Carmelo Domenic Licciardello known to us as Carman came to Christ around 20 years old. A life long musician he was pretty quick to get to work on an album. This is that first album. It was released on micro label Klesis Records and had almost no distribution so most people never had a chance to hear this one. Several tracks from this album would show up on future albums so people got a chance to hear them. This album set the tone for many albums to come. His almost theatric song structure is established here as his style. This is one you may have missed so I strongly suggest giving it a listen, it’s a great album.
Tracklist 1 – God’s Not Finished With Me – 2:30 2 – I Love Jesus – 3:15 3 – Some A Dat – 3:20 4 – I Don’t Believe It – 3:54 5 – Something Changed – 3:22 6 – God Don’t Care – 3:38 7 – I Still Can Rock N’ Roll – 3:15 8 – You’re The Only One – 3:30 9 – Simple Things – 3:31 10 – You Belong To Me – 3:54
This was the final album from the band using the name Eternity Express. They definitely put together a new look for this album but the sound was still Eternity Express. This is essentially the same lineup that would form Illustrator and under that name they would complete the new look and sound. While this may be a more subdued album I still quite like it. For some reason even though Eternity Express is essentially a easy listening band I have always has a soft spot for their work. Back in the 80’s this is definitely not the style of music my friends and I were listening to but we always had time on the mixed tape of the day for an Eternity Express track. These guys were actually underappreciated in my opinion but with so many albums obviously the record companies saw their talent.
Tracklist 1 – Better This Time – 3:34 2 – How Long – 4:11 3 – Wait On The Lord – 4:10 4 – Re-Ignited – 3:36 5 – Feels Like I’ve Never Been Loved – 3:43 6 – All You Need – 3:57 7 – One On One – 4:23 8 – Open Up Your Heart – 4:14 9 – I Surrender – 3:47
Credits Drums – Daryl Sutherland Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion, Vocals – Dan Gaub Bass, Sax, Vocals – Mark Matthews Vocals, Keyboards – Dawndee Gaub Vocals, Keyboards – Nathan Gaub Lacquer Cut By – Phil Austin Photography – Peter Eisele
This is a relatively rare one off release from the band and is the first release from them after Michael Knott took over vocals from Mark Krischak. Side A You And Me is an excellent Rockabilly tune and you’ll be excused if you thought you’d stumbled on a Lifter’s track. Side B “The One” was later re-recorded with Brian Goins on vocals and released on Dream Life. This version is actually much better.
Tracklist Side A – You And Me Side B – The One
Credits Michael Knott – Guitar, Vocals Chris Wimber – Bass Kevin Lee – Drums Michael Stand – Lead Guitar on ‘You And Me’ Thom Roy – Producer, Engineer
This is Knott’s first official solo album and what an album it is. Michael was one of the hardest working people in the industry. At the time of this album he was still a member of L.S. Underground, he was helping produce several projects, and he was running his own record label. I will be honest and say that I didn’t really know much about him until he passed away earlier this year. Upon his death I read up and learned about his important contribution to the industry. There is an excellent website dedicated to his work which I will link below. As for this album it has a great 90’s sound and feel. Some might think it’s a little dark in spots but I believe for the main part it’s an upbeat positive great album.
Joni (Joni Eareckson Tada) is a very interesting story. Unfortunately she became a quadriplegic at the age of 17 due to a diving incident. However she didn’t let this slow her down and was able to record several popular albums over the years mostly on Word records. This is her first and it’s pretty good though it’s not really my style. It’s pretty easy listening and has a bit of a jazz feel in places. She is a very good vocalist though and the album is a very relaxing album and there’s a few good tracks you could consider for Sunday service. Joni has dedicated her life to helping the disabled especially children and for that she has my deepest respect.
Tracklist 1 – Spirit Wings – 4:43 2 – Hosanna – 2:13 3 – The Only Thing I Want – 3:51 4 – Portrait Of Jesus – 2:27 5 – My Jesus As Thou Wilt – 3:07 6 – Run That Race – 2:38 7 – When Pretty Things Get Broken – 2:23 8 – Take My Life – 2:59 9 – Heaven – 3:32 10 – He Careth For You – 2:44
Credits Arranged By – Bill Pursell, David Diggs Cover [Cover Design] – Dennis Hill Engineer, Mixed By [Mixdown] – Chris Banninger Photography By – Harry Langdon Producer, Conductor – Kurt Kaiser
The Technos actually started out as the Techno Twins in the secular market. They released their first album in 1982 with the single “Falling in love again” which did very well in the European market. The band is generally credited with being the origin of the term “techno” which is something to be proud of. It’s pretty cool when your band name becomes a international term for a style of music. Anyway, after a couple of fairly successful secular releases they put out this one and only Christian release. It is actually a little different in that the songs are social/political oriented and they touch on subjects that weren’t often touched on by Christian artists. I don’t know if this was a popular album or not but I really like it.
Tracklist 1 – Friends & Frontiers – 4:02 2 – Dare To Dance – 3:47 3 – Share Food Like The Bees – 3:29 4 – Beat The Wings – 3:37 5 – Mechanical Ballet – 4:23 6 – Half A Story – 3:39 7 – War: One Voice – 4:18 8 – Pioneer´s Song – 4:02 9 – Walk Into The Light – 4:27 10 – What You Believe – 3:33
Credits Backing Vocals – Bev Sage, Carolyn Nieto, Cynthia Rizas, Martin Bass, Steve Fairnie Drums – David Prater Engineer – Doug Oberkirker Engineer [Assistant] – Dan Rudin Guitar – Ronnie Drayton Keyboards, Arranged By – George Small Photography By – David Rose Producer – Joey Powers Saxophone [Sax] – Sydell Carter
Depending on your definition of first this is the first album from Perry & The Poor Boys. Now that said they had 3 demo’s and an album released in Estonia before this one. While this album was released on the Spark label in Europe it was a self release in the U.S.A. Apparently the album did quite well for a self release which doesn’t surprise me as the quality of this album is fantastic. The album was produced by Mike Roe and he helped out on a few tracks on guitar and background vocals. The album is a mix of reworked previous tracks and some new ones. The re-recorded tracks really improved with some proper production. Lead vocalist Perry Springman when asked about the bands influences said “It’s like Elvis Costello meets REM meets God!” Personally I don’t hear the Costello influence but I can hear the REM influence. To some extent this band was kind of an urban legend but they did exist and they were great. Be sure to give this one a listen if you missed it back then.
Tracklist 1 – Guns – 3:23 2 – LADA – 4:04 3 – Live Like You Mean It – 5:23 4 – The Picture Of Laura – 5:01 5 – Where Can I Hide From You – 3:31 6 – Winter – 4:30 7 – It Must Be Hard For God – 4:04 8 – No Fear In Love – 4:01 9 – I Am Where You Stand – 3:41 10 – Ransom – 5:55
Credits Arranged By – The Poor Boys Artwork By – Mark Stay Backing Vocals – Mike Roe Bass – Stef Loy Bass, Recorder, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals – Magnus Sjölander Drums – James D. Orvis Engineer – Craig Long, Kirt Shearer Guitar [Additional] – Mike Roe Guitar [Guitar Abuse], Harmonica, Backing Vocals – Bo Hallbeck Keyboards, Accordion, Vocals – Stef Loy Layout, Photography By – Olli Tuomola Photography By – Paul Markert Producer – Mike Roe Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Electric Guitar –
This was Michael And Stormie’s first release using both of their names. Stormie had appeared on Michael’s previous albums but this is the first album she did lead vocals on. They actually married the same year they released this album so I guess we could consider this album a celebration of their partnership. If you hear a bit of darkness in some of Stormie’s writings she has previously shared that before Michael she was actually in a disastrous marriage and that her childhood wasn’t that great either. As such she wrote many songs reflecting her life experiences. While Michael was the musical driving force of the marriage without a doubt Stormie was the lyricist. Together they made a great musical couple from whom we would enjoy many more albums. Nice to see Matthew Ward and Phil Keaggy helping out with the album, I’ve been told they were all great friends.
Tracklist 1 – Ms. Past – 4:09 2 – Travel On With Me – 5:27 3 – Gonna Write Me A Song – 2:39 4 – More Like You – 3:19 5 – Where I Been – 4:08 6 – It All Comes Down To You – 3:46 7 – Heaven Will Wait For Me – 4:15 8 – Seasons Of The Soul – 6:47
Credits Backing Vocals – Matthew Ward, Myrna Matthews Bass – Abraham Laboriel Drums, Congas – Paul Leim Engineer – Buck Herring, Wally Duguid Engineer [Mixdown] – Jay Graydon Lead Guitar – Phil Keaggy Lyrics By, Vocals, Backing Vocals – Stormie Omartian Music By – Stormie Omartian (tracks: A3) Photography By [Back Cover & Sleeve] – Harry Langdon Photography By [Front Cover] – Bob Anderson Producer, Arranged By, Music By, Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion [Tuned] – Michael Omartian Rhythm Guitar – Bud Nuanez Saxophone, Flute – Larry Wilson Saxophone, Flute, Horn [Solos] – Kim Hutchcroft Trumpet – Jerry Hey
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc. Published By – See This House Music Recorded At – Buckskin Studio Recorded At – Garden Rake Studio Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Apparently Jamie Rowe and some of the rest of the band were fluent in Spanish and decided to release a few albums in Spanish for the Mexican and South American market. One of the things I have learnt through this project is that CCM music was huge in South America. In fact Brazil has the 3rd most listeners on our YouTube channel followed by Mexico placing them above The U.K. and Australia. Most of these tracks are actually just Spanish covers of previous tracks but the went back into the studio to re-cut the music. I really like Spanish music and was delighted to discover these Spanish Guardian releases. The quality is fantastic and these tracks do not come off as just a new language cover.
Tracklist 1 – Que El Mundo De Su Gloria Llene – 5:02 2 – Todos Vamos Ja – 4:52 3 – Te Veo en el Cielo – 4:39 4 – El Capitán – 4:21 5 – ¿Sabes Que Es El Amor? – 4:51 6 – Nunca Te Diré Adiós – 4:54 7 – Toma Tu Cruz – 4:49 8 – Uno Para el Otro – 4:03 9 – Como el Sol – 5:24 10 – Creo en Ti – 5:10
Donn is one of my favourite soul artists at this point and I’m not a big soul music guy. This is his second album on Myrrh produced by David Diggs which was a recipe for success. This album had a CCM single with “The Keeper Of My Love” making it to #7. After this album David Diggs tried to get Donn onto a secular label with a secular release but unfortunately this didn’t work out so we didn’t hear from Donn again until 1992. He probably should have continued his Christian format as he was very good and you can hear that he was getting better every album.
Tracklist 1 – Believe – 3:44 2 – You’re The One – 4:25 3 – The Keeper Of My Love – 3:37 4 – Where Are You Going? – 3:59 5 – Something’ ‘Bout The Things You Do – 2:54 6 – How Can I Help But Love You – 3:02 7 – When He Comes – 4:02 8 – Any Other Love – 3:58 9 – You Are My Light – 3:27 10 – Don’t Lose Your Dream – 3:20
Credits Arranged By [Strings], Arranged By [Horns], Arranged By [Track], Arranged By [Vocals] – David Diggs Bass – Leon Gaer, Louis Johnson Drums – Ed Greene Electric Piano [Rhodes], Synthesizer [Prophet] – David Diggs Flugelhorn, Soloist – Larry Hall Guitar – Paul Jackson Jr. Lead Vocals – Donn Thomas, Edie Lehmann Piano – Charles Williams
