David Lowman – Page 12

Steven Soles – Walk By Love – 1982

Steven Soles may be the most accomplished artists in CCM that very people had ever heard of. Soles was member of Bob Dylan’s famous “Rolling Thunder Revue” tour in 1975 and, along with a few friends were one of those who shared the Gospel with Dylan. Two other band members, T-Bone Burnett and David Mansfield, started the famed Alpha Band and released three amazing albums. He has also gone on to perform on albums by Dylan, T-Bone Burnett, Peter case and Elvis Costello. After The Alpha Band disbanded he recorded two solo projects for the Christian market. Both were widely critically acclaimed if not necessarily widely received. The better of those two is Walk By Love. Using a light reggae rhythm throughout the world music influence set him apart from anything else in the Christian Music world. Lyrically straight forward and yet very smart and original. The title track should have been a hit if not for the suspicious nature of Christian radio and refusal to play music that didn’t fit the normal scheme of things even if it was directly commercial.

Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/

Tracklist
1 – Walk By Love – 3:44
2 – Shepherd Of The Valley – 3:29
3 – The Last Round Up – 5:07
4 – Joy In All – 2:43
5 – The Talents – 4:32
6 – Let Him In – 3:17
7 – Standing In His Power – 3:35
8 – Love Come To You – 3:59
9 – Light Of Lights – 3:20
10 – Walk By Love (Reprise) – 1:29

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Jerry Scheff
Engineer – Bobby Macias, David Goldstein
Flute, Saxophone – Marco Macisso
Guitar, Mandolin – David Mansfield
Guitar, Vocals – Steven Soles
Keyboards, Vocals – Danny Timms
Photography, Art Direction, Design – Herbert Wheeler Worthington III
Producer – Steven Soles
Recorded By, Percussion – Larry Hirsch
Vocals – Jude Johnstone, Tommy Funderburk, Wendy Matthews
Vocals, Drums – Ron Tutt

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Word Records (2)
Published By – Good News Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Good News Records
Printed By – Shorewood Packaging
Made By – Shorewood Packaging
Copyright (c) – Specific Gravity Music
Copyright (c) – Dunamis Music
Copyright (c) – Nophir Music
Copyright (c) – Arthur Buster Stahr Music
Recorded At – Monterey Sound Studios
Mixed At – Paramount Recording Studios

Russ Taff – The Way Home – 1989

Is there a better and more passionate male vocalist in the history of Christian music? After several years in Southern Gospel ensembles and a career building tenure with the Imperials, Russ Taff took his throaty and earthy blue-eyed soul voice of gold into a solo realm and, for several years, created some of the finest albums in CCM. Three of those albums make the list here. After two successful pop albums and a thematic and musical shift with a self-titled release, Taff released his fourth solo album to an overwhelming contingent of positive responses. Not as dark or rock driven as the previous release, The Way Home is more Americana and Springsteen influenced. Not “country,” but decidedly less “alternative” and more earthy. yet the Country market embraced the album charting three singles from the album. Christian radio was not as embracing though a few songs did make a dent including the wonderful ballad, “Farther On.” The ballads on the album are incredibly strong with several written by Michael Anderson (who himself will appear later on this list). In fact, an Anderson penned tune remains my personal favorite on the album. “I Need You,” which appeared on Anderson’s A&M debut release is wonderfully redone here. On several occasions Taff points toward a later release entitles “Under Their Influence” in which he covers several classic country and southern gospel classics. The songs included here reflect Taff’s heritage and respect for the legacy of amazing music left behind by some incredible artists. The album closes with “Table in the Wilderness” that is simply a 4 minute masterpiece. It always felt to me that the song would have worked on a latter Alarm album with it’s anthem like qualities. A huge song with a great hook and Taff’s impressive vocals really carry it through. This would be the last album that would make a major impact in the CCM market for Taff though he has continued to record and release album up to the present. He has also continued an on again off again relationship with the Gaither Vocal Band.

Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/

Tracklist
1 – Winds Of Change – 4:17
2 – It Was Love – 4:26
3 – Farther On – 3:49
4 – The River Unbroken – 4:24
5 – He Came Through – 3:10
6 – I Cry – 4:07
7 – I Need You – 4:36
8 – Go On – 4:22
9 – Ain’t No Grave – 1:19
10 – Guiding Light – 4:13
11 – Take My Hand – 4:35
12 – Table In The Wilderness – 4:15

Credits
Arranged By [Strings] – Don Hart
Art Direction – Buddy Jackson
Bass – Jackie Streets
Coordinator [Cover] – Laurie Fink
Drums – Lynn Williams
Engineer – Tim Crich
Engineer [Additional] – Dan Garcia, David Schober, Lynn Fuston
Engineer [Assistant] – Chris Rich, Clarke Schleicher, Elaine Anderson, Gil Morales, Mac Smith, Shawn McLean
Guitar – James Hollihan Jr., Russ Taff
Keyboards – James Hollihan Jr., Larry Hall
Management – Zach Glickman
Mastered By – Dan Hersch
Melodica – James Hollihan Jr.
Mixed By – Peter Coleman
Photography By [Black And White] – Bonnie Schiffman
Photography By [Front Cover] – Loren Balman
Producer – James Hollihan Jr., Russ Taff

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – The Bennett House
Recorded At – Downstage Studio
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio
Recorded At – Digital Recorders
Recorded At – Hollywood Sound Recorders
Recorded At – Wayne Cook Studios
Mixed At – Mama Jo’s
Mastered At – DigiPrep

Imitators – Once and for All – 1985

Back in the days of working for KYMS I used to run the board for a pre-recorded “rock” show called The Ground Floor. The show changed names to “The Edge” and was hosted by Gord Driver who was an engineer and music producer. At some point Driver decide to start a record company. The label was short lived but did preoduce a few really good releases. There was a great jazz band called Razz, a powerful alternative/punk band called Modern Mission and the most successful, a new wave keyboard driven band called The Imitators. There only full length album, Once and For All, showed a great deal of promise but was never followed up as the band moved to New Jersey, fell into financial hardship and disbanded. Driven by a keyboard centered similar to the Psychedelic Furs, Flock of Seagulls and a touch of Duran Duran type vocals. Fans of the Christian Band 4-4-1 would find something to like here as well. Nothing too heavy, though some controversy was stirred up over the lyrics to one song that discussed Christian Youth caught in sexual sin. Realizing early on that they were “preaching to the choir” they placed the lyrical focus on encouraging a Godly lifestyle amongst the Christian Youth they were performing for on a regular basis. So lyrical content swirled around issues youth group kids could relate to.

Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/

Tracklist
1 – The Kingdom Of Heaven Is Within You – 3:27
2 – Idols – 3:57
3 – Got To Feel The Fire – 3:17
4 – I’ll Keep Holding On – 3:13
5 – Children Of The Lie – 4:21
6 – Sometimes (I Think I’m Never Gonna Make It) – 3:27
7 – Get A Little Bit Closer – 3:57
8 – The Writing’s On The Wall – 3:17
9 – Once And For All – 3:13

Credits
Bass – Robert Villegas
Design [Cover Design], Layout – Ed McTaggart
Design Concept [Cover Concept] – The Imitators
Drum Programming [Linn Drum] – Dave Spurr (tracks: B3)
Drums – Richard Cabrera
Engineer, Mixed By – Gord Driver
Guitar – David Price
Keyboards, Vocals – Philip Mason
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Performer [Imitators Is] – Barry Edge, David Price, Philip Mason, Richard Cabrera, Robert Villegas
Photography By – Alex MacDougall
Producer – Gord Driver, The Imitators
Vocals, Guitar – Barry Edge

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Lexicon
Mixed At – Asaph Recording
Mastered At – Future Disc
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Exile Records
Copyright (c) – Exile Records