Category: Albums

Paul Janz – Renegade Romantic – 1990

This is Paul Janz’s 3rd solo album. It was released in Canada, the U.S., and Europe but it only did well in Canada. At this point in his life he was generally putting out secular albums. That said the same year as this his family did put out a Christian album on their family label Janz Team that Paul sang on. The album did quite well in Canada with “Every Little Tear” peaking at #5 on the charts. “Rocket to My Heart” and “Stand” also charted in the teens. I am from Canada and remember the album well. Paul was one of the most popular Canadian artists of the period. This is a great 80’s Pop album and a must hear.

Tracklist
1 – Every Little Tear – 4:08
2 – Hold Me Tender – 4:44
3 – Rocket To My Heart – 3:44
4 – Almost Heaven – 4:22
5 – Stand – 4:56
6 – Stuck On You – 4:05
7 – Love Walks In – 4:14
8 – One Lovin’ Touch – 4:37
9 – Darling Drive – 3:30
10 – Saddle Up – 4:03

Credits
Art Direction – Richard Frankel
Bass – Mike Hill
Co-producer, Vocals, Synth Bass, Arranged By, Lyrics By, Music By, Written-By – Paul Janz
Design – Art Hotel, Inc., Brian Johnson
Drum Programming – Jim Bralower, Paul Janz
Drums – Michael Root
Engineer [Second Engineer] – Alex Rodriguez, Beemer, Brett Newman, Chris Puram, Chris Taylor, Leon Grandos, Marc Ramaer, Mike Tacci, Nick Els
Guitar – Tim McKenzie
Keyboards – Paul Janz, Phil Chanel, Rob Bailey
Management – Michael Godin Management
Mastered By – Howie Weinberg
Percussion – Jim McGillveray
Photography By – Graham Law
Producer – Bill Drescher
Programmed By – Rob Bailey
Recorded By, Mixed By – Bill Drescher, Patrick Glover
Saxophone – Tom Colclough

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – A&M Records, Inc.
Copyright © – A&M Records, Inc.
Distributed By – Columbia House – 783167T
Record Company – CBS Records Canada Ltd.
Manufactured By – Cinram
Recorded At – One On One Studios, Baby’O Recorders, Vancouver Studios, Ground Control Studios, Sound City Studios, Skip Saylor Recording
Mixed At – Skip Saylor Recording, Little Mountain Sound Studios
Mastered At – Masterdisk
Published By – Irving Music Of Canada Ltd., Zoological Music

Paul Field – Daybreak – 1983

This is Paul Field’s second solo album. While it was advertised as an Easter Musical I’ve listened to the album about 3 times now and I struggle with the “musical” part. Musically this album is all over the place. There are some almost worship oriented tracks that are just okay, a few upbeat tracks that are pretty good, and one rock track, “Chasing Shadows” which is a great rock track, and I mean great. It really doesn’t even fit on the album. The album was only released in the U.K. so I’m guessing most of us this side of the pond have never even heard it. The album was rerecorded in 1986 by a group of Australian artists and it is often mistakenly attributed to Paul though he was not on the album. This is another great album that most of us missed so give it a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Daybreak – 4:08
2 – It’s You – 3:09
3 – Chasing Shadows – 2:47
4 – Walking Into The Wind – 3:44
5 – I Believe – 4:05
6 – Stony Ground – 4:15
7 – Make Me A Mountain – 3:20
8 – All Down To You – 6:33
9 – Peace Like A River – 2:43
10 – Grow In Grace – 3:06
11 – Daybreak (Reprise) – 1:20

Credits
Bass – John G. Perry
Design [Sleeve], Photography – Ian Dillon
Drums – Ian Moseley
Electric Guitar – Tom Blades
Engineer – Andy Geirus
Keyboards, Arranged By – Dave Cooke
Vocals – Edwina Lawrie, John Daniels, Julie Moon, Mark Williamson
Written-By, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Producer, Arranged By, Liner Notes – Paul Field

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Copyright © – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Recorded At – TMC Studios
Printed By – Garrod & Lofthouse
Made By – Garrod & Lofthouse

RPM – RPM – 1982

RPM falls in the category of a band of Christians as opposed to a Christian band. The band consisted of Jimmie Lee Sloas (Dogs Of Peace & Imperials), Mark Gendel, Robert White Johnson, Tommy Wells (First Gear). Jimmie and Tommy had already been headliners in the Christian music industry while Robert & Mark had been studio musicians in the Christian industry. I have no idea how this album ended up getting backing from EMI records but all 4 were well established studio musicians so maybe they were one of those groups put together by the record company. That’s just a guess. The album was well received and the first single “A Legend Never Dies” apparently charted but I was unable to find the position. “Rendezvous” also singled but gained further recognition when covered by the British band Tygers of Pan Tang on their 1982 album The Cage who did a great version. Their first major live performance was at the KLOL Rockfest at Houston’s Astrodome complex before 20,000 fans. Apparently they had four encores which is pretty impressive. I can easily see why they would be so popular live. The album leans a little more AOR but as I understand it their live performances were far more rock oriented. I wish I had heard of and heard these guys back in the day but alas I missed them somehow. They did get a second album deal from Warner and that one is coming to our channel soon.

Tracklist
1 – A Legend Never Dies -4:13
2 – 2 + 2 -3:19
3 – It Don’t Feel The Same -4:08
4 – Rendezvous -3:28
5 – Envy -4:52
6 – You -3:46
7 – Firestarter -4:41
8 – Don’t Make It Hard -3:07
9 – Video Games -4:20
10 – I’m A Wreck -4:30

Credits
Art Direction – Bill Burks
Bass, Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Jimmie Lee Sloas
Cover, Design – Amy Nagasawa
Drums, Backing Vocals – Tommy Wells
Guitar, Guitar [Synthesizer], Backing Vocals – Mark Gendel
Lead Vocals – Bob Johnson
Management – Norman Epstein
Mastered By – Ken Perry
Photography By [Band] – Allan Messer
Photography By [Cover] – David Brandt
Producer, Engineer – Brent Maher
Synthesizer [Programming] – Kevin Kent

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – EMI America Records
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – EMI America Records
Manufactured By – Capitol Records, Inc.
Recorded At – Creative Workshop
Mastered At – Capitol Studios
Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Los Angeles

Karlstrom – Karlstrom – 1991

If you want to talk obscure Christian releases this one is a winner. This album is by Geri Karlstrom, who you might know better as Geri Baird and her husband Ben Karlstrom. This one is actually so obscure that I had no idea it existed and I was probably one of the biggest Geri Baird fans of the decade. I only stumbled on it while researching another Canadian band. So we have some idea who Geri is as she had a solo album in the 80’s but who is her husband Ben. Ben is a Canadian producer, engineer, and musician. Apparently he can play just about any instrument including the mixing board so I suspect he played most the instruments on this album but I do not have a proper list of credits for the album. Now let’s discuss the album. It has an excellent radio friendly pop feel that leans towards rock. Geri’s vocals of course are the centerpiece of the album. The opening track “Praise To His Name” is my pick for the single and easily would have played well on Christian radio. The rest of the album leans a little more to the slow side but is easily listened to. Ben takes the reigns for “I Want To Believe It” and hits it out of the park for the albums second single. I really think this album would have done well if a label had picked it up. Geri of course went on to record a few more albums over the years but they leaned to secular topics and issues as Geri fought hard to raise awareness of eating disorders. Ben continues to work in the music industry but unfortunately God called Geri home in January of 2025 and the world became a little less bright that day. Thanks to Mike Breuer who was kind enough to send us a copy of the album from his collection.

Tracklist
1 – Praise To His Name
2 – You Read My Heart
3 – Following You
4 – Jesus Is The Keeper
5 – I Will Be There
6 – All God’s People
7 – I Want To Believe It
8 – You Are My King
9 – Open Your Heart
10 – Give It To The Savior

Credits
Vocals – Geri Karlstrom
Production, Instruments – Ben Carlson

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Harvest Music
Copyright © – Lordz

Mark Williamson – So Far So Good – 1979

This is the second album from Mark Williamson. It can be a little complicated to figure out Marks work as he released albums under several names. Mark Williamson And Friends, Mark Williamson Band, TRW, Bridge 2 Far, and Lyrix are all a version of Mark. Most of us in North America were introduced to him because Larry Norman released his Lyrix album but I was not aware of his catalog of work until we started this project. This is mainly because most of his albums were not even released in North America and this is one of those albums. So Far So Good has a solid seventies sound and you can start to hear a bit of a transition over to his later 80’s sound. It’s mainly an easy listening album but there’s a few Rock tracks like Join The Revolution for example which features Norman Barratt’s excellent guitar work. Of interest on this album is also that this is the first album Chris Eaton had played on and he also wrote a couple tracks.

Tracklist
1 – Hold On Me – 3:28
2 – Living Is Easy – 4:47
3 – I Need You – 4:59
4 – Susanne – 5:00
5 – Join The Revolution – 3:09
6 – Promises – 4:31
7 – You Gotta Get Up – 2:45
8 – Stockholm Song – 4:15
9 – Keepin’ On – 3:17
10 – Favour – 5:49

Credits
Steve Richards/Spud Spurling – bass
Malcolm Garrett – drums
Pete Thompson – drums
Rick Godsall – keyboards
Colin Owen – synthesizer
Chris Eaton – acoustic piano
Tony Boyens – fender rhodes
Norman Barrett/John Smith – e.guitar
Mark Williamson – a.guitar)
Hugh Thomas – sax)
John Perry/Stu Calver/Muff Murfin/Chris Eaton/Alyson McCinnes/Sue McClellan/Mark – background vocals

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Marshall Morgan & Scott
Recorded At – The Old Smithy Recording Studio
Mastered At – Tape One

One Bad Pig – Live: Blow The House Down – 1992

This album was recorded live at Cornerstone Festival, IL on July 6, 1991. This was in the ending day of OBP. They we’re out at this time supporting their “I Scream Sunday” album and this concert featured a few tracks from the album. Now I’m going to be honest here, I do not care for power punk. This style of music is just not for me. That said I had huge respect for the band because they took so much crap from the Christian community and even the industry for daring to do this style. They always took it with a smile and sent a message in their music. Even this concert they performed the protest the king song “Rock The Casbah.” A perfect choice for them. As for the album the tracks are well chosen and I think you’ll find most of your favourites. If I was to nitpick at the album is would again be the engineering. As I have said before a live mix and an album mix are two completely different things. At the time this was recorded it wasn’t so easy to produce one mix for the concert and a separate mix for the album. Yes it was possible but it wasn’t cheap from an equipment standpoint. The album definitely uses that live mix and you can tell because it falls a little flat on your home stereo. Anyway I still think it’s a great album and a must own for OBP fans.

Tracklist
1 – Prelude: Green Acres Theme – 1:30
2 – Take A Look At Yourself – 4:47
3 – Hey Punk – 1:39
4 – Smash The Guitar – 4:27
5 – I Scream Sunday – 3:25
6 – Red River – 5:10
7 – Judas Kiss – 2:57
8 – Cut Your Hair – 5:20
9 – Bowl Of Wrath – 2:53
10 – Isaiah 6 – 4:25
11 – Let’s Be Frank – 1:47
12 – Altar Ego – 2:22
13 – Swine Flew – 3:12
14 – Godarchy – 2:44
15 – Kosher – 3:50
16 – Ice Cream Sundae – 2:40
17 – Looney Tune – 1:40
18 – Rock The Casbah – 3:39
19 – Never Forget The Cross – 5:21

Credits
Art Direction – Roz
Bass Guitar, Vocals – Daniel Tucek
Crew [Stage Crew] – Aaron Baker, Chris Culver, Greg, Jamie Cervantes, Matt Williamson, Stephen Wagers
Design – John Flynn
Drums, Vocals – Phillip Owens
Engineer [Assistant] – Kathy Yore, Timothy R. Powell
Engineer [Audio Engineer] – Roger Heiss
Engineer [Live Sound Engineer] – Ed Bilach
Engineer [Monitor] – Greg Jaques
Executive-Producer – Mark Maxwell
Guitar, Vocals – Paul Q-Pek
Lead Vocals [Lead Screamer], Vocals – Carey “Kosher” Womack
Mastered By – Ken Love
Mixed By – Billy Smiley, Lee Groitzsch
Photography By – Mike Tabor
Producer – Billy Smiley
Recorded By – Metro Mobile Location Recording
Stage Manager – Dick Randall
Stage Manager [Stage Direction], Effects [Special Effects], Crew [Master Roadie] – Nelson West
Technician [Guitar] – Brian Wooten, Russell Smith, Sam Nunes, Steve Allen

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Record Company – Word (Uk) Ltd., Word Communications Ltd.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Cornerstone Festival
Recorded By – Metro Mobile Recording
Mixed At – Recording Arts
Mastered At – Mastermix
Designed At – f2design
Published By – Smiling Swine Music, Word Music, Place Of Refuge, Dawn Treader Music, Virgin Music, Inc., Nineden Ltd., Orion Music Publishing Inc., Next Decade Entertainment, Inc.
Glass Mastered At – Denon Digital Industries

Mark Farner – Some Kind Of Wonderful – 1991

This was Farner’s 3rd and final album with Frontline Records. In fact this would be his last album on a major label though he did continue getting his music out there on smaller labels/self releases. Interestingly he chose to cover his Grand Funk Railroad’s cover of “Some Kind Of Wonderful” which he rewrote as an evangelical song and it is pretty darn good. The rest of the album is an excellent selection of Rock & Roll tracks in the spirit of Grand Funk. While Mark didn’t have a regular band he did stick to the same studio musicians for his band and usually toured with them. So we have another great Rock & Roll album that is a must listen if straight up rock is your thing. Mark is another unappreciated artist of the period who could have easily made a fortune in the secular industry but chose to make almost nothing in the Christian market.

Tracklist
1 – Some Kind Of Wonderful – 4:46
2 – Love From Above – 4:10
3 – Without You – 4:50
4 – Not Yet – 4:43
5 – Attitude Of Gratitude – 3:41
6 – All The Way – 4:19
7 – With Me Anywhere – 4:13
8 – Conflict – 3:55
9 – The Vision – 4:18
10 – Well Done – 4:23

Credits
Backing Vocals – Bill Baumgart, Jean McClain, Lawrence Buckner, Mark Farner, Mike Maple
Bass – Lawrence Buckner
Coordinator [Production Coordinator] – Beth Jahnsen
Drums – Mike Maple
Engineer – Bill Baumgart, Dave Jahnsen
Keyboards – Tim Heintz
Lead Guitar – Arnaldo Vilches, Glenn Pearce
Lead Vocals [Additional] – Lawrence Buckner
Mixed By – Dave Jahnsen
Photography By – Wayne Armstrong
Producer – Bill Baumgart
Saxophone [Sax], Flute – Brandon Fields

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Frontline Records
Copyright © – Frontline Records
Record Company – Frontline Music Group
Distributed By – FMG Distribution
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia
Produced For – Asylomar Productions
Published By – Righteous Rock
Published By – Dandelion Music

David And The Giants – Distant Journey – 1990

In a proper world David And The Giants would be touring today playing medium sized venues all over North America and Europe. Unfortunately that’s not how things turned out and the world turned their backs on great Christian artists from the 80’s and instead they are playing the Church circuit. There was a variety of reasons but that’s for another day. What I’m saying is that they had over 20 albums and were a mainstay of the Christian music scene and they deserve proper recognition. As for the album it’s another great rock pop album from the Huff family. This was the first album with Lance Huff (David’s son) replacing Keith Thibodeaux (Keith did return in 2006 for select concerts and albums). I never got a chance to see them live back in the day and I really wish I could have as their music is right up my alley.

Tracklist
1 – Never Had It So Good – 4:08
2 – Time On My Side – 4:01
3 – Anchored Deep – 4:33
4 – Always On My Mind – 4:19
5 – Do You Feel What I Feel – 4:51
6 – Quiet Faith – 3:34
7 – Tear It Down – 3:48
8 – Let Go Let God – 4:27
9 – Can’t Live Without You – 3:42
10 – Distant Journey – 3:42
11 – Won’t Stop Believing – 4:17
12 – Easy Loving You – 3:49

Credits
Backing Vocals – Clayborn Huff, David Huff, Kellye Huff, Rayborn Huff, Tim Pedigo
Bass Guitar – Clayborn Huff
Design – Barbara Keller
Drums – Lance Huff
Engineer – David Huff, Rayborn Huff, Scott Carter
Guitar – David Huff
Harmonica – Rayborn Huff
Keyboards – Rayborn Huff
Lead Vocals – David Huff
Mandolin – David Huff
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Percussion – Lance Huff
Photography By – Harold Head
Producer – David Huff
Programmed By – Rayborn Huff
Programmed By [Additional] – Nate Sabin
Saxophone – David Huff

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Giant Records
Copyright © – Giant Records
Recorded At – Huff Recording Studios
Mastered At – Mastermix
Glass Mastered At – DADC – DIDX-008848

Prophecy – Take It To The Streets – 1982 – Full Album

There was a huge Gospel soul music scene in LA in the 80’s that is not often spoken of by the mainstream CCM movement. Several LA groups released self produced albums and they sold well in the soul music community. This is one of those oddball albums. It was self produced but appears to have been well known at the time. Most of the musicians on this album were/are accomplished studio musicians so there’s no shortage of talent here. Unfortunately any more information on this group has been lost to time. This was the only full length album we would get from Prophecy but they did have a 3 track single released in 1984 which is even more obscure. Anyway this is a great soul album and if that’s your style of music this is one to listen to.

Tracklist
1 – Never Be Ashamed – 4:38
2 – He’s My God – 4:07
3 – Do You Keep His Commandments – 4:04
4 – The Race Of Life – 4:38
5 – Oh How I Love That Name – 5:12
6 – Take It To The Streets – 2:58
7 – He Died For You And I – 5:15
8 – Somebody’s Watching You – 4:31

Credits
Drums – George Bell
Electric Piano – Rodney Friend
Engineer – Tony Modster
Engineer, Mixed By – Monty Seward
Executive-Producer, Design [Cover] – David Moch
Guitar – Ernie Jefferson
Horns – Arthur Manley, Reggie Young, Rodney Taylor
Mixed By – Phillip Nicholas
Percussion – Nathan Alford
Piano – Beverly Calvin
Producer – Karvin Johnson
Producer, Written-By, Bass, Mixed By – J.R. Edmonds
Strings – Gail Winn, John Sims, Joseph Taylor, Yvette Devereaux
Vocals [Extra] – Brenda “Halloway” Davis, “Nicholas”

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Creative Gospel Inc.
Published By – Mojeco
Published By – Cojemo
Recorded At – C.B.A. Recording Studios
Lacquer Cut At – K Disc Mastering

Trade Secret – Trade Secret – 1987

I’m going to preface this by saying I can not find anything about this group so I’m only pulling information essentially from the album sleeve. The band first came to my attention when I found one of their tracks on The Strait Tapes – Volume III. I subsequently discovered they had a demo in 1986 and an album in 1987. This is that 1987 album. The band appears to be a group of studio musicians that came together. They all have a pretty good appearance record performing on some great U.K. CCM classics. As for the album it is a strong Pop performance with very strong vocals from Julie Moon (Costello). This is another one that was only released in the U.K. but is easily good enough to have had a worldwide release but it was not on an international label. Edge Records never really had proper U.S. distribution which I find odd considering they were a Sub-label of Kingsway Music which we’re a pretty big label. Chances are most of you have never heard this one so take the time to give it a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Tragedy – 3:06
2 – Say – 3:23
3 – You’re Here – 4:37
4 – With or Without You – 3:43
5 – What Y’Gonna Do – 3:33
6 – Don’t Take No (For An Answer) – 3:52
7 – This Time – 3:55
8 – Stand By Me – 3:54
9 – Searching For Heaven – 5:00
10 – If I Don’t Have You – 4:20

Credits
Backing Vocals – Belinda Moon, Julie Moon, Mal Pope
Bass – Les Moir
Design – James Kessell
Drums – Bobby Clarke
Guitar – Neil Costello
Keyboards – Mal Pope
Mixed By – Les Moir, Neil Costello
Percussion – Karlos Edwards
Photography By – Branka Jukić
Producer – Mal Pope, Neil Costello
Saxophone – Dave Fitzgerald*
Voice – Julie Moon

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Kingsway Publications Ltd.
Copyright © – Kingsway Publications Ltd.
Recorded At – ICC Studios
Distributed By – Kingsway Music, Nye Toner, Finngospel, Sephora Diffusion, La Sorgente Music, GMI Records, Master Music, Master-Vision-S.A., Kir Music, Premier Music, Viva Music