Ray Mansfield – Page 46

Cascade – Taken by Surprise – 1979

This was the first of 2 albums from Australian band Cascade. It’s a solid seventies effort and one of very few examples of Australian Jesus music. I can’t really find much on the band but guitarist Mark Punch did go one to be Musician of The Year at the CMAA (Country Music Association of Australia) Awards in 2011. The album is a little heavy on the flute for my liking and they even actually credit 2 flute players. That said the album is pretty good and I look forward to hearing their second album.

Tracklist
1 – Danielle – 2:30
2 – Emmanuel – 4:23
3 – Born A Man – 3:12
4 – Sometimes I Feel I Could Say – 4:24
5 – The Bay – 4:34
6 – Rainbows – 3:34
7 – Taken By Surprise – 4:28
8 – The Room – 3:23
9 – Living In A Fallen World – 4:43
10 – A Taste Of Heaven (For Keith Gowan) – 3:15

Credits
Bass Guitar – Al Freeman
Drums – Nick Lister
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Mark Punch
Electric Piano, Synthesizer – Steve Wyatt
Engineer – Paul Rich
Flute – Doug Foskett
Flute, Blues Harp – Peter (Sid) Sinclair
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Malcolm Barnett
Percussion – Doug Gallagher
Producer, Arranged By, Mixed By – Steve Wyatt
Songwriter – Malcolm Barnett
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – John Uebel

Companies, etc.
Pressed By – EMI Custom Records – YPRX 1619
Recorded At – Unison Studios, Rozelle
Mixed At – Unison Studios, Rozelle

Sea Stone – Mirrored Dreams – 1978

I really couldn’t find out much about Sea Stone and I actually only stumbled across them because this was Simon Law’s (Fresh Claim) first band. I have discovered that they had a bit of a cult following and re-released the album on CD in 2010. As for the album it has a pretty good seventies sound and has some excellent guitar work. All in all it’s a pretty good 70’s album and I’m pretty sure of you like that era of Christian music you’ll like this album.

Tracklist
1 – Brand New Day – 4:37
2 – Rolling Stone – 3:24
3 – Helping Hand – 5:53
4 – Waves Of Loneliness – 5:56
5 – Foolish Hero – 4:20
6 – Unborn Child – 4:40
7 – Precious Dream – 7:37
8 – Wake Up – 6:23

Credits
Bass – Nigel Gibbons
Composed By – Eric Lives
Drums – Paul Reynolds
Engineer, Mixed By, Producer – Brook Trickett
Guitar, Vocals, Composed By – Simon Law
Keyboards, Vocals, Design – Mags Parry
Mastered By – Pete Norman
Photography – Elwin Cockett, Eric Lives
Producer – Sea Stone

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Soundtree Studios
Mastered At – RCA Studios, London

David Edwards – The Collected Archives – 2001 – Bonus Material

Most of us who loved David Edwards first 2 albums were left wanting for more. In 2001 David re-released his first 2 albums along with 11 bonus tracks on 2 CDs. These are those bonus tracks. They are a mix of demo’s, unmixed tracks, and 2 live tracks. Of the unreleased tracks the winner is “You Got Me Now” which I would have loved to hear on an album. One thing about this album is when you listen to the rough unmixed tracks you can really appreciated what mixing and production does for an album. I have to admit that most of the bonus tracks are pretty rough but it’s nice to have them anyway. The real treat on the album is the 2 live tracks which are better produced.

Tracklist
1 – Part Of Yesterday (Unmixed Demo) – 3:54
2 – You Got Me Now (Unmixed Demo) – 3:58
3 – Disposable Love (Unmixed Rough Track) – 2:31
4 – Nagging Optimism (Unmixed Rough Track) – 2:45
5 – Tongue Is A Fire (Unmixed Disco Version) – 3:59
6 – The Feeling Part (Live At Greenbelt) – 3:00
7 – Commercial Suicide (Live At Calvary Chapel) – 4:35
8 – Befriended (2-Track Demo) – 3:21
9 – Hope Lies Still (2-Track Demo) – 3:30
10 – Friend Of Old (Demo) – 4:28
11 – By The Way Of The Sea (A “New” Christmas Song) – 5:20

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Blind Records
Copyright © – Blind Records

John Michael Talbot & Terry Talbot ‎– No Longer Strangers – 1983

Well here’s the 1983 offering from the Talbot brothers. It’s pretty standard fare for them but there is a highlight on this album. The title track actually has an Eagles feel and it sounds like something from back in their Mason Proffit days. It’s actually good enough for me to add it to my regular rotation. The music may be Eagles but the lyrics are typical of what you would expect form them. That said this may actually be one of their best tracks since the Mason Proffit days.

Tracklist
1 – No Longer Strangers – 4:08
2 – He Is Risen – 2:42
3 – We Will Rise – 4:07
4 – Silence – 3:34
5 – Nature And Grace – 3:30
6 – Holy Father – 3:37
7 – Isaiah 58 – 5:06
8 – Lady Poverty – 4:10
9 – Hear Us Oh Lord – 4:10
10 – Few Be The Lovers – 4:22

Credits
Arranged By [Orchestra] – Lee Holdridge
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Cover – Stan Evenson Design
Cover [Coordination] – B. Charlyne Hinesley
Drums – Bill Maxwell
Engineer – Darrel Powell, Mike Ross-Trevor
Executive-Producer – Billy Ray Hearn
Guitar, Vocals, Co-producer, Arranged By [Vocals] – John Michael Talbot, Terry Talbot
Mastered By – Ken Pennell, Steve Hall
Orchestra – National Philharmonic Orchestra Of London
Performer – National Philharmonic Orchestra Of London
Photography By – Mark Hanauer
Written-By – John Michael Talbot, Terry Talbot

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The Sparrow Corporation
Copyright © – The Sparrow Corporation
Copyright © – Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company Inc.
Recorded At – Westwind Studio
Recorded At – The Barn
Mixed At – CBS Studios, London
Mastered At – Future Disc
Distributed By – Canadian Christian Distributors, Inc.
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

John Lawry – Media Alert – 1990

You probably know John as the keyboardist for Petra or perhaps for his work with Joe English but this album shows he can stand alone. In fact I would argue that this album might even be better than his albums with Petra. This is a strong keyboard pop album which might have been just a little dated in 1990 but so was the while Christian music scene to be honest. Unfortunately this is all we would get from John as far as solo albums go except for a self release in the late 90’s. His latest work has him in on the CPR project in 2017 and he has been doing some production work. The title track on this one is going in my regular rotation for sure.

Tracklist
1 – Media Alert – 3:48
2 – Video Logic – 4:36
3 – The Whole World Is Crying Tonight – 4:20
4 – Stars In The Night – 4:33
5 – Time Will Tell – 5:09
6 – Radio – Ology – 4:07
7 – Decalogue – 3:45
8 – Can’t Break A Broken Heart – 4:52
9 – Ice Walls – 4:08
10 – Something Wonderful – 5:16

Credits
Art Direction – Toni Thigpen
Backing Vocals – Bill Strickler, Dan Keen, John Schlitt, Tina Keil
Design – Tufts Design Studio
Executive-Producer – Darrell A. Harris
Guitar – Paul Brannon
Mastered By – Ken Love
Music By – Danny Kingen, Dwight Liles, John Lawry
Photography By – Russ Harrington
Producer [Lead Vocals], Recorded By, Mixed By, Drum Programming [Additional] – Bret Teegarden
Producer, Arranged By, Producer [Lead Vocals], Arranged By [Background Vocals], Recorded By, Instruments, Drum Programming, Vocals, Backing Vocals – John Lawry
Recorded By – Jeff Gallup
Vocals – Stefanie Lawry
Words By – Danny Kingen, Dwight Liles, John Lawry, Linda Lang, Mark Hauth

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – Star Song
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Star Song
Distributed By – Sparrow/Star Song Distribution
Recorded At – Shakin’ Studios
Mixed At – Duckworth Studio
Mastered At – Mastermix

Harvest – Give Them Back – 1987

This is the offering from Harvest for 1987. Having now listened to a few Harvest albums at this point I think this might be one of their best. It has the best production of all I have heard so far and actually it’s one of the better produced albums I’ve heard. It was produced by band member Jerry Williams who really didn’t have any significant experience at the job but he nailed it on this day. As for the album it is a solid Easy Listening Pop album that’s actually quite good. Again this is not my preferred style of music but I’ll admit I enjoyed this album though there’s not a track that’ll go in my regular rotation.

Tracklist
1 – Rise Up – 3:12
2 – All That Is In Me – 3:40
3 – Soon That Day – 4:02
4 – His Angels Are Everywhere – 4:08
5 – You Are My Keeper – 3:58
6 – Give Them Back – 2:51
7 – What Are You Singing For – 6:02
8 – I Am Your Father – 3:52
9 – Wash Me, Lord – 3:56
10 – Great Jehovah – 3:46

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Larry Rolando
Arranged By [Vocals] – Harvest
Art Direction, Design – Bill Barnes
Backing Vocals – Debbie Lee, Ed Kerr, Eric Tagg, Janie Cruse Stone, Jerry Williams, Karen Cruse Adams, LaDonna Johnson, Ronnie Ricks, Tim Johnson
Bass – Leon Gaer
Design – Deb Mahalanobis
Drums – Jack Kelly
Electric Guitar – Michael Thompson
Graphics – Barnes & Company
Keyboards, Programmed By, Arranged By [Vocals], Arranged By – John Andrew Schreiner
Percussion – Charles Barnett
Photography By – Matthew Barnes
Piano [Acoustic] – Ed Kerr
Producer – Jerry Williams
Programmed By [Synthesizer] – Gary Leach
Recorded By, Mixed By – Greg Hunt

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – The Benson Company, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The Benson Company, Inc.
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Distributed By – Mitchell Family Books, Inc.
Recorded At – Rosewood Studio
Recorded At – Easter Song Studios
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab

Paul Clark – Out Of The Shadow – 1984

Paul was one of the pioneer’s of the Christian music scene. His first album was recorded in 1971 and he had album’s all through the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. This album came out in 1984 and has a bit of an Imperials feel to it. I understand why I didn’t listen to Paul in the 80’s as he’s not my style of music especially in 1984. I am wondering however why I never heard of him back then. I mean this guy had tons of albums and they are very good for this style. Quite frankly they are as good as any Imperials release of the period. I’m pretty sure most of you who are reading this had heard of him as he simply was very popular. Anyway the album is a great AOR album and while not my personal style of music I recognize good music when I hear it and this album is good. If for no other reason listen to it because Phil Keaggy plays some excellent guitar solo’s on the album.

Tracklist
1 – Give Me Your Heart – 4:06
2 – Mr. Me – 3:59
3 – Out Of The Shadow – 4:48
4 – 1984 – 3:10
5 – It’s You – 2:58
6 – The Minstrel’s Voyage – 2:55
7 – I Will Fly (In The Wind) – 6:00
8 – I Need Your Love Again – 3:49
9 – Love Of My Life – 4:01
10 – Father God – 3:30

Credits
Backing Vocals – Alfie Silas, Phyllis St. James, Richard Page, Steve George, Tommy Funderburk
Bass Guitar – Leon Gaer
Design, Layout – Dennis Hill, Ken Wolgemuth
Drums – Mike Baird
Electric Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Soloist – Carlos Rios, Hadley Hockensmith
Electric Guitar, Soloist – Philip Keaggy
Engineer [Second] – Bobby Cotton, Mike Ross
Engineer [Tracks & Overdubs] – Wally Grant
Keyboards, Synthesizer, Piano, Electric Piano – Smitty Price
Liner Notes – Paul Clark
Mastered By – Mike Reese
Mixed By – Bill Schnee
Percussion – Michael Fisher
Photography By – Aaron Rapaport
Piano, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Paul Clark
Producer [Produced By] – Paul Clark
Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Brandon Field
Transcription By [Chord Charts] – Don Harris
Vocals [Duet], Soloist – Kelly Willard
Written-By – Don Harris, Paul Clark

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Minstrel’s Voyage Music
Copyright © – Word Music
Recorded At – Weddington Studios
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. – 26404

Phil Butin & Rich Webster – All In All – 1982

I really couldn’t find out anything about either of these guys. Phil Butin had an album with Ron Case but that’s it, that’s all I could find out. As for the album it has a distinctly 70’s sound but is mostly easy listening except for a couple rock tracks. The rock tracks are pretty good but I didn’t care for the easy listening tracks as much. The guitar work on the album is excellent and I would have liked to have heard more of it. As this was a self released project I’m not too sure how much exposure it got but it’s well worth a listen.

Tracklist
1 – I Am – 4:59
2 – I’m The One You Need – 3:40
3 – Come To Me And Rest – 3:08
4 – We’re Not Alone – 4:17
5 – Help Is On The Way – 5:12
6 – Ahead – 3:35
7 – The Way I Was Before – 4:40
8 – Take Me Far Away – Lately – 7:35
9 – Shine With Your Light – 3:30
10 – All In All – 3:18

The Wall Brothers – In Your Light – 1980

This is the 4th and final album from The Wall Brothers. As I have said in other reviews of this band I really can’t find much info on them. This album continues on similar to their previous albums. It has an easy listening seventies sound and stays away from anything close to Rock & Roll. That said it’s a great album for this style and I quite like it. Unfortunately I don’t think any tracks will make it into my regular rotation but I did quite like the track “I Am Free” which I think is really well written and performed though it’s not really my usual style.

Tracklist
1 – Open Up – 3:21
2 – What’s Your Hope In – 3:37
3 – Right In Your Light – 3:10
4 – I Am Free – 3:51
5 – He Loves You So Much – 4:12
6 – Finally Found My Heart – 4:21
7 – Where Do We Go From Here – 4:22
8 – Just Another Day – 3:50
9 – He Must’ve Planned It That Way – 4:46

Credits
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Producer – Phil Johnson

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Greentree Records
Copyright © – Greentree Records
Mastered At – Woodland Studios

Mad At The World – Through The Forest – 1992

This is the fifth studio album from the guys. Strangely it’s also the last one that founding member Mike Pendleton and guitarist Brent Gordon are on. Nothing has ever been officially said about their departures but to quote Roger Rose, “they didn’t really quit the band–they kinda quit and got fired all at the same time.” Anyway that aside this album continues there new Rock/Grunge style we were introduced to on their previous album. It’s not as good as their previous album which I found kind of odd as I thought they would be perfecting this sound but it’s still a pretty darn good album and if you really like this style of music this is probably still in the 10 of this style.

Tracklist
1 – That Lonesome Road – 4:27
2 – Trapped – 3:44
3 – Lost In The Forest – 3:35
4 – If I Lose My Way – 3:31
5 – Always Be My Love – 4:08
6 – M.A.T.W. (Reprise) – 4:22
7 – Alone – 5:45
8 – I’ve Got A Heaven – 4:25
9 – I’ll Never Go Back There – 3:54
10 – If I Can Dream – 2:53

Credits
Art Direction – Brian Godawa
Bass – Mike Pendelton
Cover – Brent Gordon
Design – Brian Godawa
Drums – Randy Rose
Guitar – Roger Rose
Lead Guitar – Brent Gordon
Lyrics By – Roger Rose
Photography By – Patrick House
Producer – Roger Rose
Rhythm Guitar – Brent Gordon
Vocals – Mike Pendelton, Randy Rose, Roger Rose

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – Frontline Records
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Frontline Records
Recorded At – MATW Studios
Mixed At – MATW Studios
Distributed By – FMG Distribution
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus