Ray Mansfield – Real 80s CCM

White Ray – The First Sin – 1989

White Ray was the name for Killed By Cain before they were signed to their first record deal. They had a few demo’s and this is their second one. I don’t really know much about the history of the band but the guys over at Christian Tape Underground say they had connections with Bride and yes you can hear it here. I’ll be honest I far prefer this work to their Killed By Cain work. This has a throaty sound and is close to arena rock in some places. As I always say, this genre of music wasn’t for me but these guys were tight and knew what they were doing. There was so much talent in the Christian Metal genre it still surprises me as I never listened to it in the day. Matthew Hunt over at Retroactive Records released all of the White Ray demo’s on CD in 2019 so this recording is around in the used market. Anyway here’s some raw metal done right.

Images courtesy of – Christian Tape Underground

Tracklist
1 – The First Sin – 5:05
2 – Blood On My Hands – 4:38
3 – Charades Behind the Glass – 5:10
4 – To Die Is To Gain – 4:53

Credits
John Warren – Vocals
Anthony Bowling – Guitar
Steve Curtsinger – Bass
Shaun Hansbrough – Drums

Connie Scott – Live To Tell – 1992

This was the final studio album we would get from Connie. In Christmas of 1992 Connie was touring again with David Meece and she decided that it was time to come off the road and settled into married life just outside of Vancouver with her husband Grant and two boys Kellen and Linden. In October of 2007 the Gospel Music Association of Canada honored Connie’s pioneering efforts in Christian music by presenting her with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award. This album followed the successful recipe that Producer Roy Salmond had applied on her previous 5 albums. It’s another great pop album with strong vocals and great songwriting. Connie was one of the greatest female Christian vocalists of the era but unfortunately she never got the recognition she should have as she was always overshadowed by larger U.S. artists even if she was a far better vocalist.

Tracklist
1 – Walk To The Well – 4:20
2 – Healing Waters – 5:04
3 – Little Joey Run – 4:21
4 – Angels – 4:22
5 – Play This Game – 5:16
6 – Starting Now – 4:30
7 – Inside My Piano – 4:25
8 – You Were Falling In Love With Me – 4:05
9 – Waiting In Cars – 4:21
10 – Don’t Ever Stop Believin’ – 3:34
11 – I Lift Up My Voice – 5:05

Credits
Arranged By – Roy Salmond
Arranged By [Vocals] – Connie Scott, Roy Salmond
Art Direction, Sleeve – Nancy S Yeasting
Executive-Producer – Grant Saip
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Photography By – Jane Weitzel Studios
Producer – Roy Salmond
Recorded By, Mixed By – David R H Slagter

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Image 7 Music Inc.
Copyright © – Image 7 Music Inc.
Manufactured By – Image 7 Music Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Made By – Disque Americ
Produced For – Whitewater Productions, Richmond, B.C.
Recorded At – Whitewater Studio
Mixed At – Whitewater Studio
Mastered At – Future Disc

The Maranatha Singers – The Praise Album – 1974

This is not the type of album we would normally upload as it is more Worship oriented. That said The Maranatha Singers are part of CCM history. If you don’t know The Maranatha! Singers were the in-house choir of praise & worship label Maranatha! Music and featured many artists that we would know better for their future Rock oriented releases. On this album alone are Chuck Girard, Erick Nelson, John Mehler, and many more. This album turned into a series of 20 albums but this one is rather famous for the Karen Lafferty song “Seek Ye First”. So while this may not be what we usually listen to it’s still an important piece of CCM history.

Tracklist
1 – Heavenly Father – 3:39
2 – Father I Adore You – 2:31
3 – Praise The Lord – 4:50
4 – Praise The Lord Together – 1:15
5 – Thy Loving Kindness – 2:12
6 – Set My Spirit Free – 3:43
7 – Bring My Body Closer – 3:28
8 – Love (One Another) – 3:02
9 – Seek Ye First/Matt 6:33 – 2:45
10 – Cause Me To Come 2:36
11 – Holy, Thou Art Holy – 2:36
12 – Peace Give I To Thee – 3:03

Credits
Arranged By [String And Horn Arrangements] – Pete Jacobs
Design [Album Design], Artwork By – Kernie Erickson, Neal Buchanan
Horns – Bob Lund, Brooks Grier, John McIntyre, Kris Holmes, Ron Minor
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Musician – Bill Bradford, Bill Sprouse, Bruce Herring, Chuck Girard, Dana Angle, Dave Rios, Denny Stahl, Erick Nelson, Ernie Rettino, Gary Arthur, Jan Luxumbourg, Jay Truax, John Mehler, John Wickham, Karen Lafferty, Linda Broadbent, Marsha Stevens, Mike Fickling, Nancy Hawthorne, Pete Jacobs, Russ Stevens, Terrye Coelho, Tom Stipe, Tom Coomes, Wendy Carter
Photography By [Cover Photo] – David Burgin
Producer – Tom Coomes
Strings – Al Barr, Bobby Bruce, George Poole, John Santulio, Mark Kovacs, Nate Gershman, Walt Wiemeyer

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Maranatha! Music
Recorded At – Buddy King Studios, Huntington Beach, CA
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab

Nia – Carry Me – 1989

Here we go with another European artist I never heard of. This is actually her third album, but she has several more, making her an artist I should have heard of. I have not listened to her first 2 albums yet, but this one is great. It’s a solid female pop album that leans a little more easy listening. No, it’s not a bunch of number one hits, but it is good. Nia is a great singer, and these are some great songs here. I have no idea who wrote them because there are no credits on the album, and information about this album is pretty sparse. This, however, was her last album until 1997, as the industry became difficult for her. She was hit with a plethora of rumours that we will not repeat, but Nia says they were all untrue, but they tarnished her view of the industry. She did overcome this nonsense and released another album in 1997 and several after that.

Tracklist
1 – Christian – 3:58
2 – Seek – 4:02
3 – Don’t Look Down – 3:19
4 – Rumours – 2:45
5 – The Way Ahead – 2:42
6 – Covered – 3:36
7 – Tears That Fall – 2:56
8 – Carry Me – 3:47
9 – Pray For Me – 3:37
10 – We Will Love You – 3:17

Credits
Bass – Tim Harries
Drum Programming – Martin Neil
Drums – Carl McGregor
Guitar – Ian Price
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Nia
Producer, Arranged By – Steve Thompson

Companies, etc.
Licensed To – Mega Production – MPCD 202
Distributed By – Grand Slam Europe

Plankeye – Spill – 1994

This is a difficult album for me to review as I actually hate the grunge genre and this is a grunge band and album. That said let’s get into it. The band came out of Orange County CA. Their name was derived from Matthew 7:3 and I like that they brought attention to that verse. The band self released this album but almost immediately Tooth & Nail Records picked it up as their first release. While this album wasn’t huge it wouldn’t take too many more releases for these guys to get some real recognition. Now my thoughts on the album. Absolutely great song writing and I hear a ton of talent. These guys understood the mission and really knew the grunge style. The problem I have with this album is the production. Doug Doyle, Mark Rodriguez, and Gene Eugene all had a hand in engineering this album and quite frankly they are all great engineers but something went wrong on this project. It has to be one of the dullest mixes I’ve heard. Grunge doesn’t need to be monotone and have boring mixes guys. The strangest part of the album is the use of stereo exploitation on so many tracks. Come on guys, it was 1994 not the late 60’s. It just comes off as silly on track after track. One track, sure but they did it on several intro’s and it sounds stupid. ANYWAY it’s still a good album and the band deserves to be heard. While I don’t care for grunge these guys did it right.

Tracklist
1 – Goodnews – 2:27
2 – Revolution – 2:18
3 – Power – 2:23
4 – Open Eyes – 2:42
5 – Scared – 3:36
6 – Bold – 3:17
7 – Step Away – 4:02
8 – Free Me – 4:08
9 – Know Way – 2:54
10 – Forever – 4:43

Credits
Art Direction, Design [Imaging] – Jason Pickersgill
Art Direction, Executive Producer – Brandon Ebel
Bass – Luis Garcia (2)
Design [Cover Art], Design Concept – Kari Kroll
Design [Handwritten Lyrics] – Lisa Proven
Drums – Adam Ferry
Guitar – Eric Balmer
Guitar, Vocals – Scott A Silletta
Lyrics By – A. Ferry, L. Larson, Luis Garcia, S. Silletta
Mastered By – Dog Doyl*
Mixed By, Recorded By – Gene Eugene, Mark Rodriguez
Photography By [Spine] – St. James
Photography By, Design Concept [Brilliant Spine Conception] – Matt Wignall
Producer – Pino Squillace, Plank Eye
Vocals – Scott A Silletta

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – A & B Studios
Mixed At – A & B Studios
Mastered At – Digital Brothers
Glass Mastered At – Disctronics USA – 123155

The Stand – In Three Days – 1992

I have still been unable to find much info on The Stand but I’m starting to put the picture together. The version of The Stand on their first album is almost entirely different then this version. The entire band is different except for Tony Valenziano so I’m somewhat comfortable saying The Stand is actually Tony. Anyway this version of The Stand featured Mark Robertson who had to be one of the hardest working Bass players of this era. As for the album it’s just as good as the first one if not better. It continues the pop oriented rock sound that would have done well at any time in the 80’s. There’s also a pretty good cover of Nick Lowe’s (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding which was famously covered by Elvis Costello among others. Another good one you may not have heard in the day so give it a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Free Love – 4:10
2 – (What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding – 3:39
3 – Billy – 3:26
4 – Can You See It – 3:51
5 – Look At The Way – 4:11
6 – The Rain – 4:38
7 – Round & Round – 4:57
8 – Holding Back – 4:12
9 – Fallen Tear – 4:16
10 – Believe – 4:10

Credits
Backing Vocals – Caesar Kalinowski, Christopher Mosher, Dave Palmer, Leah Thomas, Mark Robertson, Michelle Thompson, Tony Valenziano
Bass, Vocals – Mark Robertson
Drums, Vocals [Additional] – Dan Holter
Engineer [Second] – Christopher Mosher
Keyboards, MIDI Controller – Christopher Mosher
Lead Guitar – Paz Vega
Lead Vocals, Guitar [6 String & 9 String], Acoustic Guitar, Drum [Tambo] – Tony Valenziano
Mastered By – Eddie Schryer
Producer – Mark Robertson, Tony Valenziano
Producer, Executive-Producer, Engineer – Caesar Kalinowski

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Wonderland
Copyright © – Wonderland
Manufactured By – Word
Made By – JVC
Recorded At – The Sonic Temple
Mastered At – Future Disc

Mortal – Lusis – 1992

Mortal was Jerome Fontamillas and Jyro Xhan and these are 2 of the hardest working guys in the Christian music industry. They had been in a previous band called Mortal Wish, but that band morphed into this one. Jerome and Jyro were born in the Philippines, but I can’t find out much about their early life other than that. Anyway, they had a great demo/EP while named Mortal Wish which got them a record deal with Intense Records. The record company brought in Terry Taylor (Daniel Amos) to produce the album, and he brought in Rob Watson (Daniel Amos) to engineer the album. They did a great job and this quickly became the premier Industrial style album of the period. The next part of the story for these guys and the band is quite interesting, but we’ll get into that in one of their future releases. As for the album, this is a pretty good album that was quite popular with the metal crowd, though I don’t hear much metal. I have read the album referred to as an Industrial Metal album. I don’t really hear the metal part, but it’s a great album and let’s face it, we all have different ways of describing things. Give this one a listen if you like your music a little more fringe and less top 40.

Tracklist
1 – Enfleshed (The Word Is Alive) – 4:39
2 – Mytho-X – 4:26
3 – If Ever Maria – 4:21
4 – Fisherman – 4:39
5 – Painkiller – 4:51
6 – Tuesday Assassin – 5:39
7 – Rescinding – 4:54
8 – Cryptic – 5:38
9 – Miracle Man – 3:53
10 – Santa Cruz – 4:30
11 – S.F.N. – 1:00
12 – Sinister – 5:23
13 – Enfleshed (Alive Is The Word Remix) – 4:38

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Design – Joe Potter
Engineer – Rob Watson
Mastered By – Doug Doyle
Music Consultant [Pre-production Consultant] – Ramald Domkus
Performer [Mortal Is] – Jerome Fontamillas, Jyro Xhan
Producer – Terry Taylor
Songwriter [Songs Written By] – Jyro Xhan

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Mixed At – Mixing Lab A
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Intense Records
Copyright © – Intense Records
Published By – Carlotta Publishing
Mastered At – Digital Brothers
Distributed By – FMG Distribution
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Audio Adrenaline – Audio Adrenaline – 1992

As the story goes, the band while using the name A-180°, ran into Bob Herdman who wanted them to record a song he had written called “My God” which mixed metal and rap. Bob subsequently joined the band and suggested the name change to Audio Adrenaline. This recording made it’s way to Toby McKeehan (dc Talk) and he brought it to someone at Forefront Records. Forefront signed the band and sent them into the studio with Steve Griffith to record this album. This is where it all went wrong. I have NO idea what Steve was thinking when he produced this album but my suspicion is that he was trying to be the second coming of Rick Rubin who had essentially created the Beastie Boys sound. The Problem is that Steve didn’t understand this genre of music in the least and the result is an album that has no flow and doesn’t settle into a style that is recognizable. I’m comfortable saying this because the band said this themselves. Guitarist Barry Blair said in an interview with CCM Magazine about the album “If it was up to me, I would burn them all, make them disappear” and the rest of the band wasn’t much nicer about the album. They did have a demo as A-180° that I haven’t heard yet but I want to hear it as it probably represents the sound they were going for. Now all that said I actually like the album. Aside from “My God” and DC-10 being absolutely horrible there are some good tracks on this album. It also could have done with the silly “J-E-S-U-S Is Right” track but I’m assuming Forefront thought it would be a good single. It wasn’t. In fact the eventual single was “PDA” which isn’t a horrible track but don’t watch the music video for it. Anyway I look forward to hearing subsequent albums from the band as they had some real talent even if the record company had no clue what to do with it.

Tracklist
1 – One Step Hyper – 4:21
2 – What You Need – 4:26
3 – Who Do You Love – 3:49
4 – PDA – 4:09
5 – The Most Excellent Way – 4:25
6 – J-E-S-U-S Is Right – 4:31
7 – Revolution – 5:15
8 – Audio World – 4:33
9 – DC-10 – 3:12
10 – My God – 3:39
11 – Life – 4:22

Credits
Arranged By, Producer, Mixed By, Recorded By – Steve Griffith
Art Direction, Design – Stephen Murray
Backing Vocals, Arranged By – Dave Stuart, Ron Gibson
Backing Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Drum Programming – Barry Blair
Choir – Helen DeCanio , Mary DeCanio
Engineer – Steve Hoffman
Engineer, Choir – Steve Murphy
Executive-Producer – Dan R. Brock
Executive-Producer, Drums, Backing Vocals – Ron W. Griffin
Instruments, Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, Programmed By – Will McGinniss
Keyboards, Programmed By – Dan Kellerby, Jeffrey Mingle
Lead Vocals, Rap, Choir – Mark Stuart
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Percussion, Backing Vocals, Rap – Bob Herdman
Photography By – Russ Harrington

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – The Salt Mine
Recorded At – A Cut Above Studio
Recorded At – Quad Studios
Recorded At – Landmark Studios, Chesapeake, OH
Mixed At – Quad Studios

The Walter Eugenes – The Walter Eugenes – 1991

The Walter Eugenes was Rick Eugene May and Walter Paul Robinette. The two of them came out of relative obscurity to record one of my favourite albums of 1991. I can’t really find much about where these guys came from so let’s talk about the album. It has a great 80’s pop sound with a bit of an alternative vibe. They brought in Mark Lee Townsend from Bash ‘n The Code for the guitar work and he really shines on this one. I’ll save the “where are they now” for the review of their next album which came out in 1995. Stay tuned.

Tracklist
1 – He Came – 5:40
2 – Say You Will – 5:47
3 – Thousand Tears – 5:05
4 – Never Changing Heart – 4:49
5 – Back To The Basics – 3:22
6 – Deep Blue Sea – 4:08
7 – Changes – 4:18
8 – Simply You – 4:50
9 – What’s Going On – 4:42

Credits
Backing Vocals – Brian Strittenburger
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Allen Willoughby, Jeff Walker
Bass – Allen Willoughby
Guitar – Mark Townsend
Layout – Siebert Design
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Paul Robinette
Mixed By – Chris Morris, Rex Bledsoe
Photography By – Michael Wilson
Producer – Rick May, Paul Robinette
Programmed By [Keyboards Programming], Drums, Backing Vocals, Arranged By [Musical Arrangements] – Rick May
Rhythm Guitar [Additional] – Brian Strittenburger, Ric Hordinski
Tracking By – Brian Strittenburger

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Mixed At – Paxton Studios
Mixed At – Mama Jo’s
Recorded At – Rome Recording Studios

Dogs Of Peace – {Spēak} – 1996

In 1995 Jimmie Lee Sloas (Imperials) and Gordon Kennedy (White Heart) put together a band of studio musicians John Hammond, Blair Masters, and Eric Darken. They recorded this one off album for Sparrow and it’s pretty good. Normally we don’t get this far into the 90’s but I stumbled on this one and thought what the heck, let’s upload it. The album has a pretty good 90’s rock feel without going all grungy. I’ll admit I was a little surprised with Jimmie’s work on the album as, well, he was in the Imperials. This is not a direction I expected from him. Gordon’s guitar work is a real stand out on the album, I knew he was a good guitarist but this album really let him do his thing. I’ll have to pick “I Wanna Know” as my favourite track. Another great album that deserves a listen.

Tracklist
1 – In The Event – 4:04
2 – Necessary Pain – 3:14
3 – Thrown Away – 4:14
4 – Dogs Of Peace – 4:46
5 – Do You Know? – 6:33
6 – I Wanna Know – 3:05
7 – The Truth – 5:00
8 – Pray To God – 5:19
9 – The Burning Bush – 3:06
10 – When I Believe It – 3:46

Credits
Art Direction [Creative Direction] – Karen Philpott
Bass, Vocals – Jimmie Lee Sloas
Design – B. Middleworth
Drums – John Hammond
Executive-Producer – Peter York
Guitar, Vocals – Gordon Kennedy
Keyboards – Blair Masters
Liner Notes – Gordon, Jeff Balding, Jimmie Lee
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Mixed By [Assisted By] – Pete Martinez
Percussion – Eric Darken
Photography By – Ron Keith
Producer – Dogs Of Peace, Jeff Balding
Recorded By [Assisted By] – Amy Hughes, David Faulkner
Recorded By, Mixed By – Jeff Balding
Vocals – Lester “Road Hog” Moran And The Cadillac Cowboys
Written-By – Gordon Kennedy, Jimmie Lee Sloas, John Hammond, Tommy Sims

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The Sparrow Corporation
Copyright © – The Sparrow Corporation, PolyGram International Publishing, Inc., Sondance Kid Music, Birdwing Music, EMI Christian Music Publishing, Hound Of Music, Bases Loaded Music, Sierra Skye Songs
Recorded At – Woodland Studios
Overdubbed At – The Castle Recording Studio, The Boardroom, Underground Sound, Nashville
Mixed At – Sixteenth Avenue Sound
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Designed At – Bats4bones Design Inc.
Manufactured For – BMG Direct Marketing, Inc. – D 112198
Glass Mastered At – EMI MFG.