Ray Mansfield – Page 151

Servant – Caught In The Act of Loving Him – 1983

This was the 4th studio album from Servant and their first on their own short lived label, Roof Top records.

This album continued their progression as a great 80’s CCM Rock & Roll band. The songwriting was excellent and Sandie Brock’s voice was developing to a more Fleetwood Mac sound.

Many reviewers say she was sounding like Steve Nicks on this album by I don’t actually agree. Sandie’s voice is very distinctive and stands on it’s own.

Over all the album adds a little more electronics but holds steady as a great Rock & Roll album.

Track Listing:
1 – Burning Bridges – 3:57
2 – Thank God – 4:33
3 – Fall Out – 4:30
4 – Now Is The Time – 2:56
5 – Holding On To You – 3:58
6 – Heart To Heart – 3:13
7 – Gauges – 3:02
8 – Something Right For You – 3:24
9 – Tied Down – 3:58
10 – Can’t Go Back – 3:08

Credits:
Artwork – Rob Jaffe
Bass – Rob Martens
Drums – David Holmes
Keyboards – Matt Spransy
Lead Guitar – Bruce Wright
Photography By – Christopher Briscoe
Producer – Jonathan David Brown
Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – Owen Brock
Vocals – Bob Hardy, Sandie Brock

Alwyn Wall – Invisible Warfare – 1982

This was the first album from Alwyn Wall though he had released an album in 1977 under the name “The Alwyn Wall Band”.

A member of Malcolm & Alwyn in the 70’s this was really his second solo project. Albums were relatively rare from Alwyn but when they did come out they were good.

His albums had far less filler songs and I find it difficult to pick singles given the quality of the songs. You can’t really say this album sounds like anything. Instead Alwyn offers a style all his own.

This album was produced and engineered by Larry Norman and was probably the best job he ever did in those roles as most agree these roles were not his strong point.

Track Listing:
1 – Doctor, Doctor 5:15
2 – On Your Marks (Are You Ready?) 4:09
3 – Let The Light Come 4:43
4 – Hold On 4:24
5 – Someday 4:52
6 – I’m Alright Jack (The Greed Song) 3:16
7 – (You’ve Got To Be) Doers 3:42
8 – Greatest Show On Earth 4:08
9 – Jesus I Love You 1:42C

Credits:
Backing Vocals, Engineer – Mark Williamson
Bass – Tim Hatwell
Drums – Russell Caldwell
Engineer – Tim Jacquette
Guitar – Norman Barratt
Keyboards – Dave Morris
Producer, Backing Vocals, Engineer – Larry Norman
Vocals, Guitar – Alwyn Wall

Lex Rex – Beat The Heat – 1990

This is the one and only album from Lex Rex. It’s a good Heavy Metal album though a few tracks are just good old Rock & Roll.

The name is quite unique and is Latin for “God’s law is King”. Bass player Curt Walsh went on to tour with Clay Walker and Tony Vines now makes very high quality custom guitars.

Other than that there’s not a lot to say about the album other than it’s pretty darn good.

Track Listing:
1 – Blown Away – 4:34
2 – Beat The Heat – 3:29
3 – A Broken Heart – 4:48
4 – My Lord – 3:25
5 – I Kill Devils – 4:17
6 – Blood Of Love – 4:02
7 – Crying In The Night – 5:27
8 – Absolute Perfection – 3:24
9 – Sledgehammer – 4:00
10 – Daddy – 4:00

Credits:
Bass – Curt Walsh
Drums – Tony Vines (2)
Guitar – Tom Brock (3)
Producer – Lex Rex
Vocals – Harv Prichard
Written-By – Harv Prichard (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9), Tom Brock (3) (tracks: 2, 4, 6, 7, 10)

John Michael Talbot – Hiding Place – 1990

Hiding Place was John’s first album in 1990. He was quite busy that year releasing 4 albums.

This album follows the same style of personal meditation as his previous albums. This album is somewhat repetitive in that manner but most listeners were happy with the new musical scores.

Despite John’s Roman Catholic faith his albums are well received by Christians of all faiths as evidenced by this album rising to 19th on the Contemporary Christian music charts.

Track Listing:
1 – The Hiding Place – 3:33
2 – Confession – 4:22
3 – I Will Lift Up My Eyes – 3:58
4 – Unless The Lord Build The House – 3:59
5 – Psalm 27 – 3:27
6 – Christ As A Light – 1:56
7 – Anima Christi – 3:23
8 – Surrender – 2:55
9 – My Vows To The Lord – 3:46
10 – There’s A Time – 4:20

Credits:
Art Direction – Barbara Catanzaro-Hearn
Design – Brenda Whitehill
Engineer – Gil Morales
Guitar, Vocals – John Michael Talbot
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Orchestrated By – Phil Perkins
Photography By – Mark Tucker
Producer – Billy Ray Hearn
Recorded By, Mixed By – Bernie Kirsh
Written-By – John Michael Talbot

Eternity Express – (self titled) – 1979

I must admit I knew nothing about Eternity Express before writing this review.

The album here is your typical late Jesus Music offering bridging into 80’s easy listening. It’s well produced and engineered and the band is pretty good at what they do.

But here’s the story on the band. The brother of evangelist Ken Gaub, Mike, joined up with Nathan and Dan Gaub to form a support band for Ken’s ministry. They had some erratic album releases and members came and went over the years.

In 2012 Dan Gaub appears to have committed suicide as he was being investigated by the FBI for securities fraud. It’s been alleged that he robbed investors of approximately 40 million dollars.

The band changed names in the late 80’s to “Illustrator” and released two albums under that name.

Track Listing:
1 – Reservation
2 – Turn Your Life Around
3 – Dream World
4 – Happy New Year
5 – Always There
6 – End Of The Line
7 – Shame
8 – Lost Love
9 – Stop Your Runnin’
10 – Never Alone
11 – Gotcha By My Side

Credits:
Nathan Gaub – Vocal, Bass
Mike Gaub – Vocal, Drums
Dan Gaub – Guitar & Arranging

Youth Choir – Voices In Shadows – 1985

This is the introductory album from Youth Choir, later known as Choir.

They were one of the many great bands that came out of Calvary Chapel in Orange County, California in the 80’s. The band featured Derald Daugherty of Lost Dogs fame along with Steve Hindalong, and Mike Sauerbrey.

This album has a pure new wave sound with hints of U2. The single “Someone’s Calling” was well received and received regular airplay in Christian radio.

Point of trivia is that Steve Hindalong was credited with playing drums but the drums on the album are completely electronic.

Track Listing:
1 – Someone’s Calling – 4:27
2 – Wounds Of A Young Heart – 2:38
3 – Dreams – 3:48
4 – Another Heart – 3:32
5 – Why Are All The Children Crying – 4:31
6 – Another World – 3:54
7 – Here In The Night – 4:17
8 – Alright Tonight – 2:54
9 – Anyone But You – 3:34
10 – A Million Years – 3:41

Credits:
Bass [Uncredited] – Mike Sauerbrey
Design [Sleeve] – Ed McTaggart
Design, Layout, Artwork By [Photo Illustration] – Kevin Short
Other [Crewed By] – Bob Salcedo, Tim Curiel
Other [Live Sound] – Dave Hackbarth
Percussion [Uncredited] – Steve Hindalong
Photography – Scott Lockwood
Photography [Back Cover] – Linda Baley
Producer, Engineer – Thom Roy
Vocals [Uncredited], Guitar [Uncredited] – Derald Daugherty
Written-By, Performer – Youth Choir

Various – Rock Around The World – 1984

This 1984 Refuge Records sampler dished up some singles/bands we were well aware of such as Daniel Amos and Jerusalem.

Two lesser known artists were Marloe Scott Wilson and Peter Beveridge and there were three artists that don’t appear to have ever been released elsewhere, Communique, Christian Gonzales, and Dave Eastman.

All in all a good sampler of hits from the era.

Tracklist
1 – Jerusalem – Let’s Go – 3:42
2 – Daniel Amos – Home Permanent – 3:05
3 – Semaja – Hey Friend – 4:14
4 – Jan Groth – Lie Is Not Truth – 4:05
5 – Marloe Scott Wilson – Love Explosion – 3:91
6 – Peter Beveridge – No Doubt In This Love – 3:86
7 – Communique – A New Song – 3:86
8 – Christian Gonzales – What Ever’s Happ’nin’ – 3:33
9 – Daniel Band – Here I Am – 3:03
10 – Dave Eastman – The Power Of Love – 3:76

City Limits – (self titled) – 1981

City Limits was Scott Roley and his touring band in studio. The drummer for the album was Joe English but he didn’t tour in support of the album.

The single “Sacrificing Love” broke the top five on the Contemporary Christian Charts and had strong airplay for several months.

The album is easy listening and easy to listen too and the songs are all very well written i.e. excellent lyrics and music.

Track Listing:
1 – Holdin’ The Key – 3:09
2 – Christians – 4:23
3 – Lost In His Love – 3:59
4 – In Each Heart – 2:58
5 – Sacrificing Love – 3:53
6 – Heavenly Father – 3:15
7 – The Awakening – 3:00
8 – Cross Your Heart – 3:16
9 – In Your Love – 3:38
10 – Man From Heaven – 3:15

Credits:
Art Direction, Design – Ron Brant, Stan Evenson Design Inc.
Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Diane Tidwell, Lisa Silver, Michael Albrecht, Sheri Huffman
Bass – Larry Paxton
Drums – Joe English
Engineer – Jim Baird, Pat Holt, Randy Holland, Scott Hendricks
Executive-Producer – Ray Nenow
Guitar – George Cocchini, Jon Goin, Kenny Mims
Horns – Dennis Solee, Donnie (Sax) Sanders, Ernie Collins, Matt Davich, Rob Hill, Sam Levine, Terry Mead
Keyboards – John Rosasco
Lead Vocals [Uncredited] – Scott Roley
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Percussion – Terry McMillan
Percussion [Mallet Instruments], Synthesizer [Synthesizers] – Alan Steinberger
Photography By – Larry DuPont
Photography By [Photograph Of Scott Roley] – Melody McGuire
Producer, Arranged By [String Arrangements], Arranged By [Brass Arrangements] – John Rosasco

Chuck Girard – Glow In The Dark – 1976

Though this Chuck’s second album I think most of us were introduced to him with this album.

Though a mid 70’s release this album doesn’t really have a “Jesus Music” feel. I would argue it is one of the best mid 70’s Christian albums. The opening a capella track “Anthem” is probably the best Christian a capella song ever released. Admittedly I only know of two though.

“Somethin’ Supernatural” has great blues rock feel and the album closing ballad “Old Dan Cotton” is probably the best cut on the album.

Track Listing:
1 – Anthem – 1:00
2 – Callin’ You – 3:05
3 – I Remember – 4:24
4 – Return – 3:22
5 – I Know A Lady – 3:12
6 – No, No You’re Not Afraid – 2:55
7 – Somethin’ Supernatural – 3:52
8 – When I Was Ready – 5:34
9 – So Thankful (Song For Easter Morning) – 3:02
10 – Old Dan Cotton – 5:34

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Good News Records – 1976
Copyright (c) – Good News Records – 1976
Published By – Dunamis Music
Distributed By – Myrrh Records
Recorded At – Mama Jo’s
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab

Credits:
Arranged By [Strings & Horns] – Barry Fasman
Design – David Larkham, Hoggie McMurtrie*
Photography By – Ed Caraeff
Producer, Lyrics By, Music By, Vocals – Chuck Girard
Recorded By, Mixed By – Tom Trefethen

Alliance – Answer Beyond The Pieces – 1988

Alliance are an unsigned band from South Carolina. Their sound has a great Rock feel with some tracks leaning New Wave and others Heavy Metal.

Ironically there is a song called “Journey’s End” in which I can hear a bit of Journey. Originally formed in 1980 as NEW HORIZONS BAND by Tony Feliciano & Lonnie Smith the name was changed to STAIRWAY in 1981 and then to EXODUS in 1982.

They changed name for final time in 1986 to ALLIANCE. From 1981 to 1989 they performed in churches, coffeehouses, prisons, colleges, high schools, military bases, campgrounds, public parks, city auditoriums, sports arenas, and outdoor festivals throughout the American southeast.

This band really should have been signed and I urge you to listen to this album, you’ll probably be glad you did.

Track Listing:
1 – Eye Contact – 4:37
2 – Answers – 3:14
3 – Journey’s End – 4:23
4 – Great Expectations – 4:26
5 – Hope of The Ages – 4:30
6 – Breakaway – 2:59
7 – Just Say No – 3:06
8 – Bridges – 4:16
9 – Genesis – 3:47
10 – World’s Apart – 6:15

Credits:
Lonnie Smith – vocals & keyboards
Tony Feliciano – guitars
Tracy Hollingsworth – drums
Mark Poole – bass
Frank Ward – chief sound tech
Dave Sneath – chief lighting tech