Ray Mansfield – Page 51

Petra – The Rock Cries Out – 1989

This is the eleventh studio album from Petra who actually called themselves Petra Praise for this release. This was an entirely experimental/new idea for them. The album is mainly traditional worship songs done in a Petra style. Not all of them them are hard rock but of course those are the standouts. The album also has 2 original tracks written by Bob Hartman, “I Love the Lord” and “The King of Glory Shall Come In.” The album also released an accompaniment track for the youth groups. Pretty bold idea for the time. Actually it would be a bold idea today. It appears the idea was popular as Petra released 2 more worship albums over the years and they were even more popular than this one. The album was also released in Spanish and I’m currently on the hunt for that version as I love Spanish music. Personally I think the whole idea was perfect for the time as this was needed to dispel the anti Rock & Roll holdouts in the Church. All that aside my actual favourite tracks are the last 2. They are live versions of “I Will Call Upon the Lord” and “I Exalt Thee” but I’m always a sucker for live tracks.

Tracklist
1 – I Love The Lord – 3:35
2 – King Of Kings – 1:47
3 – Jesus, Jesus, Glorious One – 2:18
4 – The Battle Belongs To The Lord – 3:04
5 – Take Me In – 4:11
6 – Salvation Belongs To Our God – 2:56
7 – The King Of Glory Shall Come In – 3:10
8 – No Weapon Formed Against Us – 1:44
9 – I Will Celebrate / When The Spirit Of The Lord – 4:15
10 – I Will Sing Praise – 2:45
11 – Hallowed Be Thy Name – 4:12
12 – Friends (All In The Family Of God) – 4:20
13 – I Will Call Upon The Lord – 3:48
14 – We Exalt Thee – 3:46

Credits
Arranged By [Vocal Arrangement] – Walt Harrah
Backing Vocals – Kathy Riso, Charlie Hoage, John Elefante, John Lawry, Rick Riso, Sara Tennison, Walt Harrah
Bass Guitar – Ronny Cates
Concept By [Cover Concept] – Loren Balman
Coordinator [Cover] – Terri Short
Design [Cover] – Jackson Design
Drums – Louie Weaver
Guitar – Bob Hartman
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – John Lawry
Lead Vocals – John Schlitt
Mixed By [Duckworth Studio] – Bret Teegarden, Tommy Greer
Photography By – Mark Tucker
Producer [Production Assistant on Guitars and Vocals] – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Producer, Arranged By – Bob Hartman, John Lawry
Recorded By [Assistant at Pakaderm studios] – Jeff Simmons
Recorded By [Pakaderm studios] – Dino Elefante, John Elefante, Mike Mierau
Recorded By [Recording Arts] – Carl Tatz, Dino Elefante
Recorded By [The Pond] – Gary Hedden, Howard Levy
Saxophone [Sax Solo] – Greg Vail

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – The Pond
Recorded At – Recording Arts
Recorded At – Pakaderm studios
Mixed At – Pakaderm studios
Mixed At – Duckworth Studio
Mastered At – Future Disc
Produced For – Firstborne Productions, Inc.
Published By – Petsong Publishing
Published By – Word, Inc.
Published By – Maranatha! Music

Paul Smith – No Frills – 1987

Paul’s first solo album after leaving the Imperials was a big hit so Dayspring Records went for round 2 with this one. They must a thrown a lot of money at this album as the credit list is huge. Alas from what I have read this album did not do as well as his previous one. I’m kind of disappointed with that as I think this album is easily just as good but I wouldn’t say it’s better. This is solid pop album and while his last release was a little more AOR oriented I think this one should have done better with a more youthful audience. While there are a few too many ballads for my taste they are well done and are solid tracks.

Tracklist
1 – Faithful – 4:02
2 – Dancing Too Close – 4:20
3 – Walls – 5:07
4 – The Right Thing – 4:00
5 – I Will Be There For You – 4:51
6 – Something Better – 4:39
7 – Cantabile – 4:24
8 – Celebration (I Wanna Be There) – 5:20
9 – When Love Comes Home – 4:44

Credits
Jeff Balding – Engineer, Mixed
Deanna Cabaniss – Background Vocals
Claire Cloninger – Songwriter
Billy Crockett – Songwriter
Bill Deaton – Engineer
Mark Douthit – Sax
Michael English – Background Vocals
Bob Farrell – Songwriter
Kim Fleming – Background Vocals
Mark Hammond – Drum Programming
Richard Headen – Engineer
Deanna Hemby – Spoken Vocals
Tom Hemby – Producer, Songwriter, Arrangements, Mandolin, Drum Programming, Guitars, Background Vocals
JB Baird – Engineer, Mixed
Neal Joseph – Executive Producer
Wayne Kirkpatrick – Songwriter
Phil Kristianson – Piano, Organ
Gary Lunn – Bass, Drum Programming
Phil Madeira – Additional Synthesizers
David Martin – Songwriter
Donna McElroy – Background Vocals
Phil Naish – Synthesizers
Brett Perry – Songwriter
Kelly Raglin – Spoken Vocals
Chris Rodriguez – Background Vocals
Jimmie Lee Sloas – Background Vocals
Paul Smith – Songwriter, Vocals, Background Vocals
Keith Thomas – Producer, Songwriter, Arrangements, Synthesizers, Drum Programming
Tricia Walker – Songwriter
Marcia Wells – Background Vocals
Bill Whittington – Engineer, Mixed
Hank Williams – Mastered
Kenny Wood – Songwriter

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Made By – Discovery Systems
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio
Recorded At – OmniSound Studios
Recorded At – Center Stage Studio
Mixed At – OmniSound Studios
Mixed At – Center Stage Studio
Mastered At – Mastermix

The Brave – Battle Cries – 1992

I really Can’t find much about The Brave other than they formed in 1991 in Lancaster, California. I do know that they came to the attention of John and Dino Elefante over at Pakaderm Records. This album is the result of their work together and what an album it is. I often struggle with the line between hard rock and metal and this album really dances that line for me. In the end I say it’s hard rock and is one of the best hard rock albums I’ve heard in CCM. The album has 10 solid rock tracks with two remixes thrown in as bonus material. Judging from the bonus tracks I am assuming they felt the singles were “All Together Now” and “Running All My Life”. Personally I think “Little Love” is the single of the album as the intro guitar rifts get you ready for a great song which doesn’t disappoint. All that said here’s the problem with the album. It was released in 1992 and that was right at the tail end of this style. After this much harder metal became more popular and this arena rock style just didn’t fit. Lucky for us it’s years later and we can just enjoy the album as a great hard rock album.

Tracklist
1 – All Together Now – 4:28
2 – The Waiting – 4:33
3 – If That Ain’t Love – 4:59
4 – Running All My Life – 4:45
5 – Tears Of A Broken Heart – 4:31
6 – Little Love – 4:27
7 – Never Live Without Your Love – 4:38
8 – Big World – 4:23
9 – Ride With The Rythm – 3:53
10 – Just A Man – 4:42
11 – All Together Now (Studio Mix) – 4:28
12 – Running All My Life (Studio Mix) – 4:44

Credits
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Doug Beiden, Jeff Gunn
Bass – Malcolm Paris
Design, Art Direction – Terry DeGraff
Drums – Randy Roberts
Drums [Additional], Percussion [Additional] – Dave Raven
Engineer – Dino Elefante, Doug Beiden, J.R. McNeely, John Elefante
Engineer [Assistant] – Chuck Swindoll Jr.
Guitar – Freddie Tierra, Stayce Roberts
Guitar [Additional], Bass [Additional] – J.R. McNeely
Guitar [Solo, Guest] – Tony Palacios
Lead Vocals – James Salters
Mastered By – Chris Bellman
Mixed By – Neil Kernon
Photography By – Patrick House
Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Vocals – Freddie Tierra, Malcolm Paris, Randy Roberts, Stayce Roberts
Written-By, Arranged By – Brandon Starr, Dino Elefante, Ian Sabretti, Jean-Luc Lajoie, John Elefante, The Brave

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word Communications Ltd.
Distributed By – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Pressed By – Denon Digital Industries
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering

Mason Proffit – Movin’ Toward Happiness – 1971

You may not know Mason Proffit but I’m guessing you do know John and Terry Talbot. Well before these brothers started their solo CCM career they formed a band called Mason Proffit. This is either their 2nd or 3rd album, I can’t really tell because they released 2 albums in 1971. I must admit this is the first album I heard from Mason Proffit and wow. I simply can’t believe this is the Talbot brothers. Now you probably already know I am not a fan of the brothers but that’s because their style of music is not for me. I do however recognize that they are some of the most talented artists in the CCM industry. They are fantastic musicians and prolific song writers, but I have a new respect for them after listening to this album. They were great folk/country/rock band back in the 70’s and this is a fantastic album. If you want to hear where the Talbot brothers started out you need to listen to this album.

Tracklist
1 – Michael Dodge – 2:57
2 – Hard Luck Woman – 2:54
3 – Children – 2:48
4 – Hokey Joe Pony – 2:22
5 – Flying Arrow – 3:30
6 – Old Joe Clark – 4:01
7 – Let Me Know Where You’re Goin’ – 2:29
8 – Melinda – 3:56
9 – Good Friend Of Mary’s – 2:44
10 – He Loves Them – 3:31
11 – Everybody Was Wrong – 5:47

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – John Talbot, Terry Talbot
Arranged By – Mason Proffit
Artwork By [Cover Painting] – Julian Gilbert
Banjo – John Talbot
Bass – Tim Ayres
Dobro – John Talbot
Drums – Art Nash
Electric Guitar – John Talbot, Terry Talbot
Executive Producer – Bill Traut
Fiddle – Terry Talbot
Guitar – Ron Schuetter
Mixed By [Remixed By] – Martin Feldman, Terry Talbot
Other [Creative Assistance] – Ron Sales
Percussion – Art Nash
Photography By [Liner Photography] – Rich Dienethal
Piano – Terry Talbot
Producer – Mason Proffit
Recorded By – Mal Davis, Martin Feldman
Steel Guitar – John Talbot
Vocals – John Talbot, Ron Schuetter, Terry Talbot

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Paragon Recording Studios
Recorded At – Universal Recording Corp.
Remixed At – Streeterville Studios
Produced For – Dunwich Productions
Published By – Rolling Meadows Music
Made By – RCA Limited
Mastered At – RCA Studios, Toronto

Roby Duke – Down To Business – 1989

This was Roby’s 4th album. I’ll be honest I had no idea who Roby was before getting this album. Considering his first album was in 1982 I would have thought I would have heard of him. Furthermore he wrote several songs for other bands in the early 80’s including Sweet Comfort Band, and Russ Taff. I have not listened to his previous albums but you can expect reviews of them in the future as I look forward to hearing them. As for the album it’s a synth heavy adult pop album with some pretty good vocals. I don’t honestly know if I would have liked it in 1989 but I sure like it now.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPcTOx34g9XTfM2yHIDPP-lsEJrAHu3fS

Tracklist
1 – I Try (Walk In The Park) – 3:40
2 – Dreams Alive – 3:20
3 – I Shall See God – 4:25
4 – Moon Over Me (Waiting For You) – 4:01
5 – Rain – 3:54
6 – Down To Business – 3:18
7 – Nonetheless – 3:27
8 – Modern Man (Want Will Steal Your Heart Away) – 3:57
9 – Maybe – 3:23
10 – Thief On The Hill – 4:18

Credits
Backing Vocals – Alfie Silas, Angie Alan, Bill North, Cindy Cruse-Miner, Don Wallace, Tim Miner
Bass – John Patitucci
Drums – John Robinson
Executive-Producer – Teri Piro
Guitar – Marty Walsh, Paul Jackson Jr.
Keyboards – Richard Souther
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Producer [Associate] – Win Kutz
Producer [Associate], Synthesizer – Eric Persing
Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Roby Duke
Saxophone, Electronic Wind Instrument – Steve Tavaglione

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – Good News Records
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Good News Records
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word Records Limited
Distributed By – Word (Uk) Ltd.

Urgent Cry – Demo 041187 – 1987

Urgent Cry were a band out of Vandalia, Ohio. They released 2 demos but were never signed by a label. This is their first demo and it’s pretty good. It has a nice pop rock sound and is musically sound. Unfortunately the vocals are a bit weak. I think the vocal skills were there but Steven just needed a little guidance. This is a good example of the difference a good producer could have made. While the engineering was actually very good I think they needed a producer to pull it all together. One thing I really like that this band did was to release their demo cassette with all 4 tracks on each side. This means the cassette would last twice as long. Given the quality of these bulk cassettes I really liked it when bands did this.

Tracklist
1 – Cry In The Wilderness – 3:57
2 – Unexpected – 3:48
3 – Christ Is The Answer – 3:51
4 – No Pantomime – 4:06

Credits
Darryl Gibson – Drums, acoustic guitar
Kevin Landon – Bass, keyboards
Bill Kuhn – Lead Guitar
Steven Mikel – Lead vocals, flute

Jon Gibson – On The Run – 1986

Recently David Lowman said the following, “If there was any real justice in the world of 80’s CCM, artists Jon Gibson and Tim Miner would have sold out arenas.” Upon reading that I broke out a Tim Miner album and he was right on that one so next I broke out a Jon Gibson album and he is dead on in this one also. In fact I liked this album even more than the Tim Miner album. This is Jon’s second album but his first was on a secular label so this was his first CCM offering. The album was quite popular and had a #1 single, “God Loves a Broken Heart”. In a foreshadowing of what would make him even more popular he did a quasi rap track “Ain’t It Pretty”. Not my favourite track on the album but I’m not a fan of that style. My personal pick for best track is actually “It’s True”. This is a great pop R&B album and as David said deserved to be much better known.

Tracklist
1 – Metal Machine – 4:20
2 – Ain’t It Pretty – 4:24
3 – On The Run – 4:02
4 – God Loves A Broken Heart – 4:24
5 – It’s True – 3:07
6 – Standing On The One – 4:04
7 – Are You Gonna Stay – 4:00
8 – I Love Her Anyway – 3:52
9 – Nation In Need – 3:48
10 – Dreams – 3:52

Credits
Art Direction – Terry Dresbach
Backing Vocals – Chrystal Blake, Felton Pilate, Jon Gibson, Phillip Ingram, The Waters
Bass Guitar – Gary Jackson, Nathan Watts
Creative Director – Ed McTaggart
Drums – John Robinson, Jonathan Moffett, Tony Lewis
Electric Piano [Rhodes] – Clifford Coulter, Tony LuFrano
Executive-Producer – Sam Conti
Guitar – Ben Bridges, Felton Pilate, Greg Doty, Joe Satriani, Mickey Free, Sneaky Pete, Snuffy Walden
Keyboards, Drum Programming, Programmed By – Bill Wolfer, Felton Pilate, Tom Coster
Lead Vocals – Jon Gibson
Mastered By – Bill Cutler, George Horn
Percussion – Cubby Ingram, Wayne-O-Millstein
Photography By – Fredrica Drotos
Producer – Felton Pilate, Jon Gibson, Tom Coster
Saxophone – Larry Williams
Synthesizer [Synth Bass] – Felton Pilate, Joey Gallo
Written-By – Jon Gibson

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Frontline Records
Copyright © – Frontline Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company
Distributed By – The Master’s Collection
Distributed By – Kingsway Publications Ltd.
Pressed By – Nimbus, Virginia

Tim Miner – I Know You Think You Know – 1988

Recently David Lowman said the following, “If there was any real justice in the world of 80’s CCM, artists Jon Gibson and Tim Miner would have sold out arenas.” Upon reading that I broke out this album, Tim’s second, and gave it a listen to see if I agreed and David is absolutely correct. This is a fantastic 80’s pop album. 1988 might have been a little too late for it but really Christian music was always a little behind the secular trends and this was actually a good thing in my opinion. While Tim had been writing music for others, about the time of this album is when his writing skills really took off and his songs appear on many hit albums. He also started producing at this point in his career and his skills in that capacity are excellent. If you only have time for one track I suggest “Too Casual”, it’s easily the best track on the album.

Tracklist
1 – Hey You! – 3:55
2 – I Know You Think You Know – 4:14
3 – Did I Forget To Say – 4:08
4 – Too Casual – 3:43
5 – Cover Me – 4:08
6 – Smarter Than Crack – 4:24
7 – Degeneration – 3:07
8 – You Know I Love This Feelin – 3:55
9 – Masquerade – 3:09
10 – Now (I Lay Me Down To Sleep) – 3:00

Credits
Arranged By [Horn Arrangement] – Don Wallace, Tim Miner
Art Direction – Barbara Catanzaro-Hearn
Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Angie Winans, BeBe Winans, Cindy Cruse, Cliff Jones, Debbie Winans, Debra Winans, Donnie McClurkin, Gavin Potter, Janice Archer Cruse, Janie Cruse Stone, Joe Cruse, III, John Cruse, Karen Cruse Adams, Mark Freeman, Nancy Cruse, Nicole “Bubbles” Bruce, Rob Johnson, Ronnie V., Todd Walters
Backing Vocals – David Pack
Backing Vocals – The Winans
Bass – Tommy Sims
Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Programmed By, Backing Vocals, Engineer, Mixed By, Producer – Tim Miner
Design – Peter Nomura, Stan Evenson Design Inc.
Drums – Ric Norris
Engineer – Kelly Hemphill, Ron Lagerloff
Engineer, Mixed By – Loyd Harris, Randy Adams
Guitar – James Dillingham, Michael Gallaher, Michael Landau, Phil Keaggy
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Michael Sembello
Guitar, Keyboards, Engineer – Brian Tankersley
Keyboards, Programmed By, Programmed By, Engineer – Rhett Lawrence
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Mixed By [Remixing] – Brian Tankersley, Don Wallace, Loyd Harris, Tim Miner
Percussion – Charles Barnett
Photography By – Bonnie Schiffman
Photography – Mark Tucker
Piano, Keyboards, Strings, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals], Engineer, Mixed By – Don Wallace
Producer – Brian Tankersley, Don Wallace, James Everette
Trombone – Keith Adkins
Trumpet – Jay Saunders, Keith Jourdan, Scott Marsrow

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – KnightLight Studios
Recorded At – “Rhett’s Place” Studio
Recorded At – Eat Yourself Into A Coma Studio
Recorded At – Motown Recording Studios
Recorded At – Selah Studios, Detroit, MI
Recorded At – Eagle Mountain Studios
Recorded At – Bossa Nova Hotel
Recorded At – Mighty White Studios
Mastered At – Future Disc
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The Sparrow Corporation
Copyright © – The Sparrow Corporation

Bill Baumgart – The Kindling – 1988

I want to start out being clear about one thing. Bill is/was an excellent producer and in fact I believe he’s one of the best in the business. That said when it came to his own album my praise for him falls short. As you listen to this album know that the following artists all chipped in on the project, Dann Huff, Phil Keaggy, John Elefante, and David Huff. With that line up you would think that this should be an excellent album. Unfortunately it’s just an average album. Not a bad album, just a dull album. This is not the first time I’ve seen this from a producer. I can only theorize that their opinion of their own musical skills clouds the proper ability to produce a great album. That said the album does have a real high point with “Turn Your Heart Around” being an excellent duet with Crystal Lewis. Bill produced her albums so this seems like a natural pairing. So as I usually say in these situations, not a bad album, just not a great album.

Tracklist
1 – The Kindling – 4:14
2 – The Only Game In Town – 4:33
3 – Could It Be You Knew? – 4:58
4 – Turn Your Heart Around – 3:31
5 – No More Night – 4:22
6 – Heaven – 5:30
7 – Return The Favor – 3:48
8 – Lost Inside Of You – 4:32
9 – I Will Be There – 3:55
10 – Theme For A Child – 4:33
11 – Take It – 4:31
12 – Praise Medley – 5:02

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Artwork [Litho Prep] – Gershwin Graphics
Backing Vocals – Allison Beech, Bill Baumgart, Bob Carlisle, John Elefante
Bass – James Jamerson, John Patitucci
Drums – David Huff, Pete Pfiefer
Engineer – Bill Baumgart, Dave Jahnsen, Eric Kibbe, Kirt Shearer, Tim Heintz
Guitar – Bob Somma, Dann Huff, Phil Keaggy
Illustration [Cover] – John Dickenson
Keyboards – Bill Baumgart, Tim Heintz
Photography By – Michael Seeley
Producer, Arranged By – Bill Baumgart
Saxophone – David Koz
Trumpet [Tpt] – Greg Prechel

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Frontline Records
Copyright © – Frontline Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Published By – Broken Songs
Published By – House Of Mercy Music
Published By – Word Music
Recorded At – Asylomar
Glass Mastered at – Nimbus, Virginia

Robin Crow – Seven Seventy-Seven – 1985

This is Robin’s 3rd album and his first on a larger label. Robin was well known for his heavy touring schedule and I’m pretty sure this album increased that schedule. This is a great 80’s pop album but I haven’t heard his previous 2 albums yet so I don’t know if this is the style he was previously doing. The only strange this about the album is that there are 3 instrumental tracks which is rather odd for a pop album. While a lesser known album this is one that deserves a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Titanic – 3:28
2 – God So Loved – 3:04
3 – Starting Over – 3:50
4 – Let The Truth Come Out – 4:32
5 – Lift Up Your Voices – 3:17
6 – Beatitudes – 2:55
7 – Seven Seventy-Seven – 3:15
8 – Quiet Times – 4:26
9 – Third World – 3:05

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Producer, Music By, Lyrics By – Robin Crow
Bass – Michael Rhodes
Design [Cover] – Jeff Spencer
Drums – David Lawbaugh
Electric Guitar, Co-producer – George Cocchini
Engineer – Dave Perkins, Doug Sarrett
Engineer, Mixed By – Chris McCollum
Executive-Producer – Ray Nenow
Mastered By – Benny Quinn
Mixed By – Brent King
Photography By – Clark Thomas
Synthesizer – Shane Keister

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Fortress Records
Copyright © – Fortress Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Published By – Snellsong
Published By – Banamax Publishing
Produced For – Sherwood Productions Inc.
Recorded At – Great Circle Sound
Recorded At – Sound Stage Studios
Recorded By – The Reelsound Remote Bus
Mastered At – Masterfonics