Ray Mansfield – Page 71

David Martin – Breath On The Windowpane – 1986

David Martin returns with his second album. It’s more uptempo than his first offering and much better in my opinion but unfortunately this is the last album we would get from Martin. I am surprised we didn’t get more albums from him as this album was another successful album. It had 3 singles, Eyes Of A Child which made it to #10, You’re To Blame to #5, and Rock Me made it to #27. The good news is that we enjoyed his music through the rest of the 80’s as he wrote songs for the Imperials, Margaret Becker, Geoff Moore and the Distance and Sandi Patty. So we heard as much by him as we did of him. I strongly suggest you give this album a listen, it’s not a heavy Rock & Roll album but it’s an upbeat easy listening album.

Tracklist
1 – Wilderness Part One – 1:10
2 – One Day – 4:12
3 – Jehovah’s Sky – 3:18
4 – Blind Love – 3:30
5 – Rock Me – 5:25
6 – Eyes Of A Child – 4:04
7 – You’re To Blame – 3:45
8 – Anywhere You Lead – 3:50
9 – It’s Impossible – 3:52
10 – Breath On The Windowpane – 3:58
11 – Wilderness Part Two (Reprise) – 0:59

Credits
Arranged By [Pre-Production Arrangements] – David Martin, Gary Lunn, Phil Naish
Art Direction, Design – Kent Hunter
Artwork By [Painting] – Dean T. Martin
Engineer, Mixed By – Jeff Balding
Executive-Producer – Wendy Odenbaugh
Mastered By – Henry Williams
Photography By – Ron Keith, Scott Bonner
Producer – David Martin
Vocals – David Martin

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio
Mastered At – Mastermix

Prism – Yellow – 1987

Chris Harris and Mark Heimermann are back with the kids of Prism. Their first album, “Blue”, was a great success so they returned to the studio to try the same formula again. This time the budget must have increased as we hear more musical backing and two known CCM stars, Marti McCall, and Gary Chapman join in. The album again features several traditional Sunday School/Campfire songs. There is also a version of Amy Grant’s & Michael W. Smith’s duet “Friends”. The strangest track is an instrumental from Heimermann that would have made Harold Faltemeyer proud. I say strange because I wouldn’t expect an original instrumental composition on a Kidz Bop kind of album. This was usually considered the best of the Prism projects and again was very well received by CCM radio stations. It had 3 singles, Pass It On made it to #12, Anywhere With Jesus to #14, and Sweet, Sweet Spirit made it to #25. So if you’re in the mood for some Kidz Bop, and a synth instrumental, give this album a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Pass It On – 3:51
2 – Have You Seen Jesus My Lord – 3:01
3 – Sweet, Sweet Spirit – 3:17
4 – A Common Love – 4:01
5 – Sing And Be Happy – 3:20
6 – Anywhere With Jesus – 3:24
7 – I’ve Got The Joy, Joy, Joy (Down In My Heart) – 3:03
8 – Gizmo – 2:14
9 – Friends ’88 – 2:27
10 – We Will Always Be With The Lord – 4:45

Credits
Doris Akers – Songwriter
Reed Arvin – Synclavier Assistance
Joe Baldridge – Synclavier Assistance
Brown Bannister – Songwriter
Lisa Bevill – Vocals
Michael Blanton – Executive Producer
Charles F. Brown – Songwriter
Gary Chapman – Vocals
George W. Cooke – Songwriter
Mark Douthit – Saxophone
John Fischer – Songwriter
Lynn Fuston – Engineer, Mixed
Randy Garmon – Assistant Engineer
Dan Harrell – Executive Producer
Chris Harris – Producer, Arrangements, Vocals
Mark Heimermann – Producer, Songwriter, Arrangements, Keyboards, Vocals
James Hollihan – Guitar
Gary Janney – Vocals
Kurt Kaiser – Songwriter
William J. Kirkpatrick – Songwriter
Gary Lunn – Drum Programming, Bass
Marty McCall – Vocals
Donna McElroy – Vocals
Terry McMillan – Harmonica
Jerry McPherson – Guitar
Jeff Moseley – Executive Producer
Jessie B. Pounds – Songwriter
Benny Quin – Mastered
Chris Rodriguez – Background Vocals
Ted Silva – Songwriter
Deborah D. Smith – Songwriter
Michael W. Smith – Songwriter
Chris Thomason – Assistant Engineer
Daniel B. Towner – Songwriter

Paradox – Power and Glory – 1988

Paradox were a relatively unknown Metal band out of San Antonio Texas. They released 2 demo’s in the 80’s and got a song released on the Underground Metal sampler in 1988. This is another band that I wonder why they didn’t get a full ride record deal. This band was performing right at the perfect time but for some reason were overlooked. I don’t think they were the best metal band of the era but they were good and there was some real talent here. They did finally get a “Record Deal” in 2011 with Demon Doll Records, a relatively small Indy metal label. The album was all old material as the band hadn’t recorded in years. I’m guessing if you’re not from Texas you are probably not familiar with their work but give it a listen so you are. If you’re still on the fence at least give their version of Amazing Grace, “God’s Amazing Grace” a listen. I kinda liked it.

Tracklist
1 – Power And Glory – 4:39
2 – I Just Want To Love You – 5:05
3 – Meet The King – 3:23
4 – Sweet Reunion – 5:22
5 – God’s Amazing Grace – 2:09

Credits
Bass, Keyboards, Vocals – Phil Garcia
Drums – Efrain Galicia
Guitar – Fernando Hernandez
Lead Vocals – Manuel Castillo

Holy Soldier – Holy Soldier – 1990

Holy soldier formed in the 80’s by bassist Andy Robbins and guitarist Jamie Cramer and they quickly gained popularity in their hometown of Los Angeles. They commonly played secular outlets but maintained an evangelical message. In 1988 they released a demo and it was very popular in both secular and Christian circles. They were subsequently signed to some sort of deal between Word (Myrrh) and A&M Records. I’m not sure but I think they may have been the first Metal band sign by Word but admittedly I could be wrong. The album did really well in Christian circles and actually had some moderate success with secular audiences. The album achieved two Dove Awards in the hard rock song and album of the year categories. Point of trivia of the album is that is was produced by Bloodgood guitarist David Zaffiro and he did a great job. The album has a polished commercial sound and was as good as anything published at the time in the secular Metal genre.

Tracklist
1 – Stranger – 3:25
2 – See No Evil – 5:28
3 – The Pain Inside Of Me – 6:35
4 – Cry Out For Love – 3:28
5 – Tear Down The Walls – 3:58
6 – When The Reign Comes Down – 5:17
7 – Lies – 4:58
8 – Eyes Of Innocence – 3:55
9 – Love Me – 4:15
10 – We Are Young, We Are Strong – 5:15

Credits
A&R [A&R Direction] – Mark Maxwell
Art Direction – Laurie M. Fink
Art Direction, Design – F2 Design
Backing Vocals – Andy, Jamie, Michael, Steven, Terry
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Charles Meserole, Donna Rood, Donny Russell, Evelyn Watson, Marc Anthony, Michael Plissner, Sherie Hopper, Vanessa Beckrum
Band, Bass – Andy Robbins
Band, Drums – Terry “The Animal” Russel
Band, Guitar [Guitars] – Jamie Cramer, Michael Cutting
Band, Lead Vocals – Steven Patrick
Bass [Bass Overdubs] – Jerry Watts (tracks: 3)
Coordinator [Artwork Coordination] – Roz
Edited By [Digital Editing By] – Daniel Hersch
Effects [Keyboard Effects] – Charles Meserole
Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Bobby Salcedo, Dave Hackbarth
Engineer [Drun Track Engineer] – John Hanlon
Engineer [Overdub Engineer] – Charles Meserole
Engineer [Second Engineer] – Brian Herbert, Chuck Rodriguez, Jeff Piergeorge
Management [Managed By] – Daryn Hinton
Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
Mixed By – Joe Chiccarelli
Photography By [CD Portrait Photos (b/w)] – Aaron Rapoport
Photography By [Front Cover Photograph] – John Scarpati
Photography By [Live Photograph of Steven Patrick] – Perry Cooper
Photography By [Live Photographs] – Nigel Skeet
Producer [Produced By] – David Zaffiro
Technician [Drums By] – Ross Garfield

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Produced For – Zaffiro Productions
Published By – Most Triumphant Music
Published By – Dayspring
Published By – Barkloid Music
Published By – Word Music
Recorded At – Wayne Cook Studios
Recorded At – Neverland Studios
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Mixed At – Master Control, Burbank
Edited At – DigiPrep
Mastered At – Masterdisk

Amy Grant – In Concert – 1981

This was the first of 2 albums featuring Amy Grant in concert. It was recorded at Mabee Hall in Tulsa Oklahoma and Lloyd Noble Center in Norman Oklahoma. It featured two new songs from Grant, “Mimi’s House” and “Singing a Love Song”. Wikipedia states “Although the two should have been issued as a double album, budget problems forced the two to be released separately.” This is absurd, there was no shortage of money at Myrrh and A&M for their gold mine performer so I’d love to hear the real reason. The album was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Gospel Performance, Contemporary. Point of trivia is that DeGarmo & Key are credited as being on the album.

Tracklist
1 – Medley – Beautiful Music , Giggle, Old Man’s Rubble, Never Give You Up – 9:31
2 – Mimi’s House – 3:26
3 – Father’s Eyes – 5:50
4 – Faith Walkin’ People – 3:56
5 – Walking Away With You – 4:38
6 – Mountain Top – 3:40
7 – All I Ever Have To Be – 3:16
8 – Singing A Love Song – 5:52
9 – Don’t Give Up On Me – 4:04

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Vocals – Billy Sprague
Art Direction, Design – Michael Harris Design
Backing Vocals – Dave Durham, Gary Pigg, Jan Harris, Teresa Ellis
Bass – Mike Brignardello
Drums – Gregg Morrow
Electric Guitar, Vocals – Dana Key
Engineer [“Live Recording” Engineer] – Jack Puig
Executive-Producer – Dan Harrell, Mike Blanton
Keyboards – Ed DeGarmo
Mastered By – Glenn Meadows
Mixed By [Mix-Down Engineer] – Brown Bannister
Photography By [Cover Photo] – Wyatt Brown
Producer – Brown Bannister
Recorded By [Mobile Recording] – Malcolm Harper
Synthesizer [Oberheim] – Gerry Peters

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Mixed At – Gold Mine Studio
Recorded At – Mabee Center
Recorded At – Lloyd Noble Center, Norman
Mastered At – Masterfonics
Published By – Bug & Bear Music
Published By – Song Tailors Music
Published By – Paragon Music Corp.
Published By – Home Sweet Home Music
Published By – Meadowgreen Music, Inc.
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co.

Crossection – Before The Dawn – 1989

Crossection were a band out of central Alberta Canada. They actually released this album as a independent release in 1988 but Image 7 Records picked it up and released it in 1989. The album is self produced and usually this is not a good thing but this album is actually very well produced and engineered. My only criticism of the album is that it has several tracks over the 4 minute mark including a whopper at a few seconds short of 7 minutes. That said it’s not much of a criticism as the tracks are good and their length may actually be a plus to most people. Most of the tracks lean to arena rock but there a few that are more pop oriented. Their rock tracks are the best and they really could have had some real success had they just shown up a few years earlier. Unfortunately they joined the market at the start of what I consider it’s demise. They released another album the next year and it’s even better.

Tracklist
1 – Stephanie – 3:23
2 – Things Aren’t The Same – 3:28
3 – How Long – 3:35
4 – Heartbreak City – 3:00
5 – Shadow Land – 4:54
6 – What About Forever – 5:54
7 – Battle For The Minds – 5:31
8 – Cover Feelings – 6:54
9 – Love Is Who You Are – 4:28
10 – Break The Chains – 3:16
11 – If The Son Sets You Free – 4:15

Credits
Arranged By, Keyboards, Vocals – Dale Johnson
Bass, Vocals – Bruce Rawling
Drums – Martin Zinger
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Nevin Eggum
Producer – Crossection
Vocals, Guitar – Doug Rawling

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Image 7 Records Inc
Copyright (c) – Image 7 Records Inc
Manufactured By – Image 7 Records Inc

Tony Pilcher – Livin’ For The Light – 1984

This was the only album we got from Tony. He was with DeGarmo & Key for the No Turning Back tour and album as well as the Mission of Mercy album. DeGarmo and Key actually appear on the album on Track 3 “Lift It Up”. This album was released on Voice Box records which was a very small label far better known for their very Easy Listening albums than this Pop album. Tony also had some song writing credits including a song for Mylon LeFevre & Broken Heart off their 1986 album Sheep in Wolves Clothing. Other than that I can’t find much information on him. This is AOR Pop oriented album which was really quite good and I’m a but surprised how little known it is. Some may know I have a real penchant for the Rockabilly/Fifties sound and Tony closed out the album with a great song of this genre, “Roll Away The Rock.”

Tracklist
1 – Livin’ For The Light – 4:14
2 – The Long Way – 3:21
3 – Lift It Up – 2:29
4 – Lord, I Want To Shine – 3:24
5 – Rejoice The Day Will Come – 3:17
6 – Crucible Of Love – 3:36
7 – Higher Power – 3:38
8 – Roll Away The Rock – 3:03

Credits
Vocal Duet – Tanya Goodman
Electric Guitars – Tony Pilcher, Greg Reding, B. James Lowery
Acoustic Guitar – B. James Lowery
Drums – Chad Cromwell, Greg Morrow
Bass : Mike Brignardello, Dave Smith
Acoustic Piano : Carl Marsh
Hammond B3 Organ, Synthesizer – Lester Snell
Background Vocals – David Mayo, Jimi Jamison, Debbie Cathey, Tony Pilcher, Dana Key, Tommy Cathey, Dana Key, The Christ Missionary Baptist Singers
Rhodes & Synthesizer – Ed DeGarmo
Saxophone – Andrew Love

Glad – Champion Of Love – 1985

This was the 6th album from Glad. I can’t compare it to any of their earlier album because as of now I haven’t listened to any of them. It is most definitely an easy listening album with strong horns and strong production. The album had 3 singles, Still On The Side Of Love made it to #18, Where Your Heart Is made it to #38, and The More I Know Of You to #25. I’m actually quite surprised that these songs didn’t climb a little higher as this album was perfect for the CCM charts in 1985.

Tracklist
1 – Still On The Side Of Love – 3:30
2 – Stand Or Fall – 3:39
3 – Where Your Heart Is – 4:07
4 – True To You – 3:35
5 – Champion Of Love – 4:23
6 – God Is My Rock – 1:09
7 – Giant Killer – 3:36
8 – We Know – 4:03
9 – The More I Know Of You – 3:58
10 – For So Long – 4:03

Credits
Gary Adams – Trumpet
Mark Baldwin – Songwriter
Tom Beard – Songwriter, Keyboards, Vocals
Billy Brady – Engineer, Mixed
Bill Brumberg – Trumpet
Harvey Coonin – Trombone
Chris Davis – Guitars, Vocals
Larry Day – Horn Arrangements
Glad – Producer
Jimmy Hayward – Tenor Sax
John Jensen – Trombone
Monroe Jones – Songwriter
Bob Kauflin – Producer, Arrangements, Songwriter, Keyboards, Vocals
George King – Executive Producer, Songwriter
The Loudoun Transfer – Background Vocals
Sue McCauley – Background Vocals
Chris McCollum – Songwriter
Don Nalle – Bass, Vocals
Ed Nalle – Producer, Arrangements, Mixed, Songwriter, Percussion, Vocals
Art Noble – Drums
Paul Smith – Songwriter
Dick Tunney – Songwriter

Various – California Metal Volume II – 1988

This 1988 Regency Records sampler featured some of the best California Metal bands of the time and some very exclusive tunes. I have listed below where you can find the albums with the songs. Note that the CD and the cassette have one more track than the vinyl version.

Tracklist
1 – Vision – Runaway – Unreleased
2 – Emerald – Traitor – Unreleased until 2001 then bonus track on Armed For Battle re-release CD
3 – Recon – Light The Fire – Only released on a 1989 Demo
4 – Soldier – Borderline – On 1988 album Babylon
5 – Judea – Heart Of Stone – Unreleased Band
6 – Mastedon – Get Up – On 1989 album It’s A Jungle Out There
7 – Ransom – Sin Killer – Unreleased
8 – Emerald – Born To Die – Unreleased until 2001 then bonus track on Armed For Battle re-release CD
9 – Judea – Knock – Unreleased Band
10 – Soldier – Tears – Unreleased until 2002 then bonus track on The Definitive Collection 1985-1989 CD
11 – Recon – Dreams – On 1990 album Behind Enemy Lines

Tracklist
1 – Vision – Runaway – 4:56
2 – Emerald – Traitor – 2:39
3 – Recon – Light The Fire – 3:25
4 – Soldier – Borderline – 3:33
5 – Judea – Heart Of Stone – 4:32
6 – Mastedon – Get Up – 3:58
7 – Ransom – Sin Killer – 4:34
8 – Emerald – Born To Die – 4:17
9 – Judea – Knock – 4:24
10 – Soldier – Tears – 3:57
11 – Recon – Dreams – 4:59

Siloam – Sweet Destiny – 1991

Siloam was brought together by drummer Brian Lutes. Brian had a checkered past and upon becoming born again wanted to use his life experience and music skills to minister. He brought together an international collection of musicians. Brian was from Canada, Lee Guthrie and Chad Everett hailed from Boston, Ken Maris from Vermont, and Tim Laroche from Iceland. I must say that Lutes did an excellent job of picking band members as they came together very quickly and this album (their first) is very very well done. The band is tight and the songs are great. This album has a very commercial metal sound and in my opinion was as good as anything on secular radio at the time. A copy of the original release is rare so hang on to yours . Luckily for those who hadn’t found a copy Retroactive Records re-issued the CD in 2020.

Tracklist
1 – Here I Am Again – 3:01
2 – Miss Lizzy – 3:36
3 – Child Of Mine – 3:53
4 – Chemical King (Big Fight) – 3:35
5 – Eastern Skies – 6:37
6 – Deceiver – 3:16
7 – After The Fire – 4:54
8 – Lethal Lady – 5:03
9 – Sweet Destiny – 4:28
10 – Decent Souls – 4:12

Credits
Arranged By – Frank Levin, Siloam (2), Tom Saidak (tracks: 1, 3-5, 7-10)
Bass, Backing Vocals – Chad Everett
Cover, Layout – Richard A. Yaeger
Drums, Percussion, Executive-Producer – Brian Lutes
Guitar – Rob Durbano
Guitar, Bass – Tom Saidak
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Ken Maris
Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals – Tim Laroche
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Lee Guthrie
Photography By – Paul Couvretta
Producer, Engineer, Mixed By, Keyboards – Frank Levin

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Image 7 Records Inc
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Image 7 Music Inc.
Copyright (c) – Image 7 Music Inc.
Manufactured By – Image 7 Music Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Distortion Studios
Recorded At – Mama Jo’s
Mastered At – Future Disc