Category: Albums

Dieter Falk – Today – 1987

Here’s another one we didn’t get in North America. Dieter was a German musician and producer that put out a few albums himself. This is his second album and I do not understand why someone didn’t bring this album across the ocean. The German release was on Pila Records but Myrrh picked it up for a further European release. I don’t understand why Myrrh didn’t try to bring this to us as the album is fantastic. The album is instrumental except for 4 tracks where there were guest vocalists. Brigitte Petereit sings 2 tracks and did a pretty good job but never had a release herself. One track has Swedish singer Charlotte Höglund who is responsible for me finding this album as I found her in the credits. One track is sung by Steve Tolley who is a complete mystery but a fantastic vocalist. He sings on “Gospel Train” and makes that song the obvious album single. All the instrumental tracks are vocal ready and just needed some lyrics and a singer. That said I have some sympathy for Dieter in that it was HIS album and bringing in a bunch of guest vocalists does cause an album to have an uneven feel. That said this is a great album and deserves to be heard.

Tracklist
1 – Today – 3:35
2 – Tomorrow – 3:54
3 – Every Song, Every Melody – 3:56
4 – Higher Power – 3:21
5 – Heart And Soul – 3:46
6 – Gospel Train – 3:39
7 – Love Connection – 3:51
8 – Back To The Roots – 3:06
9 – Joy Arising – 0:43
10 – Celebration – 3:44
11 – Who Keeps The Love – 3:05
12 – Commit Whatever Grieves Thee – 3:42

Credits
Arranged By, Producer, Keyboards – Dieter Falk
Bass – Abe Laboriel*, Wolfgang Schmid
Drums, Percussion – Thomas Simmerl
Guitar – Dann Huff, Dieter Roesberg, Klaus-Peter Schöpfer, Peter Wölpl
Horns – Gary Grant, Jerry Hey
Mixed By – John Guess
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Saxophone – Frank Loef
Vocals – Brigitte Petereit, Charlotte Höglund, Steve Tolley

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Emmaus, Filadelfia Forlag, Finngospel, GMB/Révélation Media, GMI Records, Grace Music, Kir Music, La Sorgente Music, Master Music, Master-Vision-S.A., Nye Toner / Teovision, Pila Music, Sephora Diffusion, Viva Music, Word (Uk) Ltd.
Copyright © – Pila Music
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Pila Music
Made By – Shorewood Packaging
Printed By – Shorewood Packaging
Published By – Pila Music, Roxon Musikverlag
Recorded At – Hansahaus-Studios, Hollywood Sound Recorders, Melody-Tonstudio Stuttgart, Ton- & Videostudio Leonberg
Mixed At – Hollywood Sound Recorders

Galactic Cowboys – Galactic Cowboys – 1991

Galactic Cowboys was a band of Christian a opposed to a Christian band. They were well liked in the Christian community but struggled initially to get mainstream recognition. Now let me give my opinion on why they weren’t successful despite some real talent. I just don’t think they got the leadership they needed. This album, their first, was produced by Sam Taylor who made a ton of mistakes. First of all he should have stopped the band from trying to release 10 minute songs. Not only did he not stop them he proceeded to have several tracks bleed together. This worked well in the LP era but this album came out in the early CD era in which this never worked very well. The songs become disjointed and just sound odd. Later on the band would realize Sam was not the producer they needed and parted ways at which point I think they started to have a little more success. Quite frankly the band was just taking themselves a little too seriously. If you wanted to be a conceptual niche band this works but they wanted mainstream success. They simply weren’t producing mainstream songs. That said with some proper production I think they really could have made it because the talent and song writing was there.

Tracklist
1 – I’m Not Amused – 6:21
2 – My School – 6:40
3 – Why Can’t You Believe In Me – 6:34
4 – Kaptain Krude – 6:08
5 – Someone For Everyone – 6:23
6 – Sea Of Tranquility – 7:38
7 – Kill Floor – 5:04
8 – Pump Up The Space Suit – 1:01
9 – Ranch On Mars Reprise – 2:16
10 – Speak To Me – 10:13

Credits
A&R [A&R Direction] – Gary Gersh
Art Direction – Robin Sloane
Bass, Vocals – Monty Colvin
Cello – Max Dyer
Design – Pat Dillon
Drums, Vocals, Clarinet [Attempted] – Alan Doss
Engineer, Recorded By – Steve Ames
Guitar, Vocals – Dane Sonnier
Illustration – James Mcdermott
Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
Photography By – Keith Carter
Producer – Sam ‘Houston’ Taylor
Typography [Lettering] – Awest
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica – Ben Huggins
Written-By – Doss, Huggins, Sonnier, Colvin

Companies, etc.
Record Company – The David Geffen Company
Manufactured By – Uni Distribution Corp.
Distributed By – Uni Distribution Corp.
Pressed By – Specialty Records Corporation
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The David Geffen Company
Copyright © – The David Geffen Company
Published By – Virgin Music, Inc.
Published By – Wilde Cowboy Music Co.
Recorded At – Rampart Studios
Mastered At – Masterdisk

Various – Never Say Dinosaur – 1996

I had no idea this one existed until I stumble on it a week ago. It’s a Petra tribute album released in 1996 by Star Song with some of biggest artists of the mid 90’s. I am just guessing here but I think the producers asked the artists to “really make your cover your own.” The result? Some of these songs aren’t even recognizable. I don’t know if it’s just me but I find most of these covers to be horrible. I did like the Audio Adrenaline and Caprill And My Sister’s Garden tracks but I really struggled with the rest. But hey I’m just a critic that doesn’t always “get it.” How about you, what do you think of this project?

Tracklist
1 – Audio Adrenaline – Taste And See – 3:36
2 – The Walter Eugenes – Judas’ Kiss – 4:34
3 – Galactic Cowboys – Not Of This World – 5:30
4 – Sarah Jahn – Yahweh Love – 5:13
5 – MxPx – I Can Be Friends With You – 2:43
6 – Jars Of Clay – Rose Colored Stained Glass Window – 4:18
7 – Kevin Smith & Passafist – Louie’s Solo – 5:33
8 – Sixpence None The Richer – Road To Zion – 5:43
9 – The Stand – Pied Piper – 3:28
10 – Grammatrain – Wake Up – 3:45
11 – Caprill And My Sister’s Garden – The Coloring Song – 4:02
12 – Plankeye – All The King’s Horses – 5:47

Credits
Executive producer – Darrell A. Harris
Co-executive producers – Lynn Nichols, Dave Perkins
Mastered by Steve Marcussen at Precision Mastering, Hollywood, California
Project coordinator – Debby Austin

The 2nd Chapter Of Acts – The Roar Of Love – 1980

While this is the fourth album released from 2nd Chapter of Acts it was actually recorded in 1976 before their third album Mansion Builder. Unfortunately it got tied up in legalities which delayed it’s release. Luckily it all got figured out and the album got released. These legal problems were because of the album was based on a telling of the story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe which was the first published book in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series by C. S. Lewis. Matthew Ward tells the story that the vocals were recorded in a bedroom of their house but the mixer was in the garage which in turn caused them to put hole in the wall for the cords of the microphone. This album is one of their most popular even today. Apparently people really enjoyed the C.S. Lewis tie in.

Tracklist
1 – Are You Goin’ To Narnia – 3:26
2 – Lucy’s Long Gone – 1:46
3 – Tell The Truth – 2:27
4 – Turkish Delight – 3:00
5 – Son Of Adam Daughter Of Eve – 2:16
6 – Christmas Where Are You – 1:50
7 – Gifts From Father Christmas – 1:54
8 – Aslan Is Killed – 2:28
9 – The Roar Of Love – 2:28
10 – I’ve Heard The Stars Sing Before – 2:13
11 – He’s Broken Thru – 3:14
12 – Witch’s Demise / Get It Into Your Head – 2:40
13 – Something Is Happening In Me – 2:03
14 – White Stag – 3:25

Credits
Arranged By [Instrumental Arrangements] – Michael Omartian
Bass – Leland Sklar
Engineer, Producer – Buck Herring
Guitar – Jay Graydon
Guitar, Soloist [Guitar] – Phil Keaggy
Illustration, Design – Larry McAdams
Keyboards, Synthesizer [s] – Michael Omartian
Lacquer Cut By – KPG
Liner Notes [Inner Sleeve quote] – Clyde S. Kilby
Programmed By [Synthesizers] – Alex Cima
Sounds [Crystal Glasses] – 2nd Chapter Of Acts
Whistle – Matthew Ward
Written-By – Anne Herring, Matthew Ward, Nelly Greisen

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Copyright © – Latter Rain Music
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Recorded At – United Western Studios
Recorded At – Sunwest Recording Studios
Recorded At – Frog Shoes
Mastered At – Location Recording Service
Lacquer Cut At – The Cutting System, Inc.

Killed By Cain – Killed By Cain – 1993

This is the one and only album we would get from Killed By Cain, kind of. Before this one album deal with R.E.X. Music the band was actually called White Ray and they actually had 4 demo’s which were very well liked and sought after. At this point I have only listened to one of those demos and it’s okay but nothing special. This album is very well produced thanks to Dale Thompson and the mix is good. That said the album just doesn’t stand out to me. It’s not bad, just nothing special. I admit this isn’t my preferred style of music but I know a good album when I hear it. Is it a good album? Yes, but it’s not a great album. It has a typical metal sound that was just overdone at this point. I do have all of their demo’s and maybe I’ll be more impressed there and I will give them an honest listen.

Tracklist
1 – Intro To Hypocrisy – 0:54
2 – Burn The Church – 3:09
3 – Violence – 3:46
4 – Thou Shalt Not Kill – 3:48
5 – Gasoline – 4:12
6 – Jezebel – 3:15
7 – Father – 4:47
8 – Sin City – 3:30
9 – Walk The Line – 3:58
10 – Gun Control – 3:47

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Noisegrind/Jeff Spencer*
Bass – Steve Curtsinger
Drums – Stephan Roland
Engineer – Martin Woodlee
Executive-Producer – P. Gavin Morkel
Guitar – Tony Bowling
Photography By – Forest Williams
Producer – Dale Thompson
Vocals – John Warren

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – R.E.X. Music Inc.
Copyright © – R.E.X. Music Inc.
Recorded At – The Saltmine
Mixed At – OmniSound Studios

Starflyer 59 – Starflyer 59 (Silver) – 1994

This is the first album from Starflyer 59 (Jason Martin). Strangely he had 2 self titled albums one with a gold cover and one with silver. This one is Colloquially referred to as Starflyer 59 Silver. This was a great introductory album for a style of grunge that Christian music needed. Jason is a fantastic song writer and you can hear it on this album. That said I just do not like how this album was engineered and produced. Later albums were produced by Jason and sound much better. This album was produced and engineered by the team of Jerome Fontamillas, Jyro Xhan, and Mark Rodriguez and I’m just going to say it, too many cooks in the kitchen ruins the stew. I think they were going for the “wall of sound” feel but honestly I’m just not feeling it. I would have preferred Jason mixed this album himself. Anyway it’s still a great album if you are a grunge fan. Jason is one of the greatest unsung heroes of the Christian music genre and deserves recognition as such.

Tracklist
1 – Blue Collar Love – 4:03
2 – Monterey – 2:59
3 – Sled – 3:27
4 – Hazel Would – 2:53
5 – The Zenith – 5:35
6 – 2nd Space Song – 3:20
7 – Droned – 4:32
8 – Happy Days Are Here Again – 1:16
9 – She Only Knows – 2:07
10 – The Dungeon – 3:49

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Brandon Ebel, Jason Pickersgill
Bass – Andrew Larson
Drums – Dan Reid
Executive-Producer – Brandon Ebel
Mastered By – Brian Gardner
Mixed By – Blood Productions
Mixed By, Engineer – Bob Moon
Photography By [Band And Studio Photography] – Brandon Ebel
Photography By [Triumph Photography] – Matt Wignall
Producer – Blood
Vocals, Guitar, Drums, Music By, Lyrics By – Jason Martin

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Tooth & Nail Records
Copyright © – Tooth & Nail Records
Copyright © – Thirsty Moon River Publishing
Copyright © – Blue Collar Songs
Distributed By – Diamante
Duplicated By – Disctronics USA – 123135
Recorded At – The Green Room
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering
Mixed At – The Mixing Lab
Mixed At – The Green Room
Designed At – DCCA
Pressed By – Disctronics USA

David And The Giants – David And The Giants – 1982

This is the 6th album from David & The Giants and strangely they hadn’t released a self titled album yet so this one got that treatment. This was the first of a 2 album run with CBS Priority Records but I wonder if they had a deal for more. The Priority label was shut down shortly after the bands second album with them so I guess we’ll never know. The Huff’s both engineered and produced this album and I don’t think they were quite ready for that role as personally I find the mix on this album to be a bit questionable. That said the album was very successful within the genre and many of their fans consider this their best album. The album still has a pretty strong 70’s sound which is a little surprising for 1982 but this was a transition album for them and they would have a more 80’s pop sound on their next album. I really enjoy this album and think there are several tracks here that deserve to be in peoples playlists if you like the traditional sound.

Tracklist
1 – One Less Stone – 4:00
2 – God Is Love – 4:32
3 – America (In God You Used To Trust) – 3:09
4 – I’m Gonna Go Fly Away – 3:15
5 – Noah – 4:10
6 – The Well (Will Never Run Dry) – 4:16
7 – Who In The World – 3:18
8 – Thunder And Lightning – 3:15
9 – Rock ‘N Roll Blues – 2:57
10 – Highway To Heaven – 4:10

Credits
Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar – Clayborn Huff
Backing Vocals, Clarinet, Organ, Electric Piano [Rhodes], Piano, Engineer, Synthesizer – Rayborn Huff
Design – Bob McConnell
Drums, Percussion – Keith Thibodeaux
Engineer [Assistant] – Dennis Ritchey
Guitar – David Huff
Guitar, Percussion, Vocals, Engineer, Mixed By – David Huff
Horns – Muscle Shoals Horns
Illustration – Mike Drake
Mastered By – Glenn Meadows
Organ – Rayborn Huff
Strings – Jackson Strings

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – CBS Inc.
Copyright © – CBS Inc.
Manufactured By – Priority Records
Manufactured By – CBS Inc.
Recorded At – Huff Recording Studios
Mastered At – Masterfonics
Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Terre Haute

Michael Sweet – Unstryped – The Post Stryper Sessions – 2000/1992

While this album was released in 2000 the material was apparently recorded in 1992. Things were a little more complicated for Stryper in 1992 with Michael announcing his departure and the joining/not joining of Dale Thompson. Apparently they did hit the studio in 1992 and recorded these 5 tracks but with all the turmoil they never got released. Somehow Michael got the rights to these songs and self released them in 2000. Anyway let’s not get hung up on the turmoil and give the EP a listen. These are excellent tracks and are pretty well produced. Tony Palacios (Guardian) played lead guitar on the first 2 tracks. I really enjoyed these 5 tracks, they have a great arena rock feel and I’m sure would have sold well in 1992 if they could have been released. Michael rerecorded/remixed “All I Wanna Do” for his self titled album in 1994.

Tracklist
1 – Love You Crazy – 3:55
2 – Give What You’ve Got – 4:53
3 – All I Wanna Do – 3:57
4 – When I’m Lonely – 4:05
5 – I Need You Now – 4:13

Credits
Bass – Baba Elephante
Drums – Jamie Wollam
Guitar – Tony Palacios (tracks: 1,2)
Keyboards – Terry Usler
Lead Guitar – Michael Sweet
Lead Vocals – Michael Sweet
Piano – Terry Usler
Producer – Michael Sweet
Rhythm Guitar – Michael Sweet

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – MSP Prod, Inc. – MSPCD 772
Copyright © – MSP Prod, Inc. – MSPCD 772
Manufactured By – Artist Development Associates

Petra – Washes Whiter Than – 1979

Washes Whiter Than is the third studio album by Petra and would mark the beginning of the chaos that became membership in the band. First, Greg Hough and John DeGroff left the band during the previous tour for “Come and Join Us” so Bob Hartman brought in Rob Frazier as a guitarist and vocalist. Then as they were starting to record this album drummer Bill Glover also left. Bob now invited Greg X. Volz who had been entertaining an offer from REO Speedwagon but decided Petra was for him. So the root of the band for this album was Bob Hartman, Rob Frazier, and Greg X. Volz while studio musicians rounded out the band for this recording. During all this chaos the band had taken a 9 month sabbatical to ponder their future. The band actually started recording this album while not even having a record deal in place. While recording and touring they were able to secure a record deal from Star Song Records. Now we’re not really too sure if it was Star Song or the band but the album took a mellow turn. It wasn’t an entirely mellow album but much more mellow than their previous 2 albums. I’ll be honest here that this is probably my least liked Petra album because of this turn. Even though this album had some great tracks it generally sat on the shelf in our listening room. The album did have 2 successful singles. “Why Should the Father Bother” made it to #3 on the CCM AC charts and stayed on the charts for 25 weeks while “Yahweh Love” made it to #20 on the CCM AC charts and stayed on the charts for 4 weeks. As usual for the CCM charts these were probably my 2 most disliked tracks. While Greg and Rob were sharing the lead vocal duties there is little doubt that Greg had the better tracks. That said I kind of like Rob’s vocals and it would have been interesting to see what direction he would have taken the band in. But anyway, Greg ended up with the vocalist job and Petra history would have him at the forefront until John Schlitt would take over in 1986. So that’s the interesting story behind this album making it historically one of the great story behind the album stories in CCM music.

Tracklist
1 – I’m Thankful – 2:41
2 – Why Should The Father Bother? – 3:46
3 – Morning Star – 4:47
4 – Magic Mirror – 3:27
5 – Mary’s Song – 4:00
6 – Yahweh Love – 5:38
7 – (Couldn’t Find Love) Without You – 4:19
8 – Taste And See – 3:23
9 – Magic Words – 3:31
10 – Deep Love – 3:57

Credits
Arranged By – George Atwell, Bob Hartman, Robert Frazier
Bass – Chip Meyers
Design, Artwork – George Werth
Drums, Percussion – Randy Nichols
Engineer – Andy deGanahl
Guitar – Gerald “Jit” Byron, Joel Balin
Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals – Robert Frazier
Keyboards – George Atwell
Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – Bob Hartman
Lead Vocals – Greg X. Volz (tracks: 1, 4, 6, 8), Rob Frazier (tracks: 1 to 3, 5 to 7, 9, 10)
Management, Booking – Dan Brock Associates
Mastered By – Allen Zentz Recording
Musician [“The Crown Of Sound”] – Bob Prince
Producer – George Atwell, Dan R. Brock

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) Star Song Records
Copyright (c) Star Song Records
Manufactured By Word, Inc.
Distributed By Word, Inc.
Published By Dawn Treader Music
Recorded At Bee Jay Recording Studio
Mastered At Future Disc

Geoff Moore and The Distance – Greatest Hits – 1996

We normally do not upload Greatest hits albums to YouTube but in this case we made an exception. The album contains 2 new tracks and the second of this two CD collection is entirely live so it’s also new material. Disc 1 consists of material from their 4 albums on the ForeFront label. It includes two new songs, More Than Gold and Today. Disc two is parts pf a concert recorded in Rome Georgia. A video was released to coincide with this release called Roadwork and is a more complete collection of the concert mentioned previously. The live tracks are well recorded and engineered which is more difficult than you may think as live mixes are completely different than album mixes. The live recording are what makes this album worth listening to as it was a great concert.

Tracklist
1 – More Than Gold – 4:19
2 – Life Together – 4:25
3 – Evolution … Redefined – 4:27
4 – The Vow – 4:08
5 – Good To Be Alive – 4:27
6 – If You Could See What I See – 4:18
7 – Listen To Our Hearts – 4:48
8 – House Of Faith – 4:22
9 – A Friend Like U – 3:44
10 – Simple Heart – 4:56
11 – Live To Tell – 4:34
12 – Today – 3:37
13 – Evidence Of God – 4:05
14 – Evolution … Redefined – 3:22
15 – Life Together – 3:54
16 – Best Days – 3:59
17 – Good To Be Alive – 4:18
18 – Home Run – 5:18
19 – New Americans – 5:18
20 – Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music – 4:26
21 – When All Is Said And Done – 2:50

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Tom Davis, Tonya Presley
Engineer [The Live Set], Mixed By [The Live Set] – Richie Biggs
Executive-Producer – Dan R. Brock, Eddie DeGarmo
Illustration [Jupiter Boy Cover Image By] – Steven Webster
Management – Brock & Associates
Mastered By – Ken Love
Photography By [Bus Image] – Shane Johnson
Photography By [Group Photography By] – John Chiasson
Photography By [Truck Image] – Jeff Frazier
Recorded By – RM Audio

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The ForeFront Communications Group, Inc.
Copyright © – The ForeFront Communications Group, Inc.
Distributed By – Chordant Distribution Group
Distributed By – CMC Distributors
Mastered At – Mastermix
Glass Mastered At – EMI MFG.