Ray Mansfield – Page 96

Giant – Last Of The Runaways – 1989

I have to admit that I was a little surprised when I learned about this album. I remember the album from late 89 as it was all over secular radio. What I did not learn is that the Huff brothers (White Heart) were two of the driving forces behind it. Joining them was studio musician Alan Pasqua who had mainly worked secular projects but had a fair amount of CCM albums in his credits too. Also joining them was studio musician Mike Brignardello who mainly did CCM projects at the time. So apparently these guys came together and decided to do a secular project and this is it. This was the first project after the Huff brothers left White Heart but I don’t know if they left to do this project or if they left and then decided to do this project. This is a fantastic Hard Rock album and if you ever doubted Dann Huff’s guitar prowess this album should dispel that. The album had a big single, “I’ll See You in My Dreams” though the second single, “I’m a Believer”, was better but did not chart as well. I’d love to hear the story of how this album came about but I couldn’t find any reliable explanations on the internet. Anyway if you like your Rock Hard and or your Metal light this is definitely the album for you.

Tracklist
1 – I’m A Believer – 5:44
2 – Innocent Days – 5:16
3 – I Can’t Get Close Enough – 6:06
4 – I’ll See You In My Dreams – 4:46
5 – No Way Out – 4:03
6 – Shake Me Up – 4:16
7 – It Takes Two – 4:58
8 – Stranger To Me – 5:57
9 – Hold Back The Night – 4:11
10 – Love Welcome Home – 4:51
11 – The Big Pitch – 5:07

Credits
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Lea Hart, Peter Howarth, Terry Thomas
Bass, Vocals – Mike Brignardello
Drums, Vocals – David Huff*
Keyboards, Vocals – Alan Pasqua
Lead Vocals, Guitar – Dann Huff
Mastered By – Arnie Acosta
Mixed By – Rafe McKenna (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 7 to 11), Terry Thomas (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 7 to 11)
Mixed By [Assistant] – Jon Mallison (tracks: 1, 2, 5, 7 to 11)
Producer [Produced By] – Terry Thomas
Recorded By – Rafe McKenna
Recorded By [Assistant at Farmyard Recording Studio] – Derek Murphy
Recorded By [Assistant at Master Rock Studios] – Helen Woodward
Recorded By [Assistant at Ridge Farm Studios] – Paul Cuddeford

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – A&M Records, Inc.
Copyright (c) – A&M Records, Inc.
Recorded At – Ridge Farm Studios
Recorded At – Farmyard Studios
Recorded At – Master Rock Studios
Mixed At – Livingston Studios
Mastered At – A&M Mastering Studios
Manufactured By – Digital Audio Disc Corp. – DIDX-005359

Chris Lizotte – Chris Lizotte And Soul Motion – 1992

Chris Lizotte was part of the Wild Blue Yonder/Crystal Lewis group of friends in the late 80’s. He did not play with Wild Blue Yonder but did several albums with Crystal Lewis who actually helped with this album cover. This is Chris’s second album and is probably the best Christian Blues album I have heard up to this point. The album has a couple tracks that distinctly remind me of Stevie Ray Vaughn and the closing track actually reminds me of a Guns N’ Roses ballad. Interesting point of trivia is that Chris Wimber (The Lifesavors) produced this album. All in all probably one of the best CCM albums I have ever heard and definitely in my top 50.

Tracklist
1 – You Keep On Givin’ To Me – 3:52
2 – When It Dawned On Me – 4:19
3 – Change My Heart Oh God – 5:26
4 – Brother It’s Alright – 3:58
5 – Don’t Let My Heart Turn Back To Stone – 4:38
6 – Shine Your Light – 4:15
7 – Come Unto Me – 5:43
8 – At The Cross Of Jesus – 4:58
9 – I Cried Like A Baby – 2:45
10 – Tell Me – 4:49

Credits
Bass – Paul Martin
Cover [Cover Writing] – Crystal Lewis-Ray
Drums, Percussion – Brian Eichler
Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals – Raymond McDonald
Engineer [Assistant] – Jeff Dykhouse
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Chris Lizotte
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Mixed By – Stephen Anderson (tracks: 1, 4)
Organ [Hammond Organ], Piano, Resonator Guitar [Dobro], Accordion, Backing Vocals – Kevin Prosch
Photography, Art Direction – Brian Ray (2)
Producer, Engineer, Mixed By – Chris Wimber
Technician [Guitar Technician] – Shawn Tubbs

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Vineyard Music Group
Copyright (c) – Vineyard Music Group
Recorded At – Vineyard Studios (2)
Mastered At – Future Disc

The Lead – The Lead – 1985

This self released 7″ with 4 tracks is the initial release from “The Lead”. By keeping the songs short they actually fit 4 tracks on it. # of the tracks are good quality punk tracks and 1 track leans towards the thrash metal that they would be better known for. In my opinion their punk is much better than their Thrash but they decided they wanted to go the Thrash route. I also think Nina Llopis vocals were better than Julio Rey’s but in the end we would hear more of Julio than Nina. I really don’t care for their later work but I will admit I really liked this 7″ release.

Tracklist
1 – It’s Thru You – 1:40
2 – Better Off – 2:02
3 – Get Out Of My Face – 1:42
4 – Question What Authority? – 2:04

Credits
Drums, Percussion – Robbie Christie
Guitar, Vocals – Julio Rey
Mastered By – Mike Fuller
Producer, Engineer – Mike McNamee
Producer, Graphics – The Lead
Vocals, Bass – Nina Llopis

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Sync Studios
Mastered At – Criteria Recording Studios

Leviticus – Stå Och Titta På – 1982

Leviticus formed in 1981 when brothers Kjell and Håkan Andersson came together with Björn Stigsson. In 1982 they released this 4 song EP as their first offering. It was recorded entirely in Swedish and was only released in Sweden. It is comprised of strong keyboard oriented heavy metal. Björn’s guitar is very strong and aside from the production quality the band was album ready at this point and in fact recorded their first album very quickly after this release. Luckily the EP was re-released as part of the 2000 “The Strongest Power” CD release. This is where it started for Leviticus and you can hear that they were a strong band right from their start.

Tracklist
1 – Stå Och Titta På – 5:13
2 – Följ Mig – 4:05
3 – Leva Som Han Lär – 4:24
4 – Min Mästare – 7:31

Credits
Drums, Percussion – Kjell Andersson
Engineer – Thomas Gertz
Guitar, Vocals, Lyrics By, Music By, Guitar Synthesizer – Björn Stigsson
Illustration, Design – Inge Vidare
Photography By – Lars Lindgren
Producer – Leviticus
Synthesizer [Moog Taurus], Vocals, Bass – Håkan Andersson

Companies, etc.
Printed By – SIB-Tryck, Tumba
Recorded At – Studio Bastun
Distributed By – Gummessons

Koinonia – Frontline – 1986

This was Koinonia’s 4th release and as with their other albums it wasn’t very successful in North America but was a big hit in Europe. This album is almost entirely instrumental except for “Making Room” and “Señor”. I am guessing this is a result of the jazz style but the vocals are so good it’s too bad they didn’t do more. As with their previous albums this album has a strong Jazz Fusion sound and they were probably the best Christian artists in this style. That said I don’t think their were many CCM bands doing this style. Their next album was far more mainstream so this is the end of an era for their listeners and fans. This is one I missed in the 80’s so I’m glad I got a chance now to enjoy it.

Tracklist
1 – Gazoot – 4:30
2 – Chuncho – 6:20
3 – Greatest Love – 4:48
4 – Frontline – 5:13
5 – Señor – 4:21
6 – You Can’t Hide – 4:34
7 – Around The Corner (Runt Hornet) – 3:55
8 – Easy Morning – 4:22
9 – Making Room – 4:09

Credits
Arranged By – Koinonia
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums, Percussion – Alex Acuña, Bill Maxwell
Engineer – Don Murray
Executive-Producer, Producer – Greg Mathieson
Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith
Keyboards – Harlan Rogers
Producer – Koinonia
Saxophone, Flute – Justo Almario
Synthesizer [Programming] – Greg Mathieson, Smitty Price
Vocals – Abraham Laboriel (tracks: B1, B5), Alex Acuña (tracks: B1), Diana Neciosup-Acuña* (tracks: B1), Harlan Rogers (tracks: B1), Howard Smith (tracks: B1), Tata Vega (tracks: B1, B5)

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Sparrow Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Sparrow Corporation
Copyright (c) – The Sparrow Corporation
Recorded At – Sunset Sound
Mixed At – Mama Jo’s
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering

Wild Blue Yonder Featuring Crystal Lewis – Wild Blue Yonder – 1986/1995

Wild Blue Yonder were a new incarnation of the CCM Rockabilly band The Lifters minus Rex Harvey and of course the addition of Crystal Lewis doing lead vocals. The album essentially came out on Crystal’s 17th birthday so ignore the “she was 15” stuff on the internet. The album was released September 9th 1986 and her birthday is September 11th 1969. Both Terry Taylor and Rob Watson from DA were involved in the project and they bring some quality production to the album. The album has a Rockabilly sound in places and is often referred to as Cow-punk but it’s not really Cow-punk in my opinion. It’s just a fun 80’s album with Rockabilly influences though Crystal’s vocals are so strong she really dominates the album almost making you forget about the rest of the band. The album was re-released in 1995 with 2 bonus tracks (this upload is that 1995 release) and is catalogued as being a Crystal Lewis album titled Wild Blue Yonder.

Tracklist
1 – Just One Look – 3:49
2 – You And Me – 3:07
3 – This Love’s For Real – 4:05
4 – Where Can I Go (Bonus Track) – 2:24
5 – Heart Beat – 2:34
6 – Over The Rainbow – 3:20
7 – Every Day (Bonus Track) – 3:23
8 – Only One – 3:42
9 – Revival Meeting – 2:35
10 – You’re My Love – 3:19
11 – Only You – 2:45
12 – Crying Eyes – 3:07
13 – If I Could Write A Poem – 5:01

Credits
Art Direction, Layout [Original] – Phillip Kim
Artwork By [Logo] – Dave Gibson
Artwork, Design [New] – Timothy McCaig
Backing Vocals – Terry Taylor
Bass – Paul Martin
Drums – Joey Mitchell
Engineer – Doug Doyle
Guitar – Chris Brigandi
Pedal Steel Guitar – Garry Brandon
Photography By – Brian Ray
Piano, Organ, Backing Vocals – Rob Watson
Producer – Terry Taylor
Remastered By – Dave Hackbarth
Remix – Chris Brigandi, Gene Eugene
Vocals – Crystal Lewis

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Metro One, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Metro One, Inc.
Distributed By – Diamante Distribution
Glass Mastered At – Disctronics USA – 131230

Steve Camp – After God’s Own Heart – 1987

Steve’s 9th album was perhaps one of his most successful. Of course in the Christian music market successful and good are two different things. Steve turned it way down for this album. It is much more easy listening and in my opinion it is just boring. The quality of the music is really good as usual from Camp but there’s just no real Rock & Roll here. That said the album was wildly successful with 3 top 10 singles, “Whatever You Ask” #1, “Come To The Lord” #5, and “After God’s Own Heart” #3. “The Church Is All Of You” also made it to #37. Not too shabby I agree. The album also had Steve’s version of “Revive Us, O Lord”, which he co-wrote with Carman. Carman released his version of the song on his 1985 album, “The Champion” which made it to #2 on the charts. The CD release had an absolutely horrible bonus track “Hopeless Sinners, Helpless Saints”. Sorry if you liked it but I couldn’t stand it. Based on the charts this was a wildly successful album I agree but I just wish there was a little more Rock & Roll.

Tracklist
1 – Come To The Lord – 3:22
2 – The Church Is All Of You – 5:31
3 – Whatever You Ask – 4:07
4 – Who Knows – 4:12
5 – When I Survey The Wondrous Cross – 5:27
6 – Nothing To Prove – 4:38
7 – After God’s Own Heart – 5:16
8 – If It Wasn’t For The Grace Of God – 4:37
9 – Revive Us, O Lord – 5:12
10 – Till These Earthly Days Shall End – 4:02

CD Bonus Track
11 – Hopeless Sinners, Helpless Saints – 5:12

Credits
Alto Saxophone – Alan Palmer
Backing Vocals – Bob Bennett, Bob Carlisle, Bridgette Evans, Kim Maxfield, Margaret Becker, Mark Williamson, Michele Pillar, Pete Carlson, Steve Camp, Steve Lively, Tamara Champlin, Tommy Funderburk
Baritone Saxophone – Mark Watters
Bass – Joe Chemey (tracks: B4), Leland Sklar (tracks: A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B1, B2, B3, B5)
Drum Machine [SP12 Drum Machine], Programmed By [Synth Programming] – Steve Camp
Drums, Percussion, Drum Programming – John Robinson
Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – Bart Stevens, Joe Schiff, Koji Egawa, Larry Mah, Wade Jaynes
Guitar – Dann Huff
Keyboards, Organ [Hammond B3 Organ], Conductor [Brass Section Conducted By] – John Rosasco
Keyboards, Programmed By [Synth Programming] – Allen Pasqua, Smitty Price
Mastered By – Mike Reese
Mixed By – Bill Schnee
Producer, Arranged By – Steve Camp
Producer, Arranged By, Orchestrated By – John Rosasco
Production Manager [Production Coordinator] – Tammy Allcock
Recorded By – David Schober, Gabe Veltri, Terry Christian
Soloist [Guitar] – Dann Huff (tracks: A3)
Soloist [Hammond B3 Organ] – John Rosasco (tracks: A3)
Soloist [Piano Solo] – Allen Pasqua (tracks: A4), John Rosasco (tracks: A5)
Soloist [Tenor Saxophone] – Alan Palmer (tracks: A2), Brandon Fields (tracks: A3)
Technician [Music Preperation] – Bill Francis
Tenor Saxophone – Jon Clarke
Trumpet – Dan Fernero, John Fumo

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Sparrow Corporation
Copyright (c) – The Sparrow Corporation
Recorded At – Ocean Way Recording
Recorded At – Mad Hatter Studios
Recorded At – Bill Schnee Studios
Mixed At – Bill Schnee Studios
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab

Darrell Mansfield – Live At Flevo – 1991

This Live Darrell Mansfield album was recorded live at the 1990 Flevo Totaal Music Festival. Darrell really should be listened to live to appreciate. I enjoy all his studio work don’t get me wrong but really his work is best live. Most these tracks will come up again and again on Darrell’s many live albums but these are earlier versions so some of them are done differently than he would do later.

Tracklist
1 – You Got To Move – 2:00
2 – No More Blues – 3:25
3 – Million Dollar Feelin’ – 7:40
4 – I Was Running – 2:43
5 – Thunder & Lightning – 4:57
6 – Jesus Coming Soon – 6:31
7 – Stand By Me – 5:30
8 – Biblestudy – 8:07

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Eric Turner
Design – Gransch Bakker Design
Drums, Vocals – Greg Eckler
Engineer – Roel Toering
Guitar [Lead], Vocals – Bob Anglin
Harmonica, Lead Vocals – Darrell Mansfield
Mixed By – Charles Everaars, Gerrit aan ‘t Goor
Photography By – Datafoto

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Asaph Records
Copyright (c) – Asaph Records

Crossection – What About Forever – 1987

I was quite surprised when I came across this demo from Crossection. Their first album was actually a demo that got picked up by a label but I did not know there was a previous demo. I am assuming this was actually available for sale at their concerts through western Canada. This albums has a good raw feel and is not overproduced so it’s Rock & Roll sound and feel works. The band could have been a little tighter but it’s a light criticism of the album as I love the unpolished sound. If you enjoyed their 2 albums you should love this demo as it’s always nice to hear where a band came from. Only 2 tracks on this demo were released on their fist album so the other 8 are completely new tracks. I actually would have liked to have heard some of the new tracks in a fully polished and produced form because some of them are really good songs.

Tracklist
1 – Inside Out – 3:38
2 – Hard and Hungry World – 3:03
3 – Prodigal – 3:54
4 – Love Is Who You Are – 4:46
5 – Mercy – 3:57
6 – Things Aren’t The Same – 3:32
7 – Solid Rock – 3:14
8 – Child Of The King – 2:56
9 – Do Life Once – 2:36
10 – Forever Is Tonight – 3:36

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

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Soundboard Studio, Sedgewick AB

Halo – Halo – 1990

Halo, which apparently stands for “Heavenly Angelic Light Orchestra”, were a great hard rock/metal band out of Alabama. They formed in 1980 and strangely had a non Christian drummer, Mike Graham, who was also only 14 years old while the rest of the band was in the area of 21 years old. He did come to Christ in a couple years but I find it odd someone would ask a 14 year old non Christian drummer to join their adult Christian band. But whatever, it all seemed to work out. The band played for the next 9 years without a record deal. A demo tape got to Bob Hartman (Petra) and he started to mentor the band. Bob finally got them a record deal in 1989 with the Elefante brothers over at Pakaderm Records. This album was then recorded with much involvement of the Elefante’s and released in 1990. Best description of the sound would be a power Rock & Roll band which some (including me) might consider to be light metal. This is one that definitely deserves a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Jesus Music – 4:20
2 – Lord Of All – 4:39
3 – Good Feeling – 4:13
4 – Soul Searcher – 4:35
5 – Skyrocket – 3:45
6 – Lose To Live – 4:33
7 – Sing (Of His Glory) – 4:21
8 – Language Barrier – 5:09
9 – Time To Run – 4:01
10 – Timeless – 1:07

Credits
Arranged By [Additional] – Bob Hartman (tracks: 3, 4, 8)
Backing Vocals – John Elefante
Band [Halo], Drums, Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Mike Graham
Band [Halo], Guitar, Backing Vocals – Keith Mims
Band [Halo], Lead Vocals, Bass Guitar – Scott Springer
Cover, Illustration, Layout – Robert Fischer
Drums – David Raven (tracks: 5)
Engineer, Mixed By – Dino Elefante, John Elefante, Mike Mierau
Guitar – Dino Elefante, Glen Pierce, Tony Palacios (tracks: 5)
Keyboards – John Elefante
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Piano – John Schreiner (tracks: 4, 8)
Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Vocals [Duet] – John Elefante (tracks: 5), Scott Springer (tracks: 5)

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Pakaderm Records
Copyright (c) – Pakaderm Records
Published By – Benefante Music
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab