Category: Albums

Greg Scheelar – Run Very Fast – 2008

Greg Scheelar is an independent artist from Winnipeg Canada.

His CD, Run Very Fast, is a decidedly easy listening affair but don’t let that discourage you from giving it a listen.

If you want an upbeat track try “St. Anselms Prayer”, it should have your toes tapping. The album is very strong lyrically and very well produced.

It actually features several members from The Real 80’s CCM family (meet them in our Facebook group). Join us in supporting independent artists and give this album a listen.

Track Listing:
1 – Dancin With The Glory
2 – Prayer of Confession (Confiteor Deo)
3 – Run Very Fast
4 – My Jesus I Love Thee
5 – Gloria
6 – St. Anselms Prayer
7 – Abide With Me
8 – The Moon And The Stars

Jerusalem – Volume 1 – 1978

Beakthrough Swedish rock reached North America in 1978 thanks to Jerusalem and the vision of Ulf Christiansson. At that time there was precious little rock’n’roll available in the CCM scene, as the metal breakout of the late 80s was still a decade away.

Jerusalem are the Swedish pioneers of hard rock that parallel what Resurrection Band were doing in Chicago, but with a European stamp.

Everything about this band and this debut album is pure fun, pure rock, and pure CCM. They could have been a Swedish April Wine or some other band. The fact that they chose record a separate English version of their albums was a bit of a struggle for them, but it was a choice that allowed them to become a worldwide sensation over the next few years.

Track Listing:
1 – Noa – 3:30
2 – Jesus Is The Most Fantastic – 2:23
3 – Maybe – 4:22
4 – Daddy Who Has Made – 3:50
5 – Mr. Ego – 3:22
6 – Come To Me – 3:40
7 – If You Only Care To Listen – 4:08
8 – Neutral – 2:42
9 – Days Passing By – 4:54
10 – What If Jesus Is Right – 3:34
11 – High Tide – 5:26

Credits:
Bass – Bertil Sörensson
Drums – Danne Gansmoe
Keyboards – Dan Tibell
Vocals, Guitar – Ulf Christiansson

Quickflight – Decent Beat – 1983

This was the second, and last, album from Quickflight. After their first album their record label, Tunesmith, closed their doors and Quickflight had to find a new label.

They found a new home at Star Song and this album was on its way. They headed into Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, BC to record this album.

It was one of the first Christians recorded in digital format and was recorded almost entirely using synthesizers and sequencers. The result was a pretty distinctive sound for the time. New wave was in but this recording style made this album stand out.

Track Listing:
1 – Water Of Life – 4:58
2 – Remote Control – 2:43
3 – In The World – 3:52
4 – Safety In Numbers – 3:10
5 – System Breakdown – 4:15
6 – Fantasy – 4:00
7 – Fade To Glory – 4:25
8 – Messages – 2:00
9 – D.M.X. – 2:32
10 – Metro Alien – 5:14
11 – I Dream – 2:52

Stronghold – Fortress Rock – 1982

Stronghold were a 70’s holdover hard rock band. I’ve seen them referred to as heavy metal but I would argue they are a hard rock band in the tradition of late 70’s rock.

With hints of Black Sabbath and/or Jethro Tull this album celebrates that hard rock sound. Personally I think the Vocoder was over used but it does give their distinctive sound that their fans loved.

This is a hard rock album that will leave you wanting for more as it is only a 8 track album.

Track Listing:
1 – Stronghold – 4:45
2 – Barabbas – 5:35
3 – Dreams & Pretty Pictures – 4:31
4 – No Superstars For Jesus – 6:55
5 – Daybreak’s Coming – 6:37
6 – Desert Walker – 5:05
7 – The Called – 3:59
8 – Nobody Owes You Nuthin’ – 4:02

Credits:
Bass – C.C. Cupp
Drums, Percussion – Jay Molina
Guitar – Pete Moore
Vocals, Keyboards – Gary Smith

David Edwards – Dreams, Tales and Lullabies – 1985

This was the third and final release from David Edwards. If your a fan of his previous two albums you’re probably not going to be a fan of this one.

To call this easy listening is even a stretch. It has a symphonic sound that is true to its title of Lullabies. While there was a cult following for this album I believe it marked the end of his music career.

I’m really at a loss for words on this album as I was a huge fan but was left bewildered by this release. That said, it is very well done for what it is so I can respect the people who like it.

Track Listing:
1 – My Empty Pockets – 3:09
2 – Diamond’s Lullaby – 5:01
3 – When Morning Comes – 4:50
4 – The Son and the Angels – 4:14
5 – I Saw Your Prayer – 4:02
6 – When He Comes – 5:10
7 – Grandfather’s House – 4:04
8 – When At Night – 2:34

Credits:
Barry Miller Kaye – Producer
Andrea Saparoff – Conducted and Arranged
Mark Heard – Recorded and Mixed
Steve Hall – Mastered
John Flynn – Engineer
Doug Mathews – Copyist
Paul Gross – Album Design
James Henry – Cover Illustration
Gary Whitlock – Photography

Body and Soul – Something’s Going On Here – 1983

Body and Soul was:

Rob Watson – Daniel Amos / The Swirling Eddies
Arthur Fhardy – The Swirling Eddies
Darrell Washington – The Rap-Sures

Very little is known about this project that resulted in these 2 songs. This is too bad because this was very good music and perfectly right for 1983. I’m sorry we can’t tell you more but you’ll just have to sit back and listen to the songs.

Track Listing:
A – Something’s Going On Here – 3:41
B – The Graylands – 5:59

Credits:
Musician – Arthur Fhardy
Musician – Darrell Washington
Musician – Rob Watson
Recorded At – 3-D Studios
Mixed At – 3-D Studios
Phonographic Copyright – Parbar Music
Copyright – Parbar Music

The Lead – The Past Behind – 1987

The Past Behind is a thrash album by the metal band The Lead that was released in 1987.

Strangely they re-recorded the album and released it on R.E.X. Records with a new cover in 1988. As I have no knowledge of Thrash Metal I have no idea if this is a good album or not.

Track Listing:
1 – Abomination – 1:58
2 – National Pride – 0:40
3 – He Won’t Take A Joke – 3:26
4 – No Religion – 2:04
5 – Old Warrior – 1:16
6 – Tunnel Vision – 4:45
7 – Puritan – 0:12
8 – Jesus Became Sin – 2:07

Credits:
Backing Vocals – Ivan Zyklon Gripweed
Drums, Vocals – Robbie Christie
Executive-Producer – Doug Mann
Guitar, Vocals – Julio Rey
Photography By – Leyla Arner
Producer, Engineer, Backing Vocals – Mike McNamee
Vocals, Bass – Nina Llopis
Written-By – Julio Rey

Randy Matthews – The Edge of Flight – 1990

This was the final album Randy Matthews released using his own name.

He did release an album in 2008 using the name Red Beard which was pirate oriented. Yes songs and stories about pirates. So essentially this was his last album and what an album it was.

I believe this was his best album ever. Again, we have a Bob Seger sound that at this point he has polished to be his own. The guitar work on this album is absolutely brilliant.

The album doesn’t credit any musicians so I can only assume it was Randy’s work. This is simply one of the greatest CCM rock albums ever released.

Track Listing:
1 – Man Of The Morning Sun – 5:34
2 – Defender Of The Faith – 5:18
3 – Beautiful Hands – 4:56
4 – Heart’s Still Beating – 4:08
5 – Sir – 4:33
6 – The Dream – 5:19
7 – China Sea – 4:33
8 – Ti Chapé – 4:52
9 – What A Good Lady – 4:46
10 – Make Believe – 5:26
11 – Lookin’ Back – 3:59
12 – Morning Sun (Reprise) – 1:43

Credits:
Art Direction – Diane Painter
Mastered By – Ken Love
Mixed By – Billy Smiley, Lee Groitzsch
Photography – Paul Vozdic
Producer – Billy Smiley
Recorded By – Lee Groitzsch

Justus – Don’t Turn Away – 1984

This was the first of two albums from Justus. Justice were brothers Rod and Kevin Pahl and Donny Hackett.

Other than that I know very little about the band. The album was on Tunesmith records and to the best of my knowledge only released in Canada.

The album is a new wave rock mix and is very good. The band was tight and the production quality is quite high which is surprising as Tunesmith was not really known for having high quality production.

Note: although I always had thought that “Justus” was just a play on the words “Just Us” there’s more to it. It’s a reference to a person named “Jesus Justus” who the Apostle Paul gives a shoutout to in the greeting section of his letter to the Colossians.

Track Listing:
1 – Face The Music – 4:00
2 – Never Let You Down – 3:52
3 – What Are We Doing Here – 2:53
4 – Quarter To Two – 3:15
5 – Just Keep Running – 4:25
6 – Don’t Turn Away – 3:17
7 – Won’t Let Go – 2:30
8 – Surrender – 4:15
9 – Take Me Home – 3:45
10 – Suicidal Teens – 3:05

Credits:
Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals – Rod Pahl
Songwriter, Drums, Keyboards, Vocals – Kevin Pahl
Songwriter, Bass, Keyboards, Lead Vocals – Donny Hackett
Co-producer – Brian Campbell
Engineer – Brian Campbell
Mixed By – Brian Campbell
Producer – Pahl Hackett
Album Photography – Joshua Berson

Sweet Comfort Band – Hold On Tight – 1979

The 3rd album from Sweet Comfort Band gave us more of what we heard in the first two.

They are joined on this album by Richie Furay who fits in perfectly with what is an easy listening album. Really, it’s just more of the same as previous releases and doesn’t really offer the listener much to get excited about.

The highlight of the album is the track Angel. It shows that these guys could have done a Rock & Roll album, but chose instead to take the safe sales route.

Track Listing:
1 – Hold On Tight 3:20
2 – Take It – Save It 3:17
3 – Falling Star 3:04
4 – You’re The One 3:10
5 – Angel 3:10
6 – Chasin’ The Wind 3:29
7 – Don’t Tell Me You Love Me 3:07
8 – Undecided 3:53
9 – Carry Me 4:39
10 – More Than You Need 4:32
11 – Find Your Way 4:09

Credits:
Alto Saxophone, Soloist – David Hlebo (tracks: A4)
Arranged By [Horns] – Bob Wilson
Backing Vocals, Guitar [First Solo] – Richie Furay (tracks: B3)
Bass [Alembic Bass] – Kevin Thomson
Drums, Vocals – Rick Thomson
Engineer – Jack Joseph Puig
Finger Snaps – Jack Joseph Puig (tracks: A4)
Graphics [Sleeve Graphics] – Robin Hedrick
Guitar, Vocals – Randy Thomas
Horns – Seawind Horns
Keyboards, Vocals – Bryan Duncan
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Percussion – Alex MacDougall
Photography By – Alan Bergman
Producer, Keyboards [Additional], Backing Vocals, Programmed By [Synthesizer] – Tom Stipe
Strings – Sid Sharp and the L.A. Super Strings