This is all we got from Full Armor which is a total shame because these guys were pretty good. They were a metal band leaning to more glam part of the genre. They had this one 4 song EP and an appearance on a metal sampler “White Metal Invasion” the next year. Now I’d like to tell you more about the band but I can’t because I can’t find any info on them. This is complicated by the fact that there are at least 2 modern Christian bands with the same name but they do not have the same members. So we are left with the EP which may be a good thing because you can just enjoy some really good metal.
Tracklist 1 – White Knights – 2:45 2 – His Love – 4:14 3 – Start – 4:44 4 – Too and Fro – 3:55
Credits Vincent Van Voltenburg – Voices, keys Rex Michaels – Guitars, keys Dion James – Bass T.T. Townsend – Drums
After the relative success of Jeff’s excellent demo “Warp Speed” Pure Metal records decided it was time for a full album project. This of course is that album. Jeff’s guitar work was on display on his demo but he turned it up even one more notch for this album. The album did well, especially for a metal guitar instrumental album. The single and title track actually was the first instrumental song to make it on to the CCM rock charts. Jeff did carry over some tracks from his demo but most of these are new tracks. Now I’m gonna offer one criticism and I know Jeff’s fans are gonna bash me but here goes. Why an entirely instrumental album? He had Bill Westfall on keyboards who is an excellent vocalist though I suspect Bill wasn’t a Christian and was brought in more as a studio musician for this album so perhaps that idea wasn’t going to work. But it was 1990. There were metal vocalists everywhere and several looking for work at that time. That said Jeff’s vision was a metal acoustic album and that’s what he did and it turned out just fine.
Tracklist 1 – Woodpecker Stomp – 4:07 2 – Neo-Neo – 4:44 3 – Get Busy – 4:32 4 – Parker Street – 1:22 5 – Lost Island – 6:03 6 – House Of Stairs – 4:09 7 – Digital White – 4:15 8 – Lone Wolf – 5:23 9 – Amazing Grace – 4:13
Credits Bass – Lance Logan Drums – Kent Burnham Engineer – Jon Mathias Guitar – Jeff Scheetz Keyboards – Bill Westfall Producer – Jon Mathias
Companies, etc. Record Company – Re-Flexx Records, Inc. Licensed From – Pure Metal Distributed By – Spectra Distribution
This is the introductory album from The Winans who at this point considered of 4 members of the Winan family, Ronald, Marvin, Carvin, and Michael. They were “discovered” by Andrae Crouch and he invited them into the studio to record this album. The album is an excellent soul pop album and I really enjoyed listening to it even if this isn’t my preferred style. That said I do have some criticisms for Andrae who produced the album. First of all the tracks are too long, not every track has to be over 4 minutes. I saw this album as having “superstar” production. Well it didn’t. It did have superstar engineering courtesy of Bob Cotton but that’s where it fell apart. I know Andrae was a very good producer at the time but he missed the ball on this one. The album as great as it was did not have any charting singles which was probably not helped by the track lengths. My final complaint abut the album was why on god’s green earth did Andrea pick the snooziest track on the album to put as the lead track. This album has some fantastic rhythm and soul and it should have been on display right from track 1. Instead we have to wait until track 4 to hear it.
Tracklist 1 – The Question Is – 4:40 2 – Self – 3:43 3 – Are We Really Doing Your Will? – 4:13 4 – I Know Someone – 4:03 5 – Goodness, Mercy And Grace – 4:06 6 – Fallow Ground – 4:34 7 – How Good It Feels To Be Loved – 5:37 8 – Flyin’ Away – 5:29 9 – Restoration – 4:39
Credits Arranged By [Rhythm] – T.J. Keene Art Direction – Dan Lienart Bass – Abraham Laboriel Engineer [with Bob Cotton], Mixed By – Peter Haden Engineer, Mixed By – Bob Cotton Graphics – Rhonda Dempsey Guitar – David Williams, Hadley Hockensmith, Wil Keene Keyboards – T.J. Keene Mastered By – Bernie Grundman Oboe – John Phillips Percussion – Alex Acuña, David Williams Photography – David Randle Producer, Arranged By [Horns], Drums, Percussion, Mixed By – Bill Maxwell Producer, Arranged By [Vocal & Horns], Mixed By – Andraé Crouch Saxophone, Arranged By [Horns], Flute – Steve Tavaglione Trumpet – Allen Gregory Vocals, Arranged By [Vocal] – The Winans Words By, Music By – Marvin Winans
I remember hearing about this blond with a monster voice that had appeared on “everybody’s” albums, and regularly with one of my musical heroes, John Hiatt had signed a mainstream record deal with Atlantic. But nothing prepared me for the pushing play on my CD players and the a capella vocal strains of “Soon and Very Soon” busted through the clutter of modern music with sledge hammer. Damn, what a voice! Then i was even more pleasantly surprised to discover an album rich in textures, loaded with incredible talent and filled with brilliantly conceived and produced songs. There is really not a dud on the entire project. Of course Cleveland could also sing Presbyterian Book of Church Order and make it sound like Maggies Farm. I soon discovered Cleveland was an artist and not just a voice; a singer-songwriter with credentials to spare. But still I come back to that voice. Throwing out comparisons and superlatives will do her pipes no justice. A wonderful combination of Joplin passion, Slick rock cred and a bluesy, smokey vibe that is unmatched. In all honesty this should not have been the only album of hers to make list and that oversight is purely mine. That notwithstanding her debut here stands out heads and shoulders above most of her contemporaries and like nothing else in CCM at the time. I highly recommend her recent traditional blues and Gospel projects as well.
Contributor David Lowman – https://legacyccmsgreatestalbums.wordpress.com/
Tracklist 1 – Soon And Very Soon / Big Town – 5:10 2 – Love On The Mainline – 4:59 3 – Willy – 4:40 4 – I Could Learn To Love You – 7:14 5 – Tentative Man – 4:00 6 – Angel – 4:41 7 – Up From The Ether – 5:31 8 – We Can Dance – 4:40 9 – I’ll Call You – 5:41 10 – Walk To The Well – 5:22 11 – Rebecca – 5:19
Credits Acoustic Guitar, Vocals – Ashley Cleveland Bass – Glenn Worf Drums, Percussion – Craig Krampf Electric Guitar – Kenny Greenberg Keyboards – Bill Cuomo Mastered By – Doug Sax Mixed By – Craig Krampf, Niko Bolas Producer – Craig Krampf, Niko Bolas Recorded By – Niko Bolas
Rhythm & News were a great a cappella band out of Vancouver Canada. Started by 4 guys in a basement singing along to a boom box they got a few dates performing across Canada. After some very successful small shows they headed into Roy Salmond’s studio to record this album that was also produced and engineered by super producer Roy Salmond. The album has the a cappella mandatory Randy Stonehill track “Shut De Do”. Another fun track is “Pharaoh, Pharaoh” which is a reworded version of Louie, Louie made famous by The Kingsman. It is mistakenly attributed to Chuck Berry but was actually written by Richard Berry but that’s a common mistake. All in all a great album that I missed back in the day so I’m glad I heard it now.
Tracklist 1 – Get With The Rhythm – 2:46 2 – Looking For Love – 2:41 3 – Sittin’ On The Steps – 2:47 4 – Lighthouse – 5:03 5 – Rhythm Thang – 4:10 6 – Real Salvation – 4:03 7 – This Little Light Of Mine – 2:39 8 – Pharaoh, Pharaoh – 2:49 9 – Shut De Do – 2:27 10 – It’s Gonna Rain – 2:22 11 – Lord Of All – 4:47
Credits Arranged By [Arrangements] – Rhythm & News, Roy Salmond Design [Cover Design] – Ferris, The Warning Guy, Rick Yeager Mixed By – Dave Slagter Performer [Rhythm & News Is] – Brad Strelau, Doug Zimmerman, Kevin Pollard (4), Mark Batten Photography By – Francis Cheng Producer, Engineer, Recorded By – Roy Salmond
I simply can not find any information on this project. The album was released on Arcade Records but the album is copyrighted by Maranatha! Music. I can find no connection between the two labels but several Arcade albums have Maranatha! Music copyrights so there is obviously some connection. The project included Carvin/Lawrence Winans but that’s it, that’s all I can find. As for the album it’s a Rap / Hip Hop (90’s Hip Hop) album and quite frankly I don’t think it’s a very good. Admittedly this isn’t my favourite genre but if it’s done well I will still enjoy it. This one left me at the side of the road but maybe people who know and love this genre will be able to better critique the album.
Tracklist 1 – Spirit Of The Lord – 3:26 2 – Dance Like David – 3:47 3 – Stand Up – 3:32 4 – Gettin’ Busy – 3:45 5 – Lukewarm Christian – 3:29 6 – Are You Saved? – 5:06 7 – Whatcha Gonna Do – 4:01 8 – Why – 3:59 9 – Are You Saved (Remix) – 3:38 10 – Tomorrow – 4:41 11 – Prayer – 0:58 Credits Art Direction – Terry DeGraff Backing Vocals – Dorian Holley, Louis Price, Oren Waters Design – Vincent Carino Engineer [Assistant] – Sally Browder Executive-Producer – Kim Carino, Roby Duke, Tom Coomes Guest, Scratches – DJ Dove Of S.F.C., Rucky McKinley Layout – Susan Steinman Mastered By – Bernie Grundman Mixed By – Doug Rider Photography By – Brian Ray Producer – Scott V. Smith Programmed By [Synthesizers Programming], Sequenced By [Sequencing] – Scott V. Smith Stylist – Karen Clinkenbeard
This was Karen’s first album. It is an extremely easy listening 70’s style album that while I didn’t care for these albums they lead the way for the ones I loved. Not that all albums from the 70’s were easy listening but many of them were. Lafferty attended Eastern New Mexico University and actually planned on a secular music career after school. But like so many of the artists we loved she moved to southern California and soon began to perform at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. After a European tour she was signed by Maranatha! Music and the rest is history. This is the first sighting of Darrell Mansfield as this album came out before his album with Gentle Faith. That said he also appeared on Parable’s album “More Than Words” released the same year.
Tracklist 1 – Bird In A Golden Sky – 4:00 2 – Grandma Stout – 2:26 3 – Testimony – 5:48 4 – Garden – 3:16 5 – The Girl – 4:30 6 – Sweet Summer Rain – 3:55 7 – No Time For Jesus – 3:16 8 – Bobbi’s Song – 5:00 9 – Peaceful Mind / Tears Of Love – 7:47
Credits Artwork [Stained Glass Window] – Neil Cocroft Backing Vocals – Karen*, Peter Jacobs Banjo, Mandolin – Fred Fields Design [Cover] – Neal Buchanan Electric Bass – Bruce Cotton Guitar – Fred Fields (2), John Wytoc, Karen Harmonica – Darrell Mansfield Keyboards – Peter Jacobs Lead Vocals – Karen Lafferty Mastered By [Runout Etch] – Ralph Eck Oboe – Karen Lafferty Percussion – Alex MacDougall Photography By – Dan Agulian, Diana Ham, Neal Buchanan Producer, Arranged By – Peter Jacobs Saw – Randy Sykes Steel Guitar – Al Perkins Written-By – Karen Lafferty
This is the Swedish version of the 1983 Edin-Ådahl album Alibi. It actually came out first and was on CBS records. Some of the tracks the music is identical but others were remixed for the English version. Some of the translated song titles are considerable different but as I don’t understand Swedish I don’t know if the lyrics are substantially different. The English version substitutes the track “Idag” with “For The Rain In Your Heart” which is quite frankly a much better song. A couple of the tracks on this version are actually in English. Anyway I really enjoy listening to these albums in other languages as it’s fun to hear songs you know in a different format.
Here is the track listing from both versions;
Swedish English
1 – Hägring (Mirage) 6:00 A4 – Bring Back The Joy 6:01 2 – Observerad (Observed) 5:00 B4 – Send Me, Send Me 5:01 3 – Alibi (Alibi) 3:22 A3 – Alibi 3:13 4 – Spelet (The game) 4:02 B1 – Saviour 3:45 5 – Idag (Today) 5:12 Replaces B2 – For The Rain In Your Heart3:12 6 – Storm In My Heart 3:15 B3 – Storm In My Heart 3:17 7 – Look Out! 4:10 A1 – Wake Up 4:09 8 – Brevet 3:15 A2 – On The Cutting Edge 3:39 9 – Hjälp Dej Själv (Help Yourself) 4:00 A5 – Let All Of The Earth Proclaim 4:20 10 -Hemåt Igen (Home Again) 4:40 B5 – Your Heart Is In His Hands 4:44
Tracklist 1 – Hägring – 6:00 2 – Observerad – 5:00 3 – Alibi – 3:22 4 – Spelet – 4:02 5 – Idag – 5:12 6 – Storm In My Heart – 3:15 7 – Look Out! – 4:10 8 – Brevet – 3:15 9 – Hjälp Dej Själv – 4:00 10 – Hemåt Igen – 4:40
Credits Arranged By, Producer [Produced By] – Edin-Adahl Design [Album Design] – Buhland/Gulledge Engineer [Engineered By] – Lennart Strom, Mats Oberg, Peter Olsson Executive-Producer – Magnus Erikson Graphics – Anders Johansson Instrumentation By – Edin-Adahl Lacquer Cut By – JL Mixed By – Edin-Adahl, Peter Olsson Photography By – Labe Allwin, Lennert Dannstedt Producer [English Vocals] – Tom Douglas
This is Kenny’s 6th album. While his style was waning a bit this was still a pretty successful album and one of my personal favourites. Personally I don’t think Kenny got enough recognition as a song writer. Yes I know he was popular among the CCM media but they never really gave his song writing the credit it deserved. This album is more an example of his song writing skills than a great music album. The album did do well though with 2 singles on the CCM charts, I Need A Savior made it to #22 and Like A Father Should Be to #12.
Tracklist 1 – Fire Of Forgiveness (Ashes Of Love) – 5:39 2 – When Love Comes Clean – 4:30 3 – I Need A Savior – 3:16 4 – Turn My World Around – 4:00 5 – Someone To Come Home To – 5:04 6 – Promises To Keep – 4:13 7 – 1932 – 3:33 8 – Like A Father Should Be – 3:19 9 – Tell Me You Love Me – 3:07 10 – Forever Love – 2:50
Credits Acoustic Guitar – Dave Perkins, Don Potter Art Direction – Amy Linde Bass Guitar, Synth [Bass] – Tommy Sims Design – Tufts Design Studio Drums – Paul Leim Electric Guitar – Kenny Greenberg Engineer [Assistant] – Ed Simonton Engineer [Lead Vocal] – JB Engineer [Overdubs] – Bert Stevens, Dennis Ritchie Executive-Producer – Lynn Keesecker Mastered By – Hank Williams Mixed By – Marc DeSisto Mixed By [Assistant] – Greg Parker Percussion – Eric Darken, Paul Leim Photography By – David Roth Producer – Bubba Smith, Kenny Marks Recorded By – Brent King Synthesizer, Organ [Hammond B-3] – Mike Lawler Twelve-String Guitar [Electric] – Dave Perkins
This is the 15th album from Petra which is rather amazing when you think about it. Many popular secular bands didn’t even put out this many albums. The album is more pop oriented than their previous album and as such a broader appeal. Strangely the guitars on the album were played by founder Bob Hartman but as he had quit touring with the band so new guitarist David Lichens played the tour and appeared on the album cover and all promotional pictures. Now my criticism. Who thought this album cover was a good idea? The colour is horrible and the artwork is incredibly dull. Looks like the cover was just mailed in if you know what I mean. A part of me feels like the whole project was mailed in. I’m not really hearing anything that jumps out at me as a great track which is really surprising as the Elefante brothers produced and engineered the album. For those of you who say I don’t know anything about music well here’s your proof that you are correct. An album I found to be bland, not bad, was Nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album in 1995 and actually won the Dove Award for Rock Album in 1996. So I admit my taste does not jive with the industry.
Tracklist 1 – Enter In – 5:00 2 – Think Twice – 4:19 3 – Heart Of A Hero – 4:10 4 – More Than A Thousand Words – 4:58 5 – No Doubt – 4:54 6 – Right Place – 3:38 7 – Two Are Better Than One – 3:43 8 – Sincerely Yours – 4:16 9 – Think On These Things – 4:24 10 – For All You’re Worth – 4:14 11 – We Hold Our Hearts Out To You – 4:11
Credits A&R – Bubba Smith, Lynn Keesecker Backing Vocals – John Schlitt Bass – Ronny Cates Drums – Louie Weaver Executive Producer – Bob Hartman Keyboards – Jim Cooper Lead Guitar – David J. Lichens Lead Vocals – John Schlitt Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante Vocals – David J. Lichens, Jim Cooper, Ronny Cates
