Ray Mansfield – Real 80s CCM

Roby Duke – Blue Eyed Soul – 1986

Here’s the third album from Roby and he still couldn’t get a good album cover. If viewed strictly by his album covers you would have no idea Roby did Rock/Pop. Anyway this is album is a little more pop than his previous two but I still quite like it. The only single from the album was “Can’t Let You Go” which only made it to #20 on the CCM charts. I truly feel that Roby was horribly underrated and I really wish I had heard him back in the 80’s but those album covers definitely prevented me from buying his albums.

Tracklist
1 – I Know You, Mister – 3:28
2 – I’ve Come Too Far – 4:08
3 – This Is Not A Game – 4:27
4 – Runaway (Say So) – 4:44
5 – Another Night – 3:51
6 – I’ll Survive – 4:01
7 – Talk To Me – 4:10
8 – Can’t Let You Go – 4:05
9 – It’s Up To You – 4:24
10 – Here For You – 4:25

Credits
Bass – John Patitucci
Guitar – Dann Huff
Guitar – Michael Thompson
Guitar – Steve Farris
Keyboards – Roby Duke
Keyboards – Eric Persing
Programming – Eric Persing
Sax – Bob Sheppard
Cymbal – Bob Wilson
Tom Tom – Bob Wilson
Background Vocals – Carmen Twillie, Julia Tillman Waters, Maxine Willard Waters
Vocals – Roby Duke

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Good News Records
Copyright © – Good News Records
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Published By – Dunamis Music
Recorded At – Mama Jo’s, Music Grinder Studios, Asaph Recording, Front Page Recording, Music Merchants Studio, Costa Mesa, CA
Mixed At – Mama Jo’s
Lacquer Cut At – The Mastering Lab
Pressed By – Electrosound Los Angeles – △12979

Andrus And Blackwood – Soldiers Of The Light – 1981

Another successful album for Andrus And Blackwood who dropped the “& Co.” for this album. Of course the big hit was “Soldier Of The Light” which made it to #1. This was followed up by “The Captain & Me” which made it to #4. Strangely I entirely missed this one back in the day. I don’t know how I could have missed it, the album cover alone should have peaked my interest. Speaking of the cover how did the record company not see the WKRP look alike situation going on when the T.V. show was at it’s peak. Unless they wanted the look alike feature. Still a very strange album cover to me because of that. Anyway this is a great album though not really my style.

Tracklist
1 – Soldier Of The Light – 4:06
2 – The Well Will Never Run Dry – 4:58
3 – God Made Man – 4:58
4 – Close To You – 3:50
5 – I Still Do – 3:15
6 – The Other Side – 4:57
7 – Walk On Water – 4:27
8 – Give It All – 3:36
9 – The Captain & Me – 3:53
10 – You Are – 3:25

Credits
Sherman Andrus – Vocals
David Baroni – Songwriter
Terry Blackwood – Vocals
Russ Bracher – 2nd Engineer
Kenny Buttrey – Drums
Bob Clark – Engineer
Bobby Cotton – Engineer
Dave Coy – Bass
Steve Gibson – Guitar
Jon Goin – Guitar
Randy Goodrum – Keyboards
Joe Hayden – Recorded (Assisted)
Jerry Hey – Horn Arrangements
Bruce Hibbard – Songwriter
Hadley Hockensmith – Guitar
David Huff – Songwriter
Phil Johnson – Producer, Songwriter
Alice Keister – Songwriter
Shane Keister – Songwriter, Keyboards, Synthesizer Bass
Brent King – Engineer
Abraham Laboriel – Bass
Larrie Londin – Drums
Ronnie Meek – Songwriter
Farrell Morris – Percussion
Joe Osborn – Bass
Warren Peterson – Engineer
Smitty Price – Engineer, Horn Arrangements, Keyboards, Synthesizer
John Raines – Drums
Steve Schaffer – Bass
Seawind – Horns
Tim Sheppard – Songwriter
Denis Solee – Saxophone
Ken Suesov – Engineer, Mixed
Randy Thompson – Songwriter
Hank Williams – Mastered
Jack Williams – Bass

B.W. Stevenson – Lifeline – 1980

B.W., or Buckwheat, Stevenson was a pretty big country star in the 70’s. Stevenson actually had a pretty big hit with “My Maria” which many of us know as it was covered by Brooks & Dunn. He had 6 pretty successful country albums but his last record deal with Warner Bros. Records dried up in 1977. Like many country stars he decided to put out a Christian album which was likely influenced in part by producer Chris Christian who was actually his neighbour at the time. The album is actually pretty good and while it had some success on Christian radio with the hit “Headin’ Home” I think it should have done better. It has a great sound and Chris was able to bring it well into the 80’s and in places it’s actually pretty progressive. Honestly there weren’t that many good country albums in the genre but this one is one of those good ones.

Tracklist
1 – Headin’ Home – 3:26
2 – Take Me To Your Heart – 2:58
3 – Holding A Special Place For You – 2:49
4 – Fiddle And The Bow – 2:47
5 – Save A Little Time – 2:48
6 – Lifeline – 3:18
7 – Show Me The Way To The City – 3:10
8 – You Were There – 3:16
9 – Paradise – 2:46
10 – There Is Someone Who Loves You – 3:26
11 – One True Way – 2:26

Credits
B.W. Stevenson – Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Primary Artist, Vocals
Bergen White – Arranger, Strings, Vocals
Bobby Ogdin – Keyboards
Brown Bannister – Engineer
Chris Christian – Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic)
Diane Tidwell – Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Jon Goin – Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Lisa Silver Reynolds – Vocals
Roger Clark – Drums
Shane Keister – Keyboards, Piano
Sheri Cramer – Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Steve Gibson – Guitar, Guitar (Electric)
Steve Schaffer – Bass
Terry McMillan – Harmonica, Percussion

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – MCA Songbird
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Songbird Records
Produced For – Home Sweet Home Productions

Dallas Holm And Praise – Live – 1977

The live project was originally titled Hey, I’m a Believer and was released in very limited numbers on cassette by Dallas himself in 1976. He says it did not sell well but then radio found his signature track “Rise Again” and Greentree Records jumped in and released it the next year with the title simply “Live”. This was also the first album where Dallas used the name Praise for his band. That band was Tim Johnson on keyboards, Tim’s wife LaDonna on vocals, and Randy Adams on bass. Dallas has told the story of this album a few times and he always points out that they had no idea what they were doing. They recorded the whole thing in one take with an 8 track in the Lindale High School auditorium with a crowd of 300 people. Apparently the whole session lasted 45 minutes and that was it. Given that this is the origin album for Rise Again it is in many collections but honestly Dallas was right when he said they had no idea what they were doing. This album is horribly recorded and quite frankly most the arrangements are a disaster and sound unrehearsed. That said it was 1976 and in the CCM genre Dallas still nailed it with one great quality song. This album has been re-released at least 4 times and there are some variations between those release. Our version here is actually a combination of those versions which we think best represents the album. We have moved the spoken track so their respective songs as a 30 second track on a YouTube playlist is just annoying.

Tracklist
1 – Hey! I’m A Believer! – 3:22
2 – Front Seat, Back Seat – 2:51
3 – He Means All To Me – 4:10
4 – Jesus, I’m An Open Book – 4:59
5 – Thank You Jesus – 3:39
6 – If I Had It To Do All Over Again – 2:56
7 – Let My Light Shine – 4:02
8 – Rise Again – 5:35
9 – He Knew Me Then – 3:54
10 – Come Unto Jesus – 4:28

Credits
Art Direction – Bob McConnell
Bass, Vocals – Randy Adams
Engineer [Remix] – Bob Clark
Guitar, Vocals – Dallas Holm
Keyboards, Vocals – Ladonna Johnson, Tim Johnson
Photography By – Bill Deaty
Producer – Phil Johnson
Recorded By – Bob Clark

Companies, etc.
Record Company – John T. Benson Pub. Co.
Mastered At – Masterfonics
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Greentree Records
Copyright © – Greentree Records
Published By – Dimension (3)
Published By – Dunamis Music, Inc.

Jeff Fenholt – Hymns I – 1990

Jeff performs some his favourite hymns and worship songs. Some of these are traditional hymns and some are more cent worship songs most of us are familiar with. This was an interesting album idea from Jeff and I think many artists wanted to try this idea bout no way a record label would touch this idea. Jeff didn’t have those impediments as he was independent and really didn’t care about record labels. These are not Rock & Roll covers but just a contemporary arrangement. I’m not a big fan of the Heavy Metal versions of hymns so I’ll be honest I was a little concerned about listening to this album. Instead I love it. These are great arrangements and nowadays you could hear any of these arrangements in a regular Sunday service. Guitar work is handled by Charles Fearing (Raydio) and all the other instruments are handled by famed producer Freddie Perren who also produced the album. Jeff’s vocals are the real focal point of the album and I don’t think he ever got the credit he deserved as a vocalist. You probably missed this one back in the day so you should give it a listen now.

Tracklist
1 – The Old Rugged Cross – 4:32
2 – The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power – 4:54
3 – Goin Up Yonder – 5:56
4 – Holy Ground – 6:05
5 – Amazing Grace – 5:19
6 – Sometimes Alleluia – 5:45
7 – He touched Me – 5:35
8 – Blessed Assurance – 4:30

Credits
Art Direction, Design, Layout – Ben Bull, Walter Ebrahimzadeh
Backing Vocals – Carmen Twilley, Julia Waters, Maxine Waters
Engineer – Freddie Perren, Jack Rouben
Guitar – Charles Fearing
Instruments – Freddie Perren
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Photography – Ron Blanchard
Producer, Arranged By – Freddie Perren
Programmed By, Engineer – Ran Ballard
Vocals – Jeff Fenholt

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Mom & Pop’s Happy House Studio
Mixed At – Mom & Pop’s Happy House Studio
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering
Produced For – Grand Slam Productions, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Messiah Records
Copyright © – Messiah Records
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Grand Slam Productions, Inc.
Copyright © – Grand Slam Productions, Inc.
Pressed By – Disctronics USA – 114576

Scott Wesley Brown – Live In Concert Songs and Stories – 1978

Here’s a great but also a little odd album from Scott Wesley Brown. Odd in that it was self released while he was under contract with Sparrow records but it obviously had the blessing of the record company and SWB actually thanked them for their help with the album. Anyway this is a live album recorded at Christ Church in Washington D.C. Unlike many live albums this isn’t the best performances from many concerts but just a recording of one concert. SWB had only had 3 albums released at this point but he was making a big splash on the industry. This concert is a great representation of his concerts in the late 80’s. SWB’s concerts were very intimate and a great representation of who SWB was/is. Backing him up on this album was the band GLAD who did a great job. I absolutely love SWB’s tongue in cheek version of “We Need A Whole Lot More Of Jesus (And A Lot Less Rock And Roll)” originally by Wayne Raney and covered by mediocre gospel bands everywhere in the 70’s. Luckily by the late 70’s Rock & Roll as a whole claimed this song for themselves. Great historic album here and an absolute must listen.

Tracklist
1 – I’m Not Religious, I Just Love The Lord – 4:16
2 – You Make Me Feel – 2:35
3 – We Need A Whole Lot More Of Jesus – 6:53
4 – Harrison – 9:08
5 – Lords Prayer – 3:11
6 – Dance – 0:56
7 – Jesus Is The Lord Of My Life – 2:25
8 – Learning – 3:26
9 – Trees (Monologue) – 3:00
10 – How Can I Say I Love You – 3:42
11 – Alphabet Prayers (Monologue) – 6:36
12 – I Wish You Jesus – 5:05

Credits
John Bolles – Guitars, Background Vocals
Scott Wesley Brown – Acoustic Guitar, Vocals
Brad Currie – Drums, Percussion
Debbie Halverson – Background Vocals
Bob Kauflin – Keyboards, Background Vocals
Don Nalle – Bass, Background Vocals
Ed Nalle – Acoustic Guitar, Background Vocals
Tom Willett – Background Vocals

Crystal Lewis – La Esposa – 1993

This is a Spanish language version of Crystal’s “The Bride” album. The music appears to be just direct copies of the English version and “Little Jackie” and “Amazing Grace live version appear in their original English versions. The song “Holy Place” didn’t make it on to the album probably because they would have had to find a Spanish Choir for the chorus. Probabvly just too much hassle but I don’t know why they just didn’t include the English version.

English listing – https://real80sccm.com/?p=8177

Tracklist
1 – La Madre Y La Esposa – 5:50
2 – Necesitas A Cristo – 5:30
3 – Angeles – 4:36
4 – No Te Afanes – 4:01
5 – Mi Redentor Vive – 5:21
6 – Regresaras Por Mi – 4:31
7 – Sublime Gracia – 4:40
8 – Little Jackie – 4:08
9 – Amazing Grace (Live At Harvest Crusade) – 3:39

Credits
Acoustic Bass – Ernie Nunez
Arranged By – John David
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drum Programming – Chris Cooper
Drums – Dave Spurr, Jon Knox
Engineer – Chris Wimber, Gene Eugene, Scott Osborne
Guitar, Arranged By – Shawn Tubbs
Keyboards, Arranged By – John Andrew Schreiner
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Crystal Lewis
Mixed By – Doug Ryder
Percussion – Brian Kilgor
Producer – Brian Ray
Trumpet – Andrew Carney

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Diamante Music Group
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Metro One Recordings
Copyright © – Metro One Recordings

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Crystal Lewis – The Bride – 1993

Though it would be three more years before Crystal Lewis became one of the biggest names in CCM with her best-selling “Beauty For Ashes” album, it was in 1993 with the release of The Bride that Lewis achieved her artistic triumph. Following the very cool and funky “Remember,” The Bride was a genre shifting work of artistic merit that expanded Lewis’ musical palette and vocal prowess. The musicians on the album read like a who’s who and their playing is true and authentic. Abraham Laboriel, Shawn Tubbs, Dave Spurr, John Knox and John Andrew Schreiner. The production was more stark and “band” sounding than any in her career and this live band feel creating a vocal urgency and attitude that some earlier releases may have lacked. This is not the same Lewis who simply sang Bill Baumgart porcelain produced pop songs. This was confident and forceful woman with something to say. This is more evident on the stark and funky “Little Jackie.” The groove of “The Mother and The Bride” is just so smooth and cool while “Don’t Worry” is more progressive jazz influenced with amazing sax work. “You’ll Be back For Me” rocks with a power that would be seen later on her “Fearless” release but works best here. The centerpiece of the album is the tremendous “My Redeemer Lives.” This worship song shows Lewis’ vocal powers more than just about any other in her career. Lewis holds her own against backing vocal crew that included Alfie Silas, Debbie McClendon and Linda McCrary that accompanies her and leads to several spine tingling moments. The album also contains a wonderful version of “Amazing Grace” that would point toward the several hymns projects she has been involved with as well as being a nod to her traditional church upbringing the appreciation for the hymns in provided to her. Many fans that discovered her with “Beauty for Ashes” have little appreciation for this album. It is much more raw and edgy and nothing like the soft AC artists that sold hundreds of thousands of copies. But for those that watched her progress as an artist from “Hi Tops” through Beyond the Charade, The Bride marks a step of maturity and artistic confidence that is unmatched on any other release.

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

Tracklist
1 – Don’t Worry – 4:00
2 – Little Jackie – 4:08
3 – The Mother And The Bride – 5:48
4 – Angels – 4:36
5 – My Redeemer Lives – 5:20
6 – You’ll Be Back For Me – 4:35
7 – Holy Place – 5:12
8 – Amazing Grace – 4:40
9 – Jesus Belongs In Your Heart – 5:32
10 – Amazing Grace (Live) – 3:39

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Diamante Music Group
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Metro One Recordings
Copyright © – Metro One Recordings

Jamboree – Independence Day – 1987

Jamboree are back with their 2nd EP and this one is even better than their first one. If you don’t know Jamboree is an early version of Hoi Polloi without Jenny on vocals. The title track of this EP is actually a cover of a 1980 The Comsat Angels track that didn’t chart. Quite frankly this version is much better. Anyway, the other 2 tracks are equally good and this is an EP I would have loved in 1987 but alas it was only released in New Zealand so there’s no way I would have heard it. Strange printing error on the album, the cover calls track 3 “Cloak & Sickle” but the vinyl label says “Hammer & Sickle”.

Tracklist
1 – Independence Day – 3:47
2 – The Longing – 4:49
3 – Cloak And Sickle – 4:18

Credits
Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Andrew Horst
Drums – Josef Fityus
Guitar, Synthesizer – David Steunebrink, David Ball
Vocals – Brent Tasker

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Hit Singles
Recorded At – Mandrill Studios

Mark Heard – Acoustic: The Best Of Mark Heard – 1985

I’ll be honest I’m a little confused by this compilation album. It’s a collection of songs from Mark’s 5 albums on the Home Sweet Home label. I am confused because generally one doesn’t put out a compilation album in the same year as one releases one of the albums featured. I am wondering if this album was a legal matter as it was released as he was completed his deal with Home Sweet Home and actually moved on to create his own record label. Another thing that confuses me is why include “Acoustic” in the title. It’s not an acoustic album it’s just regular cuts from his albums. Personally I think it was a little disingenuous to use the word acoustic in the title as it could have fooled people into thinking they were getting new acoustic versions of these songs. The album does feature one new track, “Family Name”, which is a new song written by Bill Batstone and is really good but it’s inclusion on the album makes me even a little more suspect to the whole thing. Anyway all that aside I am positive this had nothing to do with Mark and we have a great compilation album here.

Tracklist
1 – Family Name – 4:06
2 – Eye Of The Storm – 3:00
3 – Castaway – 3:16
4 – In The Gaze Of The Spotlight’s Eye – 3:57
5 – Call Me The Fool – 3:12
6 – To See Your Face – 3:35
7 – I’m Crying Again – 3:29
8 – Some Folks’ World – 4:35
9 – Can’t See Light – 4:58
10 – True Confessions – 3:30
11 – Well-Worn Pages – 2:44
12 – In Spite Of Himself – 3:09