This is the second album of theirs that we’ve featured and I still can’t find out anything about them. This is their second albumand it appears to be U.K. only release except that it was re-released in Germany in 1993 on CD. I have discovered that Chris Kyle has continued his music career as a studio musician and actually appears on lots of projects and is still working currently. Alistair Stewart appears to have moved on from a recording career as there is no activity from him after 1992. This album is also firmly in the easy listening category with a couple upbeat tracks. Some real talent in these guys and I’m surprised this didn’t get an American release. Anyway enjoy the soothing sounds of Stewart & Kyle.
Tracklist 1 – Come Early – 3:49 2 – America – 4:17 3 – C’est La Vie – 3:23 4 – When Love Came Down – 2:52 5 – Open Boat – 4:45 6 – Do You Remember? – 3:57 7 – Don’t Hold Me Back – 4:42 8 – Many Times – 3:25 9 – Living In These Days – 4:57 10 – The Sad And Lonely – 4:14
Credits Vocals, Guitar, Written-By – Chris Kyle Vocals, Piano, Guitar, Written-By – Alistair Stewart
This is Sharalee’s (Sharalee Lucas Sherman) 5th album. She was completely unknown to me but this is another case of someone who’s genre wasn’t my choice. She actually appeared on a ton of albums in the 70’s including Walt Disney’s Voices of Liberty. She also hosted the 1978 Dove Awards with her husband of the time Jerry Lucas who was a NBA basketball star. As for the album well it’s rather strange. The music has a funk feel but her vocals are completely unsuited to this style. Also strangely there is one country track on the album but this track suits her vocals. The album was produced by John Thompson who was a great producer but I have no idea why he thought this album was good. Continuing the strange of this album, it was re-released a year later on Impact records. Impact did a different much better album cover but otherwise the album was identical. Anyway give it a listen and tell me what you think.
Tracklist 1 – Stand Up And Be Counted – 4:19 2 – Gettin’ Out – 3:12 3 – Welcome Love – 3:45 4 – Even As We Are One – 3:36 5 – Lead Me Home – 3:43 6 – Don’t Give In – 2:55 7 – Open Up My Eyes – 3:15 8 – Glory Forevermore – 4:41 9 – Don’t Look To Me – 2:46 10 – You Mean More To Me – 3:25 11 – Resurrection Power – 3:30
Meet Jesus Music were a U.K. Jesus music band out of the 70’s. I had never heard of them before so I started doing some research and discovered they were pretty popular in the U.K. at the time. The U.K. didn’t have as many Jesus music bands so these guys filled a gap in local music. This is their second and last album but many members of the band went on to have solo careers. The band is probably best known in the 80’s circles for their performance at Greenbelt in 1979. As for the album it is your rather typical Jesus music and nothing really stands out to me but that’s not to say it’s bad. To me a lot of music form this era sounds the same but I am not a connoisseur of this era and I don’t mean any disrespect to the music.
Tracklist 1 – Gold – 5:05 2 – Too Many Times – 4:05 3 – Just One Touch – 4:06 4 – High Time – 2:40 5 – Cannot Understand – 4:15 6 – Hey Mr. Sally Ann! – 3:22 7 – Jesus – 3:22 8 – Take Time – 4:51 9 – Don’t Let Them Fool You – 4:21 10 – Praise the Lord! – 3:20
Credits Bass – Simon Dennis Bass Trombone – Dave Scragg Cello – Dave Thorn Congas, Timbales – Julian Sullivan Design – Gillard Bros. Graphics Drums – Tony Taylor Engineer [‘Live’ Sound Engineer] – Mike Waller Engineer, Producer – John Pantry Guitar – Dave Gillard Harp – Muriel Liddle Trombone – Dave Gladman, Keith Brown Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Ray Allen Vibraphone, Flute, Arranged By [Brass Arrangement] – Peter Shade Vocals – Angie Routledge Vocals, Guitar, Trombone – Ken Smith Vocals, Keyboards – Keith Routledge, Lou Hayles
Larry Carlton’s “Christian” music career is actually very interesting. Larry started out in the 60’s with the band The (Jazz) Crusaders who had a big hit in 1979 with “Street Life”. Larry continued with them while both pursuing a solo career as well as doing a lot of session work. He certainly was one of the hardest working men in the business. The story of his coming to Christ is not your normal “a friend introduce me” story instead he describes it as follows. “…I started reading a lot of books on different religions. I remember there was one night in Philadelphia after a show. I had been reading these books and digesting and thinking about religion. I just remember coming to a conclusion one night after a gig. I was lying in bed and I just told the Lord, “I don’t know any more about you than I did 2 months ago, but I choose you.” That was the beginning of my relationship with the Holy Spirit.” Larry however never really considered moving to the Christina music industry and stayed in the secular market. This was his first release after his coming to Christ. There is actually more to Larry’s life story, lots more, but we will cover it chronologically as it relates to his album releases so stay tuned for more.
Tracklist 1 – Smiles And Smiles To Go – 5:44 2 – Perfect Peace – 4:25 3 – Carrying You – 3:58 4 – The Lord’s Prayer – 5:07 5 – High Steppin’ – 6:42 6 – Whatever Happens – 4:25 7 – Pure Delight – 5:31 8 – Alone/But Never Alone – 3:32
Credits Acoustic Guitar – Larry Carlton Art Direction – Simon Levy Bass – Abraham Laboriel, Larry Carlton Design – Thomas Ryan Design Drums – Rick Marotta Electric Guitar – Larry Carlton Engineer [Assistant] – Hal Sacks Keyboards – Larry Carlton, Terry Trotter Keyboards [Additional] – Larry Carlton Management – Charlie Lico Mastered By – Bernie Grundman Percussion – Michael Fisher Photography By – McGuire Producer, Arranged By – Larry Carlton Recorded By, Mixed By – Rik Pekkonen Synthesizer [Dx7] – Terry Trotter Written-By – Albert Malotte, Bill Withers, Larry Carlton
This is another of those rather oddball albums that don’t sound like they belong on the channel but have a story behind them. In the summer of 1988 someone thought these guys would be a great addition to the Greenbelt festival. As poor a decision as it seemed it turned out to be brilliant as these guys were a huge hit. They didn’t have an album yet so they rushed into the studio so they could get their music out to their fans. The Woebegone Brothers are actually brothers and they say they were influenced by 50’s Rock & Roll stars and developed a style they call “gospel skiffle” I’m thinking more 40’s country personally but it’s a great sound and the whole story is a great piece of CCM history.
Tracklist 1 – Gospel Train – 4:43 2 – Sinner Man – 2:55 3 – Gonna Live The Life – 2:49 4 – Well Well Well – 3:03 5 – Jordan River – 2:15 6 – Mean World – 3:25 7 – Walk All Over Heaven – 4:26 8 – Trying To Get To Heaven In Due Time – 2:37
Credits Design [Cover Design] – Paul Clowney Engineer – Andy Thornton Photography By – Trevor Williams Vocals, Double Bass – Nigel Griffiths Vocals, Guitar – John Griffiths Vocals, Harmonica, Drum, Guitar – Glyn Griffiths
This is the first album from Brian White And Justice. There’s not much info out there on the band but Brian White is very well known in Nashville. The band appears to be a bunch of session musicians so I’m not entirely sure if there was a “Justice” band. As for Brian he is a very well known song writer in Nashville in both Christian and Secular genres and I guarantee you’ve heard his work with over 400 recorded songs. As for the album it’s pretty good. Brian’s voice is strong and holds solid through all the tracks. I’m not really too sure how to classify the album but it leans AOR with a couple good rocking tunes. Definitely an album that should be heard.
Tracklist 1 – Livin’ In The Sight Of Water – 5:44 2 – You Can Get There From Here – 3:38 3 – You’ve Got To Hold On – 4:59 4 – Radical Love – 3:00 5 – I Need To Know You’re There – 3:38 6 – Love Will Find A Way – 4:36 7 – Out Of The Wilderness – 4:45 8 – Tonight – 4:45 9 – You’ve Got To Believe – 4:56 10 – Long Lost Friend – 3:47 11 – Lead The Way – 4:25
Credits Accordion – Tim Lauer Backing Vocals – Billy Simon, Jimmy Marks, Mark Pogue, Scott Walters, Tom Lane Bass – Mark Burchfield, Matthew Pierson Drums, Percussion – Bobby Blazier Executive-Producer – Elisa Elder Guitar, Sequenced By – Dennis Dearing Keyboards, Organ [B-3] – Jeffery Roach Producer – Dennis Dearing Sequenced By – Bill Randall, Bo Cooper Vocals, Backing Vocals – Brian White
I’ll be straight up and admit that Bryn is one of my favourite artists period. Unfortunately we had almost no exposure to him in Canada until his The Gap album. While huge in the U.K. American record companies didn’t think his appeal would spread to our side of the ocean. This is one of the greatest tragedies of the CCM industry as Bryn deserved as wide an audience as possible. I didn’t even get to hear most of his work until we undertook this project but now I get to enjoy all his albums. Every one of Bryn’s album has a track that stands out to me personally. This album it is “Were You There” which showcases his slide guitar technique which is one of the best in the industry in my opinion. While actually a traditional this particular arrangement is probably the best treatment this song ever got. Many artists of Bryn’s skill level have kind of abandoned Christian music but not Bryn. His faith is still the center of his music.
Tracklist 1 – Give Thanks – 3:27 2 – Lord I Love Your Word – 4:25 3 – Were You There – 2:01 4 – Let Us Humbly Worship Jesus – 1:43 5 – Make Us Holy – 5:33 6 – Awake O Zion – 2:18 7 – I Found A Love – 3:06 8 – We Give Thanks – 2:46 9 – More Than A Tent – 4:26 10 – He Is Lord – 2:54 11 – Strong Wall – 3:09 12 – What Kind Of Love Is This – 3:48
Credits Bass – Dave Markee, Terry “Tex” Comer Drums – Fran Byrne, Henry Spinetti Engineer – Dave Charles, Paul Cobbold, Rob Andrews Flute, Saxophone – Steve Gregory Guitar – Alan “Bam” King Guitar, Vocals – Bryn Haworth Keyboards – Pete Wingfield Mixed By – Paul Cobbold Painting [Front Cover Painting] – Robin Clifton Photography By – Tony Neeves Producer – Bryn Haworth
Here’s a Canadian artist that got one album out there in the mid 80’s thanks to his own hard work and financing. As a teen Martin played in coffee houses, churches, and many youth groups around Southern Ontario and upper New York State. Martin worked as a foot courier for a Toronto legal firm and was able to save $15,000 in 1985. Believe me that was no small feat in 1985. Instead of buying a cool car he headed to Rene Brossard’s studio and cut this album which shows an incredible dedication to his music. He subsequently appeared as the opening act for the likes of Twila Paris, Phil Keaggy, Daniel Band, Rick Cua, and others. He also played a side stage at the very first Kingdom Bound concert. It is rumoured that Larry Norman stopped to listen to him which was a proud moment for Martin as Larry was one of his favorite artists. As for the album it is a really good album and I can’t help but with some good distribution it might have been known to more of you reading this. It has a pretty good pop rock feel and the lead track sets the album up perfectly. Martin continues to make great music and you can visit his YouTube channel below
Tracklist 1 – Scapegoat Song – 2:20 2 – Who Will Tell Them – 4:19 3 – On And On – 3:55 4 – Line Of Vision – 4:09 5 – Their Own Bible – 4:00 6 – In The Future – 4:01 7 – Counterfeit Christian – 3:39 8 – In Loving Memory – 4:36 9 – Friends Like You – 4:25
Credits Cover – James Clow Engineer – David Musial, Yuri Jorbachow Lead Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Engineer – Martin Barret Producer, Arranged By, Mastered By – René Brossard
Companies, etc. Recorded At – Boss Productions Recorded At – Trackmaster Audio Recorded At – Master’s Workshop
You may not know the name Dave Thrush but I guarantee you know the sound of Dave Thrush. He gained his most recognition for his Saxophone work on all of Steve Taylor’s albums as well as touring with him. He was actually a high school friend of Steve’s and was with Steve from his first demo until the band broke up. He also appeared on other albums but we mostly know him from Steve’s work. In 1995 Sparrow released this solo album from him. It was actually nominated for a Dove Award in the category of Instrumental Album but lost out to a far more inferior album. Quite frankly this is a tough category and it seems like it was/is always given to a piano player. Anyway this is not your average CCM album of the period as it is mainly a saxophone based instrumental album, though the track “Jesus Is The Answer” has vocals from Chris Willis and is as good if not better than anything out at the time. There is also a great Sax cover of “El Shaddai” which should resonate with Amy Grant fans. Quite frankly this is a pretty good album. It’s not really my style but I’ve left it playing in the background a few times while I worked and I grew to quite like it. Oh and a quick sidenote, this is probably one of the best album titles ever. Apparently Dave has a Christmas album and I’ll see if I can upload it for next Christmas.
Tracklist 1 – El Shaddai – 4:07 2 – His Strength Is Perfect / Hiding Place – 4:33 3 – Say The Name – 5:30 4 – Lamb Of God / How Beautiful / He Is Exalted – 5:03 5 – People Need The Lord – 4:56 6 – The Greatest Thing – 3:58 7 – There Is A Redeemer – 4:05 8 – I Will Be There – 4:24 9 – Friends / Great Is The Lord / Hosanna / How Majestic Is Your Name – 6:46 10 – Jesus Is The Answer – 4:57 11 – Tomorrow – 3:58 12 – We Will Stand – 4:43
This is the only album we got from Shelley and this one off appears to be a Michael Knott project. He produced the album for his own record label which unfortunately went bankrupt shortly after this release. He actually put together a killer studio band be sure to check the credits on our website. The album falls in the easy listening category but I think her real skill was writing. It’s not often you see an introductory album from an unknown artist that has all original material. Other than that I don’t have much to tell you about this artist.
Tracklist 1 – Love Is – 3:39 2 – Carry Me Away – 3:45 3 – Don’t You Worry – 3:01 4 – You & I – 4:07 5 – Song In The Distance – 3:48 6 – Dreaming Awake – 4:02 7 – Parallels – 3:52 8 – Time – 4:05 9 – Talk With You At Midnight – 3:20 10 – Dreams – 3:28
Credits Acoustic Bass – Glen Holmen Acoustic Guitar – Greg Flesch, Shelley Rogers, Mike Knott, Jeffrey Thomas Alto Saxophone – Dave Thrush Arranged By [Cello Arrangement] – Michael Hackett Art Direction – Coffee Bay Bass – Glen Holmen, Mike Sauerbrey Bass [Six-String Bass] – Dave Hackbarth Classical Guitar – Jeffrey Thomas Classical Guitar – Mike Knott, Shelley Rogers Drums – Chuck Cummings, Steve Hindalong E-Bow – Greg Flesch Electric Piano [Rhodes] – Dave Hackbarth Electronic Wind Instrument [Wind Syntesizer] – Dan Michaels Engineer – Christopher Colbert Engineer – David Hackbarth Keyboards – Dave Hackbarth Keyboards, Sound Designer [Treatments] – Michael Hackett Lyrics By, Music By – Shelley Rogers Mastered By – Doug Doyle Music By – Michael Knott, Mike Sauerbrey Percussion – Steve Hindalong, Mike Knott Photography By – Colleen Hammond Producer – Dave Hackbarth, Michael Hackett, Mike Knott Saxophone – Dave Thrush Written-By – Shelley Rogers
Companies, etc. Distributed By – Spectra Distribution Recorded At – Neverland Mixed At – Neverland Mastered At – Digital Brothers
