This 1984 release from harvest was their last on the Milk & Honey label before switching to Greentree Records. This album is pretty well much like their others as their worship style music didn’t really change much from album to album. This album had 4 charting singles with The Battle Is The Lord’s climbing the highest at #9. Really the album did not do as well as they usually did in the period. I of course listened to the album and I didn’t find it any better or worse than their other albums of the time. Of course this isn’t really my forte style of music but I thought it was pretty good as worship albums go.
Tracklist 1 – The Battle Is The Lord’s – 2:50 2 – Burn Me With Your Love – 3:30 3 – The Court Of The Gentiles – 6:10 4 – On The Water – 3:20 5 – Creator’s Song – 3:35 6 – Get Me To The River – 3:03 7 – One Thing I Ask – 3:20 8 – The Name Of Jesus – 2:45 9 – Know That I Am God – 4:55 10 – Voices – 4:30
Credits Bass Guitar – Brian Tankersley, John Scudder Conductor – Wayne Watson Drums – Mark Hammond Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Jon Goin French Horn – Bruce Kenny Percussion – Russell Dunlap Performer – Jerry Williams Performer, Piano – Ed Kerr Piano, Electric Piano, Synthesizer – John Schreiner Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Kirk Whalum Synthesizer – Paul Mills Trumpet – Fletch Wiley
After the demise of AD Kerry Livgren and Warren Ham came back together to record and release this album using the AD name. It is said that this album was put together to fulfill contractual obligations and raise some funds. I’m not really sure if I believe this but it is said that Kerry said this but I can not find the actual quote. Kerry supplied all of the instruments with the exception of harp and sax supplied by Ham and this gives the album a rather unique sound and I really like it. I’m not disrespecting the rest of the band I’m just saying I really like this sound. The track “Portrait II” is actually a re-write of Portrait (He Knew), from the 1977 Kansas album Point of Know Return. Kerry rewrote it to be about Christ rather than Albert Einstein. Strangely the entire album was re-recorded and re-released in 1998 as Prime Mover II with 5 additional tracks. One last point of trivia of this album is that the UK vinyl version stated the title as “Prime Cuts” on the vinyl label. Rather odd error but errors on vinyl labels are actually quite common.
Tracklist 1 – Don’t Pass Me By – 4:24 2 – Fathers And Sons – 3:56 3 – Portrait II – 5:35 4 – Children Of The Shadows – 4:49 5 – Wandering Spirit – 4:04 6 – I’ll Follow You – 3:55 7 – New Kind Of Love – 3:37 8 – One More Song – 4:09 9 – T.G.B. – 5:58
Credits Design – Nick Newton Illustration [Photo Illustration] – Mark Fokol Instrumentation By [All Instruments By] – Kerry Livgren Lead Vocals – Warren Ham Mastered By – Glen Meadows Producer [Produced By] – Steve Walsh Recorded By, Mixed By – Kerry Livgren Vocals – Kerry Livgren, Steve Walsh, Dean Heitkamp, Michael Gleason
Companies, etc. Produced For – GrandyZine Productions Inc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Kerry Livgren Productions,Inc. Copyright (c) – Kerry Livgren Productions,Inc. Recorded At – The Peach, Covington, GA Mixed At – The Peach, Covington, GA Mastered At – Masterfonics
The third and last album from Gideon’s Army picks up where Warriors Of Love left off but it has a feel of maturity to it. At this point I think the band had settled into the style that they liked as there was some style fluttering in their first 2 releases. Unfortunately this was the last album from their band and I feel they were just hitting their stride. Darin Warren stepped in to replace Dave Angles on guitar and his sound fit in well with the band. I missed this band entirely in the 80’s and really wish I could have seen them live, I just get the feel that they were good live. Original copies of this release are apparently few and far between which suggests to me that it just didn’t sell well. Luckily it was re-released in 2015 by Retroactive Records so it’s easy to get a copy now.
Tracklist 1 – Knowing You – 3:45 2 – Lonely Lover – 4:20 3 – Christina – 4:45 4 – Grace – 5:21 5 – Make Up Your Mind – 3:10 6 – Open Arms – 4:23 7 – Tough Love – 3:24 8 – With The One I Love – 4:21 9 – Turn Up The Heat – 4:11 10 – Sending You – 4:08
Credits Mark Greves – Lead Vocals & Bass Darin Warren – Lead Guitar Doug Naruo – Keyboards Jerry Anderson – Drums & Lead Vocals Brenda Perdue – vocals Melody Lynn – vocals Ron Davis – vocals Dave Angeles – guitars on 7, 8, 10 Don Walker – drums on 7, 8, 10
Sandra generally put out an album a year and this was her album for 1984. It was one of her most successful with 4 charting singles including 2 making the top 10. “Sing To The Lord” made it to #1 and “We Will See Him As He Is” made it to #4. She was also nominated for the 1985 Grammy Award for Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Female but lost out to Amy Grant who pretty well owned the category for the decade though Sandra did win it in 1987. She did however win the 1985 Dove award for Inspirational Album. As for the album it is your standard worship album with nothing that really stands out in my opinion. I’m not saying it isn’t a good album I just find so many of these female worship albums to be too alike.
Tracklist 1 – Give Him The Glory – 2:37 2 – Sing To The Lord – 2:58 3 – We Will See Him As He Is – 3:42 4 – Cradle Song – 2:59 5 – Wonderful Lord – 2:34 6 – Via Dolorosa – 4:34 7 – Shine Down – 3:29 8 – Pour On The Power – 3:11 9 – Glorious Morning – 3:29 10 – Purest Praise – 2:01 11 – The Stage Is Bare (I Need Thee Every Hour) – 5:52
Credits Arranged By [Backing Vocals] – Alan Moore, Sandi Patti Arranged By [Brass] – Jerry Hey Arranged By [Rhythm] – Greg Nelson, Sandi Patti, Shane Keister Arranged By [Strings] – Alan Moore Arranged By, Orchestrated By, Conductor – David T. Clydesdale Backing Vocals – Bonnie Keen, Cozette Byrd, Craig Patty, Dave Durham, Gary Music, Jackie Cusick, John Mohr, Lori Brooks, Luanne Mohr, Marty McCall, Melodie Tunney, Mike Patty, Rick Gibson, Sandi Patti, Sandie Hall Brooks, Steve Green Bass – Craig Nelson, David Hungate, Larry Paxton Brass – William Reichenbach, Gary Grant, Jerry Hey, Kim Hutchcroft, Lawrence Williams Cello – David Christensen, David Vanderkooi, Inez Boyle, Mark Tanner, Martha McCrory, Roy Christensen Concertmaster – Carl Gorodetzky Conductor – Greg Nelson Design – Bill Brunt Double Bass [Bass] – Craig Nelson, Edgar Meyer, Nathan Kahn Drums – James Stroud Engineer – Joe Neil Executive-Producer – John Helvering Guitar – John Darnall, Jon Goin Harp – Mary Alice Hoepfinger Percussion – Bill Wiggins, Farrell Morris Photography – Michael G. Borum Piano – Mitch Humphries Producer – Greg Nelson, Sandi Patti Helvering Strings – The Nashville String Machine Synthesizer – Shane Keister Viola – Connie Collopy, Gary Vanosdale, John Borg, Kathy Plummer, Kris Wilkinson, Virginia Christensen Violin – Charlie Everett, Chris Teal, Connie Heard, Dennis Molchan, George Binkley, Janet Hazen, Larry Harvin, Laura Molyneaux, Lee Larrison, Pamela Sixfin, Phyllis Mazza, Rebecca Lynch, Rosemary Harris, Stephanie Woolf, Ted Madsen, Bill Fitzpatrick Vocals – Sandi Patti
Companies, etc. Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Impact Records Copyright (c) – Impact Records
This is Randy’s second album and it marked an important change in CCM music that many may not know about. He was under contract to Word records but they were very hesitant to release this album as the felt it went a little too far into the world of Rock. As such it was decided by Word would open a subsidiary label called Myrrh to handle the “Jesus Music” market. This changed the whole industry as it condoned releasing Rock music even if you had to do it a little sneakily. Of course Myrrh went on to be a dominant face in the Christian music industry. Anyway on to the album. It is definitely a more Rock oriented album than his premiere but seems relatively tame compared to what would come in the industry. His acoustic guitar work is excellent and I particularly like the track “Important Things” which while a little gimmicky it has a great message even in current times. If you missed this one back in the day listen to it now as it really was a game changer in the industry.
Tracklist 1 – Revolutionary Cause – 3:02 2 – All I Am Is What You See (Self Portrait) – 2:20 3 – Johnny – 3:30 4 – Power Through You, People – 3:02 5 – Time To Pray – 3:29 6 – Sunny Day – 2:59 7 – Leader Liberator – 2:25 8 – Flesh Of My Flesh – 3:10 9 – Important Things – 2:05 10 – Country Faith – 2:10
Credits Arranged By, Conductor – Bergen White Engineer – Les Ladd Music By, Lyrics By – Randy Matthews Photography By [Cover] – Bill Grine Producer – Billy Ray Hearn
Companies, etc. Distributed By – Word Records Limited Pressed By – Columbia Records of Canada, Ltd.
Larnelle has been doing solo albums since 1975 and is still releasing them as of 2018. This is perhaps one of his most liked album. Considering how many albums he has I can’t confirm that of course. It was successful. It had two charting CCM singles, “How Excellent Is Thy Name” made it to #7 and his duet with Sandi Patty, “I’ve Just Seen Jesus” made it to #13. He also won the Grammy for Best Gospel Performance, Male based on this album. However quite frankly he shouldn’t have. Russ Taff was also nominated in the category based on his album “Medals” and I think most would agree that Medals was a far better album, in fact not even close. But the Grammy’s are a funny beast, lot’s of record industry politics involved. As for the album it is the epidemy of a worship album and I have no doubt some of these tracks are begin sung in churches these days.
Tracklist 1 – How Excellent Is Thy Name – 2:04 2 – Amen – 3:07 3 – Road In The Wilderness – 3:25 4 – For Unto Us – 1:48 5 – His Grace Is Greater – 4:55 6 – I’ve Just Seen Jesus – 5:42 7 – God’s Kingdom Is What I’ve Got – 2:19 8 – Desert Of My Days – 4:15 9 – Let Freedom Ring – 5:45
Credits Arranged By, Orchestrated By, Conductor – David T. Clydesdale Backing Vocals – Beverly Darnall, Bonnie Keen, Dave Durham, Gary Pigg, John Darnall, Jon Mohr, Judy Clydesdale, Karla Worley, Kristi Cleary, Marty McCall, Melodie Tunney*, Rick Gibson, Sherry Paige Bass – Craig Nelson, Gary Lunn Drums – Mark Hammond Guitar – Jon Goin Harp – Mary Alice Hoepfinger Percussion – Farrell Morris Piano – David Huntsinger Strings – The Nashville String Machine Synthesizer – Mark Gersmehl, Shane Keister
T-Bone changes it up a bit for this album. It’s essentially an acoustic guitar country album. That said T-Bone is one of those artists that it is difficult to squeeze into a particular style category. I categorize all music flowing through the studio here but in the end I have given up on categorizing T-Bone. Instead I have just categorized all his work as T-Bone. I had to do a similar thing with Larry Norman. So far that’s the only 2 artists I have done this with. The album has a bit of an odd label lineage. It was first rereleased on Dot Records which is a pretty oddball label but just the nest year it ended up on MCA Records. Finally it showed up on Universal which is just odd. Anyway if You’re a T-Bone fan you will like this one but if this is the first T-Bone album you have listened to I suspect you won’t enjoy it much and quite frankly it’s not really representative of his work so give a different album a listen before deciding if you like him or not.
Tracklist 1 – River Of Love – 3:30 2 – Poison Love – 2:33 3 – Shake Yourself Loose – 3:00 4 – No Love At All – 2:54 5 – Annabelle Lee – 5:01 6 – I Remember (Instrumental) – 2:21 7 – I Remember – 3:39 8 – Little Daughter – 3:29 9 – Oh No Darling – 3:49 10 – Time – 4:59 11 – Little Daughter (Instrumental) – 3:23 12 – Song To A Dead Man – 3:34 13 – Bird That I Held In My Hand – 3:04
Credits Dobro, Lap Steel Guitar – Jerry Douglas Double Bass [String Bass] – Jerry Scheff Fiddle – Byron Berline Guitar, Accordion, Vocals – David Hidalgo Producer – David Miner Recorded By – Rik Pekkonen Snare – Steve Duncan Vocals – Billy Swan
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – MCA Records, Inc. Copyright (c) – MCA Records, Inc. Manufactured By – MCA Records Canada Distributed By – MCA Records Canada
This was Russ’s first album after leaving the Imperials and I’m pretty sure it’s success confirmed to him that he had made the right decision by going solo. The lead single “We Will Stand” sat at #1 on the CCM charts for 15 weeks. That’s a pretty respectable first album single. He also won the 1983 Grammy award for Best Male Gospel Performance. As for the album I’m pretty sure Myrrh records pulled out all the stops as the production quality and over all quality of the album is very high. If your a fan of Russ’s albums after this one you might be surprised a bit at how mellow this one is. It is definitely a transition of styles from the Imperials to his more rock style on subsequent albums. We did get a hint of what was to come with “Inside Look” which is actually a pretty darn good Rock track. While this album doesn’t make many “Best of the 80’s” lists I think it probably deserves a spot.
Tracklist 1 – Tell Them – 4:23 2 – Walls Of Glass – 3:57 3 – I Want To Change – 5:05 4 – Pure In Heart – 3:59 5 – We Will Stand – 4:37 6 – Jeremiah – 4:02 7 – Inside Look – 4:01 8 – Just Believe – 4:26 9 – Kathryn’s Song – 4:24 10 – Unto The Lamb – 2:42
Credits Mike Baird – Drums Laury Boone Browning – Choir, Background Vocals Bonnie Bramlett – Background Vocals Raymond Brown – Songwriter Harry Browning – Choir Robbie Buchanan – Songwriter, Synthesizer Bass, Rhodes, Synthesizer Don Cason – Choir Lenny Castro – Percussion Bill Champlin – Background Vocals Tamara Champlin – Background Vocals Cynthia Clawson – Choir Ragan Courtney – Choir Charlotte Crossley – Background Vocals Nathan East – Bass Daniel Garcia – Assistant Engineer Bill George – Songwriter, Rhodes Gary Grant – Horns John Hammond – Drums Joann Harris – Background Vocals Susan Pyron Heard – Choir Jerry Hey – Horn Arrangements, Horns James Hollihan – Songwriter, Guitar Richard Hopkins – Bass Abraham Laboriel – Bass Michael Landau – Guitar David Lasley – Background Vocals, Choir Charlie Loper – Horns Arnold McCuller – Choir, Background Vocals Dony McGuire – Background Vocals Bobby Messano – Choir James Newton Howard – Songwriter, Piano, Synthesizer Michael Omartian – Songwriter, Piano, Rhodes, Synthesizer Stormie Omartian – Songwriter Jeff Porcaro – Drums Frank Previte – Choir, Background Vocals Jack Joseph Puig – Vocal Production, Engineer Reba Rambo – Background Vocals Patti Roberts – Songwriter Doug Sax – Mastered Bill Schnee – Producer, Engineer David Schober – Assistant Engineer Russ Taff – Songwriter, Vocals Tori Taff – Songwriter, Choir Keith Thomas – Songwriter Carmen Twillie – Background Vocals Marty Walsh – Guitar Ernie Watts – Horns, Sax Solo Gary Whitlock – Choir
Companies, etc. Record Company – Word, Inc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc. Copyright (c) – Word, Inc. Recorded At – Bill Schnee Studios Mastered At – The Mastering Lab Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. – △26106
This is the second solo album from John Schlitt who was the Lead singer of Petra from 1986 forward. John really turned it up for this one and it is a great Rock & Roll album. It was partly produced by the Huff brothers (Giant/Whiteheart) and partly by Mark Heimermann. You can really hear the Huff influence with some tracks having killer guitar riffs and those guitar riffs were supplied by George Cocchini from the Joe English Band. This album was certain to be a success with this killer lineup. While it can certainly be said That John did some great work with Petra in my opinion he really shines with his solo work. John summed up this album by saying “This is not a safe record for me, but I like it”
Tracklist 1 – Save Me – 3:37 2 – God Is Too Big – 3:42 3 – Can’t Get Away – 4:18 4 – We Worship You – 4:12 5 – Need I Remind You – 4:15 6 – Take You On – 3:53 7 – Helping Hand – 4:49 8 – There Is Someone – 3:45 9 – I Killed A Man – 3:57 10 – Don’t Have To Take It – 3:48
Credits A&R – Bubba Smith, Lynn Keesecker Art Direction – Christy Coxe Bass Guitar – Jackie Street Design – Astrid Herbold Drums, Percussion, Overdubbed By – David Huff Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – George Cocchini Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Overdubbed By – Dann Huff Engineer [Assistant] – Mike Wrucke Engineer [Assistant], Overdubbed By – Eric Elwell Engineer, Mixed By – Joe Baldridge Keyboards – Mark Heimermann Management – Mike Keil And Associates Mastered By – Hank Williams Overdubbed By – The Dobbs, Todd Robbins Photography By – Matthew Barnes Producer – Dann Huff, David Huff (tracks: 1, 7, 8, 10), Mark Heimermann (tracks: 2 to 6, 9)
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc. Copyright (c) – Word, Inc. Manufactured By – Epic Distributed By – Epic Recorded At – Dark Horse Recording Overdubbed At – Fun Attic Studio Overdubbed At – Dobb’s Palace Mixed At – Sixteenth Avenue Sound Mastered At – Mastermix
Kreyson is a Czechoslovakia metal band started 1989 by Ladislav Křížek after he left Citron. The album was not released in North America so I have no idea how it became so popular here. Kreyson was popular in the Nordic countries as well as Czechoslovakia and actually went on to record 3 more albums in the 90’s They also reformed in the mid 2000’s and released 3 more albums. It is obvious they were very popular in their home country and I admit I had no idea there even was Christian music in Czechoslovakia. The album itself is a great metal album and I was really impressed with the quality of their work. The album has very good production but that’s not surprising as the producer is probably the top producer there was in Czechoslovakia. Eventually this album was released in more markets and today is available digitally. Thank goodness for that as this album deserves to be heard by everyone that likes this style of music.
Tracklist 1 – Kreyson – 4:05 2 – Skalp – 3:11 3 – Deep In The Night – 4:29 4 – No Blue Skies – 4:15 5 – Faraway – 4:22 6 – Angel On The Run – 3:07 7 – Dreamin’ – 3:59 8 – Golden Ark – 3:34 9 – Need You – 5:48 10 – Fade Out – 3:14
Credits Arranged By – Jan Němec, Kreyson Bass Guitar – Karel Adam Co-producer – Rolf “Rock ‘N’ Rolf” Drums – Robert Vondrovic Engineer – Jan Němec Guitar – Daniel Krob, Jaroslav Bartoň Lead Vocals – Ladislav Křížek Lyrics By – A. Winter Lyrics By [Original Czech Lyrics] – J. Krůta (tracks: A5), L. Křížek Music By – J. Bartoň (tracks: A5, B8, B10), L. Křížek Performer – Kreyson Producer – Jan Němec
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Tommü Records Recorded At – Studio M Mixed At – Studio M
