Category: Albums

Steve Forbert – Streets Of This Town – 1988

This is an interesting album that swirled just outside the periphery of Christian music in the late 80’s. We carried it at Maranatha Village and several Christian music publications positively reviewed it and ran stories on Forbert. A brilliant singer/songwriter, Steve Forbert started his lengthy career in the late 70’s recording his only real radio hit, “Romeo Tune” on his second release in 1979, “Jackrabbit Slim.” (Highly recommend) But with “Streets of this Town,” The Christian market began to take notice. Songs like “Hope, Faith and Love,” “As We Live and Breathe” and “Search Your Heart” seemed to deal honestly with spiritual ideas and faith questions. One song from this album was covered by a pretty major CCM artist at the time (bonus points if you know the artist and song). Forberts easy going Americana Rock style is immediately likeable and would appeal to fans of John Hiatt, Jackson Browne, Julie Miller, etc.

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

Tracklist
1 – Running On Love – 3:32
2 – Don’t Tell Me (I Know) – 3:33
3 – I Blinked Once – 4:45
4 – Mexico – 3:30
5 – As We Live And Breathe – 3:18
6 – On The Streets Of This Town – 3:39
7 – Hope, Faith And Love – 3:41
8 – Perfect Stranger – 3:33
9 – Wait A Little Longer – 3:45
10 – Search Your Heart – 4:38

Credits
Bass – Danny Counts
Coordinator – Tom Zutaut
Design – Jeff Morris
Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Bobby Lloyd Hicks
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Paul Errico
Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals – Clay Barnes
Management – Praxis International
Mastered By – George Marino
Mixed By – Michael Frondelli
Mixed By [Assisted] – Gary Solomon
Photography By – Jeff Morris, Lee Thomas
Producer – Garry Tallent
Recorded By – Jan Topoleski
Songwriter [All Songs] – Steve Forbert
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica – Steve Forbert

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – The David Geffen Company
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The David Geffen Company
Manufactured By – Columbia House
Mastered At – Sterling Sound
Recorded At – Shorefire Recording Studios
Mixed At – Power Station
Mixed At – The Hit Factory
Mixed At – Shorefire Recording Studios
Licensed To – Columbia House

Iva Twydell – Secret Service – 1981

Iva, whose real name is Ivor was in After The Fire from 1978 until some point in 1980. This is his first album after ATF. He had an album before he joined ATF but I warn you know it is a completely different style than what he’s known for. Anyway this album has a lot of similarities to ATF stuff and quite frankly it’s fantastic. It has this spy/secret service/CIA theme going on which is pretty cool. The single was “Secret Service” which I personally believe would have been a great radio single but unfortunately the album was on an unknown label. I know that Ivor and ATF as a whole always had label problems and it’s sad because they were all very very talented. Interestingly the only person Ivor brought into the project that had any interesting history was the drummer Nick Brotherwood from The Alwyn Wall Band. Anyway this one is must listen and I doubt many people have heard it as it was on an obscure label and only released in the U.K.

Tracklist
01 – No Good At All – 2:14
02 – Some People – 2:28
03 – The Dance Has Just Begun – 2:38
04 – I Guess I’ll Always Be (Someone Like Me) – 3:12
05 – King Of Hearts – 2:43
06 – Part Time Hero – 2:39
07 – Cold War – 3:49
08 – Secret Service – 2:27
09 – I Surrender – 2:27
10 – CIA And The KGB – 2:32
11 – Independence – 1:59
12 – Resting In Your Love – 2:47
13 – Save Me – 2:26
14 – Cover Me – 3:35
15 – Don’t Be Afraid – 1:45

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – John McNaughton
Arranged By – Iva Twydell
Bass – Tony Hudson
Drums – Nick Brotherwood
Lead Guitar, Vocals – Andy Balmer
Organ, Piano, Strings – Graham Noon
Saxophone – Derek Williams
Sleeve, Design – Steve Bamford
Triangle – Marianda Twydell
Violin – Phil Henderson
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Flute, Synthesizer, Percussion – Iva Twydell
Vocals, Noises – Dave Balmer, Kieran McGrath
Vocals, Percussion – Tim Burgess

Azitis – Help – 1971

The band was formed in 1966 by musicians Don Lower and Steve Nelson in the Sacramento area of California. They were joined by Dennis Sullivan and Michael Welch and hit the studio in 1969. They were still using the name “Help” but changed it to Azitis (pronounced “as it is”) before completing their album as there was a conflict with a British Band of the same name. Now this is where the story gets a little foggy. One version of the story is that while recording the album Dennis Sullivan fled the project which caused great distress for the record company, Elco Records, and ended up bankrupting said record company. Dennis disputes this story and quite frankly I believe him. I can’t see a label going bankrupt because a musician stepped away, it doesn’t make sense. Anyway what we have here is a “Psychedelic” 70’s album that the band envisioned as a Rock Opera and apparently the band was disappointed that the album was produced with breaks in between the tracks. It’s pretty good and many hold it out to be spectacular. I don’t get a spectacular feeling form it but it is very very good. Luckily MODO Publishing acquired the rights to the album and re-released it in 2000 with 2 bonus tracks. We have included those tracks in our playlist.

Tracklist
1 – (Creation) Lord I Saw You Cry – 6:06
2 – There Is An Answer – 3:44
3 – Who Will Be – 3:20
4 – The Prophet – 6:06
5 – Time Has Passed – 4:56
6 – From This Place – 3:24
7 – Hope To Save – 3:59
8 – Judgement Day – 4:46
Bonus Tracks
9 – Life Worth Living – 5:08
10 – Questions Why – 3:02

Credits
Artwork – James Gardner
Bass Guitar – Donald Lower
Design – Dennis Sullivan, Donald Lower, Michael Welch, Steve Nelson
Engineer – LaMont Bench, R.S. Owens
Guitar, Flute – Michael Welch
Organ, Piano – Dennis Sullivan
Percussion – Steve Nelson
Photography By – Randall Thornton
Producer, Liner Notes – John W. Cole
Supervised By – Roger Hamilton Spotts

Companies, etc.
Published By – Sina-G Music
Recorded At – Pavilion Studios Inc., Vallejo
Copyright © – MODO Publishing

After The Fire – Radio Sessions 1979 – 1981 – 2009

Apparently After The Fire played 3 years in a row at the BBC Paris Theatre, London, England. Luckily these appearances were recorded but they stayed on a shelf somewhere until Angel Air Records released them in 2009. You can buy the CD on their website below. ATF were an excellent live band and this is a great release. Thank you Angel Air Records.

http://www.angelair.co.uk/?tcp_product=after-the-fire-radio-sessions-1979-1981

1 – Joy – 3:17
2 – A Little Sun, A Little Rain – 3:11
3 – Laser Love – 3:05
4 – Time To Think – 3:31
5 – One Rule For You – 3:15
6 – Suspended Animation – 4:52
7 – Check It Out – 3:06
8 – Like The Power Of A Jet – 2:50
1980 In Concert
9 – Laser Love – 3:26
10 – Life In The City – 4:04
11 – Can You Face It? – 3:50
12 – Who’s Gonna Love You? – 4:14
13 – Billy Billy – 6:07
1981 In Concert
14 – Frozen Rivers – 4:06
15 – Dancing In The Shadows – 2:53
16 – Sailing Ship – 3:39
17 – Bright Lights – 4:09
18 – Take Me Higher – 7:06
19 – Starlight – 5:03

Angie Lewis – Heart Dance – 1985

Angie set out to have a career in music and this, her first album, is the result of that work. After high school she enrolled at the University of South Alabama as a vocal performance major and graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. She moved to Nashville after college and soon captured the attention of Power Discs/Benson and recorded this EP. It was an immediate success and the track “Silent Weeper” climbed to #6 on the CCM charts. The album is full of great talent including Steve Taylor. It was produced by Billy Smiley of White Heart and he really nailed it in my opinion. If you like female pop music this album is a must listen. Even though this isn’t my favourite genre of music I really liked this album and listened to it a few times.

Tracklist
1 – Heartdance – 3:10
2 – Lonely Warrior – 4:16
3 – O Lord Your Love – 4:58
4 – Silent Weeper – 5:43
5 – High Rise – 3:47
6 – Be Still – 3:13

Credits
Jeff Balding – Recorded, Mixed
Mike Brignardello – Bass
Jackie Cusic – Background Vocals
Mark Gersmehl – Songwriter, Arrangements
Mark Hammond – Drums
Gary Janney – Background Vocals
Greg Jennings – Guitars
Bonnie Keen – Background Vocals
Shane Keister – Synthesizers, Percussion, Vocoder
Gordon Kennedy – Guitar Solos
Brent King – Recorded, Mixed
Angie Lewis – Songwriter, Vocals
Gary Lunn – Bass
Donna McElroy – Background Vocals
Farrell Morris – Percussion
Phil Naish – Keyboards, Synthesizer
Gary Pigg – Background Vocals
Brent Rowan – Guitars
Billy Smiley – Producer, Songwriter, Arrangements
James Stroud – Drums
Steve Taylor – Arrangements, Background Vocals
Hank Williams – Mastered

Bill Price – Brave The Proud The Few – 1986

This is the second album from Bill but I really can’t find out very much about him. I found that there are quite a few copies of this album for sale and it’s on almost all the streaming sites but that’s all I could find. I did find him on Facebook and he seems to have had a long career in the radio business and still performs mainly at his church. He might be doing more than that musically but like I said it was difficult to put the pieces together. Anyway the album is a really good pop album and the production is fantastic. It’s one that should be listened to.

Tracklist
1 – His Love Has Carried Me Away
2 – The Brave, The Proud, The Few
3 – Jesus You’re The One
4 – I Want To Thank You Lord
5 – Great Is The God Of Heaven
6 – He Takes Care Of Me
7 – Walkin’ Down The Street
8 – We’ve Got To Tell Them
9 – Steppin’ In The Shadows

Credits
Drums – Brian Willis, Brian Brickley
Bass – Rich Gooch, Mark KIngen, Bill Price
Keyboards — Gary Hemenway, Rob Farley, Scott James
Guitars, Procussion – Bill Price
Saxophone – Susie May
Background Vocals – Dave Bray, Russ Finley, Scott James, Curt Cassingham, Jeff Michel, Linda Price, Melani Bray, Laura Evitt, Martin Woodrow, Bill Price
Engineers – Scott James, Curt Cassingham
Mix – Scott James
Produced by – Scott James and Bill Price

Companies, etc.
Recorded at – Northstar Recording Studio

Diller & Anderson – Diller & Anderson – 1983

Diller & Anderson are Ronnie Lee Diller and Steve Anderson. The duo met up in 1975 and soon after started a band called Radiance. Radiance enjoyed some success in the NW USA but never put an album out. In 1980 the guys left the band to work as a duo. They quickly recorded this album and self released it. The album starts out early 80’s country rock but then transitions to more of an early 80’s easy listening album. All in all it’s a pretty good album and I’m pretty sure we would have been happy listening to this one in 1983 if it had been available to us. As I understand it their next 2 albums are much more rock oriented but I haven’t heard either of them yet but I am looking forward to hearing them.

Tracklist
1 – Fallin’ Fallin’ – 3:20
2 – Hearts A Fire – 3:32
3 – Annabelle – 3:52
4 – Valuable – 3:12
5 – Tarnished Treasures – 4:35
6 – Makebeliever – 4:05
7 – Sweet Jesus – 3:14
8 – The Way, The Truth & The Life – 3:17
9 – Echo Of Your Voice – 3:35
10 – Everybody’s Gonna Bow To Him – 4:30

Avion – Live – 1987

Avion Live is Sydney band Avion’s swansong independent release. The album was dedicated to the memory of the late Evan Murray, the band’s previous keyboard player who died in a motor vehicle accident. This album captures what they did best – performing their own particular brand of AOR live. The band’s last studio album, White Noise, features very strongly, as 7 of its tracks are performed live. Only 3 tracks from the band’s self-titled album are featured, which leaves the following 4 songs that, to my knowledge, have never been recorded – Long Night, Ransom, Money Or Love, and The Bigger You Are. On Being’s music editor, Vic Campbell, wrote: ‘These 14 tracks – five recorded in September ’86 at Sydney Entertainment Centre, the others at Selina’s in June ’87 – serve as a powerful reminder of this now-defunct Aussie band of talented rock ‘n’ roll Christians. Avion came so close to achieving widespread commercial success. This cassette-only release is a genuine collector’s item.’ (On Being, May 1989)

Tracklist
1 – Long Night – 3:34
2 – Where Do We Go From Here – 3:17
3 – In My Mind – 3:38
4 – Ships – 5:14
5 – Secrets – 4:06
6 – Warrior – 5:00
7 – Ransom – 4:09
8 – On And On – 5:06
9 – Money Or Love – 3:37
10 – Berlin Wall – 3:56
11 – Celebration – 4:17
12 – I Need You – 4:46
13 – The Bigger You Are – 4:15
14 – Never Too Late – 4:29

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Kendall Waller
Drums, Vocals – John Waller
Guitar, Vocals – Paul Gannell
Keyboards – Evan Murray
Lead Vocals, Guitar – Randall Waller
Producer, Engineer – John McConnell
Recorded By – Wyn Wynyard
Remix – John McConnell

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Selina’s Nightclub
Recorded At – Sydney Entertainment Centre

Glad – Captured in Time – 1982

This was Glad’s 3rd album. It sold very well and even had to have a 2nd pressing. That 2nd pressing had a much better cover but was not a gatefold like the first pressing. I’m a little surprised it had a second pressing as it only had one CCM charting single. “Anywhere I Go” made it to #12 for 10 weeks. Any album with a CCM charting single is good but Glad was much more used to having 2, 3, or more singles. The album is pretty god and still has that easy listening 70’s sound which normally spelled success on the CCM charts. That said like I said it was a popular release and sold well but for some reason the CCM charts didn’t treat it as that popular.

Tracklist
1 – Good News – 3:59
2 – Light Up Your World – 4:02
3 – Anywhere I Go – 3:54
4 – Two Are Better Than One – 3:16
5 – Beautiful Love Song – 3:39
6 – Real Life – 3:21
7 – Hide Myself In You – 3:39
8 – Joy Comes In The Morning – 3:48
9 – Savior – 4:25
10 – Be Ye Glad – 4:41

Credits
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Dennis Solee
Booking – Logsdon Associates, Paul K. Logsdon
Crew [Live Sound] – Julie Kauflin
Crew [Road Manager] – Nancy Nalle
Drums – Art Noble
Engineer – Joe Hardy
Executive-Producer – George King
Handclaps – John Hampton
Lead Vocals, Bass – Don Nalle
Lead Vocals, Percussion – Ed Nalle
Management – George King, Olde Towne Productions
Mastered By – Larry Nix
Photography By – Bob Schatz, Michael Borum*
Producer – Ed Nalle, Joe Hardy
Rhythm Guitar – Jon Goin
Vocals, Keyboards – Bob Kauflin
Vocals, Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar – Mark Baldwin

Companies, etc.
Record Company – John T. Benson Pub. Co.
Distributed By – The Benson Company
Recorded At – Ardent Studios
Mixed At – Ardent Studios
Mastered At – Ardent Studios
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Greentree Records
Copyright © – Greentree Records
Copyright © – Paragon Music Corp.
Copyright © – Lifesong Music Press
Copyright © – Gotz Music
Published By – Paragon Music Corp.
Published By – Lifesong Music Press
Published By – Gotz Music

David And The Giants – Almost Midnight – 1980

While this is David & The Giants 4th Christian album it’s the one where I started listening and in my opinion is there best album. It has the original version of “Almost Midnight” which is much better than the 1985 remake which is probably the better known version. This album also welcomed back Keith Thibodeaux on drums. He was the original drummer for the band but left during their Christian transition but he’s back and you can tell as on this album I think the band was much tighter. A bit of trivia about Keith is that he played “Little Ricky” on the I Love Lucy show. Anyway here’s a great rock album that was perfectly timed for 1980.

Tracklist
1 – Almost Midnight – 2:55
2 – Keep On Keeping On – 3:47
3 – Keep On Singing My Song – 2:45
4 – Thank You Lord (For Coming Into My Heart) – 3:12
5 – Upper Room Experience (Recorded Live) – 6:02
6 – The Well (Will Never Run Dry) – 4:32
7 – Ten Miles High – 2:22
8 – Borrowed Time – 5:48
9 – Holy Rain (Recorded Live) – 5:15
10 – Daddy – 4:30

Credits
Bass, Backing Vocals – Clayborn Huff
Cover – Jim Paris
Drums – Keith Thibodeaux
Engineer – David Huff, David Yelveton (tracks: A5,B4), Rayborn Huff
Guitar, Mandolin, Piano, Vocals – David Huff
Harmonica – Lance Appleton
Organ, Synthesizer [Arp Quadra, Poly Korg], Strings [String Ensemble], Backing Band – Rayborn Huff
Piano, Synthesizer [Quadra], Backing Vocals – Gerald Hagan
Producer – David And The Giants
Written-By – Clayborn Huff, David Huff, Rayborn Huff

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Huff Studios