Category: Albums

Adrian Snell – Goodbye October – 1976

This was the second album from Adrian and it picks up right up where the last one left off. Adrian was a solid performer of worship / easy listening at this point in his career and few others did it as well as him. Now to be clear this is not my style of music but I know good music when I hear it and this is going to lead to my rant. How on gods green earth did Adrian never have a CCM charting single. He had 23 albums of which I’ve heard several now and I am completely dumbfounded at how he never had a song on the charts. I know I have ranted about the charts being very selective before but this has to be one of the best examples of people being blacklisted from the charts. I have no idea why Adrian was blacklisted but honestly it’s rather obvious that he was. Anyway this is an excellent 70’s vibe worship album and if that’s your style I’m sure you will agree with me that this is an excellent album.

Tracklist
1 – Prelude – 4:25
2 – This Land – 2:47
3 – By The Waters Of Babylon (Psalm 137) – 4:54
4 – Father, Saviour, Lord – 3:32
5 – City Bound – 2:50
6 – Goodbye October – 4:30
7 – Summer Song – 2:52
8 – Jesus, I’m Alone – 3:22
9 – Jesus Is My Song – 2:45
10 – And In The Morning – 3:25

Credits
Art Direction – Phil Thomson
Bass Guitar, Mandolin, Voice [Heathen Shouts], Handclaps – Gerry Page
Clarinet, Flute, Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Ken Parr
Design Concept [Sleeve Concept By], Illustration – Eugene Press
Drums, Percussion – Bernard Shaw, Keith Entwistle
Engineer – Andy Kidd, Dave Cooke, Helmut Kaufmann
French Horn – Gordon Carr
Lyrics By – Adrian Snell
Music By – Adrian Snell
Photography By – David McQuitty
Piano, Electric Guitar, Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar, Keyboards [Elka Rhapsody], Synthesizer [String & Moog Synthesizers], Arranged By – Joe King
Piano, Electric Piano, Guitar, Twelve-String Guitar, Classical Guitar, Keyboards [Elka Rhapsody], Synthesizer [String & Moog Synthesizers], Percussion [Jawbone], Vocals – Adrian Snell
Producer – John Pantry
Vocals [Female Vocals] – Elisabeth Kaufmann

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Dove Records
Recorded At – ICC Studios
Made By – Robert Stace
Printed By – Robert Stace
Published By – Thankyou Music
Lacquer Cut At – Pye Studios

Newsboys – Hell Is For Wimps – 1990

I completely missed the Newsboys era in CCM music so every time I post one of their albums it is the first time I have heard it. I really enjoyed this album when I listened to it. It has a solid sound and my only criticism is that it kind of switches from Pop to New Wave to Rock so it’s a little inconsistent but that’s a weak criticism because the album is well done. Strangely this album didn’t do very good. In fact it would be a few more albums before the band would become the powerhouse they are known as. I subconsciously considered Newboys the New Kids On The Block of CCM but that’s entirely not true. These guys had some talent and I would have really liked them back in the late 80’s early 90’s.

Tracklist
1 – Stand Up For Jesus – 3:47
2 – In The End – 3:14
3 – Simple Man – 3:43
4 – All I Can See – 4:51
5 – Ten Thousand Miles – 3:54
6 – Somethin’s Missing – 2:45
7 – Get Up For Love – 3:15
8 – Sea Of Love – 3:13
9 – Love You Tomorrow – 3:33
10 – Victory – 4:16

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Sonny Lallerstedt
Bass – Sean Taylor
Drums, Vocals – Peter Furler
Executive-Producer – Dez Dickerson, Jeff Moseley
Guitar – Jonathan Geange
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Michael Gleason
Lead Vocals – John James
Mastered By – Denny Purcell
Other [L.D., A.D., Koala Caller] – Steve Campbell
Producer – Michael Gleason
Recorded By – Sonny Lallerstedt
Technician [Drum Tech] – David Perdikis
Written-By – Newsboys

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Star Song Communications
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Star Song
Copyright © – Star Song

Randy Stonehill – Wonderama – 1992

This is an interesting project from Randy but not for the music as much as for who was the band. Rob Watson and Tim Chandler from DA are here as well as Rick Elias and drums were handled by long time LA studio musician David Raven. That’s quite the band and you can hear all their influences through the album. This album has in my opinion some of Randy’s best writing though with so many albums that’s kind of a silly thing to say. Strangely the album didn’t have a CCM single but then again while Randy indeed did have CCM singles he had very few considering the volume of his work. The CCM charts never really supported Randy’s work.

Tracklist
1 – Wonderama – 6:20
2 – I Will Follow – 3:00
3 – Barbie Nation – 4:57
4 – Don’t Be Sad – 4:15
5 – Rachel Delevoryas – 3:19
6 – Intermission At The Wonderama – 1:05
7 – Great Big Stupid World – 5:47
8 – Sing In Portuguese – 4:05
9 – Mice & Men – 3:13
10 – The Lost Parade – 4:14
11 – Lantern In The Snow – 4:36
12 – Wonderama Postlude – 0:42

Credits
Arranged By [Strings & Horn], Written-By [String & Horn Arrangements Written By], Conductor [String & Horn Arrangements Conducted By] – Rob Watson
Art Direction [Art Director] – Roz
Artwork, Design – Court Patton, Tom Gulotta
Bass – Tim Chandler
Drums – David Raven
Guitar [Guitars] – Rick Elias
Keyboards – Rob Watson
Lead Vocals, Guitar [Guitars] – Randy Stonehill
Concept By – Court Patton, Terry Taylor, Tom Gulotta
Executive-Producer – Mark Maxwell, Ray Ware
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Photography By – Linda Krikorian, Nic Nacca
Producer [Produced By], Directed By – Terry Taylor
Recorded By – G. Eugene

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Produced For – Stunt Productions
Mastered At – Future Disc
Recorded At – Mixing Lab A
Recorded At – Neverland
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Recorded At – Micronote Studios
Recorded At – McCrummy Music Studio
Recorded At – Jerry and Sharon’s Wax Lips Studio
Mixed At – Mixing Lab A
Published By – Stonehillian Music
Published By – Word Music
Published By – Buon Natalie Music
Published By – Twitchen Vibes Music

Jerry Proppe – Two Feet Deep – 1985

This is another album from Praise records out of Vancouver BC Canada. Because of this it is almost impossible to find out anything about it. Also as usual this is a fantastic artist that didn’t get the exposure he deserved. This is a frequent problem with Praise as they were able to put albums out but had no promotional skills or abilities at all. They were also very bad at paying artists which is anther story for another day. Just to be clear I have no idea if Jerry ever got paid, I’m basing that comment on MANY conversations with other Praise records clients. Anyway, what we have here is a pretty good album. It leans easy listening but there’s a couple pretty good pop tracks. With some proper promotion I can see this album having had a CCM single. While I was not able to find out much about Jerry at the time I am happy to let you know he is still making music and has a web page with some of it. While not my style of music it’s very well done and I admit to tapping my toes to a couple of tracks. If you ever read this Jerry keep it up.

Tracklist
1 – Give It Up – 3:46
2 – Why Do I Feel This Way – 3:36
3 – Livin’ Without A Reason – 3:00
4 – With My Music – 3:42
5 – Hold Fast – 3:42
6 – It’s You I Love – 3:22
7 – The Only Thing That Matters – 2:45
8 – Just A Really – 3:47
9 – Close Friends – 2:59
10 – Got To Tell You – 4:45

Credits
Arranged By – Gerhart Von Delden
Engineer – Nigel Blagborne
Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Doug Wong
Mixed By – Jerry Proppe, Nigel Blagborne
Producer – Lorbi

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Sundae Sound

Lost & Found – Welcome To The Real World-1988

Yet again I have found an album where I can’t find any info on the band. IN this case it even stranger than usual because the album was re-released in 2009 with bonus tracks but the company that re-released it, RetroCross Records, doesn’t appear to know anything about the band either. Anyway so we know nothing about the band or any of it;s members but here’s what I do know. This is a really good album. The cover looks metal but this is actually a Pop album which leans New Wave at times and Rock and Roll at other times. It lacks a consistent sound but because it’s so well done that’s irrelevant. The albums producer doesn’t appear to have ever produced an album other than this one so kudos to him for doing such a great job. This one is a must listen to.

Tracklist
1 – Welcome To The Real World – 4:35
2 – Going All The Way – 4:38
3 – Hear Me – 4:34
4 – Make It Real – 4:35
5 – Wait Of The World – 6:04
6 – I’m So Glad – 4:23
7 – How Long? – 5:05
8 – Never Alone – 4:53
9 – Smoke Screen – 4:17
10 – All The World – 5:52

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Greg Hudson
Drums – Alison Cate
Guitar [Additional] – Butch Price
Guitar, Vocals – Larry Trainor
Guitar, Vocals, Cover, Design, Artwork By – Ted Hoehne
Lead Vocals – Scott Walters
Photography By – Jim Dalool
Producer, Arranged By, Engineer, Mixed By – Bill Pearson
Vocals, Keyboards – Brian Mercer

Companies, etc.
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Angelica – Rock, Stock & Barrel – 1991

This is probably the first and maybe the only Christian album better known for a music video than the album itself. The band put together a music video for the single “Cover Me” and it was probably the best Christian music video up to the point. At least that’s what their fans said. I watched it and it’s definitely good for the genre but I certainly don’t believe it was all that great. Anyway this was their 3rd album and their best up to this point. It also strangely had yet a different vocalist than their previous 2. Three albums with 3 different vocalists was certainly something a little different. The album toned down the metal a little bit which probably helped it reach a wider audience. Strangely the band added a metal version of the Canadian national anthem on the end of the album. As they were Canadian this wasn’t overly surprising but personally I found it a bit pointless.

Tracklist
1 – The Fire Inside – 4:23
2 – Someone To Believe In Me – 4:46
3 – Cover Me – 4:54
4 – Home Sweet Heaven – 4:55
5 – A Little Love – 3:57
6 – Sail Away – 4:11
7 – Keep Pushin’ On – 4:46
8 – Bumble Boob Groove – 1:52
9 – Rhyme & Reason – 3:52
10 – Without Words – 4:26
11 – Oh Canada – 1:46

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Bass, Backing Vocals [BGV’s] – Robert Pallen
Co-producer – Daro
Design – Joe Potter
Drums – Bobby Lawrence
Engineer – Daryl Wickes, Dennis Cameron, Doug Drury, Scott Seehawer
Guitar, Backing Vocals [BGV’s] – Dennis Cameron
Illustration – Steve Firchow
Keyboards – Christophe Marchand, Daro
Lead Vocals – Drew Baca
Liner Notes – Marie Nishimori
Management [Japan Representation] – MJM Artists
Mixed By – Daryl Wickes
Other [Hair By] – Peter McLaren
Photography By [Photos] – Gary Sweetman
Producer – Dennis Cameron
Words By, Music By – Dennis Cameron

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Intense Records
Copyright © – Intense Records
Licensed From – MJM Entertainment Group Inc.
Manufactured By – Pony Canyon Inc.
Recorded At – Charico Studios
Published By – Broken Songs

Michael W. Smith – Change Your World – 1992

I have to admit yet again that I was not a Michael W. Smith in the 80’s. But this album is a fantastic early 80’s keyboard oriented pop album. But that’s actually the problem with this album, It’s a great 80’s album but it came out in 1992. This is an ongoing problem with Michael as he did some really good stuff but he always seemed to be 5 years behind. But the good news is that I didn’t really care for 90’s music so I get to enjoy this album just as it is. As per normal the album was great success on the CCM charts with 2 top 10 singles, “Give It Away” made it to #1 and “I Will Be Here For You” to #2.

Tracklist
1 – Picture Perfect – 4:06
2 – Love One Another – 4:51
3 – I Will Be Here For You – 4:32
4 – Color Blind – 5:37
5 – Somewhere Somehow – 4:17
6 – Cross Of Gold – 4:32
7 – Out Of This World – 4:23
8 – Somebody Love Me – 4:19
9 – Give It Away – 5:04
10 – I Wanna Tell The World – 4:26
11 – Friends – 4:39

Credits
Arranged By [Horns] – Chris McDonald, Jerry Hey
Arranged By [Strings], Conductor – Ronn Huff
Art Direction – Janet Wolsborn
Backing Vocals – Angelo & Veronica
Choir – Christ Church Choir, Music City Mass Choir
Concertmaster, Contractor – Carl Gorodetzky
Creative Director – Robin Sloane
Directed By – Landy & Joy Gardner, Reverend Lawrence Thomison
Executive Producer – Michael Blanton
Management – Blanton/Harrell, Inc.
Mixed By – Humberto Gatica
Mixed By [Assisted] – Alejandro Rodriguez
Photography By – Timothy White
Producer – Mark Heimermann, Michael W. Smith
Recorded By [Horns] – Humberto Gatica
Recorded By [Strings] – Brent King
Strings – The Nashville String Machine

Companies, etc.
Licensed Through – General Electric Company, USA
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Reunion Records, Inc.
Copyright © – Reunion Records, Inc.
Manufactured By – BMG Music
Distributed By – BMG Music
Pressed By – JVC

Lone Justice – This Is Lone Justice: The Vaught Tapes, 1983 – 2014

This was a great album that came out in 2014. It is a studio recording of work form the band back in 1983 before they were known to most of us. I’m a little unclear of what this recording session was. It has a few covers so it would have been difficult to release as a demo or as an album legally. That said I’m sure glad years later someone released it. The album is very raw as it was recorded by engineer David Vaught with direct to two-track tape and no overdubs. Because of this it has a great raw feeling and if you listen closely you can even hear some conversation in the background on a track or two. It’s too bad it took until 2014 but at least it did get released.

Tracklist
1 – Nothing Can Stop My Loving You – 1:58
2 – Jackson – 3:02
3 – Soap, Soup And Salvation – 4:11
4 – The Grapes Of Wrath – 2:33
5 – Dustbowl Depression Time – 2:46
6 – Rattlesnake Mama – 1:45
7 – Vigilante – 1:51
8 – Working Man’s Blues – 2:33
9 – Cactus Rose – 3:47
10 – When Love Comes Home To Stay – 3:07
11 – Cottonbelt – 3:10
12 – This World Is Not My Home – 2:30

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Greg Allen
Bass, Vocals – Marvin Etzioni
Drums – Don Heffington
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Ryan Hedgecock
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Producer – Lone Justice
Producer [Associate] – Josh Mills
Producer [This Release Produced By] – Cheryl Pawelski, Greg Allen
Recorded By – David Vaught
Rhythm Guitar, Vocal Percussion – Maria McKee

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Suite 16 Studios
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering
Manufactured By – Omnivore Recordings
Marketed By – Omnivore Recordings
Licensed To – Omnivore Recordings
Copyright © – Omnivore Recordings
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – McKee/Hedgecock/Etzioni/Heffington
Pressed By – Rainbo Records – S-88548

Steven Curtis Chapman – Real Life Conversations – 1988

This is the second album from Steven Curtis Chapman. Its a pretty pop oriented album but there a few tracks that lean towards light rock. I had not listened to this one before and I was pleasantly surprised when I finally did. While it’s certainly not Rock it is pretty good and there are a few tracks here that will go in my regular rotation. The album was very successful with 2 #1 CCM chart hits, “His Eyes” and “My Turn Now”. “For Who He Really Is” also made it to #4, and “His Strength Is Perfect” to #10. “His Eyes” also won the Dove award for Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song Of The Year and “His Strength Is Perfect” for Inspirational Recorded Song Of The Year. Steven also won the Dove award for Songwriter Of The Year on the heels of this album.

Tracklist
1 – Faithful Too – 4:00
2 – Tuesday’s Child – 4:05
3 – For Who He Really Is – 5:03
4 – Consider It Done – 3:43
5 – His Eyes – 3:33
6 – The Human Race – 3:44
7 – Wait – 4:14
8 – Truth Or Consequences – 5:00
9 – My Turn Now – 3:27
10 – His Strength Is Perfect – 4:38

Credits
Arranged By [Strings Arranged By] – Alan Moore
Arranged By [Tracks And Background Vocals Arranged By], Guitar, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Steven Curtis Chapman
Art Direction – Barbara Catanzaro-Hearn
Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Geoff Moore, Herb Chapman, Phil Naish
Bass – Mike Brignardello
Design – 5 Penguins Design, Inc.
Drums – Mark Hammond
Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – Carry Summers
Guitar – Jon Goin
Mandolin, Mandola – Mark O’Connor
Mastered By – Denny Purcell
Mixed By – Jeff Balding
Photography By – Mark Tucker
Producer [Production Manager] – Cindy Wilt
Producer, Arranged By [Tracks And Background Vocals Arranged By], Keyboards – Phil Naish
Recorded By – Ronnie Brookshire
Recorded By [Strings Recorded By] – Bob Clark
Strings – Carl Gorodetzky, The Nashville String Machine
Vocals [Guest Vocal] – Geoff Moore

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The Sparrow Corporation
Copyright © – The Sparrow Corporation
Distributed By – C.M.C. Distribution
Mastered At – Georgetown Masters
Recorded At – OmniSound Studios
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio
Recorded At – Downstage Studio
Recorded At – Great Circle Sound
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Jeoffrey Benward – The Redeemer – 1988

Jeoffrey music career was a matter of family tradition. His father was a popular Christian singer and his son Aaron is also a popular Christian artist. Jeoffrey has performed and recorded with both his father and son. As for this album apparently there was some problem with it’s distribution. It’s was one of the early album on ForeFront Records who knew what they were doing and was an artist owned label. Apparently there was some dispute on revenue but I really can’t find much on the issue. As a result of this apparently this album just didn’t get the proper promotion that it probably deserved. The album did have a CCM charting single, “The Redeemer” made it to #36. As for the album well I’m going to describe it as Worship pop. I say this because the album has a pop sound but Jeoffrey’s voice and lyrics are more worship oriented. It’s an interesting sound that is not my preferred sound but I actually think it’s well done and should be listened to.

Tracklist
1 – Come O Great Jehovan – 3:33
2 – His Majesty The King – 3:00
3 – By His Power – 3:55
4 – The Redeemer – 4:51
5 – Strength For The Journey – 4:45
6 – Great And Mighty – 3:16
7 – Church Of The Living God – 3:34
8 – Calvary Casts A Shadow – 3:41
9 – So Much Love – 5:02
10 – A Man Of God – 3:36