Author: Ray Mansfield

One of the founding cowboys of Real 80s CCM. Been listening to this stuff since 1978.

Brent Lamb – Tug of War – 1984

Yes this is the same Brent Lamb from Cornerstone and LoveNote and this was his first solo album after working with them. This album is decidedly easy listening and I think it compares with Sweet Comfort Band’s early albums. It spawned 2 chart songs, “Quiet Please” peaked at #26 and was on the charts for 9 weeks. “I’m Not Worried” was on the charts for 18 weeks and peaked at #36. While this album is easy listening there are a couple pop tunes that should get you tapping your toes.

Tracklist
1 – Fire Escape – 3:55
2 – Cleaning House – 3:10
3 – Nature Of His Son – 3:33
4 – I’m Not Worried – 4:19
5 – Quiet Please – 3:56
6 – Tug Of War – 3:39
7 – Hide Me Lord – 4:24
8 – Waiting Is Worth It – 3:26
9 – One Way To Go – 3:39
10 – You Made Me That Way – 3:39

Credits
Arranged By [Rhythm Tracks], Backing Vocals [Additional] – Brent Lamb
Arranged By [Strings] – Alan Moore
Backing Vocals – Gary Janney (tracks: A2, A4, B3), Gary Pigg (tracks: A2, A4, B3), Marty McCall (tracks: A2, A4, B3)
Bass – Mike Brignardello
Calligraphy [Handlettering] – Deb Mahalanobis
Conductor – Carl Gorodetzky
Design Concept, Art Direction, Design – Bill Barnes
Drums – Dennis Holt
Engineer [Additional] – Bob Clark, Rocky Schnaars, Willie Pevear
Engineer, Mixed By – Jeff Balding
Executive-Producer – Michael DeMonico
Graphics – Barnes & Company
Guitar – Jon Goin
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Photography By – Matt Barnes
Producer, Keyboards, Arranged By [Rhythm Tracks] – Phil Naish
Saxophone – Sam Levine (tracks: B4)
Strings – The Nashville String Machine

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Singspiration
Copyright (c) – Singspiration
Produced For – 19th Street Productions
Published By – Singspiration Music
Published By – Laurel Press
Published By – River Oaks Music Co.
Published By – Tree Group
Recorded At – Bullet Recording
Recorded At – Morningstar Sound Studio
Recorded At – Great Circle Sound
Recorded At – The Garage Studio
Recorded At – Center Stage Studio
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio East
Mixed At – Gold Mine Studio East
Mastered At – Mastermix
Pressed By – Electrosound Group Midwest, Inc.

Rob Cassels Band – Classics Anthology – 2009

This is a “Greatest Hits” album of Rob’s first 4 albums. It’s an excellent collection and will have to do for now as we don’t have any of Rob’s albums in our collection (which is rather shocking actually). Rob tells me he was influence by Joe Cocker, Leon Russell, Allman Bros., James Gang etc. Most often his vocals are compared to Joe Cocker which i agree but I hate comparing musicians. Sometimes I wonder wouldn’t it be more appropriate to say Joe Cocker sounds a lot like Rob Cassels. Anyway the release of Kamikaze Christian attracted the attention of Gary Paxton which certainly helped with the Bands future. Rob’s guitarist for his first 2 albums was Steve Morse who went on to play with Deep Purple. Rob had 4 albums from 1979 to 1988 giving us some of the best Christian music of the 80’s. Rob has continued to perform and tour and I have linked his web page below where you can buy his music.

Tracklist
1 – The Battle’s Won – 3:27
2 – Evening Pastoral – 4:03
3 – Lunar Trott – 2:45
4 – The Baby Song – 4:24
5 – Darkness is A Goner – 2:48
6 – Testimony – 3:54
7 – You Think I’m Crazy – 3:56
8 – So Safe in You – 3:29
9 – Off the Wall – 3:23
10 – Kamikaze Christian – 3:48
11 – Hermit Man – 3:48
12 – Heritage of the Lord – 3:38
13 – You Just Don’t Know – 3:01
14 – He’s Everywhere – 3:04
15 – Resurrection Power – 3:24
16 – I Will Never Leave You – 3:27
17 – Turning – 3:14
18 – Shoot It Straight – 2:51
19 – What’s That Voice – 3:29
20 – Save Yourself For Love – 3:32
21 – Living On the Edge – 4:07

Shout – In Your Face – 1989

Ken Tamplin and the gang are back with their second Rocking album except for drummer Dennis Holt that is, who was replaced by Joseph Galletta. No idea why probably just the usual band politics and don’t worry, he didn’t go hungry, he appeared on at least 8 albums in 1989. Now that’s a work ethic. Anyway back to the boy’s of Shout. This album is much like the first one. Again it got labelled Metal but really there’s just a couple metal tracks. The rest are good old fashioned Hard Arena Rock. What I found humorous about the album was the last track which is labelled “The Pay The Bills Song”. It is the epitome of an Arena Rock song of the era LOL. I see the humour on the face of it but part of me wonders what “the rest of the story” is. Anyway another great air guitar album so sit back and enjoy.

Tracklist
1 – Borderline – 4:28
2 – When The Love Is Gone – 4:16
3 – Give Me An Answer – 3:51
4 – Faith Hope And Love – 3:38
5 – Getting Ready – 3:54
6 – In Your Face – 5:10
7 – Getting On With Life – 3:59
8 – Waiting On You – 3:51
9 – Moonlight Sonata – 0:28
10 – It´s All I Need – 3:27
11 – Ain´t Givin’ Up – 3:48

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Bass Guitar, Vocals – Loren Robinson
Drums – Joseph Galletta
Guitar [Participated Players Starting From The First Snare] – Alex Masi (2) (tracks: B1), Joey Price (tracks: B1), Lanny Cordola (tracks: B1), Marty Friedman (tracks: B1), Michael Angelo* (tracks: B1), Randy Hansen (tracks: B1)
Keyboards – Mark Hugonberger
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Chuck King
Mastered By – John Matousek
Photography By – Nigel Skeet
Producer, Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar – Ken Tamplin
Tracking By [Tracking Engineer] – Eric Kibbe
Tracking By [Tracking Engineer], Mixed By [Mixing Engineer] – Dave Jahnsen

Companies, etc.
Licensed From – Frontline Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Music For Nations
Copyright (c) – Take Out Music
Published By – Take Out music
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Mixed At – Mixing Lab B
Mixed At – Mixing Lab A

John Michael Talbot And Terry Talbot – The Painter – 1980

John Michael is joined by his brother Terry on this album along with The London Chamber Orchestra. It is in the usual Talbot style but with some great harmonies between the brothers. It has a Gothic feel at time which fits with art on the Jacket. If you’re a usual fan of John Michael this album won’t disappoint, you’ll find it to be excellent.

Tracklist
1 – Greeting – 1:44
2 – Wonderful Counselor – 2:37
3 – Advent Suite – Part 1 – 3:00
4 – Advent Suite – Part 2 – 2:22
5 – Behold Now The Kingdom – 3:55
6 – Create In Me A Clean Heart – 2:32
7 – Paint My Life – 1:51
8 – The Mystery – 2:24
9 – Jesus Has Come – 4:15
10 – The Empty Canvas – 3:50

Credits
Arranged By, Conductor – Lee Holdridge
Bass – Leland Sklar
Composed By – John Michael Talbot (tracks: A1-A5, B2-B5), Terry Talbot (tracks: B1)
Design – Stan Evenson Design Inc.
Engineer [@ CTS] – John Richards
Engineer [@ Monterey], Remix [@ Buckskin] – Wally Duguid
Engineer [@ TRC] – Mark Clevenger
Guitar – John Michael Talbot
Lacquer Cut By – Sh*
Photography By – Gary Heery
Producer – Dan Collins, Irving Martin, The Talbot Brothers*
Vocals – The Talbot Brothers*

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Cherry Lane Music Co.
Copyright (c) – Birdwing Music
Recorded At – TRC Studios
Recorded At – Monterey Sound Studios
Recorded At – CTS Studios
Remixed At – Buckskin Studio
Remixed At – Smoketree Ranch
Mastered At – MCA Recording Studios

The Alwyn Wall Band – The Prize – 1977

This was Alwyn’s first release after the amicable split of Malcolm & Alwyn. Alwyn was a very popular 70’s artist in both the U.S.A. and Europe. The Malcolm & Alwyn albums were very popular and that popularity carried over to Alwyn’s work here. Alwyn was joined on this album by guitartist Norman Barratt who went on to be one of the most sought after studio musicians well into the late 80’s. Norman also had 2 albums in the 80’s that were well received. The stand out of this album is Alwyn’s lyrics, he truly is one of the best writers of the time. The album does have a Jesus music feel at times but other times has a Beatles sound. The album flows well and is one of the top 70’s albums in my view.

Tracklist
1 – Fly Me – 3:10
2 – Dreams On Sand – 5:28
3 – South California – 3:32
4 – Music Maker – 4:36
5 – Musical Thing – 4:42
6 – That’s Life – 4:07
7 – Hall Of Mirrors – 5:08
8 – All That Really Matters – 3:34
9 – I Don’t Care – 3:03
10 – All Because Of You – 4:38

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Written-By, Composed By – Alwyn Wall
Arranged By – Wall Band
Arranged By [String], Percussion [Bits & Pieces] – Rod, Roger
Bass – Tony Hudson
Design [Album] – Tony Cantale
Drums – Nick Brotherwood
Engineer – Roger Wake
Guitar, Vocals – Norman Barratt
Keyboards, Vocals – Phil Holmes
Mastered By – George Peckham
Photography By – Keith Bernstein
Producer – Jon Miller, Rod Edwards, Roger Hand

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Word
Copyright (c) – Word Music (2)
Copyright (c) – Gummessons
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word
Manufactured By – Signatur
Distributed By – Signatur
Produced For – Triumvirate Production
Recorded At – Redan Recorders
Mastered At – Master Room
Printed By – SIB-Tryck, Tumba

The Choir – Wide-Eyed Wonder – 1989

I have to honestly say that this is not my favourite Choir album. I believe the quality of the album is good and it actually has some great lyrics. That said I found the album to kind of have no flow and I have a difficult time even describing the album. The vocals are good and actually it’s a pretty good album overall but I just didn’t like it that much, I’m not really too sure why. Strangely there is a cover of a George Harrison tune, “Behind That Locked Door”, which is OK I guess. I didn’t like the original but this version is an improvement if for no other reason than Mark Heard played the autoharp. I just find it doesn’t fit on the album that’s all. Another point of trivia is that three members of Adam Again also appear on the album. It is rumoured that they were recording in a neighbouring studio.

Tracklist
1 – Someone To Hold On To – 3:48
2 – To Cover You – 2:31
3 – Robin Had A Dream – 4:17
4 – Spin You Around – 4:10
5 – When She Sees Me – 4:11
6 – Wide-Eyed Wonder – 3:35
7 – Happy Fool – 3:30
8 – Car, Etc. – 6:21
9 – Behind That Locked Door – 3:01
10 – To Bid Farewell – 4:39
11 – Car, Cont. – 1:02

Credits
Bass Guitar, Vocals – Robin Spurs
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Steve Hindalong
Executive-Producer – Tom Willett
Guitar, Electronics [Treatments], Lead Vocals – Derri Daugherty
Lyricon, Saxophone – Daniel Michaels
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Mixed By – Mark Heard
Producer – D. Daugherty, S. Hindalong
Producer [Additional] – David Hackbarth, Mark Heard
Recorded By – David Hackbarth

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Produced At – Neverland Studios
Mixed At – Neverland Studios
Mastered At – Future Disc

Allies – Long Way From Paradise – 1989

The fourth album from Allies turned it up a notch from their previous releases. Even though this album had several Rock tunes there were plenty of fluff tunes to single on the Christian charts. It spawned 4 singles with “All Day, All Night” doing the best peaking at #14 after 6 weeks on the charts. “Take Me Back” came in at #15 with 12 weeks on the charts. A cover of “Crying In The Chapel” made it to #20 with 10 weeks on the charts and it’s actually a pretty good cover but I am always biased to the 50’s/Rockabilly tunes. Finally “Trust In God” made it to #40 in the 2 weeks it was on the charts. Regardless of the fluff pieces there are some good rock tunes on the album and it’s well worth listening too. Probably my favourite album by them.

Tracklist
1 – Long Way From Paradise – 2:29
2 – Trust In God – 4:35
3 – All Day, All Night – 3:45
4 – Take Me Back – 4:39
5 – Old Man Down – 2:55
6 – Christian Man – 4:16
7 – Devil Is A Liar – 4:36
8 – I Wanna Be Like You – 4:11
9 – Walk With Me Silent – 5:05
10 – Rock Of Salvation – 4:50
11 – Crying In The Chapel – 3:51

Credits
Art Direction – Bill Brunt Designs
Art Direction [Cover Coordination] – Terri Short
Backing Vocals – Bob Carlisle
Bass – Matthew Chapman
Drums – Jimmy Erickson
Executive-Producer – Lynn Keesecker
Guitar – Bob Carlisle, Randy Thomas
Keyboards [Additional] – Tim Heintz
Lead Guitar [Solo] – Randy Thomas
Lead Vocals – Bob Carlisle, Randy Thomas (tracks: 10)
Mastered By – Wally Traugott
Photography By – Stewart Ivester
Producer, Arranged By – Bob Carlisle, Randy Thomas
Recorded By [Assistant], Mixed By [Assistant] – Fred Tedesco
Recorded By, Mixed By – Randy Thomas
Saxophone [Additional] – Glen Myerscough
Vocals – Jimmy Erickson, Matthew Chapman
Written-By – Artie Glenn (tracks: 11), Bob Carlisle (tracks: 1 to 10), Randy Thomas (2) (tracks: 1 to 10)

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Allies Recording Studio
Mixed At – Allies Recording Studio
Mastered At – Capitol Mastering

Oden Fong – Invisible Man – 1986

I think this was Oden’s last solo album but I can’t be sure as the information avaiulable is not very good. Oden was originally with the band Mustard Seed Faith who had at least one Jesus Music album in 1975. As I said before, the information is scant and I actually believe there was more than that one album. This album from Oden is a great Pop album and though I missed it on the 80’s it is on my MP3 players regular rotation now. The album credits list a Rob Watson on keyboards but I don’t know of it’s the Daniel Amos Rob Watson.

Tracklist
1 – Invisible Man
2 – Joker In The Age Of Fools
3 – Child Of Confusion
4 – Faith/Action
5 – Culture Shock
6 – Waiting For You
7 – Soldier
8 – Words
9 – So Long Ago
10 – Richman Poorman

Credits
Drums – Keith Edwards
Producer, Songwriter, Keyboards, Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Drums, Vocals – Oden Fong
Mastered – Bernie Grundman
Vocals – Marie McGilvray
Songwriter – Lewis McVay
Engineer – Chris Taylor
Sax – Shawn Waggoner
Keyboards – Rob Watson
Guitar – John Wickham

Resurrection Band – The Demos – 1976

As the story goes there were 3 Resurrection Band “Demos”. “Music to Raise the Dead” and “All Your Life” were recorded in 1974 and sold at their concerts in cassette form. This release is supposed to be the actual Demo that was presented to the Record companies. It has a few remixed songs from those 2 “demos” and some new tracks. It sounds like Stu Heiss is on a few tracks so those tracks would have to have been recorded in 1976 or later. Of interest on this release is a very early version of “Broken Promises”. Other than that it is all unreleased stuff except for “Quite Enough” which appeared on the Bootleg Live album.

Tracklist
1 – There Will Be Fire – 4:17
2 – Free – 5:02
3 – Help Us – 3:55
4 – Jesus Is The Rock – 4:31
5 – Quite Enough – 5:50
6 – Ocean Of His Love – 6:11
7 – He Speaks To Me – 2:17
8 – Broken Promises – 7:36

Credits
Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Jim Denton
Drums – John Herrin
Harmonica – Tom Cameron
Lead Guitar, Piano – Stu Heiss
Lead Vocals – Wendi Kaiser
Lead Vocals, Guitar – Glenn Kaiser

Bride – Silence Is Madness – 1989

Bride finished the 80’s with an album that was very well received. It definitely toned down the thrash metal sound that most fans had grown use to and started to lean more towards an arena rock sound. That said this is a Metal album and you’ll realize that right away on the first track. That said “Until The End We Rock” is more of an arena rock tune and my pick for a single. The album does have a bit of an oddball track being “Rock Those Blues Away”. Best described as Glenn Kaiser meets Darrell Mansfield it’ll kind of surprise you as you finish off the album. All in all a good offering from Bride and is probably one of my preferred albums from them.

Tracklist
1 – Fool Me Once – 3:58
2 – Hot Down South – 3:09
3 – Silence Is Madness – 5:18
4 – Until The End We Rock – 3:23
5 – Evil Dreams – 4:05
6 – Under The Influence – 4:05
7 – All Hallow’s Eve – 5:12
8 – No More Nightmares – 4:14
9 – Rock Those Blues Away – 5:38

Credits
Bass – Frank Partipilo
Cover – Swartzentruber
Drums – Stephan Rolland
Engineer – Alan Dussel
Guitar, Music By – Troy Thompson
Keyboards, Producer – Armand John Petri
Lead Guitar – Rob Johnson (6) (tracks: 1 to 3, 5, 8), Troy Thompson (tracks: 4, 6, 7, 9)
Lyrics By – Dale Thompson, Sharon (tracks: 3, 7), Troy Thompson (tracks: 6)
Music By – Frank Partipilo (tracks: 1, 5, 8)
Photography By – Ken Cavanaugh
Vocals – Dale Thompson
Vocals [Background] – Max Maxwell (tracks: 4 to 7)

Companies, etc.
Produced At – Funhouse Recording Studio
Produced At – Trackmaster Audio
Distributed By – Spectra Distribution
Distributed By – Mainroads Music Group
Copyright (c) – Tower Of Refuge
Copyright (c) – Zalena Photography