Meet Jesus Music were a U.K. Jesus music band out of the 70’s. I had never heard of them before so I started doing some research and discovered they were pretty popular in the U.K. at the time. The U.K. didn’t have as many Jesus music bands so these guys filled a gap in local music. This is their second and last album but many members of the band went on to have solo careers. The band is probably best known in the 80’s circles for their performance at Greenbelt in 1979. As for the album it is your rather typical Jesus music and nothing really stands out to me but that’s not to say it’s bad. To me a lot of music form this era sounds the same but I am not a connoisseur of this era and I don’t mean any disrespect to the music.
Tracklist 1 – Gold – 5:05 2 – Too Many Times – 4:05 3 – Just One Touch – 4:06 4 – High Time – 2:40 5 – Cannot Understand – 4:15 6 – Hey Mr. Sally Ann! – 3:22 7 – Jesus – 3:22 8 – Take Time – 4:51 9 – Don’t Let Them Fool You – 4:21 10 – Praise the Lord! – 3:20
Credits Bass – Simon Dennis Bass Trombone – Dave Scragg Cello – Dave Thorn Congas, Timbales – Julian Sullivan Design – Gillard Bros. Graphics Drums – Tony Taylor Engineer [‘Live’ Sound Engineer] – Mike Waller Engineer, Producer – John Pantry Guitar – Dave Gillard Harp – Muriel Liddle Trombone – Dave Gladman, Keith Brown Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Ray Allen Vibraphone, Flute, Arranged By [Brass Arrangement] – Peter Shade Vocals – Angie Routledge Vocals, Guitar, Trombone – Ken Smith Vocals, Keyboards – Keith Routledge, Lou Hayles
Clearly the single greatest oversight in the previous Top 50 list was the omission of Bob Bennett as an artists, and most specifically, this amazing project as an album. That omission is hopefully rectified here with its inclusion in the Top 20; a well deserved placement for one of the early 80’s most poignant, important and brilliant releases. Bennet’s stories songwriting career found a zenith of sort in the nearly perfect musical expression. A decade before the strains of life brought a painful album of loss and regret in “Songs From Bright Avenue,” Bennett released “Matters of the heart,” an album filled with grace, yearning, hopes, legacy and love. Brilliantly performed with not one stray note or moment, the album is Bennett’s finest complete collection. There is nothing here that can be skipped. No album title has ever been more apropos than the one here as Bennett explores the emotional, nostalgic, inspiration and frailty of the human heart and its faltering condition. The themes are set against some beautiful melodies that warm, soothe and wrap their notes around the listener in such a gentle and calming way that the album serves as both wonderful background music and forefront personal examination encouragement. Bennett’s first release was on Maranatha Music and Bennett noticed from the very beginning that he did not quite fit with the rest of the artists on the label and with the Calvary Chapel way of doing things. the label’s pastoral type executive were kind enough to allow Bennett to record his brilliant debut, but did nothing to garner airplay, tour support or marketing. In fact, Bennett was left out of all of the label sponsored concerts and events. Bennett’s concerns about the relationship were verified when there was never a discussion about a follow up despite the albums relative success given the lack of support. So, as the 1970’s became the 1980’s Bennett found himself with a suitcase full of songs and no label. At the same Time CBS Records was working on an “Inspirational” imprint with eyes of taking CCM into the mainstream with artists they believed carried that potential. The James Taylor-like musical expressions of Bennett’s soulful pop had a strong Adult Contemporary, acoustic appeal that was quite popular at the time. The label would be called “Priority Records” and would be the home of everyone from Bennett to Carman and even a one-off by Mylon LeFevere under the name, “Look Up.” Bennett was impressed initially by the label when the label’s President actually personally returned a phone call to him. This true rarity gave Bennett hope this would be his new musical home. Bennett went into the studio with Jonathan David brown to record some demos for the label and eventually signed with the label. Bennett described to me that after the rather simplistic contract with Maranatha Music, the CBS record deal would make the IRS regulations seem pale in comparison. After signing Bennett returned to the studio with Brown and a sick list of musicians that would make most artists green with envy. Smitty Price was brought in to create the band charts, arrangements and lead the band that consisted of Hadley Hockensmith, John Patitucci, Keith Edwards, John Ferraro, Alex MacDougall and Price. Bennett was joined by Kelly Willard and the impeccable Roby Duke on backing vocals.There are even real strings to be heard here! What made the album seem so consistent throughout was that even though the album was loaded with brilliant musicians there was primarily one core band with only Ferraro and Edwards sharing the drumming duties. This gave an amazing studio album a true band feel throughout. Much kudos here to Brown for making it come together flawlessly for the listener. The albums title track and finishing track share a similar musical landscape and even a similar title. This somewhat thematic approach weaves throughout the entire project. Opening with “Matters of the Heart” and closing with “Heart of the Matter,” the album introduces and brings home all of these themes into one cohesive unit. The album starts off with the title track and the listener is immediately introduced to a wonderful acoustic musical, swirling melody that quickly morphs into a jazzy vibe that is utterly infectious. The listener is also introduced to brilliant songwriter at his very best. The song delivers a powerful message of the truth that there are things that numbers, statistics and sales cannot measure, nor define; these are the true matters of the heart. These undefinable feelings, impressions and responses cannot be put through a strainer or defined by an outside source. The constant struggle to understand the “concrete and the spiritual” that wields this internal battle is so beautifully portrayed that the only lyrical comparison would be something from Bruce Cockburn’s “Dancing In the Dragon’s Jaws.” This would probably also serve as a good starting point musically. the guitar work, especially Bennett’s acoustic work is very reminiscent to Cockburn’s work on that album. It should be noted here that not only did Bennett surround himself with brilliant musicians, he is also an accomplished acoustic guitar player. The previous comparison to Cockburn is meant to be taken lyrically and musically. His playing both melodic and intricate. Perhaps only Keaggy and Heard would rival his playing. The beautifully jazzy “Falling Stars” will remind some listeners of Roby Duke’s softer side or the aforementioned Cockburn’s “Night Vision.” Here the heart’s struggles and pain are examined. Sin and the pain of loss are compared to these falling stars with no hope but to crash. But Bennett finds a glimmer of hope as the song concludes that hints at what will be revealed later in time and on the album. One of Bennett’s truly great artistic achievements follows with “Mountain Cathedrals.” This epic song of epic praise reads like a Psalm where the writer realizes just how minuscule he is compared to the vast creation and majestic work of God, all the while realizes this same God loves him personally. Bennett’s personal frailty is so common that one would be hard pressed not to relate. Musically, the album is a real treasure as it floats from a simply worship like melody to this wonderful Celtic type musical break and closes with a more country rock feel of the same melody. It is nearly progressive in a purely acoustic setting. The first of a few “legacy” songs is “1951,” a poignant picture of his family, especially his father. One can see the song , written in black and white, and compares favourable to Bruce Springsteen’s more emotive lyrics, though musically very acoustic jazz. The legacy of simple faith and the need to pass along to further generations the faith and family values is on display here. Nothing about the life of the family sounds easy, but rather, all too real. A long time personal favourite is “A Song About Baseball.” This same father introduced in the previous song appears here as a loving and compassionate one who loves his son no matter the results of his athletic endeavours. Bennett croons, “He loves me, no matter how I played.” And so, this example rings true about a heavenly father who loves us no matter what. One line that really sticks with the listener is “nothing mattered after the game, when my father would find me, and call out my name.” The simple expression of a father knowing his son by calling out his name leaves an indelible mark. On “Madness Dancing” the heart finds a heart that is more expressive and joyous than elsewhere on the album. There are times when all hearts must simply release its love for God even in ways that are unconventional and uncomfortable. Though there are times to experience a sombre, sober and reflective worship, there are times when the heart must be free of expectations. It is at these times that Bennett cries out, “I don’t want to shoot anyone, with my high powered doctrine gun.” I also would like to bring attention to the great band feel on this song, especially the brilliant guitar work by Hockensmith. The album returns to a much more reflective and difficult content with “Together All Alone.” The struggles for purity and true relationship are contrasted with the desire to be loved and to interact on a deeper level. Very few songs understand the real struggles of young people and older ones alike like this song. The first story revolves around a lonely and needy young boy whose girlfriend had moved away leaving him at a loss. But Bennett’s keen wisdom and lyrical precision describes the struggle perfectly with the lines, “She bounces his heart like a basketball” and “he lies with his with back to back…together all alone.” Then leaves a chilling and sombre reminder that somewhere, half-way around the world, “a shepherd tends his sheep” “Beggar” always brings to mind Walter Wangerin’s great short story, “Ragman,” in which a man trades in his rags for new clothes. In Wangerin’s powerful story the beggar trades his old clothes with another who takes upon himself the wounds and scars of the beggar. Here the beggar is clothed in new garb who is also now well fed because he discovered where true bread resides. I will not claim that “Come and see” in Bennett’s finest moment ever, but it certainly ranks up there among his best. This beautiful and worshipful melody is just captivating. It should have grown to be a great song of invocation or calling for its majestic sound and yearning content. Bennett calls the listener to come and meet this man from Heaven. A recent Facebook discussion led one man I admire greatly in the industry to refer to the song as “majestic.” I cannot disagree, I find myself hitting repeat quite often as I listen to the album. Though it does not serve as the album’s closing piece, it does, in way, close out the albums message with a call to meet the Savior. In the hands of a less gifted communicator the content could have sounded trite and simplistic, but with Bennett it is revealed as authentic, genuine and convincing. The album closes with somewhat of a reworking of the title track in “Heart of the Matter.” After a short acoustic introduction, the title track’s rhythm and groove is repeated with a chord reversal to match the title’s reversal. There is one moment when the song retraces the actual title track’s melody, then returns to its initial form. It is is really a musically brilliant work and Bennett, Brown and, especially Price, deserve serious kudos. CCM Magazine made the album it’s “Album of the Year” and would later include it in the Top 20 of it’s first “Greatest of All Time” countdowns. It would also show up up lower when the CCM released its Top 100 of all time, which is ridiculous! Bennett ranks with Mark Heard, Bruce Cockburn and Terry Scott Taylor as among the finest songwriters in Christian music history. “Matters of the Heart” is Bennett’s finest work ranks among the very best singer-songwriter albums in or out of Christian music.
Contributor David Lowman – https://legacyccmsgreatestalbums.wordpress.com/
Tracklist 1 – Matters Of The Heart – 3:30 2 – Falling Stars – 3:07 3 – Mountain Cathedrals – 4:54 4 – 1951 – 3:07 5 – A Song About Baseball – 3:21 6 – Madness Dancing – 3:19 7 – Together All Alone – 2:48 8 – Beggar – 3:57 9 – Come And See – 2:51 10 – Heart Of The Matter – 6:10
Credits Acoustic Guitar – Bob Bennett Arranged By [Strings & Woodwinds], Conductor – James Gabriel Stipech Art Direction – Bob McConnell Booking – The Holmes Agency Concertmaster – Pavel Farkas Drums – John Ferraro, Keith Edwards Electric Bass, Acoustic Bass – John Patitucci Electric Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith Engineer [Second] – Wally Grant English Horn, Flute, Saxophone – John Phillips Guitar [2nd] – Steve Swinford Hammered Dulcimer [Hammer Dulcimer] – Mark Davis Keyboards – Smitty Price Mastered By – Steve Hall Percussion – Alex MacDougall Photography By – Ken Kim Photography [Bob Bennett and Albie Pearson] – Dad Producer, Engineer, Mixed By – Jonathan David Brown Score Editor [Rhythm Charts] – Smitty Price Steel Guitar – Steve Swinford
Larry Carlton’s “Christian” music career is actually very interesting. Larry started out in the 60’s with the band The (Jazz) Crusaders who had a big hit in 1979 with “Street Life”. Larry continued with them while both pursuing a solo career as well as doing a lot of session work. He certainly was one of the hardest working men in the business. The story of his coming to Christ is not your normal “a friend introduce me” story instead he describes it as follows. “…I started reading a lot of books on different religions. I remember there was one night in Philadelphia after a show. I had been reading these books and digesting and thinking about religion. I just remember coming to a conclusion one night after a gig. I was lying in bed and I just told the Lord, “I don’t know any more about you than I did 2 months ago, but I choose you.” That was the beginning of my relationship with the Holy Spirit.” Larry however never really considered moving to the Christina music industry and stayed in the secular market. This was his first release after his coming to Christ. There is actually more to Larry’s life story, lots more, but we will cover it chronologically as it relates to his album releases so stay tuned for more.
Tracklist 1 – Smiles And Smiles To Go – 5:44 2 – Perfect Peace – 4:25 3 – Carrying You – 3:58 4 – The Lord’s Prayer – 5:07 5 – High Steppin’ – 6:42 6 – Whatever Happens – 4:25 7 – Pure Delight – 5:31 8 – Alone/But Never Alone – 3:32
Credits Acoustic Guitar – Larry Carlton Art Direction – Simon Levy Bass – Abraham Laboriel, Larry Carlton Design – Thomas Ryan Design Drums – Rick Marotta Electric Guitar – Larry Carlton Engineer [Assistant] – Hal Sacks Keyboards – Larry Carlton, Terry Trotter Keyboards [Additional] – Larry Carlton Management – Charlie Lico Mastered By – Bernie Grundman Percussion – Michael Fisher Photography By – McGuire Producer, Arranged By – Larry Carlton Recorded By, Mixed By – Rik Pekkonen Synthesizer [Dx7] – Terry Trotter Written-By – Albert Malotte, Bill Withers, Larry Carlton
This is another of those rather oddball albums that don’t sound like they belong on the channel but have a story behind them. In the summer of 1988 someone thought these guys would be a great addition to the Greenbelt festival. As poor a decision as it seemed it turned out to be brilliant as these guys were a huge hit. They didn’t have an album yet so they rushed into the studio so they could get their music out to their fans. The Woebegone Brothers are actually brothers and they say they were influenced by 50’s Rock & Roll stars and developed a style they call “gospel skiffle” I’m thinking more 40’s country personally but it’s a great sound and the whole story is a great piece of CCM history.
Tracklist 1 – Gospel Train – 4:43 2 – Sinner Man – 2:55 3 – Gonna Live The Life – 2:49 4 – Well Well Well – 3:03 5 – Jordan River – 2:15 6 – Mean World – 3:25 7 – Walk All Over Heaven – 4:26 8 – Trying To Get To Heaven In Due Time – 2:37
Credits Design [Cover Design] – Paul Clowney Engineer – Andy Thornton Photography By – Trevor Williams Vocals, Double Bass – Nigel Griffiths Vocals, Guitar – John Griffiths Vocals, Harmonica, Drum, Guitar – Glyn Griffiths
This is the first album from Brian White And Justice. There’s not much info out there on the band but Brian White is very well known in Nashville. The band appears to be a bunch of session musicians so I’m not entirely sure if there was a “Justice” band. As for Brian he is a very well known song writer in Nashville in both Christian and Secular genres and I guarantee you’ve heard his work with over 400 recorded songs. As for the album it’s pretty good. Brian’s voice is strong and holds solid through all the tracks. I’m not really too sure how to classify the album but it leans AOR with a couple good rocking tunes. Definitely an album that should be heard.
Tracklist 1 – Livin’ In The Sight Of Water – 5:44 2 – You Can Get There From Here – 3:38 3 – You’ve Got To Hold On – 4:59 4 – Radical Love – 3:00 5 – I Need To Know You’re There – 3:38 6 – Love Will Find A Way – 4:36 7 – Out Of The Wilderness – 4:45 8 – Tonight – 4:45 9 – You’ve Got To Believe – 4:56 10 – Long Lost Friend – 3:47 11 – Lead The Way – 4:25
Credits Accordion – Tim Lauer Backing Vocals – Billy Simon, Jimmy Marks, Mark Pogue, Scott Walters, Tom Lane Bass – Mark Burchfield, Matthew Pierson Drums, Percussion – Bobby Blazier Executive-Producer – Elisa Elder Guitar, Sequenced By – Dennis Dearing Keyboards, Organ [B-3] – Jeffery Roach Producer – Dennis Dearing Sequenced By – Bill Randall, Bo Cooper Vocals, Backing Vocals – Brian White
I’ll be straight up and admit that Bryn is one of my favourite artists period. Unfortunately we had almost no exposure to him in Canada until his The Gap album. While huge in the U.K. American record companies didn’t think his appeal would spread to our side of the ocean. This is one of the greatest tragedies of the CCM industry as Bryn deserved as wide an audience as possible. I didn’t even get to hear most of his work until we undertook this project but now I get to enjoy all his albums. Every one of Bryn’s album has a track that stands out to me personally. This album it is “Were You There” which showcases his slide guitar technique which is one of the best in the industry in my opinion. While actually a traditional this particular arrangement is probably the best treatment this song ever got. Many artists of Bryn’s skill level have kind of abandoned Christian music but not Bryn. His faith is still the center of his music.
Tracklist 1 – Give Thanks – 3:27 2 – Lord I Love Your Word – 4:25 3 – Were You There – 2:01 4 – Let Us Humbly Worship Jesus – 1:43 5 – Make Us Holy – 5:33 6 – Awake O Zion – 2:18 7 – I Found A Love – 3:06 8 – We Give Thanks – 2:46 9 – More Than A Tent – 4:26 10 – He Is Lord – 2:54 11 – Strong Wall – 3:09 12 – What Kind Of Love Is This – 3:48
Credits Bass – Dave Markee, Terry “Tex” Comer Drums – Fran Byrne, Henry Spinetti Engineer – Dave Charles, Paul Cobbold, Rob Andrews Flute, Saxophone – Steve Gregory Guitar – Alan “Bam” King Guitar, Vocals – Bryn Haworth Keyboards – Pete Wingfield Mixed By – Paul Cobbold Painting [Front Cover Painting] – Robin Clifton Photography By – Tony Neeves Producer – Bryn Haworth
Here’s a Canadian artist that got one album out there in the mid 80’s thanks to his own hard work and financing. As a teen Martin played in coffee houses, churches, and many youth groups around Southern Ontario and upper New York State. Martin worked as a foot courier for a Toronto legal firm and was able to save $15,000 in 1985. Believe me that was no small feat in 1985. Instead of buying a cool car he headed to Rene Brossard’s studio and cut this album which shows an incredible dedication to his music. He subsequently appeared as the opening act for the likes of Twila Paris, Phil Keaggy, Daniel Band, Rick Cua, and others. He also played a side stage at the very first Kingdom Bound concert. It is rumoured that Larry Norman stopped to listen to him which was a proud moment for Martin as Larry was one of his favorite artists. As for the album it is a really good album and I can’t help but with some good distribution it might have been known to more of you reading this. It has a pretty good pop rock feel and the lead track sets the album up perfectly. Martin continues to make great music and you can visit his YouTube channel below
Tracklist 1 – Scapegoat Song – 2:20 2 – Who Will Tell Them – 4:19 3 – On And On – 3:55 4 – Line Of Vision – 4:09 5 – Their Own Bible – 4:00 6 – In The Future – 4:01 7 – Counterfeit Christian – 3:39 8 – In Loving Memory – 4:36 9 – Friends Like You – 4:25
Credits Cover – James Clow Engineer – David Musial, Yuri Jorbachow Lead Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Producer, Engineer – Martin Barret Producer, Arranged By, Mastered By – René Brossard
Companies, etc. Recorded At – Boss Productions Recorded At – Trackmaster Audio Recorded At – Master’s Workshop
You may not know the name Dave Thrush but I guarantee you know the sound of Dave Thrush. He gained his most recognition for his Saxophone work on all of Steve Taylor’s albums as well as touring with him. He was actually a high school friend of Steve’s and was with Steve from his first demo until the band broke up. He also appeared on other albums but we mostly know him from Steve’s work. In 1995 Sparrow released this solo album from him. It was actually nominated for a Dove Award in the category of Instrumental Album but lost out to a far more inferior album. Quite frankly this is a tough category and it seems like it was/is always given to a piano player. Anyway this is not your average CCM album of the period as it is mainly a saxophone based instrumental album, though the track “Jesus Is The Answer” has vocals from Chris Willis and is as good if not better than anything out at the time. There is also a great Sax cover of “El Shaddai” which should resonate with Amy Grant fans. Quite frankly this is a pretty good album. It’s not really my style but I’ve left it playing in the background a few times while I worked and I grew to quite like it. Oh and a quick sidenote, this is probably one of the best album titles ever. Apparently Dave has a Christmas album and I’ll see if I can upload it for next Christmas.
Tracklist 1 – El Shaddai – 4:07 2 – His Strength Is Perfect / Hiding Place – 4:33 3 – Say The Name – 5:30 4 – Lamb Of God / How Beautiful / He Is Exalted – 5:03 5 – People Need The Lord – 4:56 6 – The Greatest Thing – 3:58 7 – There Is A Redeemer – 4:05 8 – I Will Be There – 4:24 9 – Friends / Great Is The Lord / Hosanna / How Majestic Is Your Name – 6:46 10 – Jesus Is The Answer – 4:57 11 – Tomorrow – 3:58 12 – We Will Stand – 4:43
This is the only album we got from Shelley and this one off appears to be a Michael Knott project. He produced the album for his own record label which unfortunately went bankrupt shortly after this release. He actually put together a killer studio band be sure to check the credits on our website. The album falls in the easy listening category but I think her real skill was writing. It’s not often you see an introductory album from an unknown artist that has all original material. Other than that I don’t have much to tell you about this artist.
Tracklist 1 – Love Is – 3:39 2 – Carry Me Away – 3:45 3 – Don’t You Worry – 3:01 4 – You & I – 4:07 5 – Song In The Distance – 3:48 6 – Dreaming Awake – 4:02 7 – Parallels – 3:52 8 – Time – 4:05 9 – Talk With You At Midnight – 3:20 10 – Dreams – 3:28
Credits Acoustic Bass – Glen Holmen Acoustic Guitar – Greg Flesch, Shelley Rogers, Mike Knott, Jeffrey Thomas Alto Saxophone – Dave Thrush Arranged By [Cello Arrangement] – Michael Hackett Art Direction – Coffee Bay Bass – Glen Holmen, Mike Sauerbrey Bass [Six-String Bass] – Dave Hackbarth Classical Guitar – Jeffrey Thomas Classical Guitar – Mike Knott, Shelley Rogers Drums – Chuck Cummings, Steve Hindalong E-Bow – Greg Flesch Electric Piano [Rhodes] – Dave Hackbarth Electronic Wind Instrument [Wind Syntesizer] – Dan Michaels Engineer – Christopher Colbert Engineer – David Hackbarth Keyboards – Dave Hackbarth Keyboards, Sound Designer [Treatments] – Michael Hackett Lyrics By, Music By – Shelley Rogers Mastered By – Doug Doyle Music By – Michael Knott, Mike Sauerbrey Percussion – Steve Hindalong, Mike Knott Photography By – Colleen Hammond Producer – Dave Hackbarth, Michael Hackett, Mike Knott Saxophone – Dave Thrush Written-By – Shelley Rogers
Companies, etc. Distributed By – Spectra Distribution Recorded At – Neverland Mixed At – Neverland Mastered At – Digital Brothers
This was the last album we got from Denny and it’s what you would expect from a last album from him. I will say that I strongly prefer his vocals as his career went on. His singing really matured. Otherwise the album is relatively mellow with the exception of “Here Comes The Light” which is easily the best track on the album. Unfortunately we would lose Denny in 2002 to a heart attack. Too bad because I think there was more material in him and I can easily imagine a blues album from him like many 80’s CCM artists have done. Rest in Piece Denny, see you on the other side.
Tracklist 1 – Hiding Place – 4:32 2 – You Mean Everything – 4:29 3 – Count On His Love – 3:58 4 – Holding On – 4:07 5 – Here Comes The Light – 3:24 6 – You Keep Running – 3:35 7 – Trust – 3:55 8 – He Took Hold – 4:11 9 – Sing And Shout – 3:51 10 – Gentle Is His Hand – 3:55
Credits Arranged By – Denny Correll, Larry Brown Arranged By [Special] – Alan Lundgren Art Direction, Design – Brian Barrington Backing Vocals – Bob Carlisle, Bob Dorman, Denny Correll, Devon Mead*, Mickey Rooney, Jr., Tim Correll Bass – Charlie Souza, Larry Brown Drums, Percussion – Larry Brown Guitar – Eric Turner Keyboards, Programmed By – Denny Correll Mastered By – Bernie Grundman Photography By – Nicola Dill Producer, Mixed By, Engineer – Larry Brown Saxophone – Dave Thrush, Wayne Wayne
