Before The Lead there was The Visitors. They self produced this 7″ in 1983. It highlights their punk roots and quite frankly I wish they would have kept this style as they were good at it and quite frankly CCM needed this style right at this time. But alas they would do punk for a few more years and then switch to thrash. But it’s fun to hear where they came from.
Tracklist A – Death Of A Gunfighter – 4:06 B – I’ll Never Know – 2:38
Credits Written-By – Julio Rey Vocals, Bass – Peter Lopez Vocals, Guitar – Julio Rey Drums – Juan Carlos
100% Proof were a band from Stockport, Manchester that formed in 1978 under the name “Thin Ice”. The band was having some success touring the local area and they went into the studio to record this EP, financed out of their own pocket, to sell at their concerts. It’s actually a 7 inch recorded at 33 1/3 which is relatively rare. This EP has a slightly more punk sound than the Rock & Roll sound they would be better known for on future releases. While I really enjoy their sound on their two commercial releases I really love this sound and wish we could have got more. The quality of the EP was an issue but I have cleaned it up as best as I could. I love early band releases like this and this one is no exception.
Tracklist
1 – New Way Of Livin’ – 4:58
2 – Lookin In – 2:22
3 – What’s The Cost – 5:04
4 – Resurrection – 3:49
Credits
Bass – Steve Harrison
Drums – Phil Wright
Engineer [Sound Engineering] – Ray Buckley
Guitar, Vocals – Charlie Wilson
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Steve Wright
Photography By – Dave Owen
Producer – 100% Proof, Ray Buckley
Sleeve – Pete Smith
Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Pluto Studios
Label – Smile
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
This little gem of a 7″ has an unreleased song “Just Where It’s At Tonight” and a alternate mix of “Sin”. We only got one album from Andy McCarroll & Moral Support so it’s a real treat to find another song.
Tracklist
A – Just Where It’s At Tonight
B – Sin
Credits
Bass – Alan Gillespie
Drums – Ian Sloan
Guitar – Jimmy Davis
Keyboards – William Hilary
Producer – Andy Kidd
Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards – Andy McCarroll
This appears to have been a demo release from Barnabas in 1979. Directory Assistance was released on their debut album but Nicodemus was not released until 1999 where it appeared on some copies of the Barnabas CD re-release of Hear The Light / Find Your Heart A Home .
This single is all we got from Stonewood Cross which is a pity because these two songs rock. While there’s tons of Jesus Music there isn’t as much of the Southern Rock from the 70’s. This is a straight out Southern Rock effort and it is very very good. This single was self released but I am very surprised a label didn’t pick it up. I guess that’s the mystery of Jesus Music. Sometimes labels jumped other times they passed and with no discernible reasoning. At least we have these two tracks to enjoy.
Tracklist
A – Magic Man – 5:58
B – Brand New Love – 6:00
Credits
Larry Walters – guitar & lead vocal
Kurt Schrotenboer – guitar & vocals
Bruce Bos – bass guitar & vocals
Jack Meyer – drums & vocals
Charizma is another excellent Metal band out of Sweden. This single features “Turn Me On” was unreleased at the time (Later showed up as a bonus track on a CD re-release of Rock The World) and the B Side is from their album, “Rock The World”.
Tracklist
Side A – Turn Me On – 4:11
Side B – Try It (Feel The Love) – 4:20
