Category: Albums

Electrik – Love Buzz Harmony: The Retroarchives – 2004

Electrik started in the late 80’s in Los Angeles. They actually did things a little different than others in that they actually didn’t care about their JPM and instead sang about regular topics with a Christian overview. Unfortunately this obviously winning formula just didn’t work for the CCM industry as obviously the bands JPM would be way too low for them. They released their first 3 track EP in 1989 and it was well received. They continued to play in California and as I said were well liked even appearing at Cornerstone in 1991. In 1993 they self released a 7 track album and again it was very well received but not by the CCM industry. Instead the bands popularity remained “underground” and centered in the Los Angeles area. Luckily in 2004 Retroactive records released the album we have here today. It included the 7 track album, their 3 track demo EP and 2 newly recorded tracks. Obviously I never heard this album before today and that’s a real pity because I love these guys. They are an excellent hard rock band but the real stand out to me is the quality of the writing in these songs. These guys did what I was begging the industry to do in the mid 80’s. That was write songs for youth to help them understand the issues that effect them everyday with a Christian overview. If you want to hear what I mean simply listen to the track “Good Thing”. It is an excellent track with an excellent message to teen boys. Anyway this is the album the industry needed but never wanted. Thank goodness Retroactive Records made it available for us.

Tracklist
1 – Krush My Groove (Make A Wish) – 4:51
2 – Good Thing – 4:05
3 – She Loves – 4:53
4 – Never Too Much – 4:03
5 – Show Me Your Soul – 3:55
6 – Blindman’s Holiday – 3:54
7 – Nu Style – 3:03
8 – Under A Rainbow – 4:50
9 – Have U Ever? – 5:04
10 – Shine Candy Shine – 3:48
11 – Daisy – 4:40
12 – Count It Joy – 4:44

Credits
Bass Guitar, Vocals – Eddie Krystal
Drums, Vocals – Michael Kei
Guest, Bass Guitar – Tracie Ferrie
Guitar, Vocals – Jett Stevens
Lead Vocals – Benjamin Leigh
Performer – Electrik
Written-By – Electrik

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – BGK Records
Copyright © – BGK Records
Manufactured By – Retroactive Records

D-Boy Rodriguez – Plantin’ A Seed – 1989

This album starts the sad story of D-Boy Rodriguez. If you don’t know he was murdered but we will cover that when we listen to his last album. For this album we will cover his rise. D-Boy Rodriguez (Danny Rodriguez) was raised in the church by parents that had a keen interest in teens lost on the streets. Though they had a church in PA they often preached on the streets of New York. That interest in street teens led to Danny’s interest in the music of the streets. Danny’s sister also became interested in the street sound and went on to have a couple albums after Danny’s passing. I don’t understand much of the story of how this project started but somehow Tim Miner was able to talk Frontline Records into taking on Danny. A subsequent visit to the studio which included Tim Miner and Tommy Sims and this album was born. While yes there were other Christian rap albums out at the time This one had a more mainstream sound than the others. As such it did quite well and Frontline was happy to release a second one. In my opinion the highlight of the album is “Church Hoppers” which touches on a topic I don’t think anyone else has ever covered. The track is hilarious and may be the first Christian track to use a sample of secular song. In fact it might be the first sampling in the industry period. Sampling just wasn’t big yet in secular or Christian markets. The album actually peaked at No. 35 on Billboard’s CCM album charts but needless to say Christian radio was not ready for this sound in early 1991 so it received almost no radio play. Here again we have an album that is not in one of my favourite genres but it is a great album. Even if you don’t like rap I think you should give this one a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Plantin’ A Seed – 3:47
2 – Church Hoppers – 3:55
3 – Pick Yourself Up – 3:53
4 – When I Strut – 4:36
5 – Doggin’ The Devil – 3:30
6 – King David – 3:56
7 – It’s A Disease – 3:40
8 – G.O.D.S. Possee In Effect – 5:30
9 – Stompin’ Satan – 2:54

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Backing Vocals – Cindy Cruse, Ronnie V.
Engineer – Brent Jeffers, David Ebensberger, John Wirtz
Other [Grooming] – Kimberlee Couts
Photography By – Michael Seeley
Producer, Engineer, Bass, Recorded By, Mixed By, Keyboards [Keys], Drum Programming, Guitar, Backing Vocals – Tommy Simms
Producer, Engineer, Bass, Recorded By, Mixed By, Keyboards [Keys], Guitar, Backing Vocals – Tim Miner
Written-By – D-Boy*, Tim Miner, Tommy Simms

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Frontline Records
Copyright © – Frontline Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company
Published By – Broken Songs
Published By – Pretty Mondo Stuff
Published By – Birdwing Music
Produced For – Blade Productions
Recorded At – Knightlight Studios
Mixed At – Knightlight Studios
Mastered At – Nimbus

Koinonia – Koinonia – 1989

This is the last album from Koinonia. They had a fantastic run and it’s hard to believe there were only 4 albums and only 3 of them were studio albums. I think we can all agree that Koinonia were bigger than there discography shows. I noticed this album actually leans more towards easy listening than their previous jazz fusion sound and as such it’s not quite as good. I still think it’s a good album but the sound on several tracks is not really them per se. I don’t know if this had anything to do with the fact this is their last album but obviously the band was leaning towards a change. Anyway all the members of the band over the years went on to successful studio careers but none of them had a particularly successful headliner album again.

Tracklist
1 – Talk About It – 4:50
2 – We Know The Way By Heart – 3:54
3 – Alegria – 4:01
4 – Is It Too Late – 5:01
5 – Mistral – 4:56
6 – We’re All In This Together – 4:17
7 – Come Share My World – 4:29
8 – You Are My Love – 4:24
9 – Straight To Paradise – 3:51
10 – Lyn – 2:52

Credits
Backing Vocals – Alfie Silas, Brenda Eager*, Jean Johnson, Jeff Pescetto, Lou Pardini, Patti Henely, Rose Banks
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – Bill Maxwell
Engineer – Richard McKernan
Executive Producer – Jerry Levin
Guitar – Dean Parks, Michael Landau
Guitar [Acoustic] – Abraham Laboriel
Keyboards – Harlan Rogers, Lou Pardini
Lead Vocals – Lou Pardini
Percussion – Michael Fisher
Producer – Jerry Hey

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – De La Hey Music
Copyright © – Geffin Music
Copyright © – Guidum Music
Copyright © – Harlan Rogers Music
Copyright © – Margarine Moon Music
Copyright © – Monotone Music
Copyright © – Pardini Music
Copyright © – Reed Vertelney Music
Copyright © – Royal/Dale Music
Copyright © – S.S.K. Blackwood
Copyright © – Screen Gems
Copyright © – Sunhill Music
Published By – Word (Uk) Ltd.

Malcolm Wild – Broken Chains – 1979

You likely know Malcolm better as a member of the Malcolm & Alwyn duo but he did have a solo album and this is it. After the second Malcolm & Alwyn album they went their separate ways with Malcolm moving to the U.S. to work with Maranatha music. This is the album that came out of that relationship. The album features many of the Gang from Calvary Chapel Cosa Mesa including almost all the members of Gentle Faith but with drumming duty being shared between John Mehler and Greg Gustafson. There were many others appearing but I won’t list them all because it would take quite awhile, there was that many of them. Anyway this was my first time hearing this album and while I do like the album it just doesn’t have the magic touch that Malcolm and Alwyn had when they worked together. It ha s a strong 70’s feel and like I say it’s pretty good but it really lacked a track that stood out and made me want to listen to the rest of the album. That said this is still a great 70’s album and it deserves a listen.

Tracklist
1 – When You Call – 3:45
2 – Morning Star – 3:05
3 – Broken Chains – 4:53
4 – Was It You My Love? – 3:50
5 – Dreams – 3:49
6 – Pride (Before A Fall) – 3:44
7 – The Best Is You – 3:04
8 – You’re The Reason – 3:45
9 – Love Is You – 3:14
10 – The Prize – 3:32

Credits
Arranged By [Basic Track Arrangement Assistance] – Don Gerber, Henry Cutrona
Arranged By [String Arrangements] – Colin Owen
Art Direction [Inner Sleeve] – Neal Buchanan
Artwork, Art Direction – Jim Shepard
Co-producer – John Pac, Malcolm Wild
Concept By [Cover] – Malcolm Wild
Engineer – Chris Taylor, Colin Owen
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Photography By – Linda Dillon
Photography By [Assisted By] – Gary De Lacy, Steve Churchill
Vocals, Harmony Vocals – Malcolm Wild

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Pilgrim Records
Recorded At – Maranatha! Studio
Recorded At – The Old Smithy Recording Studio
Mixed At – The Old Smithy Recording Studio
Mastered At – A&M Studios

Julie Miller – He Walks Through Walls – 1991

I am the first to admit that Julie Miller’s voice is not for everyone. Personally I love it and I love her music. Julie’s husband Buddy Miller handled all the instruments on the album and did a great job. The album also included backing vocals from Colvin, Williams, Grant and Willard. Mark Heard and Reverend Dan Smith. In particular the track with Reverend Dan Smith, “Don’t Let The Devil Ride” is a fantastic track and my pick for the best track on the album. That said this album also included the track “Broken Things” which Julie actually rerecorded for her 1999 album with that title. I think most of her fans far prefer this track. Anyway give the album a listen and if you like her voice I guarantee you will love this album.

Tracklist
1 – I Will Follow You – 4:16
2 – He Walks Through Walls – 4:08
3 – Never Gonna Give Up On You – 3:12
4 – Angelina – 3:52
5 – Broken Things – 3:14
6 – Just Want You – 2:54
7 – Don’t Let The Devil Ride – 2:10
8 – Naked Heart – 2:50
9 – How Long – 2:39
10 – Manger Throne – 3:02

Credits
Arranged By – Julie Miller
backing vocals – Colvin, Williams, Grant and Willard. Mark Heard, Reverend Dan Smith
Composed By – Julie Miller (tracks: 1 to 6, 8 to 10)
Engineer – Dan Garcia, Dan Willard, Ted Spencer
Guitar, Bass Guitar, Drums, Backing Vocals – Buddy Miller
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Mixed By – Dan Garcia (tracks: 4, 7, 9), Dave Leonard*
Producer – Buddy Miller, Dan Posthuma, Julie Miller
Written-By – Buddy Miller (tracks: 1)

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Dogtown Studio

Labor of Love – Message to the Bands – 1983

Labor of Love is as advertised, it is a message to all bands Secular and Christian about the need to follow Jesus, the very first song on the album is titled Message to the Bands and the very last song/monolog on side B is titled 6. Unleash the Spirit (2:15 Minutes) is a testimony to other bands to follow Jesus. This particular album is a collectors item and rich with the Holy Spirit in the true nature of Contemporary Christian Music and one might say the beginning of a generation of Christian Music, which would make Mark Krischak a pioneer of the industry as Michael Knott is often titled. In the early 1980’s I personally attended the Saturday Night Concert Series at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa with many of my High School/College friends and watched Mark Krishak perform many times when he was the lead singer for the Lifesavors, I owned all their albums, both the Lifesavors and the one Labor of Love album. Ironically I don’t remember Labor of Love ever performing at Calvary Costa Mesa, their album just appeared at Maranatha Music (a branch of Calvary Costa Mesa) and all my friends knew it was Mark Krishak, formerly of the Lifesavors, that made Labor of Love. Although Labor of Love didn’t get the attention level of Lifesavors their one album, Message To The Bands, had tremendous circulation in the early 1980’s

Contributor – Bob Bright

Tracklist
1 – Message To The Bands – 2:38
2 – Dancin’ – 2:27
3 – Will You Be There – 1:43
4 – I Say Start – 2:00
5 – I Don’t Do That Anymore – 2:36
6 – I See Lots A People – 2:47
7 – I Need You – 2:03
8 – All My Love – 1:52
9 – It’s So Simple – 3:09
10 – Oh Israel – 2:31
11 – Ah Ah – 2:43
12 – Modern World – 3:58
13 – Unleash My Spirit – 2:15

Mark Lowry – For The First Time On Planet Earth – 1989

Comedian and singer Mark Lowry is back with his 7th album and his first on Word records. At this point in his career Mark was also in the Gaither Vocal Band as the baritone. I can not imagine how busy his life was at this time. He was a very popular member of the Gaither Vocal Band as his sense of humour went over very well with their audiences. This album is a mix of worship songs, humorous songs, and spoken word. As near as I can tell this was the first of his albums that was released outside of the U.S. (though only to Canada) which surprises me as I think his humour would have had worldwide acceptance.

Tracklist
1 – I’m Here To Tell You – 3:04
2 – Noah – 3:16
3 – Feelings Or Faith – 1:13
4 – Alarm Clock – 5:34
5 – You Can Be Sure – 3:51
6 – The Church Brat – 0:48
7 – Psychiatric Help – 4:15
8 – Wrestling In The Kitchen – 1:03
9 – Mama Had “Enough” – 3:44
10 – Miss Barth – 4:31
11 – Summacum Laude – 1:49
12 – Living Love – 4:31
13 – His Love Says – 3:23
14 – Bedtime Stories – 5:24
15 – The Greatest Story Ever Told – 7:53
16 – What A Savior He Is – 4:11

Out Of The Grey – Out Of The Grey – 1991

One of the best debut albums in CCM history, Out of the Gery’s self-titled released was so “out of the ordinary” for mainstream CCM as to make one wonder how why they signed to such a major label as Sparrow. Husband and wife duo Christine and Scott Dente made a great career of thoughtful, intelligent and stirring music. Scott is a very underrated guitar player (acoustic or electric) and Christine’s voice is both diverse and consistent. I saw Scott play with Phil Keaggy and Scott did more than just hold his own with the legend. Christine’s voice will sometimes (especially here) draw comparisons to Over the Rhine and The Innocence Mission, with less lilt and more punch. The pop and radio friendly songs are very good, but it is on the more adventurous tunes that the depth and creativity really shows. “Write My Life” has the previously mentioned Innocence Mission feel and matches vocal and music perfectly. Remember this continues to sound fresh and He Is Not Silent is nothing short of brilliant. Literally one could make a mention of every song here and find something worthy to discuss. there is not one forgettable song with only “Dance” not quit fitting with the rest of the album, though it is a good song on its own. Their career has not kept up the steam the debut built up and there has not been a new recording in several years, but one should not think they are not making music or out of the industry. Both continue to appear of friends’ albums and Scott’s guitar work can still be heard on occasional releases. That all should not discount just how great an initial release this album is.

Contributor David Lowman – https://legacyccmsgreatestalbums.wordpress.com/

Tracklist
1 – Wishes – 4:58
2 – Write My Life – 4:11
3 – Remember This – 4:31
4 – The Dance – 3:36
5 – He Is Not Silent – 4:00
6 – Better Way To Fall – 4:31
7 – Time Will Tell – 3:21
8 – Perfect Circle – 5:00
9 – The Only Moment – 3:15
10 – The Deep – 3:21

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals – Scott Denté
Art Direction, Design – Heather Horne
Backing Vocals – Vicki Hampton, Vince Ebo
Bass – Tommy Sims
Booking – Jeff Roberts & Associates
Drums – Chris McHugh, Steve Grossman
Electric Guitar – Jerry McPherson
Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Kevin Twit
Engineer [Assistant] – Buzz Leffler, Garrett Rockey, Jonathan Beach
Executive-Producer – Peter York
Mastered By – Ken Love
Mixed By – Bill Deaton, Craig Hansen, Rick Will
Mixed By [Assisted By] – Graham Lewis
Percussion – Eric Darken
Performer [Out Of The Grey] – Christine Denté, Scott Denté
Photography By – Chris Carroll
Piano, Keyboards, Programmed By – Charlie Peacock
Producer, Arranged By – Charlie Peacock
Programmed By [Additional Programming], Engineer – Craig Hansen
Programmed By [Sampling] – Blair Masters
Tambourine – Rick Will
Vocals – Christine Denté
Written-By – Charlie Peacock, Christine Denté, Scott Denté

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – The Sparrow Corporation
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The Sparrow Corporation
Published By – Sparrow Song
Published By – Andi Beat Goes On Music
Recorded At – Kaleidoscope Sound
Mixed At – Digital Recorders
Mixed At – Sixteenth Avenue Sound
Mixed At – Kaleidoscope Sound
Mastered At – Mastermix
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia
Distributed By – Christian Marketing Canada, Ltd.

Gary Rand – Break That Ground – 1981

You probably know Gary more because of his second album but this is his first album which is far more worship oriented. Gary was one of those kids who was a musician from an early age. His first group was The Crimson Bridge who had an album back in 1971. He went unrecorded for many years but in 1981 Milk & Honey records released this his first solo album. As I said this is more of a worship oriented album but is very good for that style. Gary always struggled with the Christian music industry as he wanted to sing about current affairs in the world but the record companies wanted him to just sing about Jesus and keep his JPM count as high as possible. This album doesn’t really show that struggle but it was his first album and on a persons first album you pretty well have to do what the record company wants.

Tracklist
1 – Family Of Love – 3:12
2 – Isaiah 58 – 3:00
3 – You Have Turned My Sorrow Into Dancing (Psalm 30:11) – 2:27
4 – Let Justice Roll Down (Amos 5) – 3:29
5 – Time Of Jubilee – 3:02
6 – Break That Ground (Hosea 10:12) – 3:04
7 – Psalm 146 – 2:05
8 – Pass The Peace – 2:25
9 – Communion Song – 1:31
10 – Narrow Way – 2:53
11 – Psalm 121 – 2:20

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Piano – Gary Rand
Bass – Andy Rae
Drums – Keith Edwards
Engineer – Brian Tankersley, Larry Goode, Rick Thigpen
Guitar – Jerry McPherson
Keyboards, Synthesizer, Engineer – Paul Mills
Percussion – Russell Dunlap
Producer, Arranged By, Flute, Synthesizer – Fletch Wiley
Saxophone – Larry Slezak

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Singspiration
Copyright © – Singspiration
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – Rivendell Sound Recorders
Recorded By – Sam’s Tape Truck
Mixed At – Rivendell Sound Recorders
Mastered At – Masterfonics
Pressed By – Electrosound Group Midwest, Inc.

Eternal Rock – Threshold – 1980

Eternal Rock were a band out of the Netherlands that you have likely never ever heard of. This is their only album and it leans rather 70’s with a mix of male and female vocals. It was released on Eurosound which was the in house label for Eurosound Studio’s. The album does have some interesting tracks with covers of 2nd Chapter Of Acts’ “Mansion Builder”, Larry Norman’s “I Wish We’d All Been Ready”, which they strangely named “I’ve Wish We’ve All Been Ready”, and finally a version of Bill Withers “Lean On Me” which they reworded as “Lean On Him”. All in all a pretty good effort and maybe with a little more work they could have released a mainstream album outside of the Netherlands.

Tracklist
1 – Life Can Be Hard – 3:44
2 – Mansion Builder – 3:20
3 – I’ve Wish We’ve All Been Ready – 3:40
4 – Blinded By Science – 4:09
5 – Lean On Him – 2:39
6 – Love Is… – 4:19
7 – Threshold – 4:21
8 – You Can Change – 2:30
9 – The Way I Feel – 2:57
10 – Guess Who’s Coming? – 3:10
11 – Show Me The Way – 4:23

Credits
Bass – Hans Roman
Design – Leon Limpens
Drums – Klaas Den Hollander
Engineer, Recorded By – Don Vonk
Executive Producer – Wim Sanders
Guitar – Norbert Schmidt
Lead Vocals – Susanne Sanders
Organ [Fender Rhodes], Organ, Synthesizer, Lead Vocals, Strings – Peter Roman
Producer, Recorded By – Norbert Schmidt
Tenor Saxophone – Jan Kuipers, Jurrie Eisinga
Vocals – Meineke Roman
Vocals, Strings – Veronica Roman
Written-By – Peter Roman, Susanne Roman

Companies, etc.
Recorded By – Eurosound Mobile
Recorded At – Plahadima
Recorded At – Eurosound Mobile