering Jay Rabbitt – Engineer Jim Whitmer – Photography Joe Neil – Engineer, Mixing Kevin Brunson – Drums Larry Goode – Engineer Lloyd Barry – Horn Arrangements, Trumpet Loris Holland – Composer Lynn Keesecker – Composer, Executive Producer Michael E. Mathis – Composer, Organ, Piano, Vocals (Background) Mike Haynes – Trumpet Oliver Wells – Synthesizer Pastor Donald Alford – Composer Rev. Milton Brunson – Guest Artist Richard Gibbs – Organ, Piano Robert Butler – Executive Producer Sam Levine – Sax (Baritone) Sanchez Harley – Horn Arrangements Shirley Caesar – Composer, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals Steve Adams – Composer Steve Huff – Bass Tyrone Block – Vocals (Background)
