It is difficult to write a review for each John Michael Talbot album. They are essentially all the same. Yes the songs are different but none of them really stand out to me. This album was actually a follow up for his 1985 book of the same name. Now just to be clear I am not faulting John Michael Talbot in any way. He does what he does very well. In fact as far as this style of worship music is concerned he really is the top dog.
Tracklist
1 – One Dark Night
2 – Where Have You Hidden
3 – I Found My Beloved
4 – Living Flame Of Love
5 – I Know A Well
6 – Adventure In God
7 – White Bird
8 – Beloved One
9 – Pass Through My Will
Credits
Art Direction – Barbara Catanzaro-Hearn
Design – Catherine Reishus McLaughlin
Engineer – Darrell Powell, Mike Ross-Trevor
Liner Notes – John Michael Talbot
Lyrics By – Sister Mary Anthony, St. John Of The Cross* (tracks: A1 to B2), Thomas Merton
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Music By – John Michael Talbot
Photography By [Front Cover] – Ken Slater (2)
Photography By [Portrait] – Mark Tucker (7)
Producer – John Michael Talbot, Phil Perkins
Vocals, Guitar – John Michael Talbot
Vox Dei is one of the top Spanish Christian bands of all time and this was their first release in 1990. Of course I can’t understand most of it however I find the music to be well done and while a little raw, typical for a first album, they are very talented musicians. The album has 3 Spanish covers of English CCM songs.
Joe English – Power of Prayer – “El Poder de la Oracion”
Resurrection Band – Lovin’ You – “Siempre Te Amare”
Darrell Mansfield – Bible Study (La Droga No Es Solucion – Drugs are Not the Solution)
The Darrell Mansfield cover apparently has the lyrics reworked into a anti drug song.
If you only listen to one Spanish Christian album this should probably be the one.
Tracklist
1 – Quitate la Máscara – (Take off the Mask)
2 – Libre de Egipto – (Free of Egypt)
3 – Amor Verdadero – (True Love)
4 – Salmo 23 – (Psalm 23)
5 – Gloria Al Señor – (Glory to the Lord)
6 – El Poder de la Oracion – (The Power of Prayer)
7 – La Droga No Es Solucion – (Drugs are Not the Solution)
8 – Salmo 150 – (Psalm 150)
9 – Vivo Está – (Live)
10 – Siempre Te Amare – (Lovin’ You)
A Moment In Time is was released on CD in 1994 and contains all new songs, which is something that Larry Norman fans had been waiting for for a while. Stop This Flight was ten years earlier in 1984, and there had been only two studio albums since then: Home At Last (1989) and Stranded In Babylon (1991).
Larry had been hospitalized for his heart condition a couple of months before recording this, but he felt some urgency to do the project because he needed to keep some income going to pay for another operation. Most of the vocal tracks were done once with no retakes due to Larry’s health at the time.
The musicians who apparently donated their time for this project were Herb Manuputy, Dave Mansfield, The Dave Nicar Band, Keith Turbet, and Steve League.
Overall the sound is a bit of well paced boogie-woogie blues with a bit of country twang.
The radio spot is a pitch for signatures for an anti-child porn amendment for the state of Oregon. I don’t know how that turned out in the end.
“Down the Line” is a studio rough cut with a country twang. Larry’s commentary for the studio musicians is left in the mix rather than edited out. It makes it a little more fun, although the song probably could have stood on its own.
“Long Hard Road” is a wordy country/blues tune. It has a lot of “some people…” lines in it, lamenting how he feels he has been treated and viewed over the years. “Some people don’t know truth from lies so they just make it up” is the gist of it. It’s a nice smooth blues tune with a good guitar sound.
“Elvis Has Left the Building” is a tribute, a lament and an ode to Elvis Presley. It is a phrase that even has its own Wikipedia page now. “…often used by public address announcers at the conclusion of Elvis Presley concerts in order to disperse audiences”
The expression took on a meaning of its own but Larry had a genuine place in his heart for Elvis. He frequently mentioned him when talking about the evolution of rock’n’roll, and how popular music took the style used in Black churches to record love songs for the radio. Stylistically I think that Larry admired Elvis, but he always held a tone of concern for him.
There has been plenty of theological debate for several centuries over whether one can “lose their salvation” or not, but this seems to be part of the concern of this song. When Elvis “left the building” is Larry thinking about him leaving this world, or leaving his faith? A little of both most likely. However, the last words reported to be called out when Elvis died are perhaps words of faith.
The three bonus tracks are included here probably because this would have been a very short album without them, but they were not all part of the same studio sessions as the rest of the tracks. Most of them, with the exception of Right Here In America had not been previously released.
Track Listing:
01 Radio Spot
02 Down the Line
03 Long Hard Road
04 When the Son Comes Back
05 Elvis Has Left the Building
06 Lay My Burden Down
07 Toxic Tea and Toast
08 You Shall Be Saved
(Bonus Tracks)
09 The Children of Nimrod
10 The Solid Rock
11 Leave It Up to God to Handle
12 Right Here in America
Darrell’s first solo album was a good start to his blues and rock career. With songwriting by Denny Correll on “Children Don’t Run” and drums by John Mehler throughout, this is a solid work that stands the test of time well. Darrell’s signature harmonica sound is present on a lot of tracks here, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg that is his legendary harp playing.
Skip Konte (of Three Dog Night) plays keys and adds some percussion.
The song “That’s Alright” makes is debut on this record. It remained a signature track throughout his career and this original version is great to hear again.
Tracklist
1 – Children Don’t Run – 4:10
2 – The Prize – 4:57
3 – That’s All Right – 3:51
4 – He Has Overcome – 5:18
5 – No More Blues – 3:38
6 – Love Conquers All – 2:50
7 – Giver Of Life – 4:22
8 – Every Night Every Day – 4:09
9 – Higher Power – 3:47
Companies, etc.:
Distributed By – Word
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Maranatha! Music
Copyright (c) – Maranatha! Music
Recorded At – I.A.M. Studios, Irvine
Credits:
Acoustic Guitar – Don Gerber
Bass – Marc Levine
Drums – John Mehler
Electric Guitar – Anthony Dean, Steve Kara (tracks: A2)
Harmonica – Darrell Mansfield
Keyboards – Skip Konte
Percussion – Paul Angers (tracks: B2), Skip Konte
1960s Brit rockers Malcolm Wild and Alwyn Wall created a duo in the 70s with some fun old time rock and folk songs. This 1981 this live performance was done in California and released by MRC, essentially introducing American audiences to the duo.
Alwyn Wall released solo albums as well, Alwyn showing up on Star Song records in 1981 under the heading “Larry Norman Presents” with his solo debut “Invisible Warfare.”
Malcolm is best known for his band “Malcolm & The Mirrors” who did a punk rock stint starting with the album Red Alert in 1982.
This album is a far cry from the rock recordings they made, but shows their hearts, personality, and musicianship. It’s a fun recording that sounds like it was a big blessing to the California church that hosted it. Wish we could have been there.
Track Listing:
1 – Say It Like It Is
2 – I Love
3 – I Feel Fine
4 – Morning Star
5 – Fools Wisdom
6 – Growing Old
7 – Things Are Getting Better
8 – The World Needs Jesus
9 – Tomorrow’s News
Companies, etc.:
Distributed By – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Printed By – Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd.
Credits:
Engineer – Chris Taylor (11)
Producer, Acoustic Guitar, Arranged By – Alwyn Wall
Producer, Autoharp, Arranged By – Malcolm Wild
Producer, Engineer – Dan Willard
Leslie Phillips drew a lot of comparisons when her sophomore album, Dancing With Danger came out. This one was a lot more bold than her debut, and she stood out well.
Primarily she was tagged as the Cyndi Lauper of Christian music. Being a female redhead new wave artist with a poppy sound might have been enough.
Leslie’s songs were highly entertaining, but also addressed a few topics that her male counterparts were not going to go near. She clearly had a talent for creating memorable and enjoyable music, but also a desire to deepen the message. Leslie addressed the conversation around what we would come to know as ‘purity culture’ long before we were talking about in that way.
The song “Give ’em All You Got (Tonight)” is certainly what she did with every song.
Tracklist
1 – Dancing With Danger – 3:53
2 – I Won’t Let It Come Between Us – 4:36
3 – Strength Of My Life – 5:33
4 – Give ‘Em All You Got (Tonight) – 4:25
5 – By My Spirit – 4:42
6 – Hiding In The Shadows – 3:52
7 – Powder Room Politics – 2:38
8 – Light Of Love – 4:13
9 – Song In The Night – 3:51
10 – Here He Comes With My Heart – 2:46
Credits:
Arranged By – Dann Huff (tracks: A1, A2, A4), Jeff Lams (tracks: A3, A5, B1, B2, B4, B5), John Schreiner (tracks: B3)
Backing Vocals – Buddy Owens, Greg Volz, James Hollihan, Matthew Ward, Russ Taff
Bass – Nathan East
Concept By [Photo] – Bradley Grose
Design – Vigon/Seireeni
Drums – Carlos Vega
Engineer – Jeremy Smith
Engineer [Additional] – Bill Deaton, Bud Wyatt, David Schober, John Early
Engineer [Vocals] – Mike McClain
Executive-Producer – Brad Burkhart
Guitar – Dann Huff
Keyboards – Jeff Lams, John Schreiner
Mastered By – Mike Reese
Percussion – Victor Feldman
Photography By – Aaron Rapoport
Producer – Dan Posthuma
Vocals, Written-By – Leslie Phillips
Companies, etc.:
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Published By – Word Music (2)
Recorded At – Bill Schnee Studios
Recorded At – Studio Southwest
Recorded At – Goldmine Studio, Brentwood, TN
Mixed At – Eagle Audio Recording
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. – △26562
Rick Cua – “Changed” from his album No Mystery
Edin-Adahl – “Wake Up” from their album Alibi
Bonnie Bramlett – “White Dove” from her album Step By Step
Per-Erik Hallin – “You Put Another Song In My Heart” from his album Better Late Than Never
Will McFarlane – “That’s How I Know You Called Me” from his album A Colony Of Heaven
Tom Douglas – “Jesus Never Sleeps” which was not released on an album
Forerunner – “Faith Walk” from their album (a.k.a)
Jerusalem – “Time” which was released as a bonus track on the CD release of Can’t Stop Us Now
Lifesavors – “Break In My Head” from their album Dream Life
Bryn Haworth – “Never Give Up On Love” from his album Pass It On
Joe English – “Anthem” from his album The Best Is Yet To Come
Tracklist
1 – Rick Cua – Changed – 3:50
2 – Edin-Adahl – Wake Up – 4:14
3 – Bonnie Bramlett – White Dove – 3:31
4 – Per-Erik Hallin – You Put Another Song In My Heart – 4:13
5 – Will McFarlane – That’s How I Know You Called Me – 3:21
6 – Tom Douglas – Jesus Never Sleeps – 4:10
7 – Forerunner – Faith Walk – 4:04
8 – Jerusalem – Time – 5:50
9 – Lifesavors – Break In My Head – 2:33
10 – Bryn Haworth – Never Give Up On Love – 3:35
11 – Joe English – Anthem – 3:20
The second album from X-Sinner took up where their first album left off. As with the first album this album was produced by the infamous Elefante brothers. They were able to recreate the AC-DC sound of the first album all over again. This was a little more difficult than you may think as Rex Scott took over lead vocals from David Robbins. The band found the album to have too soft a feel and they wanted more edge in their sound. Personally, I think this album is excellent, though admittedly I preferred “Get It” only because I felt there were more potential singles.
Tracklist
1 – Peer Pressure – 4:38
2 – Rollin’ Thunder – 4:32
3 – We Need Love – 5:14
4 – Getch Ya – 4:52
5 – Hold On – 2:58
6 – I Take Power – 4:36
7 – Gotta Let Go – 4:04
8 – You Got Me – 4:29
9 – All I Need – 3:38
10 – Don’t Go – 5:25
Credits
Drums – Mike Buckner
Engineer, Mixed By – Mike Mireau
Guitar, Bass – Greg Bishop
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Rex Scott
Musician [Additional Musician], Backing Vocals – Jamie Rowe
Musician [Additional Musician], Backing Vocals, Shaker, Cowbell, Tambourine, Bass [Bass on “Getch Ya”] – John Elefante
Producer, Engineer – John Elefante
Producer, Engineer, Mixed By – Dino Elefante
The MWS Project introduced us to Michael W Smith, a fresh young musician with stellar keyboard, writing, and arranging skills and a knack for writing catchy worship riffs. The positive, ‘preppy rock’ sound hit most of the popular 80s pop rock notes. His soon-to-be-familiar signature styles get their beginnings here: keyboard-heavy arrangements with plenty of synth; full choirs for backing vocals; emotionally-charged ‘milestone’ lyrics; and the first of many anthem-like worship songs.
Indeed, The MWS Project covers some ground in terms of song types. MWS has always interested me in that he writes for a multitude of occasions and venues, not just moods or subjects. On his debut album we find music for rock concerts, worship services, and even weddings/funerals/graduations:
– high energy biblical storytelling in “Could He Be the Messiah?” and “Be Strong and Courageous” (which always reminds me of Van Halen’s “Jump”)
– high energy exhortations toward the pursuit of Christian living in “The Race Is On” (I saw this in concert, and thought he was going to leap off the stage, he had so much energy), “You Need A Savior” (this lyric warrants some further discussion, but that’s for another time), and “Love In The Light” (this one has stuck with me; every time I read or hear any part of 1 John 2:8-11, it starts playing in my head)
– instrumentals (“Sonata in D Major”, “Looking Up”, “First Light”, “Alpha Overture”)
– a contemplative piece (“Too Many Times”, one of my favourites)
…and of course, two songs firmly entrenched in the collective CCM unconsciousness: Friends, and Great Is The Lord.
One last thought: What was he going for with the original album design?? MWS is a self-professed sci-fi aficionado, so maybe it was meant as a nod to video games, and science fiction movies like Tron… The album was re-released in CD format in 1987 with an updated cover and photo.
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Track listing:
1 – Sonata in D Major – 1:13
2 – You Need A Savior – 3:34
3 – Could He Be the Messiah? – 4:28
4 – Too Many Times – 4:25
5 – Be Strong and Courageous – 3:42
6 – Looking Up – 3:23
7 – The Race is On – 3:41
8 – First Light/Love in the Light – 5:30
9 – Friends – 4:16
10 – Great Is The Lord – 2:52
11 – Alpha Overture – 3:40
Credits:
Music
Michael W. Smith – lead vocals, background vocals, acoustic piano, Fender Rhodes, Yamaha GS2 synthesizer, Prophet-5 synthesizers
Shane Keister – OB-X synthesizer, Prophet-5 synthesizers, vocoder
Jon Goin – guitars
Mike Brignardello – bass guitar
Mark Hammond – drums, Roland TR-808 drum machine on “First Light”
Mike Psanos – percussion
Dennis Solee – saxophone
Gary Chapman – background vocals
Jackie Cusic – background vocals
Diana DeWitt – background vocals
David Durham – background vocals
Teresa Ellis – background vocals
Amy Grant – background vocals (“Friends”)
Pam Mark Hall – background vocals
Chris Harris – background vocals
Gary Pigg – background vocals
Kim Smith – background vocals
Production
Michael W. Smith – producer, assistant engineer
Michael Blanton and Dan Harrell – executive producers
Mike Psanos – recording engineer
Brown Bannister – assistant engineer
John Woods – assistant engineer
Jack Joseph Puig – remixing
Recorded at Tree International Studio (Nashville, Tennessee)
Hank Williams – mastering
Mastered at Woodland Sound Studio (Nashville, Tennessee)
Bill Brunt – art direction
Tim Campbell – photography
This is the first offering from The Alarm and what an offering it was. They had actually released 5 EPs before this album so by the time the album came out many people were familiar with them. Many, if not most of the songs on the album were on those EP’s. The Alarm were still touring as warm up for U2 when this album finally came out and they actually finished the tour with U2. This gave people attending these concerts with what amounted to having two headline acts. The opening track “Declaration” sets the tone for the album letting new listeners they were in for a treat. While “68 Guns” was the huge hit personally I loved “Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?” This is one of the best albums released in the 80’s and is in my top 20 overall.
Tracklist
1 – Declaration – 0:45
2 – Marching On – 3:35
3 – Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke? – 2:56
4 – Third Light – 3:25
5 – Sixty Eight Guns – 5:49
6 – We Are The Light – 3:16
7 – Shout To The Devil – 4:10
8 – Blaze Of Glory – 6:04
9 – Tell Me – 3:14
10 – The Deceiver – 5:05
11 – The Stand (Prophecy) – 1:15
12 – Howling Wind – 6:44
Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals – Dave Sharp
Bass Guitar, Electric Guitar, Guitar [Bowed], Vocals – Eddie Macdonald
Design, Art Direction – Michael Ross, Simon Adamcewski
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Twist
Engineer – Chris Porter
Illustration – Robert Mason
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica – Mike Peters
Photography By – Stephen Oliver
Producer, Keyboards – Alan Shacklock
