Category: Albums

The Fourth Watch – Dare To Be The One – 1986

What happens when Undercover meets the Altar Boys? The Fourth Watch is what happens. Apparently Bill Walden (Undercover) and Steve Steve Pannier (Altar Boys) were working together from 84 to 87 along with drummer Bill Lawrence, and bass players, Kevin Elling and then Mike Cowden. In 1986 they released this album and what an album it is. It has a decidedly New Wave/Rock sounds that screams 80’s. I hate to do this but there are several tracks that have an intro that has me waiting for Bono vocals to kick in. Too bad this was their only offering as I would have liked to hear more.

Tracklist
1 – Dare To Be The One – 4:39
2 – You Can Change The World – 3:43
3 – Chase Away The Darkness – 4:08
4 – Holy – 4:25
5 – Slipping Thru Your Fingers – 3:22
6 – One Truth – 4:50
7 – I Will Sing – 3:00
8 – On Fire For You – 4:18
9 – Burning Hearts – 5:06

Credits
Backing Vocals – Bill Batstone, Warren Ham
Bass – Kev • X
Drums – Bill Lawrence
Engineer – Gord Driver
Guitar – Steve Pannier
Keyboards – Jeff Lams
Layout – Ed McTaggart
Lead Vocals – Bill Walden
Mixed By – Gord Driver
Percussion – Bill Lawrence
Performer [The Fourth Watch Is] – Bill Lawrence, Bill Walden, Kev • X, Steve Pannier
Producer – Jeff Lams
Written-By – The Fourth Watch

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Regency Music
Mastered At – Future Disc

Holy Right – Stand as One – 1986

I really don’t know where to start with this album. First of all the title track is not even listed on the track listing??? Secondly there is a song with the title of the band name. Right away I knew I was in trouble before even listening to the album. Here we go, the production and engineering are horrible. The band self produced this album and I’m sorry to have to disparage them but there is a reason bands/record labels use producers. This album is the prime example of that. Secondly the engineering/mixing is absolutely pitiful. It really does sound like it was recorded and mixed in a living room. Now let’s talk about the music. There are some songs here that could have worked and I even kind of liked “Stop Killing the Children”. A real producer could have made something out of a few of them but unfortunately that didn’t happen. I really don’t know what Erika Records was thinking when they decided to release this album but a quick look at the album cover should have made them think twice. Oh yea it’s horrible too.

Track Listing:
1 – Stand As One (Unlisted Track)
2 – Satan’s Lies
3 – Living for Eternity
4 – Get Away
5 – Tonight
6 – Satan Leave that Boy Alone
7 – Lies of Men
8 – Holy Right
9 – Stop Killing the Children

Studio Musicians & Other Album Credits:
Produced by Keith Miles
Arranged by Holy Right
Engineered by Doug Recorded at 3-D Studios
Album Designed by Keith Miles & Liz Franco
Artwork by Mark Miles
Photography by Studio B
Lead Guitar – Sean Silas
Rhythm Guitar – Steve Bell
Bass – Randi Davidson
Drums/Percussion – Chris Garrett
Lead Vocals – Keith Miles
Background Vocals – Holy Right
Holy Right Logo by Keith Miles
Road Crew – Todd Canales, Dan Fazio, Ruben Roman, Gilbert Escobaza, Linda Martinez, Alan “A.J.” Davidson & George Haro

Chuck Girard – The Stand – 1980

Chuck Girard says about this album, “Most of the songs from this album were written and recorded during my downslide into the depths of the final stage of my alcohol addiction.” The album has a bit of a dark feel due to this and was not as well received as his previous work. His previous albums had sold around 100,000 copies but this album only fared 30,000. Part of those poor sales though was because of Word records (the distributor) tanked the album because Stan Moser (Word CEO) hated it. Quite frankly I think the album is pretty good especially for Chuck Girard. While known for this easy listening style this album was much more upbeat. The lyrics were a little deeper and thought provoking which of course was a recipe for disaster in Christian music at the time.

Tracklist
1 – Soldier – 4:34
2 – Home For Good – 3:20
3 – Busy Day – 5:01
4 – Border Town – 3:22
5 – Witness – 2:39
6 – The Fold – 3:56
7 – The Stand – 3:26
8 – Racin’ Like The Wind – 4:22
9 – Child Come Home – 2:53

Credits
Bass – Joe Puerta (tracks: A1, B4), Skipper Wise (tracks: A2 to B3, B5)
Coordinator [Production Coordinator] – Teri Piro
Design, Layout – Art Hotel
Drums – Burleigh Drummond
Engineer [Engineered By], Co-producer [Associate Producer], Mixed By – Bill Taylor
Guitar – Chuck Girard (tracks: B5)
Guitar [Guitar Solo] – Gary Falcone (tracks: A4)
Guitar [Guitars] – Daryl Caraco
Photography By [Photographer] – Ron Slenzak
Producer, Arranged By – Bob Rose (4)
Rhythm Guitar [Additional Rhythm Guitar] – Gary Falcone (tracks: A1)

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Good News Records
Copyright (c) – Good News Records
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Soundcastle
Recorded At – Salty Dog Recording
Recorded At – Mama Jo’s
Mixed At – Mama Jo’s
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Copyright (c) – Dunamis Music
Published By – Dunamis Music

Jim Cole – Complete in Him – 1976

This was an independent release from Jim Cole. It has a nice folk/Jesus Music feel to it and the quality is very high and it surprises me that a record label didn’t pick it up. That said Jim may not have been interested in a record deal we just don’t know. There was two different releases of this album, one with 10 tracks and one with 12. Jim reappeared in the music scene in the 90’s with several on label albums that essentially continued where this album left off. As I said this is a folk/Jesus music offering with the usual sound of the time. As was common with albums of the period there is a Rock tune, a country tune, and a blues tune, which is very good. Surprisingly there is no bluegrass tune. The guitar work is excellent and the vocals are strong so if folk is our thing this album is for you.

Tracklist
1 – Simple Song – 2:08
2 – Time Is Surely Running – 3:30
3 – Humble Yourself – 1:59
4 – Broken Hearts, Broken Dreams – 2:46
5 – The Messiah – 4:24
6 – Give Your Life To Jesus – 3:12
7 – Complete In Him – 2:58
8 – Name His Name – 2:59
9 – Goodbye Grey Days – 2:35
10 – It’s Jesus – 3:54
11 – New Man Tune – 3:47
12 – Your Invitation – 3:27

Rez Band (Resurrection Band) – Bootleg – 1984

1984’s offering from Rez Band is a collection from their songs on Sparrow Records, recorded live in Chicago, the band’s hometown. There are three previously unreleased tracks on this album. Gameroom and Playground were new offerings intended to engage with 1980s teen culture.

Quite Enough is a solid blues piece like we had rarely heard from Rez up to this point, but it is clear that the band knows how to put this together and that Glenn Kaiser knows the blues inside and out. The song was on the band’s original demo tape, which was never formally released, and also showed up in a 3 CD compilation released in 1998.

The record is some 42 minutes long, with 6 1/2 minutes of message. Wendi does a ‘rap’ on side one and Glenn closes out side two with his ‘rap’. This seems like a gutsy move for a band that always had closed out their albums with memorable rock songs. Glenn, an ordained minister at JPUSA always made sure to include the gospel in every show, so this should come as no surprise.

There is a blistering live version of White Noise, from D.M.Z. which came out just prior to this release. The live version of Lovin’ You adds extra energy that wasn’t in the studio version, replacing some of the synth sound with a steady bass line.

This is the only official live release other than XX Years Live, which came out in 1992.

Tracklist
1 – Military Man – 4:50
2 – Gameroom – 4:19
3 – Wendi’s Rap – 2:00
4 – Playground – 4:00
5 – Medley – (6:20)
5a Waves
5b Awaiting Your Reply
5c Broken Promises
5d Autograph
5e City Streets
6 – White Noise – 3:57
7 – Quite Enough – 5:03
8 – Area 312 – 3:56
9 – Can’t Stop Lovin’ You – 3:34
10 – Glenn’s Rap – 4:24

Credits
Artwork [Back And Inside Artwork] – Cornerstone Graphics, Dick Randall
Artwork [Front Cover Concept And Art] – Janet Cameron
Bass – Jim Denton
Drums – John Herrin
Engineer – Phil Bonanno, Roger Heiss
Guitar, Keyboards – Stu Heiss
Mastered By – Steve Hail
Photography By – Dick Randall, Pat Peterson, Tom Wray
Producer – Resurrection Band
Synthesizer, Guitar – Jim Denton (tracks: A4)
Vocals – Wendi Kaiser
Vocals, Guitar [Solo] – Glenn Kaiser

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Sparrow Corporation
Published By – Luminar Music
Published By – Rez Band Music
Mixed At – Hedden West Studios
Mixed At – Solid Sound Studios, Hoffman Estates, IL
Mastered At – Future Disc
Recorded LIVE at the Odeum, Chicago, Octorber 21 and 22, 1983

Lifesavers Underground – Shaded Pain – 1987

Shaded Pain is Lifesavers’ fourth album, and it has its own unique sound, darker and more musically mature than their original works.

The band started out with a sound reminiscent of 1970s punk and with this 1987 release, they sound completely like the late 80s punk scene.

The record starts out with a somewhat chilling version of “Michael Row The Boat Ashore” in the opening track “Jordan River.” Lyrically, this album strives to tie contradictions together and it does so quite well in songs such as “Tether To Tassel” and “Our Time Has Come.”

The sound on this album is a rich, full guitar sound throughout with drums that pop, and a vocal that carries it all in a soothing/creepy fasion, depending on how the beat strikes you every moment.

Tracklist
1 – Jordan River – 3:55
2 – Bye Bye Colour – 4:02
3 – Die Baby Die – 2:25
4 – Lonely Boy – 3:49
5 – Our Time Has Come – 3:37
6 – Tether To Tassle – 3:36
7 – I’m Torn – 3:52
8 – Plague Of Flies – 1:27
9 – More To Life – 3:39
10 – Shaded Pain – 4:10

Credits
Art Direction, Layout – Ed McTaggart
Artwork – Mike Knott
Drums, Cymbal – Kevin Lee
Electric Guitar [Les Paul Gold Top], Twelve-String Guitar [Ibanez Acoustic], Acoustic Guitar [Yamaha], Bass [Black] – Brian Doidge
Engineer – Chris Brigandi (tracks: B5), Joey Taylor
Photography By – Colleen Hammond
Producer – Chris Brigandi
Vocals – Bridgett Knott (tracks: A1, A4)
Vocals, Keyboards – Mike Knott
Written-By – Brian Doidge (tracks: A4, B3, B4), Kevin Lee (4) (tracks: B3), Mike Knott

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.
Recorded At – Asylomar Studios
Copyright (c) – Broken Songs
Copyright (c) – Frontline Records (3)
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Frontline Records (3)
Distributed By – The Benson Company
Distributed By – The Master’s Collection
Distributed By – Kingsway Publications Ltd.

DeGarmo & Key – This Time Through – 1978

This 1978 debut album from DeGarmo & Key is one of their best. It has a range of styles, but for 1978, it was all right in the zone of 70s rock that was still more influenced by country music at the time, and the “Southern rock” that everyone wanted more of.

These guys came from the South and they brought just the right mix to launch a career in CCM, and help spark the genre.

On their later live album, he says “We tried country music, we really did. But nobody could recognize what country it was from.” Funny, but those country tones fit perfectly here even though the band really became known as a modern pure rock band later on.

The songs on this album had great longevity for the band and 3 of them made it onto the live album in 1982.

Tracklist
1 – Emmanuel – 3:03
2 – Addey – 4:11
3 – Only The Meek Survive – 3:03
4 – (Gone, Gone, Gone) Too Far, Too Long – 4:29
5 – Alleyways Of Strife – 3:10
6 – Sleeper – 2:45
7 – Wayfaring Stranger – 3:38
8 – In The Days Of Thy Youth – 1:26
9 – Chase The Wind – 5:21
10 – This Time Thru – 4:52

Credits
Art Direction, Management – Steve Lawhead
Backing Vocals – Joe Hardy, Phyliss Duncan, William C. Brown III
Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Electric Piano, Grand Piano, Organ [Hammond] – Edward DeGarmo
Bass, Percussion – Ken Porter
Design [Album] – Stan Evenson
Drums – David Spain, Max Richardson
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Classical Guitar, Harmonica, Percussion – Dana Key
Mastered By – Larry Nix
Producer, Engineer – Ron Capone
Programmed By [Arp], Backing Vocals – Carl Marsh

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Lamb & Lion Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Lamb & Lion Records
Recorded At – Ardent Studios
Remixed At – Ardent Studios
Mastered At – Ardent Mastering

Blind Beggar – Winds Of War – 1985

This is a 4 song self released EP from Blind Beggar. I don’t know much about the band other than they were from Florida. This appears to be it from them and none of the 3 members appear to have done any published subsequent work. This is a Metal EP (though “Daddies Little Girl” is a little more Hard Rock). I often speak out against self produced albums but they did a great job on this one. The mix is good and I like the production quality though I would have mixed the cymbals up a tad (I know that’s really picky). The lead track is presumably the single and is a pretty good metal tune. My favourite track was Daddies Little Girl but I generally lean to the more Rock oriented tracks. It’s only 4 songs so it’s well worth listening to. Be sure to check out the pic on the back cover. These guys missed the memo on torn pants of obnoxious colours. Instead they look like a normal rock band.

Tracklist
1 – Winds Of War
2 – Daddies Little Girl
3 – Shout It
4 – Virgin’s Child

Credits
Drums, Vocals – Joel Wilkinson
Engineer – David Lee
Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals – David Lee
Guitar, Lead Vocals – Freddy Laine
Producer – David Lee

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Last Trumpet Sound
Mixed At – Last Trumpet Sound

Shout – It Won’t Be Long – 1988

Shout was started by Ken Tamplin who left Joshua feeling the need to do something different. He recruited fellow Joshua member Loren Robinson to join him and also recruited Idle Cure guitarist Chuck King. Keyboardist Mark Hugonberger joined in having no real CCM background and the band rounded out with drummer Dennis Holt who had played with several CCM bands in his life including AD, Kenny Marks, White Heart, and even oddly enough The Archers. The album is more hard rock than heavy Metal and I actually quite liked it. It has that Def Leppard sound of fun songs with heavy drum tracks and strong lead guitars. We’re not talking some deeply though out lyrics with complicated lead guitar work here. Instead it’s a fun album to play air guitar to.

Tracklist
1 – Never Stop – 3:58
2 – Winners Or Losers – 3:42
3 – It Won’t Be Long – 4:21
4 – Find A Way – 4:49
5 – Dancin’ Round The World – 3:13
6 – Shout – 4:19
7 – Showdown – 4:02
8 – Timeless Love – 4:36
9 – Without You – 3:42

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Band [Shout Is], Bass Guitar, Vocals – Loren Robinson
Band [Shout Is], Drums – Dennis Holt
Band [Shout Is], Keyboards – Mark Hugonberger
Band [Shout Is], Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Lead Vocals – Ken Tamplin
Band [Shout Is], Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – Chuck King
Engineer [Mixing Engineer] – Dave Jahnsen
Engineer [Tracking Engineer] – Robert Dire
Graphics [Litho Prep By] – Gershwin Graphics
Illustration [Logo Illustration By] – Jeff Foster
Photography By – Nigel Skeet
Producer [Produced By] – Ken Tamplin
Written-By [All Songs Written By] – Ken Tamplin

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Frontline Records
Copyright (c) – Frontline Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company
Recorded At – Winetree Recording
Mixed At – Winetree Recording
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus
Published By – Broken Songs

Randy Stonehill – Celebrate This Heartbeat – 1984

Celebrate This Heartbeat starts out with an overture, which really does have a strong orchestral sound that only stops a little bit short of sounding like an outtake from The Nutcracker.

“Who Will Save The Children” is an important song on this record. The liner notes included a sign-up form to sponsor a child. Sally Struthers was working hard to get children sponsored at the time, and Randy had his hat fully in the ring starting around this time.

As usual, Randy gives us a fun song to both entertain us and challenge us on this album
Stop the World / I wanna get off / This place is too weird for me

This album is another polished studio approach from Randy, and a little farther from his rock’n’roll roots than what we were used to hearing. Fortunately we wouldn’t have to wait long for him to come back to the rock style we got to know him for.

Tracklist
1 – Overture: Celebrate This Heartbeat – 3:25
2 – Still, Small Voice – 4:04
3 – Celebrate This Heartbeat – 4:08
4 – Modern Myth – 3:51
5 – Who Will Save The Children – 5:27
6 – When I Look To The Mountains – 3:41
7 – Allison – 3:18
8 – Whatcha Gonna Do About That – 3:19
9 – Stop The World – 4:34
10 – I’ll Remember You – 4:26

Credits
Acoustic Guitar [All Acoustic Guitars] – Randy Stonehill
Arranged By [Rhythm Section And Vocal Arrangements] – Barry, Randy
Art Direction – Tim Alderson
Congas, Bongos, Percussion – Rick Geragi
Electric Guitar [Electric Guitars] – Danny Jacob
Electric Guitar [Electric Twelve String Guitar] – Mark Heard
Engineer [Engineered By] – Mark Heard
Engineer [Second] – Dan Reed
Flute, English Horn – John Clarke
French Horn – Darrel Gardner
Harp – Michael Amorosi
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Oboe – Barbara Northcutt
Orchestrated By, Arranged By, Conductor [Conducted By] – Tom Howard
Photography By – Aaron Rapoport
Piano, Electric Piano [Electric Grand Piano], Synthesizer, Timpani – Tom Howard
Producer [Produced By] – Barry M. Kaye
Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Flute – Jay “Shotgun” Leslie*
Vocals [All Vocals] – Randy Stonehill

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. – Δ26410
Engineered At – Fingerprint Recorders
Mixed At – Fingerprint Recorders
Edited At – Wilder Bros. Studios, Los Angeles
Mastered At – Future Disc
Published By – Stonehillian Music
Published By – Word Music
Published By – Tom Howard Music