When You’re A Rebel was the second album from the Altar Boys. The first album had sold well considering the style of the music, and the second sold better establishing the Altar Boys as a mainstream Christian band regardless of the punk flavourings of their music. The album was also released in Germany but unfortunately I was unable to find any sales numbers. I’d be interested to know how well it did there.
Track Listing: 1 – Difference In Me – 4:06 2 – More Of You – 2:58 3 – Calling Out To Believers! – 3:23 4 – When I’m With God – 2:33 5 – I’m Into God (Reprise) – 1:44 6 – When You’re A Rebel – 3:58 7 – Jesus Is Number One – 2:46 8 – If You Let Him In – 2:25 9 – When I See You – 3:08 10 – He Knows You Better – 2:58 11 – Does God’s Heart Cry? – 4:35
Credits: Bass, Piano, Backing Vocals – Rick Alba Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Jeff Crandall Engineer – Derald Daugherty Guitar [Additional] – Steve Pannier Guitar, Vocals – Mike Stand Mixed By – Leroy Cahuenga Producer – B.B. Stone
Petra’s Beat The System was released in 1984 into a musical age that was dealing with the first generation of electronic sounds, video games, and mainstream home computers.
Petra continues to build on their sing-along arena rock style with even more synthesizer and electronic drum sounds. Their updated version of “God Gave Rock’n’Roll To You” brings that forward but without the acoustical drama of the original. Its inclusion on this album helped maintain the song as a CCM anthem for yet another generation.
This is the last of Greg X. Volz’s albums with the band before Jon Schlitt took over as lead vocalist. Greg joined Petra for their third album, Washes Whiter Than in 1979, then billed as the “New Improved Petra.”
Beat The System had several tracks that stayed with the band as classics, including “Clean” and “Adonai.”
Track Listing: 1 – Beat The System – 4:22 2 – Computer Brains – 4:01 3 – Clean – 3:01 4 – It Is Finished – 3:52 5 – Voice In The Wind – 4:30 6 – God Gave Rock And Roll To You – 3:54 7 – Witch Hunt – 4:34 8 – Hollow Eyes – 4:03 9 – Speak To The Sky – 4:16 10 – Adonai – 4:42
Credits: Bass Guitar, Synthesizer [Synthesizer Bass], Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Mark Kelly Drums, Percussion – Louie Weaver Keyboards, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – John Lawry Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Bob Hartman Lead Vocals – Greg X. Volz Producer, Recorded By, Mixed By – Jonathan David Brown
This was the 3rd album from Phil & John and it had almost the same style as their previous release.
It’s a sound that was serving them well so why change. It is quite comparable to the popular secular male duo’s of the time. I would describe them as Hall & Oates light. Not an insult though as they do the style very well.
Track Listing: 1 – Goodbye Yesterday – 3:33 2 – Beat The Situation – 3:28 3 – Hurts To Learn – 4:35 4 – Over The Moon – 4:56 5 – Wasted Years – 3:15 6 – Celebrate – 4:08 7 – Lonely Dancer – 5:10 8 – All At Sea – 4:10 9 – Maybe This Is Love – 4:36
Credits: Lyrics By – John Hartley Music By, Lyrics By – Phil Baggaley Performer – Chris Eaton, David Fitzgerald, John Hartley, Julie Moon, Karlos Edwards, Les Moir, Luke Tunney, Mal Pope, Mathias Kaufmann, Mike Newbon, Neil Costello, Pete Thoms, Phil Baggaley, Phil Johnson Producer – Chris Eaton, Les Moir Recorded By, Mixed By – Neil Costello
First of all there are 4 Scratch Band songs. Scratch Band is an early version of the 77’s. One of these songs features Steve Scott and another Sharon McCall. It’s nice to hear where it started for the 77’s.
There are 3 cuts from Gloryhouse who were an early incarnation of Robert Vaughn and The Shadows. More really good tunes the best being The Promise in my opinion.
There is one more tune from Body and Soul (Rob Watson) bringing the total to 3 I have found to date.
There is also an alternate extended remix of Someone New from the 77’s which might be the best version I’ve heard.
Finally there are 6 songs from Daniel Amos mostly recorded between 1978 and 1980.
Here are the notes with more detail from the album description;
1, 2 & 7 – The Scratch Band (2) was the first incarnation of The 77s. Track 1 was issued originally as the b-side to the vinyl 45 of Jesus released in 1990 (as part of the 7&7is box set). This live recording dates to 1981. Tracks 2 and 7 are Steve Scott songs recorded live in 1980. Much of their sets in those days consisted of Scott’s songs. These two were also recorded for Steve’s unreleased “Moving Pictures” album in 1980.
3 – This is a very rare alternate extended remix of Someone New from 1984’s All Fall Down. Differs from the 12″ single extended version (Someone New).
4 to 6 – Gloryhouse is an earlier incarnation of Robert Vaughn and The Shadows (5). Track 4 is the first version of the song that appeared on Love And War (and performed on American Bandstand). Track 5 dates to 1985 and Track 6 is from around the same time. This live version (from 1986) is from a problematic video mix (Anthony Daluz’s guitar disappears at times).
8 to 12 & 15 – 1978 through 1980 were Daniel Amos’s lost years. During the delay of Horrendous Disc, they recorded almost twenty new songs as demos to shop to mainstream labels. Some of them were recorded with very high quality on 24-tracks and others were ping-ponged on 4-track. These songs are a sampling from that period. Track 8 was a concert favorite and appears on many bootleg tapes from ’79-’80. Tracks 9 and 10 were recorded in 1981 and feature a young Ojo Taylor on keyboard! Track 11 is a Mark Cook (2) song which was recorded for “Horrendous Disc” but was later replaced by “Hound of Heaven.” Track 12 was a 4-track demo for ¡Alarma! (The Alarma Chronicles Vol.1) which was later recorded by Wild Blue Yonder (2) and even later wound up on the The Miracle Faith Telethon with Terry’s vocals. Track 15, one of Terry’s favorites from the period showcases the pop sensibilities that defined Daniel Amos during that period.
13 – Sharon McCall was the original lead vocalist for the Scratch Band. This is a demo she recorded with the band right before she left the group in 1979. Michael Roe plays guitar and Jimmy Abegg plays bass. Sharon married Jerry Chamberlain in 1980, so she provides an interesting link between the Sacramento/Exit gang and the Orange County/Daniel Amos crowd.
14 – Rob Watson’s own group in the mid 80’s was called Body And Soul and recorded an album’s worth of material which unfortunately never surfaced, except for a rare 45 from 1984 (Something’s Going On Here / The Graylands).
Track Listing:
1 – Scratch Band – Unsatisfied – 5:54
2 – Scratch Band With Steve Scott – Wild Boys – 6:02
3 – 77’s – Someone New (Alternate Extended Remix) – 5:54
4 – Gloryhouse – Justice – 5:42
5 – Gloryhouse – The Promise – 5:14
6 – Gloryhouse – The Beauty Of Innocence – 5:08
7 – Scratch Band – Thief Song – 6:04
8 – Daniel Amos – So Certain – 3:56
9 – Daniel Amos – Little Things – 4:29
10 – Daniel Amos – Off My Mind – 4:14
11 – Daniel Amos – Fairy Tale – 4:05
12 – Daniel Amos – Only One – 3:48
13 – Sharon McCall With Scratch Band – When The Victims Control – 6:37
14 – Body And Soul – Locked Away – 3:59
15 – Daniel Amos – Laissez-Faire – 3:39
Credits:
Compilation Producer [For Alternative Records] – Randy Layton
Design, Layout – Patton Brothers Design
Executive-Producer – Randy Layton, Tom Gulotta
Mastered By – Doug Doyle
This is an album I missed back in 1983 and I’m a little surprised at that considering the talent assembled. There are backing vocals from 2nd Chapter Of Acts, Annie Herring, Matthew Ward, and Sevenfold among others. Phil Keaggy is on guitar and Kerry Livgren on keyboards. This is pretty much a super group with all that talent. The album itself is mainly easy listening which is probably why I missed it. The production quality is excellent and the assembled band is tight.
Tracklist
1 – Givers And Takers – 4:18
2 – The Power – 3:19
3 – It’s Almost Over – 3:00
4 – Coming Back Again – 3:38
5 – Free Man – 3:16
6 – My Heart Belongs To Him – 3:58
7 – More (Of Jesus) – 3:52
8 – Children Of The King – 3:00
9 – Praise Hymn – 3:52
10 – The Gift – 2:16
Credits
Backing Vocals – 2nd Chapter Of Acts, Angela Street, Annie Herring, Carol Ford, Charlotte Reed, Eveleaner Smith, Jack Holder, Jaquelyn Street, Jimmy Jamieson, Matthew Ward, Nellie Greison, Sevenfold, Valarie Street, Vanessa Ford
Bass, Vocals – Kenny Bentley
Congas, Bongos – Ed Zimmerman
Design [Cover] – Mike McCarty
Drums, Percussion – Ben Hewitt, John Hampton
Engineer – Gary Ham, Joe Hardy, Wally Duguid, Will Eggleston
Guitar, Bass, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Joe Hardy
Keyboards, Synthesizer, Vocals – Stan Coates
Lacquer Cut By – L Nix
Lead Guitar – Phil Keaggy
Lead Guitar, Synthesizer, Vocals – Dean Harrington
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Tim Huffman
Legal – Joel A. Katz
Management [Road], Engineer [Sound] – Greg Westman
Management [Road], Lighting – George Close
Mastered By – Larry Nix
Mixed By – Joe Hardy
Photography By – Greg Knobloch
Producer – Dean Harrington, Joe Hardy, Mylon LeFevre
Synthesizer [Emulator] – Kerry Livgren
Vocals, Guitar – Mylon LeFevre
The first album from Daniel Amos might surprise you if you’re an 80’s fan of the band as they actually started as a Country band in the 70’s. While Jesus music was still in full swing at the time of this release this album it doesn’t really have that it feel. It actually sounds and feels like a Country album of the time period. Interesting note is that the band actually auditioned for this album as “Jubal’s Last Band”. The name was very close to Darrell Mansfield’s band “Jubal”. Both bands agreed to a name change with Darrell’s band becoming Gentle Faith and Jubal’s Last Band becoming the Daniel Amos we all know now.
Track Listing: 1 – Jesus Is Jehovah To Me – 3:18 2 – The Bible – 4:20 3 – Abidin’ – 3:24 4 – William – 2:52 5 – Prelude: Servant’s Prayer – 0:47 6 – Don’t Light Your Own Fire – 4:28 7 – Losers & Winners – 3:52 8 – Walking On The Water – 4:38 9 – Ridin’ Along – 2:10 10 – Dusty Road – 3:25 11 – Love In A Yielded Heart – 2:34 12 – Skeptics’ Song – 2:22
Credits: Acoustic Guitar [6 & 12 String], Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Terry Taylor Acoustic Guitar [6 String], Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Steve Baxter Bass Guitar – Marty Dieckmeyer Design, Illustration – Dale G. Waters Engineer, Mixed By – Jonathan David Brown Lead Guitar [Electric], Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Jerry Chamberlain Mastered By – Bernie Grundman Producer, Mixed By – Al Perkins Remix [Engineer] – Billy Taylor
Ph’lip Side generally doesn’t get a lot of mention by fans but it honestly deserves to.
The set up of the album is novel in that one side is acoustic guitar and the other electric. The album jacket represents this by having an acoustic guitar on one side and an electric on the other. A novel approach and idea for an album which I like.
Keaggy’s guitar work is flawless as usual and this album gives us examples of his varying styles. The original album was released in 1980 and then re-released in 1982 with a substitute song as well as the order being changed. The 1982 release has stickers on the jacket to represent the changes. Piece of trivia – Greg X. Volz and Matthew Ward both do some backing vocals on this album.
Playlist Includes “Send Out Your Light” courtesy of Elisha Belcher
Track Listing:
1 – Just A Moment Away – 4:00
2 – Sunday School – 4:32
3 – A Royal Commandment – 5:46
4 – Pulling Down – 5:28
5 – A Child (In Everyone’s Heart) – 3:55
6 – Little Ones – 4:27
7 – Spend My Life With You – 4:13
8 – I Belong To You – 4:10
9 – In Your Keep – 3:28
Credits:
Backing Vocals – Dan Collins, Greg X. Volz, Jamie Owens-Collins, Matthew Ward (2)
Bass [Electric Synthisized] – Leon Gaer
Coordinator [Production] – B. Charlyne Hinesley
Drums – Paul Leim
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Phil Keaggy
Engineer – Jack Joseph Puig
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Piano, Piano [Rhodes], Synthesizer – Richard Souther
Producer – Dan Collins, Phil Keaggy
Most people believe this was one of the most important albums in the 80’s CCM scene.
This album was released on Island records not a Christian label. And this wasn’t some unheard of label, Island records was home to U2 at the time. The hope was that this was going to be the true entry of a CCM band into the secular music scene.
Unfortunately not everything worked out as hoped and the album was not a huge commercial success. But that said many believe this was one of the greatest CCM albums of all time.
It is in my top 10 and usually dances in the top 3. As I remember it “Do It For Love” was the radio single and is a darn good song but my favourite was “What Was In That Letter”. Final thought is that the album is solid and there’s no filler content here, just quality music.
Track Listing:
1 – Do It For Love – 4:26
2 – I Can’t Get Over It – 4:38
3 – What Was In That Letter – 3:07
4 – Pearls Before Swine – 8:20
5 – The Lust, The Flesh, The Eyes & The Pride Of Life – 3:50
6 – Frames Without Photographs – 4:18
7 – Don’t Say Goodbye – 4:30
8 – Bottom Line – 3:50
9 – I Could Laugh – 7:50
Credits:
Art Direction, Graphic Design – Marty Gessler
Band [The 77’s Are], Bass [Fender Bass], Backing Vocals [Support Vocals] – Jan Eric
Band [The 77’s Are], Drums [More Pounding & Thrashing] – Aaron Smith
Band [The 77’s Are], Keyboards, Guitar, Backing Vocals [Support Vocals] – Mark Tootle
Band [The 77’s Are], Vocals, Guitar – Mike Roe
Engineer [Assistant Engineer At Quadrasonic] – Peter Sturge
Engineer [Assistant Engineers At Exit] – Daryl Zachman, Steve Griffith
Executive-Producer – Mary Neely
Featuring, Backing Vocals, Keyboards – Steve Griffith
Featuring, Bass [Fender 6-String Bass], Electronics [Ibanez Midi Guitar Controller] – Sam Ching
Featuring, Percussion [Ethnic & Orchestral Percussion], Other [Hat Hair] – Bongo Bob Smith
Featuring, Piano [Prepared Piano] – The Cleverly Brothers
Featuring, Saxophone – Jon Skinner
Featuring, Sounds [A.M.S. Sampling] – Pete “Fastfingers” Sturge
Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
Photography By – Deborah Wiley, Linda Pearson
Producer, Engineer, Mixed By – Robert Musso
Recorded By [Live Remote Recording], Recorded By [Pre-Production Demos Extraordinaire] – Steve Griffith
The third album from Dennis Agajanian has a mixed sound.
Some songs are an older style, some in keeping with the style of the time and at least one that was ahead of its time. Oh and there’s a bluegrass tune just for good measure.
The lead and title track “Rebel To The Wrong” is an excellent tune and was a fairly progressive song for the day. Dennis Agajanian has been popular in the Christian Country Music scene for many years and he’s still going often appearing on several different television evangelists shows but perhaps best known now for his appearances with Billy Graham.
Track Listing: 1 – Rebel To The Wrong 2 – Fool’s Gold 3 – Child’s Cry 4 – Bigger Than All My Sins 5 – Milk And Honey Express 6 – Alive In The Sky 7 – I Can Do All The Things 8 – Daddy’s Girl 9 – Last Of The Good Guys 10 – I’m Thankful To You
Credits: Acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin – Dennis Agajanian Art Direction, Design – Rhonda Dempsey Backing Vocals – Kelly Willard, Pam Mark Hall Banjo – Wayne Rice Bass – Joel Hendrickson (tracks: A4), Scott Parrish* (tracks: A1 to A3, A5, B1 to B5) Drums – Jim Plank (tracks: B2), Mike Mathis (tracks: A1 to A5, B1, B3 to B5) Electric Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith Executive-Producer – Bill Cole Fiddle – Bryon Berline Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Tom Howard Photography By – Don Wyman Producer, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals – Gerry Limpic Recorded By, Mixed By, Mastered By – Ron Compton Steel Guitar – Jay Dee Maness
This is a rather odd sampler. The Power Team was a group of Christian body builders and marshal arts athletes headed by John Jacobs.
They toured schools and churches performing feats of strength and martial arts performances while delivering God’s word. In 1990 they released a VHS video and this album.
I can only assume this was the soundtrack for the video and their performances. This is one of the most diverse samplers I think I’ve heard. It’s all here, rap, rock, and easy listening. Kind of a wide sampling what was popular in the late 80’s
Tracklist 1 – Tim Miner – Power – 3:55 2 – Liaison – My God Is A Rock – 3:13 3 – Stephen Crumbächer – Tear Down The Walls – 3:41 4 – P.I.D. – Authority – 5:52 5 – Rick Elias – Run Or Hide – 3:27 6 – Cindy Cruse – Even Now – 3:56 7 – Steve Shannon – Break The Chains – 3:37 8 – Tim Miner – Amazing Grace – 4:20 9 – Angie Alan – It’s Not Worth It – 3:57 10 – D-Boy – God Gave Us The Power – 5:06 11 – Ken Tamplin – Take ‘Em Back – 3:32 12 – Rick Elias – I’ll Be There – 4:01 13 – Steve Shannon – Power To Win – 3:41 14 – Liaison – Who Can Heal The Pain – 4:00
