Category: Albums

Trytan – Celestial Messenger – 1987

Trytan were often referred to as the Christian Rush. This was their first album and apparently was just a straight remix of one of their Demos. Surprisingly it turned out very well. While the album was missing some dynamic range the mix is really good. It handles the excellent guitar work of Lary Dean as well as the outstanding drumming of Scotty Blackman very well. While the vocals are very “Rush” like I find the music to be it’s own animal and I like it. This is actually the 2000 CD re-release that included 3 bonus tracks. Point of trivia is that Trytan was apparently an acronym for “To Reach Youth Through the Almighty Nazarene”.

Tracklist
1 – Gettin’ Ready – 3:44
2 – Don’t Turn Away – 4:08
3 – Mr. Electric – 5:14
4 – It’s War – 5:19
5 – Rip Van Winkle – 4:22
6 – Chains – 4:47
7 – Nowhere To Run – 4:57
8 – Genesis – 7:07
Bonus tracks
9 – In Her Eyes
10 – The Grinch
11 – To Be Free

Credits
Bass – Steve Robinson
Drums – Scotty Blackman
Guitar – Lary Dean
Keyboards – Steve Robinson
Lead Vocals – Lary Dean
Vocals – Scotty Blackman, Steve Robinson

Pete Carlson – Dreamer’s Dream – 1982

Pete had a few albums in the 70’s but this was really the album that made him known. It is a decidedly easy listening album sometimes referred to as AOR. Again this is not really my style of music but I appreciate music when it’s well done regardless of the style and this album is well done. Dayspring/Word must have sunk some real money into this project as the Credits list is huge. Interesting person on the credit list is guitarist Dann Huff from White Heart.

Tracklist
1 – Let Him Hold Your Heart – 3:35
2 – Run Inside – 3:29
3 – Dreamer’s Dream – 3:44
4 – The Love Of God – 3:28
5 – Warm Fire In A Cold World – 4:15
6 – Take Me Away – 3:37
7 – Lead Me In Your Love – 3:07
8 – What A Friend – 3:48
9 – Lord Of The Universe – 2:21
10 – Thanksong – 3:21

Credits
Pete Carlson – vocals, guitars
Keith Thomas – backing vocals, keyboards, producer
Dann Huff – guitars
Brent Rowan – guitars
Jon Goin – guitars
Bob Wray – bass
Mark Hammond – drums, percussion
Farrell Morris – percussion
Terry McMillan – percussion
Dennis Solee – sax
John Darnall – string arrangement
Terry Townsend – flugelhorn
John Catchings – cellos
Martha Wiggins – cellos
Dan Furth – violas
Kristi Wilkinson – violas
Conni McCollister – violins
Pauli Ewing – violins
Paul Tobias – violins
Lee Joiner – violins
Phylis Hiltz – violins
Larry Lasson – violins
Mark Feldman – violins
Karla Worley – backing vocals
Dennis Worley – backing vocals
Melodie Tunney – backing vocals
John Lee – backing vocals
Jan Lee – backing vocals
Don Hart – vocal arrangement

Fighter – The Waiting – 1991

This was the introductory album from Fighter. Fighter was a new group of musicians from Iowa including husband and wife, Amy and Jim Wolter. Billy Heller, Mark Pence, and Sean Murphy rounded out the lineup. The album has trade off vocals from Amy and Sean and it works well. It’s a good Rock & Roll album that has more of a mid eighties sound than a early nineties sound. Fighter did very well on the independent Christian Rock charts in fact they may have been one of the highest charting introductory bands of the time. If you like your Rock with an arena feel you’ll love this album.

Tracklist
1 – Look Me In The Eye
2 – Wishful Thinking
3 – Shadows
4 – Face To Face
5 – Star One
6 – Do What You Want
7 – Running The Race
8 – Nice Guy
9 – The Waiting
10 – Radio Man
11 – Stop Look Listen

Credits
Backing Vocals – Amy Wolter, Billy Heller, Jim Wolter, Mark Pence, Sean Murphy (17)
Backing Vocals [Gang Vocals] – Amy* (tracks: 2, 8), Bill* (tracks: 2, 8), Caesar Salad* (tracks: 2, 8), Jim* (tracks: 2, 8), Sean* (tracks: 2, 8)
Bass – Jim Wolter
Drums – Sean Murphy
Engineer – John Thomson, Tom Tatman
Guitar – Billy Heller
Keyboards – Mark Pence
Lead Vocals – Amy Wolter, Sean Murphy
Photography By – Michael Wilson
Producer – Caesar

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Wonderland
Copyright (c) – Wonderland
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Pressed By – Disctronics USA – 114100
Recorded At – Catamount Recording
Mixed At – Catamount Recording
Published By – Big Rage! Productions

Morgan Cryar – Fuel On The Fire – 1986

Morgan Cryar’s fourth album turned it up the Rock and Roll knob another notch. The top single was “Pray in the USA. This song was an anthem at the time and spoke out at the problem of removing prayer from Schools. Strangely the song did not chart on the CCM charts but it just wasn’t mellow enough. Several other songs did single on the CCM charts. All in all this is a very very good album and Pray in the USA in particular filled a empty space in Christian music due to it’s Springsteenish sound.

Tracklist
1 – Pray In The USA
2 – I’m Not Alone
3 – Underneath Your Feet
4 – I Gotta Know
5 – I Need The Rock
6 – Break The Chain
7 – Sibling Rivalry
8 – Under The Rug
9 – Strength Of The Weak
10 – Hideaway

Credits
Bass – Doug Pinnick
Drums – John Andrew Schreiner
Guitar – Ty Tabor
Producer – Roy Salmond
Vocals – Morgan Cryar

The Front – The Front – 1983

The Front was Larry Williams and Bob Wilson from Seawind, Dann Huff from White Heart, and was fronted by Tommy Funderburk. This was the only album produced by The Front but really they should have done more. The album is a period correct Pop album with strong engineering/production which was appropriate for the time. All in all it’s a pretty good album with several songs that should have got airplay. Point of trivia about the album is that it was the first CCM album to come out on CD.

Tracklist
1 – It’s Hard To Take – 4:44
2 – Holy Light – 4:31
3 – All Under Him – 4:23
4 – King Of Glory – 4:50
5 – The Promise – 4:20
6 – Silent Night – 4:44
7 – Tonight – 4:27
8 – How Long – 4:09

Credits
Backing Vocals – Andraé Crouch (tracks: B2), Kristle Edwards (tracks: B2), Linda McCrary (tracks: B2), Phyllis St. James (tracks: B2), Tata Vega (tracks: A4, B2), Tom Kelly (tracks: A2, A4)
Bass – Dennis Bellfield
Bass, Guitar – Kevin Clark
Drum Programming [Simmons] – Ron Wikso
Drums, Keyboards [Additional], Producer – Bob Wilson
Engineer – Kevin Clark
Engineer [Addtional] – Jim Griffith
Engineer [Assistant] – Connie Hill, Drew Bennett, Michael Ross
Guitar – Dan Huff
Keyboards – Larry Williams
Lead Vocals, Producer – Tommy Funderburk
Photography By – Robert Peak

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Refuge Records
Copyright (c) – Refuge Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.

The Servant Band – The Sounds of Praises – 1980

This is not Servant (Oregon/Vancouver) nor is it Servant (Chicago). This is Servant Band from Asheville, North Carolina. This was their only release and I struggles to find out anything about the band. It is a 1980 release but doesn’t have that left over Jesus Music band sound. It has a heavy edge on several tracks and an easy listening sound on some. It’s actually a very good album and it’s a pity this was it from them. I can’t help but to wonder if they went on to produce other music using a different name due to the Servant name conflict. If you know anything more about them feel free to let me know.

Tracklist
1 – Sound of Praises – 5:45
2 – On the Horizon – 3:48
3 – The Mime – 5:09
4 – What A Difference Mercy Makes – 3:03
5 – Household of Fear – 3:18
6 – Strength to My Soul – 5:28
7 – Turn Back – 6:18
8 – The Visitation – 4:19
9 – Just Praise His Name – 1:17

Limit – When The Clock Strikes – 1988

Limit was another excellent band out of Sweden. This was their only release though apparently they did release a single in 1983 using the name Reflex. A few of the tracks have a Hard Rock sound but mostly the album has a Pop sound. It is very well produced which is surprising as it was producer Mårten Eriksson first album. There was such a great sound coming out of Sweden in the 80’s and this album is example of it.

Tracklist
1 – When The Clock Strikes
2 – Lifeforce
3 – Honestly
4 – There Is Power
5 – Over And Under
6 – King Of Love
7 – You Are Called
8 – Come
9 – Marching Out
10 – Passion Sea
11 – Divine Wind

Credits
Backing Vocals – Helena Sehlberg, Urban Johansson
Drums, Backing Vocals – Peter Olsson
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Trazan Nordström
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Anders Svedberg
Photography – Leif Wikberg
Producer, Engineer, Bass, Vocals – Mårten Eriksson

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Samsound Musikstudio
Mixed At – Samsound Musikstudio
Printed By – SIB-Tryck AB, Norsborg

Tempest – A Coming Storm – 1987

Tempest was where brothers Jamie and Mick Rowe cut their teeth. This is a raw Heavy Metal album that is lightly engineered and produced much to the delight of Heavy Metal fans. The problem, or perhaps the best part of the album was the band had a bit of an inconsistent sound and rough vocals. Maybe it is the best part. Oddly Joe English (Hard to imagine) provided additional drum tracks. The story goes that Pure Metal records actually signed the band by accident thinking they had actually signed an entirely different band out of Ohio.

Tracklist
1 – Kids Are Gonna Rock
2 – Gologatha
3 – Watch Out
4 – Games With God
5 – Tell Me
6 – Metal Mission
7 – God’s Will Be Done
8 – All My Days
9 – In HIs Name (Rock On)

Credits
Backing Vocals – Glen Marchese, Jeff Toone, Joe English, Martin Bass
Bass – Darren Lee
Bass [Additional] – Steve DeAcutis
Drums – Bobby Andrews
Drums [Additional] – Joe English
Engineer – Chris McCollum, Glen Marchese, Jeff Toone
Guitar – Mick Rowe
Vocals – Jamie Rowe
Written-By – Chris McCollum (tracks: A3, A5, B4), J.R. Rowe (tracks: A3, B1), Michael Millett (tracks: B4), Mick Rowe (tracks: A1, A2, A4, A5, B1-B4)

John Fischer – Dark Horse – 1982

Some say that John Fischer’s 1969 album “The Cold Cathedral ” was the first contemporary Christian album coming out a few months before Larry Norman’s “Upon This Rock”. I understand that not all agree but I think we can all agree that Fischer had a long a storied career in Christian music. Dark Horse was his 8th album and a good example to him adapting to the 80’s. The album is an easy listening/praise album and as Fischer really knew what he was doing at this point in his career it is very well done. Joining Fischer on background vocals were Bob Carlisle (Allies) , and Bryan Duncan (The Sweet Comfort Band).

Tracklist
1 – Dark Horse – 3:55
2 – Beggar – 2:49
3 – Only A Few – 4:63
4 – Fallin’ In Love – 3:21
5 – Christopher’s Toes – 2:51
6 – Nobody Wants To Die – 3:34
7 – Losin’ Is Winnin’ – 2:54
8 – Roses On Wednesday – 3:10
9 – Lookin’ Straight On – 2:49
10 – Leavin’ It All To You – 3:01

Credits
Arranged By [Strings] – David Diggs
Art Direction – Paradise Graphics, Paul Gross
Backing Vocals – Bob Carlyle, Brian Duncan
Bass – Leland Sklar
Composed By, Written-By – John Fischer
Concept By [Front Cover] – Craig McNair Wilson
Drums – Rich Schlosser
Engineer [Second] – David Schober, Steve Ford
Guitar – Billy Walker
Illustration – Kurt Triffet
Keyboards, Synthesizer, Organ – John Hobbs
Layout [Sleeve] – Ronald E. Garman
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Photography By [Liner] – Sam Emerson
Producer, Engineer – Jack Joseph Puig

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word Records Limited
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Bill Schnee Studios
Recorded At – Martinsound
Mixed At – Mama Jo’s
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co.

The Morning Stars – I’ve Been Blessed By The Hands Of The Lord – 1979

I really don’t know much about The Morning Stars other than they are good. I had someone ask for a Southern Gospel album so I went and searched our library for one that perhaps was not as well known. I found this gem and although I know nothing about it I quite liked it. I have always had a soft spot for southern gospel music as it is my belief that this is where Rock & Roll came from. So if you like this style of music sit back and enjoy.

Tracklist
1 – I’ve Been Blessed (By The Hands Of The Lord) – 3:35
2 – He’s Using Me – 4:20
3 – Rock Of Ages – 3:07
4 – It’s In My Mind – 2:10
5 – What If Jesus Came To Your House – 4:33
6 – Walking With Jesus Everyday – 2:35
7 – God’s Got My Name – 5:05
8 – Just A Closer Walk With Thee (Instrumental) – 3:10

Credits
Cover – Harvey
Executive-Producer – Fred Mendelsohn
Liner Notes – Edward Garvin
Written-By – W. Johnson (tracks: A1, B1 to B3)

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Savoy Records, Inc.
Manufactured By – Arista Records, Inc.
Distributed By – Arista Records, Inc.
Published By – Savgos Music Inc.
Published By – Hill & Range Music, Inc.
Recorded At – Mastersound Studios, Atlanta
Mastered At – Masterdisk
Pressed By – Hub-Servall Record Mfg. Corp.