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When I started working on this album I was looking forward to it as I thought it was Whiteheart at Six Flags. FULL STOP!! It’s not. This is “Chris Christian” with Whiteheart – Live At Six Flags. I wonder how many people bought this album by mistake believing it was just Whiteheart. The album came out the same year so the confusion could be understood. If they did make the error I can only imagine their horror at what they had bought. Now this isn’t a bad album, in fact it’s a very good album but it’s just that it’s a more easy listening oriented album. Not anything at all you would expect from Whiteheart. I’m guessing it was recorded at the same concert as the Whiteheart album. This rather odd pairing came from the fact that Chris Christian did not have a regular band so I am guessing he talked Whiteheart into backing for him. Whiteheart were on the label that Christian owned, Home Sweet Home Records. Anyway, as I said it’s a good album best described as a slightly up tempo Easy Listening album.
Tracklist
1 – Put Your Trust – 3:18
2 – Make A Joyful Noise – 2:28
3 – Love Them While We Can – 3:26
4 – Mountain Top – 3:27
5 – Gospel Medley – 5:59
6 – Satisfaction Guaranteed – 2:57
7 – Praise The Lord – 3:05
8 – Second Chance – 3:12
9 – Look How Far You’ve Come – 3:03
10 – Pop Medley – 7:03
11 – Sail On – 2:28
12 – Get Back To The Bible – 4:45
13 – Why Does The Devil Have All The Good Music – 3:53
In the early 70’s Bruce toured as a support musician for artists such as The Amplified Version, The Paul Clark Band and Phil Keaggy. In the mid 70’s he decided to start doing his own music. This was his first album and he penned all the songs himself many of which went on to be covered by other artists making Bruce a well known song writer. This album is a staple in the West Coast AOR crowd.
Tracklist
1 – Questions – 3:24
2 – Rescue Me – 2:24
3 – All That I Want To Be – 3:49
4 – Given Myself Over – 4:10
5 – Only God (Can Put A Song In Your Heart) – 3:20
6 – Peace – 3:50
7 – A Nation’s Prayer – 3:34
8 – Hem Of His Garment – 3:23
9 – Lord Bless This Day – 5:06
10 – Make Me A Blessing – 3:19
Credits
Sherman Andrus – Background Vocals
Curt Bartlett – Guitars
Terry Blackwood – Background Vocals
Paul Clark – Producer
Bobby Cotton – Producer
Joe Davis – Horns
Keith Edwards – Percussion
Rick Gordon – Vocals
Sandra Halgendale – Oboe
Lanny Hansen – Drums
Bruce Hibbard – Songwriter, Keyboards, Piano, Guitars, Bass, Vocals
Marie Hibbard – Songwriter
Hadley Hockensmith – Guitars, Bass
Mel Lieb – French Horn
Bill Maxwell – Drums
Carol Morgan – Songwriter
Harlan Rogers – Keyboards, Piano
Fletch Wiley – String Arrangements, Horns, Flute
Kelly Willard – Vocals
Steve Wright – Drums
Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Cool Sound Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Seed Records
Copyright (c) – Seed Records
Licensed Through – MJM Entertainment Group Inc.
This was the first album from the Lifesavors. They hit the California scene and definitely made large splash. The lead vocalist for this album (they changed frequently) was Mark Krischak. His fake English accent gave us a cross of English Punk Bands and New Wave Bands. Throw in some 50’s groove and you have probably the best Christian album of 1981. Personally I think Mark Krischak was the best vocalist the band had and he wrote most the songs on this album with Chris Wimber. Strangely the album had 2 vinyl releases with the songs in different orders. The cover and sleeve however remained the same. It was re-released in 1999 on CD with 9 bonus tracks.
Tracklist
1 – Young
2 – Operation
3 – Where You Going
4 – Blue
5 – Oh Yeah
6 – I Am
7 – Take Me Over
8 – New
9 – Isa: 36
10 – Christianity
11 – Life
12 – Genocide
13 – Jetstream
14 – Us Kids
Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals – Chris Wimber
Arranged By – The Lifesavors
Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Kevin Annis
Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Mark Krischak
Producer, Mixed By, Recorded By – Thom Roy
Recorded By – Tim Vegvari
Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals – Mike Knott
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Mercy Publishing
Copyright (c) – Mercy Publishing
Distributed By – Grassroots Music Distribution
The fifth album from Mylon LeFevre and Broken Heart did not disappoint. They continued their trip through the 80’s with an album with a sound perfectly suited to 1987. The album had 3 CCM singles, Closer Than A Heartbeat, I Belong, and For My Growing. I swear if you want to know what tracks to skip on an album just look at the CCM charts. The rest of the album was excellent and played well on real Christian radio. The album also received a Dove Award for 1988 Rock Album.
Tracklist
1 – Crack The Sky – 4:00
2 – Love God, Hate Sin – 3:35
3 – Closer Than A Heartbeat – 3:41
4 – Give It Up – 3:01
5 – I Belong – 3:47
6 – Let Me Be The One – 3:45
7 – Reach For The Sky – 5:47
8 – Heart On Fire – 3:11
9 – For My Growing – 4:42
Credits
Bass, Vocals – Kenneth Bentley
Drums [Digital], Percussion – Ben Hewitt
Guitar, Vocals – Scott Allen, Trent Argante, Michael Tyrrell
Producer – Joe Hardy, Mylon LeFevre
Synthesizer, Vocals – Paul Joseph
Vocals, Guitar – Mylon LeFevre
Companies, etc.
Mastered At – Masterdisk
Recorded At – Ardent Studios
Charles McPheeters was better known for starting the Holy Ghost Repair Service Street Ministry in Hollywood than he was his music. He did have an album in 1971 that was a little more serious but this one is just a fun album. This album is a collection of different style ranging from Lounge to fifties but mostly it’s just fun. Unfortunately Charles left this world in the early 80’s but it’s nice we have this collection to remember him by. Randy Matthews is thanked in the liner notes but I have no idea if he was involved in the album. This is the CD copy of the album with the Bonus Track “Eagles Fly”
Tracklist
1 – I Tried To Tell You – 2:26
2 – Practice What You Preach – 2:31
3 – Greasy Truth – 3:14
4 – More Than The Music – 3:06
5 – We Need Each Other (Love Song For The Church) – 3:42
6 – Ain’t Got No Time – 2:59
7 – Where Is The Love – 3:21
8 – There Ain’t Nobody – 2:48
9 – No More Tears At Night – 3:49
10 – First Church Of The Frigid-Air – 4:48
11- Eagles Fly – 4:29
I don’t know much about 180 but I do know they came from Castro Valley, CA. They have this EP and a full length album. There is also a Demo I am hooping to get our hands on. The EP is a nice progressive sound that fit’s perfectly with 1986. Keyboardist Ralph Otteson continues making music to this day currently with a group called Time Horizon.
Tracklist
1 – Hold On – 3:48
2 – Search – 3:48
3 – When You Believe – 4:34
4 – It’s All I Need – 3:27
Credits
Rich Reif – vocals, keyboards
Ralph Otteson – keyboards, backing vocals
Todd Peterson – guitars, backing vocals
Allen White – bass, guitars
Don Walker – drums
This was the final album from the Imperials with Russ Taff leading the group. A lot of fans believe he was the best the Imperials had to offer and among those people this album is generally thought to be his best. This album was actually fairly uptempo for the Imperials and personally I hadn’t listened to this album in 30 years so I was pleasantly surprised how good it actually was. It’s not my style but this is a good album. Most of the songs were written by the Omartians and Taff. Strangely the track “Into My Life” was written by Beeb Birtles (Little River Band) and appeared on his album released the same year.
Tracklist
1 – The Trumpet Of Jesus – 3:46
2 – Finish What You Started – 4:05
3 – I’d Rather Believe In You – 3:37
4 – Any Good Time At All – 4:02
5 – Be Still My Soul – 3:51
6 – There’s No Time Till You Take It – 4:09
7 – Pieces – 4:06
8 – Into My Life – 4:42
9 – Seek Ye First – 5:00
Credits
Artwork By [Layout] – Bob Anderson
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Marti McCall, Myrna Matthews, Stormie Omartian
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Congas – Alex Acuña
Drums – Paul Leim
Engineer, Remix – John Guess
Guitar – Martin K. Walsh
Keyboards – Michael Omartian
Leader [Concertmaster] – Assa Drori
Mastered By [Mastering Engineer] – Ken Perry
Other [Production Coordinator] – Yvonne Garcia
Photography – Bob Anderson
Producer, Arranged By – Michael Omartian
Saxophone – Jackie Kelso, Kim Hutchcroft
Trombone – Dick Hyde, Lew McCreary
Trumpet – Chuck Findley, Steve Madaio
Vocals – Russ Taff
Written By [Lyrics] – Stormie Omartian (tracks: A1 to A4, B1, B2, B4)
Written By [Music] – Michael Omartian (tracks: A1 to A4, B1, B2, B4)
This is the second album from Fireworks. What strikes me as odd with this album is that the title is subtitled with “Featuring Marty McCall”. Marty was with the band for their previous album and all subsequent albums so I have no idea why for this album he got such special billing. He hadn’t really done anything before Fireworks so he wasn’t some well known singer from another band or anything either. Very strange. Sound wise this album is a nice progression from their previous album which was painfully easy listening and their next album which was quite upbeat. This album settles into the middle nicely so no matter which version of Fireworks you like you should like this album.
Tracklist
1 – Change My Heart – 2:59
2 – Beautiful Woman – 4:17
3 – After The Rain – 2:07
4 – Calling My Name – 3:55
5 – Rock Band – 3:24
6 – Like Children – 3:11
7 – I Know Power – 2:39
8 – Love You Tonight – 3:37
9 – Shatter The Darkness – 5:05
10 – The World – 3:50
Credits
Bass – Bob Sinkovic, Chris Harris
Drums – Lanny Avery
Guitar – Jerry Gaston, Mark Christian
Keyboards, Vocals – Marty McCall
Producer – Chris Christian
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Mastered At – Masterfonics
This is the second album from Geoff Moore and it’s a great Rock/Pop album with some excellent songs. The treat of the album is a rocking cover of Larry Norman’s “Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music”. The album is a collection of great CCM musicians including, Billy Smiley, Gary Lunn, Mark Gersmehl, and Dann Huff from Whiteheart. Dan Huff’s guitar work is easily recognizable and I think his influence is what makes the album lean more Rock than Pop.
Tracklist
1 – Tear Down The Walls – 3:55
2 – Marianne – 4:08
3 – Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music – 4:03
4 – Lost Or Found – 4:15
5 – Over The Edge – 3:52
6 – Make Up Your Mind – 4:18
7 – Love The One You Live In – 4:28
8 – Rock Steady Believers – 3:50
9 – Tough Love – 4:16
10 – Nothing But Holy – 3:34
Credits
Chuck Bentley – Songwriter
Thomas Dorsey – Keyboards
James Isaac Elliott – Songwriter
Mark Gersmehl – Songwriter, Keyboards
Dann Huff – Guitars
Gary Janney – Background Vocals
Phil Johnson – Songwriter
Bryan Kennedy – Background Vocals
Gordon Kennedy – Songwriter, Guitars, Background Vocals
Shelby Kennedy – Background Vocals
Brent King – Recorded, Mixed, Background Vocals
Gary Lunn – Bass
Marty McCall – Background Vocals
Chris McHugh – Drums
Terry McMillan – Percussion
Geoff Moore – Songwriter, Vocals
Phil Naish – Songwriter
Larry Norman – Songwriter
David Pierce – 2nd Engineer
Gary Pigg – Background Vocals
Mary Lynn Robbins – Recorded
Tom Roudy – Percussion
John Slick – Keyboards
Billy Smiley – Producer, Songwriter, Arranger, Keyboards, Background Vocals
James Stroud – Drums, Tamborine
Arlin Troyer – Background Vocals
Hank Williams – Mastered
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Power Discs
Copyright (c) – Power Discs
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – Center Stage Studio
Mixed At – Center Stage Studio
Mastered At – Mastermix
Published By – Paragon Music Corp.
Published By – Word Music (2)
Published By – Glenwood Music Corp.
Published By – Straw Bed Music
Published By – Lifesong Music Press
Published By – Hall-Clement Publications
Published By – Yellow Jacket Music, Inc.
Published By – Laurel Press
Published By – Pamela Kay Music
Published By – Justin Time Music
