David Coate became a Christian at the age of 17. He had actually put away his guitar after finding his faith until he saw a Phil Keaggy concert. He realized at that point that he could be a part of the growing CCM music movement. This is his first album after putting together The David Coate Group. The rest of the group was also new performers in the industry. I would classify the album as light rock with some definite rock moments. The album cover screams 80’s though the album itself is a mix of 70’s and 80’s. This was a nice precursor to his sec0ond album which I think is a little better but this one is definitely a great listen.
Tracklist 1 – Sing To The Lord (Psalm 33) – 5:15 2 – Follow Me – 4:34 3 – Time Keeps On Running – 4:20 4 – It’s The Way – 3:43 5 – Where Will You Be – 4:08 6 – Galatians 2:20 – 5:38 7 – Creation – 6:26 8 – What A Love – 4:59 9 – Abundantly – 3:46
Credits Backing Vocals – Mary Ellen Hopperstad Backing Vocals, Keyboards – Kevin Wells Bass – Bob Tillman Drums – Phil Bonomo Producer, Lead Vocals, Guitar – David Coate Saxophone – Larry James Strings – Anne Herrmann
I am guessing that Split Level was popular in Germany as Pila Music which is a German record company released four albums from the band. This EP was released to coincide with their ‘Artists Against Racism’ tour in Germany. Usually you plan a tour after releasing an album but oddly they planned the tour first but things do work different in the German music scene. Split Level were also named the ‘Best Christian Rock Band’ by the European Christian Booksellers Journal for 1985 on the strength of this EP. I’m amazed these guys were so big in Europe but I never heard of them until recently as they were never released in Canada and I don’t remember reading anything about them in Christian media at the time. As for the album it’s excellent as all their albums are. Colour Wheel was chosen as the first single but I lean more towards Twist In My Sobriety but it was a cover of a Tanita Tikaram song and covers as singles are always risky. Personally I think Colour Wheel is the weakest track on the EP but what do I know. Also of note is that the album was produced by Andy Piercy of After The Fire fame and he helped with the writing of the title track too.
Tracklist 1 – Call Me White Call Me Black – 5:03 2 – Pocket Of Change – 3:47 3 – Colour Wheel – 3:43 4 – Twist In My Sobriety (Mondo Mix) – 3:43 5 – Borderland (Non-Stop Mix) – 3:52 6 – Alone (Penny Whistle Mix) – 3:26
Credits Bass, Vocals – Gary Preston Design [Sleeve Design] – Dan Donovan Drums, Vocals – Rob Craner Engineer – Paul Burton Engineer [Assistant] – Trevor Michael Fiddle, Cymbal – Jean Pierre Rudolph Photography By [Booklet] – Colin E. Mill Photography By [Inlay] – Georg Karlstetter Producer – Andy Piercy Vocals, Guitar – Adrian Thompson
Buddy Greene was born and raised in Macon GA and had been a part of the local music scene since he was 10 years old. Later he scored a position in Jerry Reed’s band. I doubt there was a better learning opportunity for any performer due to Jerry’s varied styles and work with so many great artists. In 1985 Buddy and his wife moved to Nashville to continue his music career. In late 85 Bob MacKenzie was able to pull together an album deal for Buddy with Refuge/Fortress records and this album is the result of that deal. The album was a bit of a departure from the regular Refuge album in that it is a country album but there’s no Rock or New Wave here which is what we were used to from Refuge. I’ll be honest 80’s country is not a genre I generally like but I must say I love this album as it is some really good quality country. Naturally I missed this one in the 80’s but that might be for the best. I probably wouldn’t have appreciated it back then.
Tracklist 1 – Praise You, Lord – 3:48 2 – Keep Your Head In The Word – 3:30 3 – Holy Father – 2:52 4 – He Is – 3:30 5 – Since Jesus Came Into My Heart (Tender Love And Care) – 3:21 6 – Lord, I Want To Thank You – 2:04 7 – Virtuous Woman – 3:54 8 – More Like You – 2:50 9 – Rest Awhile – 2:52 10 – Short Of The Mark – 2:52 11 – Oh Lord, How I Need You – 3:02
Credits Acoustic Guitar – Buddy Greene, Don Potter, Jon Goin, Russell Barenberg Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica, Harmony Vocals, Jaw Harp – Buddy Greene Backing Vocals – Tim Holder, Tricia Walker Bass – Duncan Mullins, Jimmie Lee Choir – Alex Mebane, Ashley Cleveland, Buddy Greene, Dawn Rodgers, Doug Mills, Karen Staley, Lynn Hodges, Phil Madeira, Ric McClure Dobro – Jerry Douglas Drums – Kenny Malone Electric Guitar – Brent Mason, Jimmy Nalls Engineer [Additional] – Spence Chrislu Executive-Producer – Bob Mackenzie Fiddle – Sam Bush Harmonica, Harmony Vocals – Buddy Greene Harmony Vocals – Karen Staley, Tricia Walker Keyboards – David Innis, Gary Prim Mandolin – Bobby Clark, Sam Bush Mastered By – Hank Williams Mixed By – Brent King Percussion [Wooden Agogos], Tambourine – Bubba Smith Photography By – Mike Mitchell Producer – Bubba Smith Rap [The Rap-it-ups] – Alex Mebane, Ashley Cleveland, Dawn Rodgers, Doug Mills, Karen Staley, Phil Madeira Recorded By – Doug Sarrett, Lynn Fuston Tambourine – Bubba Smith Words By, Music By – Ashley Cleveland, Buddy Greene, Rufus H. McDaniel, Rusty Ingraham, Debbie Kaye, Pete Kaye
Kind of an odd live release from The Call here. For some reason Mark Heard and the guys at Fingerprint records in conjunction with Conspiracy Music decided to release a The Call live recording from 1990. This album was recorded on the support tour for Red Moon album at The Coach House in San Juan, CA in the Fall of 1990. As the band was under contract to MCA Records in 1990 I am assuming this was a recording the band arranged. Further making this release a little stranger is the choice of tracks. Normally when you put out a live album you leave a lot of the newest tracks and concentrate on the bands singles from across their catalogue. This album actually includers 5 tracks from Red Moon so it’s actually a relatively correct album of that tour. While rarely done I think it’s kind of cool. The album itself is poorly recorded with some soft clipping and horrendous compression but we’ve done the best we could to make it sound a little better. As for the album it’s great and was sought after for one main reason in the CCM industry and that is for the live version of “I Still Believe” which is very very good. Anyway there are several great The Call albums in the 2000’s but this is probably my favourite.
Tracklist 1 – Floating Back – 4:17 2 – A Swim In The Ocean – 7:27 3 – This Is Your Life – 4:02 4 – I Don’t Wanna – 5:19 5 – You Run – 7:32 6 – Family – 4:16 7 – Same Old Story – 3:52 8 – Even Now – 5:01 9 – Red Moon – 3:15 10 – Oklahoma – 5:29 11 – You Were There – 4:29 12 – I Still Believe (Great Design) – 5:30 13 – Let The Day Begin – 4:25
Credits Bass – Ralph Patlan Drums, Vocals – Scott Musick Engineer [Live Sound Engineered By] – Kraig Black Engineer [Recording Engineered By] – Jim Scott Executive-Producer – Dan Russell, Monte J. Robison, Taylor Robison Guitar, Vocals – Tom Ferrier Keyboards, Vocals – Jim Goodwin Lead Vocals, Bass, Guitar – Michael Been Mastered By – Peter Thomas* Percussion, Backing Vocals – Dan Hallas Photography By – Dorothy Greco, Lindsay Ljungkull Producer – Michael Been, The Call
I’m a little unclear as to the origins of this concert. The album itself says “The Blues Night” has been recorded during the Blues – Tour in November ’93 in Gouda, Holland”. I have no idea who’s tour this was but it really doesn’t matter but the historian in me wanted to know. Anyway this album is a real treat because of the inclusion of Trace Balin. Before this album she was better known as a pop oriented artist but since this album she became known as a blues singer. Musically there is no stand out moment on the album but that’s not a criticism. In fact the album is solid from start to finish and there’s not a bad track on it. Each artist contributes a few tracks and it all comes together for the full album.
Tracklist 1 – Darrell Mansfield – Boom Boom – 3:07 2 – Darrell Mansfield – You Know It Ain’t Right – 4:10 3 – Darrell Mansfield – The Mission – 5:14 4 – Trace Balin – Jesus Mentioned My Name – 4:46 5 – Trace Balin – A Better Way – 4:03 6 – Trace Balin – When I Get To Heaven – 3:51 7 – Glenn Kaiser – Great Change – 3:31 8 – Glenn Kaiser – Witness Cloud – 2:15 9 – Glenn Kaiser – Somebody On Your Bond – 2:53 10 – Glenn Kaiser – Shaky Ground – 5:09 11 – Larry Howard – Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven – 9:11 12 – Larry Howard – It’s Only You – 10:37 13 – Jam Session – Everyday Will Be Sunday – 5:55
Credits Artwork – Hotline Maarssen Bass Guitar – Leo Song Design – Hotline Maarssen Dobro – Rob Glickman Drums – Michael Fickling Edited By – Johnny Hulst Engineer – Johan Van Loo Harmonica – Darrell Mansfield Lead Guitar – Glenn Kaiser, Larry Howard, Rob Glickman Lead Vocals – Darrell Mansfield, Glenn Kaiser, Larry Howard, Trace Balin Mixed By – Johan Van Loo, Larry Howard Producer – Gerrit aan ‘t Goor Rhythm Guitar – Glenn Kaiser, Rob Glickman
“Saved” was Bob Dylan’s second “born again” album. This series, starting with “Slow Train Coming” in 1979, stretches up to the disputed territory of “Infidels” in 1983. It’s a pretty short period of Bob history but a pivotal one that serves as one of the Great Walls of Before and After in his career.
It starts out with a traditional country gospel number, A Satisfied Mind, that was sung by a lot of cowboys before Bob got his hands on it. Maybe this is a leftover influence from his Nashville Skyline or other previous endeavours. Porter Wagoner had a pretty good run with it in 1957.
There is no country music on this album though. The opening track is a strained, rock influenced plea that begs you to listen to the whole album. There are a lot of soul-styled tracks, such as Saved, Solid Rock, and Pressing On. It’s also a lot of jangly piano rock, recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Sheffield, Alabama.
One of the great mysteries of Bob’s born again albums is how earnest they all are. Every bit is on the nose and every lyric so convincing you can’t believe anything but what you’re hearing. And then for some 75 other albums he only hints at spirituality.
Don’t be fooled though, the Gospel according to Bob started some twenty years before this album. His early lyrics, and his later lyrics all talk about God and make direct references to the divine and our human relationship to it.
So with this one, enjoy the pleasure of Bob actually perhaps talking about what he’s talking about for once. Less metaphor in one sense, and more on the nose. That doesn’t keep him from writing fantastic poetry throughout though. “Covenant woman, got a contract with the Lord…” “I’ve been broken, shattered like an empty cup / I’m just waiting on the Lord to rebuild and fill me up / And I know He will do it ’cause He’s faithful and He’s true / He must have loved me so much to send me someone as fine as you”
Now the spiritual talk and divine relationships cross over into human relationships. Nearly the opposite of his “secular” writings.
Lastly, let’s remember Bob’s voice. He has used several different voicings through his career, and this one is fairly nasal, putting some people off. But remember to ask your most highly trained singing friends and they will confirm – he knows how to sing. This is just how he does it. He puts every part of every word where he wants it and it works.
Tracklist 1 – A Satisfied Mind – 1:58 2 – Saved – 4:00 3 – Covenant Woman – 6:03 4 – What Can I Do For You? – 5:54 5 – Solid Rock – 3:55 6 – Pressing On – 5:11 7 – In The Garden – 5:58 8 – Saving Grace – 5:01 9 – Are You Ready – 4:42
Credits Artwork [Cover] – Tony Wright Bass – Tim Drummond Drums – Jim Keltner Engineer – Gregg Hamm Engineer [Assistant] – Mary Beth McLemore Guitar – Fred Tackett Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica – Bob Dylan Keyboards – Spooner Oldham Keyboards, Vocals – Terry Young Mastered By [Engineer] – Bobby Hata Mastered By [Supervisor] – Paul Wexler Photography By – Arthur Rosato Producer – Barry Beckett, Jerry Wexler Vocals – Clydie King, Mona Lisa Young, Regina Havis
This is Scott’s first album and while it is lesser known artist this was a great album. I really don’t know much about how Scott got into CCM but I have spoken to him very briefly about his current work. Some tracks have a great blues feel that I have been told becomes more prominent on his next album. The album also has a great sense of humour and while 80’s humour doesn’t always translate to today it stands well on this album. Some times I try to point out a best track but in this case the album really works best when listened to as a whole.
Tracklist 1 – Somebody Loves You – 3:58 2 – I Ain’t Clowning Around (No More With God) – 3:12 3 – I Believe In Him – 4:55 4 – Give It All You Got – 3:53 5 – I Forgot – 4:25 6 – Penny Arcade – 1:55 7 – Too Cool For Sunday School – 5:11 8 – I’m Not That Kind Of Guy – 4:56 9 – Peanut Butter And Jelly – 3:12 10 – What I’m Living For – 3:42 11 – I Belong To You – 4:45
60’s crooner Ketty Lester actually retired from the music industry in the early 70’s after a pretty successful career including 5 charting singles with “Love Letters” making it to #2 on the R & B charts. She actually quit music to concentrate on her acting career where many remember her as Hester-Sue Terhune on Little House on the Prairie. She did however return to the studio to produce this gospel album in 1984. While this is a pretty run of the mill 80’s soul gospel album with excellent vocals it is actually a very important album in the CCM industry. Hidden in the soul tracks is the track “Let’s Talk About Jesus” which is the first female gospel rap song. Now admittedly she is not a rap artist and this is not a rap album but this one track is unlike anything on this album and unlike anything she had ever done before. It is my firm belief that of this album had been released on a CCM label and not a soul label we would all know this track as it is an excellent example of early rap that was not being done in the CCM industry. So if your listening to this album as a whole you’re going to be a bit surprised when you get to track 10.
Tracklist 1 – One Day At A Time – 3:49 2 – Jesus Laid His Hands On Me – 2:33 3 – The Children – 3:09 4 – Jesus, You Touched Me – 3:20 5 – She’d Never Heard Of Anyone Called Jesus – 3:17 6 – I Saw Love – 3:19 7 – Have You Heard – 2:10 8 – When I Saw Jesus – 3:32 9 – Jesus Here I Am Again – 2:42 10 – Let’s Talk About Jesus – 3:40
This is Gary’s 3rd album and my personal favourite. While his wife at the time, Amy Grant, was with Myrrh Records, Gary cut this album for Reunion Records. Reunion was trying to turn it up a notch at this point in history and this album was a huge help. This album showed a rockier side of Gary and there are some great pop tracks on this album. The album is still a little heavy on the ballad’s but this is Gary Chapman so he’s forgiven. Ballad’s after all were his cash cow. “I Love That Girl”, written by Randy Stonehill, could have easily singled on commercial radio but unfortunately Gary didn’t have the crossover success of his wife. I should also point out that this is a prime example of why you don’t ever put out a song with your girls name in it because like the internet, music is forever and you’re stuck with it for life. All joking aside that song is begging for a country cover as I think it has top 20 written all over it. Anyway if you avoided this on back in the 80’s like I did give it a listen now, it’s pretty good.
Tracklist 1 – Everyday Man – 3:33 2 – When Where Together (Love’s So Strong) – 3:42 3 – Love History – 4:55 4 – Breakin’ Hearts – 4:47 5 – Love Like Blood – 4:09 6 – Around The World – 3:52 7 – The Hurt Is Worth The Chance – 3:52 8 – Love That Girl – 4:41 9 – Cecil, (Life Goes On) – 6:09 10 – Your Love Stays With Me – 3:07
Credits Art Direction – Bill Brunt, Mary Hamilton Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Amy Grant, Chris Harris, Gary Chapman, Ricky Skaggs, Wayne Kirkpatrick Bass – Mike Brignardello Coordinator [Production Coordinator] – Kimberly Smith, Steve Lindsey Drums, Percussion – Keith Edwards Engineer [Assistant] – Ben Williams, Billy Whittington, Carey Summers, Dave Parker, Jean Kinney, Jeff Coppadge, Keith Odle, Michael Koreiba Executive-Producer – Dan Harrell, Michael Blanton Guitar [Guitars] – Jerry McPherson Guitar [Guitars], Pedal Steel Guitar – Gary Chapman Keyboards – Michael W. Smith, Phil Naish, Shane Keister Mandolin – Mark O’Connor Mastered By – Bob Ludwig Mixed By – Brent King, Frank Filipetti, Jeff Balding Overdubbed By [Overdubs Recorded By] – Brent King, Gene Eichelberger, James Baird, Jeff Balding, Joe Scaife Percussion [Additional] – Terry McMillan Photography By – Chuck Kuhn Producer – Brown Bannister, Gary Chapman, Mark Wright Recorded By – Gene Eichelberger, Jeff Balding, Joe Scaife Stylist – Mary Beth Felts Written-By – Gary Chapman
Here we go with another band I can’t find any info about. This album was released on Tunesmith who were well known for finding obscure artists and this one is no exception. Though a Canadian label this is most likely a U.S. based band due to the Spanish content on the album. They were managed out of Colorado so that might be a clue also. The album has a seventies rock feel to it with, as I said, a Spanish flair to it in spots including a Spanish track. I really liked the album and am surprised I didn’t see it back in the 80’s as we were Tunesmith addicts and with this cover I know we would have bought this one if we had seen it. Too bad we missed it back then because this is an excellent album and definitely deserves to be listened to.
Tracklist 1 – Cruisin With My Lord – 3:36 2 – Lori’s Song – 3:10 3 – Where Is The Love – 3:21 4 – Prepara Tu Alma – 3:59 5 – Jesus That I Know – 3:28 6 – You’re Blind – 3:23 7 – He Is The Light – 4:39 8 – I Can Do – 3:01 9 – Riding The Line – 3:28 10 – You’re His Puppet – 2:45
Credits Producer – Bobby Murrieta Executive Producer – Jim Stengel & Brian Van Cleave Keyboards & Synthesizers – Bobby Murrieta Lead & Rhythm Guitar – Armando Nunez & Kenny Milton Bass Guitar – Bobby Murrieta & Kenny Milton Drums & Percussion – Jim DeBilzan, Linn-Drum Computer Vocals – The Rhythm Praise Band Additional Background vocals – Neal Burum
Companies, etc. Recorded & Mixed at Scott’s Music & Prosound Clovis, New Mexico ; Eaglear Productions, Greeley, Colorado Mastered by LRS
