Category: Albums

David Meece – 7 – 1985

I’ll just get this out of the way right away. I detest this “numbering” of an album. I think producers think it’s neat and cool but in reality it’s shortsighted, lazy, and it’s been done way too many times. That said lets get onto the album. By this point in David’s career he was mastering the pop sound that would work so well for him. This album while good doesn’t really have anything that says “listen to me again and again”. Instead it’s a good album with some good songs that I enjoyed listening to but will I put it on repeat? Not likely. I do however think you should give the album a listen, it is good but just not memorable.

Tracklist
1 – You Can Go – 3:13
2 – Tumblin’ Down – 3:33
3 – Forgiven – 4:08
4 – The Ladder – 3:44
5 – The Alien – 4:33
6 – We Can Overcome It All – 3:32
7 – The Unknown Soldier – 4:43
8 – Lean On Each Other – 3:49
9 – I Can See (On The Emmaus Road) – 5:34

Credits
Arranged By [Arrangements], Synthesizer [Lynn Synthesizer Programs], Keyboards – John Schreiner* (tracks: B1)
Art Direction – Buddy Jackson
Backing Band – First Call (tracks: B3)
Backing Vocals – Biff Vincent (tracks: B1), Bonnie Keen (tracks: B3), Chris Harris (2) (tracks: A1, A2), Dana Hiett (tracks: B1), David Meece (tracks: A1, B1, B2), Denny Henson (tracks: A4, A5), Gary Pigg (tracks: A1, A2), Allen Green* (tracks: A4, A5), Greg Guidry (tracks: A4, A5), Keith Thomas (tracks: A5), Marty McCall (tracks: B3), Melodie Tunney* (tracks: B3)
Bass – Mike Brignardello (tracks: A1 to A3, B3), Nathan East (tracks: A4, A5)
Co-producer – David Meece (tracks: B3, B4)
Co-producer [Assistants To The Producer] – Lori Loving* (tracks: A4, A5)
Co-producer [Assistants To The Producer], Recorded By, Mixed By – Jeff Balding (tracks: A4, A5)
Drums – Carlos Vega (tracks: A4, A5), Lee Kix (tracks: B1), Mark Hammond (tracks: B3), Paul Leim (tracks: A2, A3)
Drums, Drum Programming – Paul Leim (tracks: A1)
Electric Guitar – Dann Huff (tracks: A3), Marty Walsh (tracks: B2)
Engineer – Jack Joseph Puig (tracks: A1 to A3)
Engineer [Additional Engineer] – Gene Eichelberger (tracks: A4, A5), Joe Bogan (tracks: A4, A5)
Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – Bob Lockhart (2) (tracks: B2), Terry Lang (tracks: B2), Todd Van Etten (tracks: B2), Tom Harding (2) (tracks: B3, B4)
Engineer [Engineered By] – Ed Seay (tracks: B3, B4)
Executive Producer – Dan Harrell (tracks: A1 to A3), Lynn Nichols (tracks: A4 to B4), Michael Blanton (tracks: A1 to A3)
Guest, Vocals, Backing Vocals – Twila Paris (tracks: B2)
Guitar – Dann Huff (tracks: A4, A5), Jon Goin (tracks: B3), Michael Thompson (tracks: B1)
Keyboards – Shane Keister (tracks: B3)
Musical Assistance [Assisted By] – Allan Henry* (tracks: A1 to A3), Dan Garcia (tracks: A1 to A3), Steve Ford (tracks: A1 to A3)
Orchestrated By [Orchestration] – Alan Moore (3) (tracks: B4)
Percussion – Farrell Morris (tracks: B3), Lenny Castro (tracks: A1, A2)
Photography – Mark Tucker (7)
Piano – David Meece (tracks: B4)
Piano [Acoustic] – Robbie Buchanan (tracks: A3)
Piano [Fairlight & Acoustic], Acoustic Guitar – Shane Keister (tracks: A1)
Producer – Brown Bannister (tracks: A1 to A3), David Meece, Greg Nelson (tracks: B3, B4), Skip Konte (tracks: B1)
Producer, Arranged By, Backing Vocals – Jonathan David Brown (tracks: B2)
Producer, Arranged By, Keyboards – Keith Thomas (tracks: A4, A5)
Production Manager [Production Coordinator And Consultant] – Bubba Smith (2)
Production Manager, Coordinator – Gloria Cox (tracks: B3, B4)
Programmed By [Additional Fairlight Programming] – Rhett Lawrence (tracks: B2)
Programmed By [Fairlight Programming] – Carl Marsh (2) (tracks: B2)
Rhythm Guitar [& Solo] – Dann Huff (tracks: A2)
Saxophone [Sax] – Mark Douthit (tracks: A5)
Score [Musical Score Prepared By] – Eberhard Ramm (tracks: B4)
Sequencer [, GS-1 &], Effects [Sound Effects] – Shane Keister (tracks: A2)
Strings – Nashville String Machine* (tracks: B4)
Strings, Conductor [Conducted By] – Greg Nelson (tracks: B4)
Synthesizer – Robbie Buchanan (tracks: A1, A2)
Synthesizer, Effects [Sound Effects] – Rhett Lawrence (tracks: A3)
Vocoder – Shane Keister (tracks: A2, A3)

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Bill Schnee Studios
Recorded At – Bullet Recording
Recorded At – Mama Jo’s
Recorded At – Ocean Way Nashville
Recorded At – Rumbo Recorders
Recorded At – Emerald Sound Studios
Recorded At – Hummingbird Studio, Nashville, TN
Recorded At – Goldmine Studio
Recorded At – Front Page Recording
Recorded At – Weddington Studios
Recorded At – Treasure Isle Recorders
Mixed At – Mastermix
Copyright (c) – Meece Music
Copyright (c) – StraightWay Music
Copyright (c) – Mole End Music
Copyright (c) – Word Music UK
Copyright (c) – Gaither Music
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Produced For – David Meece Productions
Mastered At – Future Disc
Designed At – Jackson Design
Printed By – Shorewood Packaging
Made By – Shorewood Packaging

Leviticus – The Strongest Power – 1985

The third album from Leviticus pretty well carried on from their previous albums. At this point Björn and the guys had their sound mastered. This album displayed that experience with well written songs with catchy riffs. I think the production was a little underwhelming but then again some die hard metal fans prefer the raw sound. There were actually 2 different covers for this album but unfortunately both were horrible.

Tracklist
1 – The Winner – 4:04
2 – Deborah And Barak – 3:24
3 – On The Rocks – 2:56
4 – King Of Kings – 5:16
5 – Stay With Us – 3:52
6 – I Got Power – 3:57
7 – Look Around – 4:29
8 – I Love You – 3:14
9 – A New Day – 4:11
10 – Light For The World – 5:06

Credits
Kjell Andersson – Drums, Percussion, Vocals
Björn Stigsson – Guitars, Vocals, Synth, Organ
Håkan Andersson – Vocals (lead), Bass, Moog-Taurus bass pedal

Phil Keaggy – Play Thru Me – 1982

This is probably my favourite Phil Keaggy album. I find the guitar work on this album, which is excellent of course, to be the style I prefer from Phil. In particular I’ve always found the guitar riffs on “Happy” to be able to put a smile on my face. I always thought it was rather magical how Phil could sort of encapsulate different albums with slightly different guitar styles. Strangely the album only had one single on the CCM charts. I shudder to think that even this album may have been too uptempo for CCM in 1982. Anyway “Morning Light” peaked at #6 while on the charts for 28 weeks.

Tracklist
1 – Happy – 2:47
2 – Carefree – 4:39
3 – Nobody’s Playgirl Now – 4:02
4 – Cherish The Moment – 5:00
5 – She Came To Stay – 3:33
6 – Papa Song – 3:19
7 – The Wall – 2:44
8 – Make A Change – 3:30
9 – Train To Glory – 3:11
10 – Play Thru Me – 4:25
11 – His Master’s Voice – 3:07
12 – Morning Light – 3:30

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Stan Evenson
Bass – Hadley Hockensmith (tracks: A1, A3)
Design – John O’Brien
Drums – Jim DeLong
Engineer – Wally Grant
Guitar, Bass, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Written-By, Producer, Arranged By – Phil Keaggy
Keyboards – Smitty Price
Lacquer Cut By – SH*
Percussion – Michael Fisher
Photography By – Mark Hanauer
Producer, Engineer – Bob Cotton
Vocals – Alicia Keaggy (tracks: A6), Bernadette Keaggy (tracks: A6)

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Birdwing Music
Copyright (c) – Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company Inc.
Copyright (c) – Sandtree Music
Recorded At – Sound Recorders, Kansas City
Recorded At – Weddington Studios
Mastered At – MCA Recording Studios
Lacquer Cut At – MCA Whitney Recording Studios

‘Ark – The Angels Come – 1979

This album is really a one off gem that left us wanting for more. Dave Kelly and Derek Jeffery formed the band bringing David Mackay in on bass. When a producer was brought in Al Perkins filled the bill and he jumped in on lead guitar. Al Perkins had produced some of the biggest CCM albums of the time including Daniel Amos, Gentle Faith, and Terry Talbot. Anyway, personnel explanations out of the way lets talk about this album. The sound is often compared to The Byrds, Beatles, Crosby Stills & Nash and The Stones but personally I think it sounds most like the Byrds. This is a very very good album and it is such a pity it ended up being the only album from them. I don’t mean this album was a good CCM album, I mean this was a great album in all markets. I believe this album could have received air play on secular radio but I think it was just a little too late. The only track that I believe was timely was “Why?” and I think it would have done well on the radio. As for my favourite track those who know me know I almost always like the hard rock track but not on this one. On this one I love the ballad “Arms Of The Lord” in which I can hear a tinge of what was coming in the early 80’s. So to sum up, you need to listen to this album!!!

Tracklist
1 – Hold Me Tonight – 2:25
2 – Birthsong – 2:35
3 – For All You Know – 3:25
4 – A Place For Love – 2:56
5 – Hungry World – 3:03
6 – Don’t Look Now – 4:02
7 – All To Pieces – 2:28
8 – Standing At The Door – 2:23
9 – Arms Of The Lord – 3:25
10 – Why? – 2:40

Credits
Arranged By [Orchestra Arranger], Conductor – Greg Nelson
Bass – David Mackay
Design – Lynn Robb, Stan Evenson
Lead Guitar – Al Perkins
Mastered By – Lanky Linstrot
Photography By – Gary Heery
Producer, Engineer – Al Perkins
Strings – Edinburgh Symphony
Vocals, Drums, Percussion – James Kehn
Vocals, Rhythm Guitar – Dave Kelly, Derek Jeffery

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Spirit
Distributed By – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Recorded At – Soundcastle
Mastered At – ABC Records

DeGarmo & Key – This Ain’t Hollywood – 1980

The third album from DeGarmo & Key saw them turn towards a more commercial sound. That said you could still easily hear where they came from but still hardcore fans were not happy with the turn. Personally I believe that the evolving of music is normal and is just part of Rock & Roll. This album is without a doubt what propelled them to a more mainstream audience and they finally got some radio airplay, Christian Radio that is. There are a couple interesting notes on the album. “Mylon LeFevre helped write “Love Is All You Need” and this was a start of a great relationship between the two. “Nobody Loves Me Like You” featured a duet with lesser known at the time performer Amy Grant. It goes without saying that this song rocketed onto Christian radio and was a great help for the rest of the album.

Tracklist
1 – Stella, This Ain’t Hollywood – 3:24
2 – When He Comes Back – 2:43
3 – You Gave Me All – 3:30
4 – Never Be The Same – 2:55
5 – All Night – 4:22
6 – All You Need – 3:47
7 – Nobody Loves Me Like You – 3:22
8 – Light Of The World – 3:01
9 – Over And Over – 3:27
10 – One Step Closer – 3:28

Credits
Backing Vocals – Beverly Baxter, Jack Holder, Jimi Jamison, Mylon LeFevre, Suzanne Jerome
Bass, Producer, Mixed By – Joe Hardy
Design – Bill Brunt
Drums – John Hamptone
Executive-Producer – Michael “Blantone”
Guitar, Lead Vocals, Producer – Dana Key
Horns – The Memphis Horns
Keyboards, Producer – Ed DeGarmo
Mastered By – Larry Nix
Photography By – Mike Borum
Saxophone – Andrew Love
Slide Guitar – Roy (Dunno) Howell (tracks: A5)
Trombone – Jack Hale
Trumpet – Ben Cavley

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Lamb & Lion Records
Copyright (c) – Lamb & Lion Records
Designed At – Private Eye Studio
Published By – Star Struck Music
Published By – Lamb & Lion Music Co.
Produced For – Mint Productions (2)
Recorded At – Ardent Studios
Mastered At – Ardent Mastering
Pressed By – PRC Recording Company, Richmond, IN

Stryper – Against The Law – 1990

Stryper’s 1990 release was probably my favourite. This is in no small part because of the more commercial sound of the album as I’ve never been a huge Metal fan. This album was very well produced but I bet the Metal fans of Stryper thought it was over produced. The JPM count on this album is much much lower than usual from them. I really think this album could have been a commercial success if it had just come out a few years earlier. Unfortunately at this point in history Rock & Roll was headed to it’s dreaded grunge sound. The album actually has several songs centered on women and I bet there’s an interesting story in Michael Sweet’s life at the time. To me one of the stand out tracks is “Lady” which is an excellent rock ballad that could have easily played on radio just a few years earlier. The strange cut on the album is a cover of Earth Wind & Fire’s Shining Star which actually is pretty good. They did close out the album with a Metal song for their base fans, “Rock the Hell Out of You”

Tracklist
1 – Against The Law – 3:49
2 – Two Time Woman – 3:40
3 – Rock The People – 3:34
4 – Two Bodies (One Mind One Soul) – 5:17
5 – Not That Kind Of Guy – 3:59
6 – Shining Star – 4:22
7 – Ordinary Man – 3:51
8 – Lady – 4:53
9 – Caught In The Middle – 3:48
10 – All For One – 4:31
11 – Rock The Hell Out Of You – 3:35

Credits
A&R [A&R Administration] – Jacqui Randle
A&R [A&R Direction] – John Guarnieri
Art Direction – Patrick Pending
Art Direction, Design – Rudy Tuesday
Backing Vocals [Additional Background Vocals] – Jeff Scott Soto
Bass – Randy Jackson (tracks: B1)
Bass, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Tim Gaines
Drums – Robert Sweet
Engineer [Assistant Engineer (Devonshire)] – Mike Bosley
Engineer [Assistant Engineer (Music Grinder)] – Lawrence Ethan
Engineer [Assistant Engineer (The Record Plant)] – Buzz Morrows
Guitar, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Oz Fox
Keyboards – John Purdell
Keyboards [Additional Keyboards/Tour Keyboards] – Brent Jeffers
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Guitar, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Michael Sweet
Mixed By, Recorded By – Eddie DeLena
Other [Clothing] – Fleur Thiemeyer
Other [Makeup] – Kyle Tucy Sweet
Photography By [Band Photography] – Neil Zlozower
Photography By [Special Photo Printing] – David Perry
Photography By [Still-Life Photography] – Ed Colver
Producer, Percussion – Tom Werman
Typography [Typesetting] – Jeannine Pinkerton

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Enigma Records
Copyright (c) – Enigma Records
Mixed At – Record Plant, Los Angeles
Recorded At – Music Grinder Studios
Recorded At – Devonshire Studios

Imperials – Christmas With The Imperials – 1980

This 1980 release from the Imperials features a selection of traditional Christmas Carols sung in a traditional style. Sorry no Rock & Roll here.

Tracklist
1 – Child Of Love – 3:52
2 – It Came Upon A Midnight Clear – 2:51
3 – Mary’s Boy Child – 2:41
4 – Immanual – 3:30
5 – O Come All Ye Faithful – 2:02
6 – Christmas Praise – 2:49
7 – Silent Night – 2:47
8 – What Child Is This? – 2:38
9 – O Little Town Of Bethlehem – 2:22
10 – O Holy Night – 3:57

Zion – Behold The Man – 1981

Before Rich Mullins solo career he was in a band called Zion. Zion was a part of the Zion Ministries out of Cincinnati Bible College. In 1981 with some help from relatives they were able to record this album. It did not have any distribution and was apparently just sold at concerts and in the local Cincinnati area. A copy of the album made it’s way someway to Amy Grant’s manager. He wanted Amy to record the song “Praise to the Lord” and the rest as they say is history. Amy recorded the song and had a huge hit with it. Rich capitalized on this and launched his own career.

Tracklist
1 – Praise To The Lord – 5:41
2 – For Unto Us – 2:06
3 – The Way To Love You – 7:16
4 – Lord Help Me Be – 3:10
5 – Nothing In This World – 4:07
6 – You Can Live Without Him – 5:16
7 – Hope To Carry On – 2:17
8 – Heaven In His Eyes – 4:40

Credits
Jenny Filson – Vocals and Synthesizers
Tom Weimer – Vocals and Guitars
Beth Snell – Vocals
Rich Mullins – Vocals, Guitars, Piano, and Dulcimer

Hank Laake – In The Spirit Of The King – 1982

This is the one that started it out for The Hank Laake Band though at this point they were playing as Hank Laake. This album had one major fault, the album cover. The picture of Hanke is very very 70’s and at first glance you might be expecting a Randy Matthews like album but this is no Randy Matthews style album. This is a Rock & Roll album and a good one at that. I think most of us only bought this album after hearing his follow up album which had a Rock & Roll cover (one of the best ones in CCM music). I was saddened to learn that Hanke has left the faith and is very disillusioned with the Christian Music Industry. Unfortunately we are hearing this more and more often now.

Tracklist
1 – Questions of the Seeker – 4:12
2 – Check It Out – 3:35
3 – Rock & Roll Away My Stone – 3:31
4 – The Man Behind the Name – 3:40
5 – Tonight’s The Night – 3:57
6 – In the Spirit of the King – 4:06
7 – All I Want is You – 5:11
8 – Return – 4:31
9 – Serve to Lead – 4:37

Credits
Bass – Carl Gauger
Engineer – Rick Condon
Harmonica – Dean Stokka
Harmony Vocals – Dean Stokka (tracks: B3,), Terry Fitzsimmons (2) (tracks: B3, )
Layout – Dave Nadler
Lead Guitar – Brian McVey (tracks: A1,A3, ), Terry Fitzsimmons (2) (tracks: A1,A4,A5,B1,)
Maracas – Diane Stokka
Photography – Brent Larson (3), Sandy Kavanagh
Rhythm Guitar – Terry Fitzsimmons (2) (tracks: A5)
Rhythm Guitar, Electric Guitar, Lead Guitar – Dan Brown (13)
Synthesizer – Joannie Larson (tracks: B4,), Phil Bair (2) (tracks: A1)
Written By, Arranged By, Producer, Drums, Vocals, Harmony Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Lead Vocals – Hank Laake

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Triad Studios, Des Moines
Published By – Noteworthy Publishing
Record Company – Praise Industries Corp.

Terms of Peace – Thunder Cracks – 1985

Terms of Peace is another band I can’t really find any information on. This was their only album which I find surprising because it is a very good album. It has that mid eighties new wave sound with strong U2 like guitar riffs. So as I have no info I guess you’ll just have to listen and enjoy the album.

Tracklist
1 – On My Way
2 – Rise Up
3 – I Think I Know
4 – Valley Of The Souls
5 – Greater Love
6 – Thunder Cracks
7 – Every Day
8 – Your Love
9 – Live Now Live

Credits
Keith Moore – Bass, Songwriter
Mark Case – Guitar, Songwriter
Paul Case – Vocals, Songwriter
Mark Snell – Drums
Knight Bruce – Keyboards
James A. Griffin – Producer, Engineer, Mixed