Category: Albums

Benny Hester – Benny From Here – 1985

This was perhaps Benny’s best album ever. It spawned the single “When God Ran” which is the longest running number one song in Contemporary Christian Music history lasting 13 weeks. I personally loved this album with my favourite track being “Susie Said, Yeah!”. Benny transitioned from the 70’s to the 80’s with great ease. A lot of seventy Jesus music artists struggled with the transition to 80’s Rock or Pop but Benny made it look easy.

Tracklist
1 – Secret Thoughts – 4:40
2 – Streets Of Las Vegas – 3:54
3 – When God Ran – 4:57
4 – Susie Said, Yeah! – 3:15
5 – To Fill Our Empty Hearts – 4:22
6 – Back To Basics – 4:23
7 – Can I Get To You From Here – 3:44
8 – Whoever Touches You – 3:36
9 – Marching On – 3:20
10 – Hold Me – 4:47

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Roland Young
Bass – Neil Stubenhaus
Creative Director – Tom Willett
Drums, Percussion – John Robinson
Executive-Producer, Management – Brad Burkhart
Guitar – Dann Huff
Keyboards – Alan Pasqua, Charlie Olins
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Mixed By – Dennis Mackay
Percussion – Keith Edwards
Photography By – Mark Hanauer
Producer – Dan Posthuma
Recorded By – Daniel Garcia, David Schober, John “Beverly” Jones
Recorded By, Producer [Associate Producer] – Jeremy Smith

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Bill Schnee Studios
Recorded At – Music Grinder Studios
Recorded At – Redwing Studios
Recorded At – Mad Hatter Studios
Recorded At – Suma Recording Studio
Recorded At – Weddington Studios
Mastered At – Future Disc
Pressed By – Electrosound Los Angeles – Δ26991
Published By – Word Music
Published By – Suburban Madness Music
Published By – Meadowgreen Music Company

Bonnie Bramlett – Step By Step – 1981

Bonnie Bramlett was a well known performer long before her foray into Christian music. Bramlett became a Christian in the late 70’s and signed a deal with Refuge records shortly. This is the only album from that relationship. In fact it was Bramlett’s last album until 2002. This album sold well in Christian circles and was well received. Refuge was hoping for a crossover with secular sales but it didn’t happen, most likely due to a distribution deal with Benson records who had no proper secular distribution network. This album has a strong southern feel and it’s host of high quality studio musicians makes it very high quality. Joe English appeared, as he did on so many albums of the era, as the drummer. Trivia note is that some labels Side 2 was printed incorrectly by substituting the number 4 with the number 5 on the last track.

Tracklist
1 – Givin’ It Up – 3:17
2 – Back Out On The Streets – 3:15
3 – For The Love Of It – 3:55
4 – Let It Flow – 3:27
5 – Whispering Hope – 2:46
6 – Step By Step – 3:39
7 – White Dove – 3:36
8 – Sweet Rose Of Sharon – 4:36
9 – Joy – 3:51

Credits
Backing Vocals – Bobby Jones, Bonnie Bramlett, Donna McElroy, Gary Moreno, The New Life Singers, Vicki Hampton
Bass – Bob Wray, Larry Paxton
Drums – Joe English
Engineer – Scott Hendricks
Executive Producer – Ray Nenow
Guitar – Jon Goin, Kenny Mims
Keyboards – John Rosasco, Mitch Humphries
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Percussion – Terry McMillan
Producer – Greg Nelson
Saxophone – Donnie Sanders
Synthesizer – Alan Steinberger

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.

Geoff Moore and The Distance – A Place To Stand – 1988

After 3 successful solo albums this was Geoff’s first album as Geoff Moore + The Distance. The album was produced by Billy Smiley from White Heart. You can feel Billy’s influence on the album but with Geoff’s raspy voice and Dale Oliver rock guitar style it’s not just a White Heart wanna be album. Instead it’s a solid Rock / Pop effort. I was hooked on the album after the first listen. Go To The Moon stands out to me as the best Rock & Roll track.

Tracklist
1 – A Place To Stand – 4:53
2 – Go To The Moon – 4:11
3 – Heart And Soul – 4:29
4 – Outsiders – 4:34
5 – On A Night Like This – 3:54
6 – I Come Out Fighting – 4:03
7 – Tender Hearts – 4:53
8 – Calling Londontown – 4:35
9 – You’ve Heard It Before – 4:04
10 – One Of Us – 4:17

Credits
Art Direction – Barbara Catanzaro-Hearn
Backing Vocals – Chris Rodriguez, Dave Mullen, Geoff Moore, Rick Florian
Band [The Distance Is:], Bass – Arlin Troyer
Band [The Distance Is:], Drums – Lang Bliss
Band [The Distance Is:], Guitar – Dale Oliver
Band [The Distance Is:], Keyboards – Tom Reynolds
Design – 5 Penguins Design, Inc.
Engineer [Assistant] – Billy Whittington, Lang Bliss, Scott Davis
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Mixed By – Billy Smiley, David Schober
Photography By – Mark Tucker
Producer – Billy Smiley
Recorded By – David Schober
Recorded By [Additional] – Bill Deaton, Brent King
Vocals – Geoff Moore

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Sparrow Corporation
Copyright (c) – The Sparrow Corporation
Recorded At – OmniSound Studios
Recorded At – Downstage Studio
Recorded At – Center Stage Studio
Mixed At – Center Stage Studio
Mastered At – Future Disc
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia
Published By – Paragon Music Corp.
Published By – Birdwing Music
Published By – Martin Noyes Publishing
Published By – Screen Gems-EMI Music Publishing
Published By – Undone Tunes
Published By – Sparrow Song
Published By – New Wings Music
Published By – Greg Nelson Music

Various – Underground Metal 1 – 1988

Regency Records released this Metal sampler in 1988. It featured some lesser known Metal artists of the time. Most of the songs were available on the artists respective albums. However the Chosen Stranger song is unreleased. The Torn Flesh song was only available on a difficult to find demo. The Paragon track was only released on the Paragon Just Believe Demo. The Mercy Rule track is unreleased. If you are a Metal fan of the time this is an important album due to these tracks.

Tracklist
1 – Bjorn Stiggson – Come On – 5:28
2 – Armada – But It’s Only Rock And Roll – 3:42
3 – Chosen Stranger – So Glad – 4:33
4 – Paradox – Ruler 3:28
5 – Torn Flesh – No Surfin’ In Hell – 4:18
6 – Watchmen – Fear No Evil – 4:55
7 – Chariot – Step Into The Light – 3:34
8 – Paragon – Why Are There So Many Sinners – 5:24
9 – Mercy Rule – Cities Are Burning – 4:04

Originating Album
Bjorn Stiggson – Come On – (Together With Friends)
Armada – But It’s Only Rock And Roll (Frontline)
Chosen Stranger – So Glad (Unreleased)
Paradox – Ruler (Paradox – Ruler)
Torn Flesh – No Surfin’ In Hell (Love Kills Demo)
Watchmen – Fear No Evil (Fear No Evil)
Chariot – Step Into The Light (Step Into Light)
Paragon – Why Are There So Many Sinners (Just Believe Demo)
Mercy Rule – Cities Are Burning (Unreleased)

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Regency Records
Copyright (c) – Regency Records
Mastered At – Capitol Mastering

Credits
Executive-Producer – David Malme, John Moore
Illustration – Greg Zook

The Crucified – The Crucified – 1989

The Crucified were a Metal Thrash band out of Fresno CA. They formed in 1984 and floated 2 or 3 demos around before being offerede a deal with start-up label, Narrowpath Records. The band toured California in support of the album including an appearence at Cornerstone. As for the album, it’s thrash metal. That’s all I can say as every track sounds identical to me except for the lyrics which I can’t make out anyway.

Tracklist
1 – The Pit – 3:13
2 – Diehard – 3:01
3 – Your Image – 1:32
4 – Getting A Grip On Things – 3:22
5 – Hellcorn – 3:15
6 – Rise – 3:54
7 – One Demon To Another – 3:11
8 – Unity – 3:29
9 – A Guy In A Suit And The Pope – 1:46
10 – Back To The Cross – 3:40
11 – Confidence – 2:39
12 – The Insult Circus – 2:43
13 – Thread – 2:32
14 – Crucial Moment – 3:25

Credits
Backing Vocals – Chris Kovacs, Kevin Kribs, Larry Farkas, The Crucified, Vance Kovacs
Bass, Vocals – Mark Johnson
Drums – Jim Chaffin
Guitar – Greg Minier
Mastered By – Roger Siebel
Producer, Mixed By – The Crucified
Producer, Mixed By, Engineer – Greg Heil
Vocals – Mark Saloman II

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Narrowpath Records
Copyright (c) – Narrowpath Records
Distributed By – Pure Metal Records
Distributed By – Spectra Distribution, Inc.
Recorded At – Casbah Studio
Mixed At – Casbah Studio
Mastered At – SAE Mastering
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Imperials – No Shortage – 1975

This 1975 Imperials release provided their fans with more of what they loved. This album was more socially aware of the times. The title and lead track referred to the “shortage culture” of the mid 70’s. Other tracks spoke of negative issues and how God figured into them. Some pundits actually consider “No Shortage” as their best song ever. The album won both Grammy and Dove awards. No Shortage was probably one of the most popular Christian albums of all time but keep in mind the broad target audience of the album before you rush to correct me.

Tracklist
1 – No Shortage – 2:50
2 – Give Them All To Jesus – 3:32
3 – Would You Believe In Me – 4:07
4 – Holy Spirit, Speak To Me – 3:35
5 – My Child, Welcome Home 2:57
6 – Someday (It May Be Tomorrow) – 2:22
7 – I Just Came To Praise The Lord – 3:07
8 – Let Us Love One Another – 4:50
9 – Light At The End Of The Darkness – 3:42
10 – There Must Be A Better Way – 3:46

Fireworks – Fireworks – 1977

Fireworks formed in 1976 and released this album in 1977. It was well received and became a staple of late 70’s Jesus Music. The band was led by Marty McCall and he remained at the helm until the band split in 1983. Marty immediately went on to form the band “First Call” who performed into the late 90’s. Fireworks continued on after this album to release 5 more albums and had much success.

Tracklist
1 – New Day – 2:44
2 – Don’t Look Back – 2:47
3 – Carrying On – 3:27
4 – Presence Of The Lord – 2:45
5 – Forever With You – 3:40
6 – Maybe It’s Love – 3:27
7 – Family – 2:44
8 – Open Your Eyes – 3:07
9 – Talks With My Father – 3:03
10 – Takin’ A Rest – 3:06
11 – New Man – 3:06

Credits
Bass – Chris Harris, Steve Schaffer (tracks: A1, B2)
Cover – Dave Gaadt
Drums – Kenneth Malone (tracks: B2), Lanny Avery, Larrie Londin (tracks: A1)
Engineer – Brown Bannister
Executive Producer – Michael Blanton
Flute – Marilyn Maingart
Guitar – Chris Christian
Keyboards – Marty McCall, Ron Oates (tracks: B2), Shane Keister (tracks: A1)
Mastered By – Glenn Meadows
Photography – Mark Pleasant
Producer – Chris Christian
Synthesizer – Shane Keister

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.

Jerusalem – Volume 2 (Volym 2) – 1980

This second effort from pioneering Swedish CCM rockers Jerusalem is just as good as the first, which is not an easy feat in the music biz. The style and tracks and tenacity are all consistent here from the first album.

Once again there were parallel version in Swedish and English for this album. The English translations were still struggling a bit on this record, which is a problem that seemed to be solved in later albums.

Similar to expressions from volume 1 like “Jesus, He is the most fantastic / that happened to my life” convey the right meaning but leave the listener with the knowledge that this is something different. It’s Swedish rock. No meaning is lost, and when you let go, it’s even a lot of fun just to run with it. Volume 2’s “Dialogue (between one person)” would probably have been titled “Soliloquy” if it were written in England, but this is some good rock’n’roll so we don’t really care.

Scroll down for the Swedish Release

Tracklist
1 – Wake Up – 5:35
2 – Rock-N-Roll! – 4:19
3 – Love Song – 3:38
4 – Gethsemane – 3:45
5 – I Depend On You, Jesus – 4:41
6 – Introduction – 8:04
7 – Dialogue (Between One Person) – 4:30
8 – By By World – 5:30
9 – A Flower – 4:11

Credits
Artwork By – Anders Buhlund
Bass – Anders Mossberg
Drums, Percussion – Klas Anderhell
Engineer – Boje Lundberg
Music By – Dan Tibell (tracks: B2)
Photography – Labe Alwlwin
Photography [Front] – Lennart Dannstedt
Piano, Organ, Synthesizer [Moog] – Dan Tibell
Producer – Swante Bengtsson
Vocals, Guitar, Written-By – Ulf Christiansson

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Prim Records
Copyright (c) – Prim Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Engineered At – Supreme Studio
Mastered At – Masterfonics
Printed By – General Printing AB

Swedish Release

Tracklist
1 – Pass På – 5:35
2 – Bara Rock ‘N’ Roll – 4:19
3 – Kärlekssång – 3:38
4 – Getsemane – 3:45
5 – Jag Behöver Dej – 4:41
6 – Introduktion – 8:04
7 – Dialog – 4:30
8 – Ajöss Med Dej Värld – 5:30
9 – Jag Vill Ge Dej En Blomma – 4:15

Barnabas – Feel The Fire – 1984

This was the 4th release from Barnabas and the lineup remained the same as their previous release (Approaching Light Speed). This is also the line up that would be together until the end in 1986. This album continues their Heavy Metal / Hard Rock / Pop sound. If Barnabas wasn’t known for this sound combo I would probably be annoyed with it but by this album I was used to it. I read a few reviews of this album and was struck by how many said this was their favourite album. Personally after thinking about it I don’t even know which I would pick as my favourite. Anyway it’s another great album from Barnabas.

Tracklist
1 – Prelude – 2:20
2 – The Dream – 2:32
3 – Breathless Wonderment (The Dream Becomes Reality) – 6:48
4 – Hearts – 7:02
5 – Feel The Fire – 5:22
6 – Northern Lights – 3:45
7 – Follow You Up – 5:09
8 – Suite For The Souls Of Our Enemies (Part I – Hammer & Sickle) – 5:03

Credits
Art Direction [Art Director] – Dan Lienart
Artwork [Cover Art] – Kernie Erickson
Bass Guitar, Keyboards – Gary Mann
Drums, Percussion – Kris Klingensmith
Guitar – Brian Belew
Photography By – Randy Taylor
Producer – Tom Tucker
Producer, Arranged By – Barnabas
Vocals – Nancy Jo Mann

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Pressed By – Electrosound Group Midwest, Inc.
Published By – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Recorded At – Triad Studios, Des Moines
Mastered At – Future Disc

Flock 14 – Brave New World? – 1987

This was the first project of 2 by Tim McAllister the later being World Theater. This project has a completely different set of musicians than World Theater. Tim had originally signed a record deal with Blue Collar Records but they folded before an album could be released. Subsequently Tim met people at Graceland Records and this album was released. The single “Your Eyes” charted in the Top 10 on the CCM Rock Charts. It’s a pity Tim only had 2 projects as I think he had a lot of talent and I for one would have liked to hear more.

Tracklist
1 – Your Eyes – 4:07
2 – Upside Down – 4:19
3 – Come Away – 4:57
4 – Big Boys – 4:19
5 – Panic – 2:48
6 – 10,000 Years – 3:34
7 – Watch Her – 4:19
8 – Disposable People – 4:00
9 – Anxious – 3:54

Credits
Band [Flock 14 Is], Bass [String Bass] – Evan (18)
Band [Flock 14 Is], Drums – Bryan DeHart
Band [Flock 14 Is], Keyboards, Bass [Key Bass] – Dennis Childers (2)
Band [Flock 14 Is], Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Drum Programming – Tim McAllister*
Design [Album Cover Design] – Thomas Wolfe
Executive-Producer – Caesar Kalinowski
Photography By [Front Cover Silhouette Photo] – Don Anderson (17)
Producer [Produced By], Engineer [Engineered By] – Timothy McAllister (2)

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Graceland
Copyright (c) – Graceland
Manufactured By – Graceland, Inc.
Distributed By – Graceland, Inc.
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus
Recorded At – The Sound Shop, Portland, OR
Recorded At – Parallel Strategy, Cincinnati