Ray Mansfield – Real 80s CCM

Various – They Come To America – 1986

Well this is an interesting compilation album. In 1986 the Immigration Reform and Control Act passed and Immigration was all the rage. I’m not going to comment on the Act or Immigration as a whole as I am betting 50% of you will disagree with me. This project was somehow involved with the “1886 – 1986 Liberty” program but I can’t really find out more than that though I am told this album was sold at the Statue of Liberty gift shop. Anyway they have assembled here a collection of patriotic tracks from a variety of artists many of whom weren’t even signed to the label and I’d love to hear how this one came together though A&M was involved in some way. The highlight of the album is the Sandi Patti version of the Star Spangled Banner though there’s a few good tracks on the album.

Tracklist
1 – Leonard Bernstein – Fanfare For The Common Man – 1:59
2 – Wintley Phipps – Thank You, America – 4:02
3 – Betty Buckley – Last Night I Dreamed – 4:11
4 – Bill Champlin – Liberty Light – 4:06
5 – Glen Campbell – Another Day In America – 4:04
6 – Marie Osmond – America Is – 4:06
7 – Sandi Patti – Star Spangled Banner – 5:42
8 – Mark Isham – On The Threshold Of Liberty – 4:02
9 – Kate Smith – God Bless America – 1:58
10 – Dobie Gray – It’s High Time – 4:04
11 – Will D. Campbell – Let America Be America Again – 2:36

Credits
Arranged By – Sheldon Curry
Mastered By – Benny Quinn
Producer – Sheldon Curry

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – A&M Records, Inc.
Distributed By – A&M Records, Inc.
Mastered At – Masterfonics
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.

David Baroni – All For The Glory Of God – 1982

This is the second album from David. I think it’s a little more upbeat than his first album but this is still a pretty easy listening affair. It had one CCM charting single with “Move Up On The Mountain” making it to #34. Interestingly Dann Huff helped out with Guitar on the album and you can hear his work on a few tracks. I swear Dann Huff was on 10% of all Christian albums in the 80’s. Anyway this is a pretty good album and if you prefer your CCM on the easy listening side this one is for you.

Tracklist
1 – Follow Him – 3:37
2 – Joy’s Coming In The Morning – 3:59
3 – Keep The Flame Burning – 4:35
4 – Isn’t It Just Like Jesus – 3:15
5 – Look Up (Redemption Draweth High) – 3:30
6 – Pilgrim’s Song – 3:05
7 – Move Up On The Mountain – 3:48
8 – Willing – 4:22
9 – Find A Hurt And Heal It – 2:33
10 – All For The Glory Of God – 4:00

Credits
Bass Guitar – Craig Nelson
Drums – Mark Hammond, Tommy Wells
Engineer [Recording & Remix] – Jeff Balding
Engineer [Recording] – Jim Baird
Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar – Dann Huff
Percussion – Lesa Cates*
Photography By – Jim Price
Producer – Bubba Smith
Synthesizer – Jerry Evans
Vocals, Piano, Electric Piano – David Baroni

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Goldmine Recording Studios
Recorded At – Bullet Recording

Stephen Wiley – Rap It Up – 1988

Just a heads up that I’m going to be a little critical of the Stephen Wiley Lore first off. I keep reading that Stephen had the Christian Rap album with Bible Break in 1985. Okay but Bible Break wasn’t an album it was a single and there are rap singles before his. For example Ketty Lester had a rap song on her 1984 album I Saw Love. When it comes to the titles of first Rap Album that goes to Roy Suthard’s Plain White Rapper by my research. Thanks to Christian Tape Underground for enlightening me to that album which is rare but does exist. So on to the album now. As I said this was Stephen’s first album and Brentwood Music went out on a limb on this one. I do find it kind of humorous that they actually put “Christian Rap Music” on the cover. I don’t know if they did it as a warning or a guide but there it is. Anyway the album is kind of fun. I’m not as fan of rap but as I have matured in age I have kind of started liking the 80’s rap. As such this album kind of grew on me and I’ll admit I listened to it a few times. What the 80’s really needed was a Stephen Wiley mashup with Resurrection Band. Think Aerosmith/Run DMC. Now that I would have loved.

Tracklist
1 – Intro Rap – 0:32
2 – Heroes – 4:26
3 – Big Man – 3:41
4 – Best Friend – 5:42
5 – The Rock – 3:30
6 – Where Will I Go? – 3:38
7 – Stand (Ephesians 6:10-20) – 3:08
8 – Why I Rap – 3:02
9 – Fourth Man (Daniel 3) – 7:49

Credits
Art Direction – Dill Beaty
Backing Vocals – Glenda Barclay, Kim Lucas
Engineer – Bret Teegarden
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Music By – Bret Teegarden, Mike Barnes
Producer – Mike Barnes
Producer, Performer – Stephen Wiley

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Brentwood Music, Inc.
Copyright © – Brentwood Music, Inc.
Recorded At – B.T. Productions
Mixed At – B.T. Productions
Mastered At – Mastermix

Arc – Power Transfer – 1986

This is going to be one of my quickest band reviews ever because I can not find anything about about this band. This is not the U.K. band of the same name. This Arc was from Allegan Michigan and had 2 albums. They described themselves a group “comprised of 12 – 14 talented college age individuals” but we have no idea who these 12 – 14 people were. So that’s all I got on them so lets get on to the album. This is an album of cover songs and boy are they varied. I was not expecting a cover album with covers from both Stryper and The Winans. That said these guys/gals make it work. While the style overall is pop they turn up the rock a bit for the Stryper track and turn it down for The Winans. The album actually has a pretty good flow and is really well done for a self released covers album. I definitely think it is worth a listen. Here is a list of the tracks and who first released them;

You’re Alright – Michael W. Smith
The Rock That Makes Me Roll – Stryper
Always – Tim Miner, Tim Miner
He is All You Need – Rob Frazier
Tomorrow – The Winans
You Know What’s Right – Rob Frazier
Stolen Love – Rob Frazier
My Soul Desire – Deniece Williams
What You Need – The English Band
Surrender – Allies

Tracklist
1 – You’re Alright – 4:26
2 – The Rock That Makes Me Roll – 5:02
3 – Always – 3:42
4 – He Is All You Need – 4:08
5 – Tomorrow – 3:40
6 – You Know What’s Right – 2:43
7 – Stolen Love – 2:54
8 – My Soul Desire – 4:01
9 – What You Need – 3:10
10 – Surrender – 4:07

Credits
Producer – Roger Byrd
Vocals and Instruments – Arc
Arranged by – Marv Hollenbeck, Kevin Smith
Engineer – Mark Aspinall

Companies
Recorded and production – Pinebrook Studios
Art – D. Liverett Graphics

Derek Lind – Mixed Blessings – 1986

This is another 80’s artist that I never heard of but it doesn’t look like any of his albums were ever released in Canada. This is his first album and didn’t get much exposure but wow it really should have. Derek is yet another one of those Christian artist that just didn’t get the recognition they deserved. His music should have been distributed far and wide but that’s not how the CCM industry worked at the time. Though few of us heard this album the people who ran music festivals must have because Derek was invited and appeared at all the top Christian festivals of the era. As for the album it has a folksy blues feel with the best tracks leaning towards the blues side. I tried to pick a favourite track but there are just too many I liked and the album deserves to be listened to in its entirety. Derek has a few more albums from this era and I can’t wait to hear them. When we get them we will be uploading them for you also.

Tracklist
1 – Wasteland – 2:22
2 – Stick To The Surface – 2:04
3 – Thank You Lord (You’ll Be The First To Know) – 3:08
4 – New Zealand Day – 2:58
5 – Without You – 3:41
6 – A Man Like Me – 4:02
7 – Hit The Road – 2:49
8 – Nobody Knows (But You) – 4:04
9 – You Are My Song – 2:24
10 – One Righteous Man – 2:03
11 – Rusty Nail – 2:09
12 – For A Friend – 4:56

Credits
Bass, Guitar, Tuba, Producer – Pale Sauni
Blues Harp – Brendan Power
Drums, Percussion, Producer – Kevin Adair
Engineer – Phil Yule
Pedal Steel Guitar – Red McKelvie
Piano, Synthesizer – Bruce Bremner
Saxophone – Brian Coldham
Written-By, Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Producer – Derek Lind

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Drum Beat Music – SODE 258

Jim Thomson II + Preflyte – Message at 33⅓ – 1979

Jim Thomson is one of the most prolific artists you never heard of. He claims to have over “100 releases and production or writing credits for about 30 other artists”. I don’t know if he means 100 songs or albums but he has way over 100 songs so he must mean albums. Anyway this is where it started for him and what a start it was. It was a self released effort released in his own country of Canada but he had a great group of studio musicians to augment his own band. The album was produced and engineered by Ron Moore and the production has more of an early 70’s sound than 79. Ron heavily split up the instruments heavily to left or right sides of the stereo track. This kind of production was more common during the origins of stereo but by 1979 was more rare. Anyway it works really well and really accentuates the seventies sound of the album. Point of trivia is that this is one of the earliest albums featuring John Lawry (Petra). This is a great 70’s album with very limited distribution so if you like 70’s style music this one is for you. If you only have time for one track head down to track 9 “Oh Lord” which is my choice for best track.

Tracklist
1 – Be My Song – 0:42
2 – I’ve Got Jesus – 3:09
3 – Lonely One – 2:58
4 – New Song – 1:56
5 – Blend – 4:19
6 – Train For Thought – 2:54
7 – Eternal Light Brigade – 5:12
8 – Come Follow – 3:34
9 – Oh Lord – 2:55
10 – Showdown – 2:18
11 – You Are The Song – 2:21
12 – Be My Song (Reprise) – 1:15

Credits
Bass – Stephen Romanow
Cello, Mandolin – Dorothy Nielsen
Drums – Barry Salmon
Electric Guitar [Rhythm] – Kevin Rogers
Keyboards, Strings – John Lawry
Producer [Assistant], Engineer – Ron Moore
Trumpet, Percussion – Danny Srnec
Vocals – Joe Paquette
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Jim Thomson II
Vocals, Percussion – Danny Thomson

Little Anthony – Daylight – 1980

This is Little Anthony from Little Anthony & The Imperials who were huge in the 60’s. As we’ve seen frequently once the record deals dried up Little Anthony turned to a gospel label. I’m not criticizing him as it he deserves a new record deal as this guy can sing. This is the first of two gospel albums Anthony would do but the next one wouldn’t be for another 15 years. As I’ve said many times this just isn’t my style of music but I always appreciate the quality vocals albums like this have. Anthony was a fantastic singer but not a songwriter so this album is entirely written by others. Interestingly he does a cover of Per-Erik Hallin’s Gospel Train which I guess is pretty good versio0n but I really prefer the original. Brown Bannister produced the album and B.J. Thomas listed as an Executive-Producer. All in all a pretty good soul album and if you like that style this is a must listen.

Tracklist
1 – Love’s The Only Way To Survive – 2:30
2 – Your Love – 2:58
3 – You Only Get Out Of Life What You Put In – 3:25
4 – Walk On Water – 3:40
5 – Reach Up – 3:46
6 – Love Was Born For Me – 2:48
7 – I’ll Be Thinking Of You – 3:36
8 – My Best Friend – 2:57
9 – You Came Just In Time To Love Me – 3:45
10 – Gospel Train – 3:09

Credits
Engineer – Bob Cotton
Engineer, Mixed By – Jimmy Burch
Executive-Producer – B. J. Thomas
Producer – Brown Bannister, Milton Blackford

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – MCA Records, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Songbird Records
Copyright © – Songbird Records
Pressed By – MCA Pressing Plant, Pinckneyville
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio
Mixed At – Gold Mine Studio
Mastered At – Masterfonics

Triumph – Cry Freedom – 1989

This is the second album from U.K. band Triumph. There is not much info out there on these guys or perhaps their is but due to their choice of names it’s impossible to find. The album was produced by Norman Barratt and because of this I couldn’t wait to listen to it. This is an excellent album. It leans new wave with hints of progressive rock think The Cult light perhaps. The unfortunate part of this 80’s CCM project is that I have to listen to many many albums that just aren’t my style or preferred genre so I get pretty excited when I find a new to me album that I like. This is one of those albums. I’m a little unclear if this album was released in North America but I don’t think it was. Feel free to correct me though.

Tracklist
1 – Run With The Wind – 3:51
2 – Son Of Man – 3:50
3 – I Am Waiting – 4:17
4 – It Is Finished – 5:09
5 – Paid On The Nail – 5:36
6 – Cry Freedom – 4:36
7 – Never Trust A Stranger – 3:21
8 – Take My Life – 4:52
9 – Liberty – 4:00
10 – I Will Rise – 5:25

Credits
Jim Ritchie – Lead vocals, bass, percussion
Gordon Cowan – Keyboards, backing vocals
George McConnachie – Drums, percussion
Murray McEwen – Guitars
Andi Tooth – Drums, percussion
Norman Barratt – Producer
Ted Blakeway – Producer

Pat Terry – Pat Terry – 1974

Pat Terry entered the music game early in life. He started a band at age 12 that they say stayed together until he finished high school. But after high school it was time to play the game a little more seriously. This is probably the Pat Terry album you’ve never heard. Before the success of The Pat Terry Group Pat actually self released this solo album to very little fanfare. I would assume however that this album led to his deal with Myrrh records the next year. The album has a pretty typical seventies sound though it leans a little more rock than common Jesus music of the era. I say leans towards Rock, not Rock & Roll as this is mainly a pretty soft rock album. I really can’t find much info on this album so I can’t tell you much more. Anyway you probably missed this on so give it a listen and you can hear the origins of The Pat Terry Group.

Tracklist
1 – If You Listen/Power/Introduction – 3:59
2 – Same Sweet Song – 3:54
3 – Iris – 3:36
4 – Seen It Now – 3:34
5 – That’s The Way – 3:24
6 – I Can’t Wait – 3:22
7 – I’ve Been Waiting To Tell You – 2:59
8 – Jesus – 2:44
9 – I Did It – 2:34
10 – Just For You – 2:33
11 – Never Pay The Price – 2:28

Credits
Backing Vocals – Sonny Lallerstedt, Stan Ruffin
Bass – Randy Bugg
Design [Logo] – Joe Estes
Engineer – Stan Dacus
Guitar – Pat Terry
Lead Guitar – Sonny Lallerstedt
Mellotron – Tony Shannon
Percussion – Stan Ruffin
Photography By – Tim Terry
Piano – Pat Terry
Synthesizer – Pat Terry
Vocals – Pat Terry
Written-By – Pat Terry

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