Albums – Page 59 – Real 80s CCM

Stephanie Boosahda – Fearless To Follow – 1984

This is Stephanie’s 7th and final studio album. It sounds like her previous work and I get the feeling that she was struggling with finding an updated 80’s sound. I’m not faulting her but female vocalists were changing in the 80’s and Stephanie’s work was better oriented to late 70’s praise music. That said it’s … Continue reading “Stephanie Boosahda – Fearless To Follow – 1984”

This is Stephanie’s 7th and final studio album. It sounds like her previous work and I get the feeling that she was struggling with finding an updated 80’s sound. I’m not faulting her but female vocalists were changing in the 80’s and Stephanie’s work was better oriented to late 70’s praise music. That said it’s an excellent album for it’s style and there are some upbeat tracks but for the main part this is a worship oriented album.

Tracklist
1 – Who Do You Say That I Am? – 3:19
2 – Signs And Wonders – 4:11
3 – Fearless To Follow – 4:30
4 – I Will Rejoice In Him – 3:21
5 – How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place – 3:40
6 – Bless The Lord, O My Soul – 3:49
7 – He Will Not Let You Fall – 3:52
8 – On The Crest Of A Wave – 4:41
9 – A Child Is Born – 3:07

Credits
Arranged By [Strings] – Alan Moore
Backing Vocals – Bonnie Keen, Jackie Cusic, Marty McCall, Melody Tunney
Bass – Mike Brignardello
Design Concept, Art Direction – Bill Barnes
Drums – Larrie Londin, Mark Hammond
Engineer [Assistant] – Tom Harding
Engineer, Mixed By – Ed Seay
Executive-Producer – Michael DeMonico
Graphics – Barnes & Company
Guitar – Jon Goin
Keyboards – Shane Keister
Keyboards [Additional] – Keith Thomas, Phil Naish
Lacquer Cut By – GM
Mastered By – Benny Quinn
Percussion – Farrell Morris, Terry McMillan
Photography By, Design – Matt Barnes
Producer – Greg Nelson
Strings – Carl Gorodetzky, Nashville String Machine
Written-By – B. Batstone, David Stearman, Stephanie Boosahda

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Singspiration Music
Copyright © – Singspiration Music
Recorded At – Treasure Isle Recorders
Mastered At – Masterfonics
Pressed By – Electrosound Group Midwest, Inc.

Mark Farner – Wake Up – 1989

This is Mark’s second Christian release. It’s not quite as Rock & Roll as his first but it is still pretty good. Mark handled most of the instruments on the album and also produced it. Personally I feel the sound is a little hollow in places but I’m always overly critical on production and engineering. The tracks are well written and Mark really started to shine as a song writer on this album. Other than that there’s not a lot to say about the album other than give it a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Wake Up… – 4:23
2 – Into The Light – 3:59
3 – New Age – 3:22
4 – Come To Me – 3:58
5 – In Your Sight – 5:23
6 – Upright Man – 3:30
7 – Rocco – 3:48
8 – If It Wasn’t For Grace – 3:53
9 – Love Power – 4:00
10 – Role Model – 5:54
11 – Like I Was Before – 3:52

Credits
Backing Vocals [Background Vocals], Drums, Percussion – Mike Maple
Bass, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Lawrence Buckner
Engineer – Bradley Jones
Engineer [Assistent Engineer] – Dave Jahnsen, Don Pushies
Keyboards – Mark Farner
Keyboards, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Michael Blair
Lead Guitar – Arnie Vilches
Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar – Gordon vanEkstrom
Percussion – Mark Farner
Producer – Mark Farner
Rhythm Guitar – Arnie Vilches
Vocals, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals], Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar – Mark Farner

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Fun House Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Frontline Records
Copyright © – Frontline Records
Recorded At – Alliance Recording Co.
Mixed At – The Mixing Lab

The Rance Allen Group – I Feel Like Going On – 1980

This was actually the 7th album from The Rance Allen Group. I will forgive you if you have never heard of them because they were in that segment of Christian music that some of us were never exposed to. There seems to have been a whole parallel Christian music industry specializing in soul gospel music. As I researched this side genre I discovered that it was actually huge with several large labels. That said in the early 80’s these two industries started to cross over. This album was before those days so this album is on a soul gospel label. Anyway these guys were huge but I never had any exposure to them. This is a pity because they are really good. I don’t know if I would have bought any of their albums but it would have been nice to have heard them. As for this album it is an excellent soul album and you may have missed it in the day so you should give it a listen now.

Tracklist
1 – Where Did I Go Wrong – 4:45
2 – Some People – 4:50
3 – I’m Coming Back To You – 6:12
4 – Can’t Get Enough – 3:27
5 – God Can Do The Impossible – 5:10
6 – I Will Forever Lean On You – 5:23
7 – Believe In Yourself – 4:32
8 – I Feel Like Going On – 3:35

Credits
Arranged By – Johnny Allen
Art Direction – Phil Carroll
Backing Vocals – Brandye
Bass – Billy Sumler
Design – Kris Johnson
Drums – Jerry Jones
Engineer – Warren Woods
Executive-Producer – Toby Jackson
Guitar – Bruce Nazarian, Cecil Womack, Rance Allen
Horns – Eli Fontain
Keyboards – Rance Allen, Ronnie McNair
Mastered By – José Rodriguez
Percussion – Butch Small, James Griswold
Photography By – Phil Bray
Producer, Arranged By – Rance Allen, Ronnie McNair
Recorded By, Mixed By – Mark Calice
Strings – Betty Metzker, Carl Austin, Charles Everette, Edouard Kesner, Max James Bourbonnais, John Ronai, Marguerite Deslippe, Meyer Shapiro, Morris Hochberg, Nicholas Waselowich, Richard Piippo, Umberto Primo

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Fantasy Records
Recorded At – The Sound Suite Detroit
Mixed At – The Sound Suite Detroit
Mastered At – Sterling Sound
Published By – Stora Music Co.
Published By – Roxatlanta Lane
Published By – Tight Squeeze Music
Published By – Dark Star Music
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Stax Records

Passage – Passage – 1981

This album was an interesting story. Louis Johnson was a member of Brothers Johnson and he decided to do a solo album, kind of. I say kind of because he actually did vocals for 4 tracks, his wife Valerie did vocals for 3 tracks, and Richard Heath did lead vocals for 2 tracks. Louis was under contract with A&M records so this is one of those rare moments when A&M released a gospel album. Strangely Impact records also had a release of this album. I’d love to hear the story on how that came about. The album single “Open Up Your Heart” made it to #13 which is pretty good for a soul track in 1981. This is a top notch soul album by a genre king that you should listen to if you like your music with a little soul.

Tracklist
1 – Have You Heard The Word – 4:34
2 – You Can’t Be Livin’ – 4:55
3 – Faith Walking People – 3:39
4 – I See The Light – 4:36
5 – The Great Flood – 3:42
6 – Open Up Your Heart – 3:55
7 – Power – 4:11
8 – Love Eyes – 3:37
9 – The Son Will Come Again – 4:03

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Louis Johnson
Arranged By [Horns] – David Diggs, Louis Johnson
Arranged By [Strings] – David Diggs, Gerald Lee, Louis Johnson
Backing Vocals – Louis Johnson, Richard Heath, Valerie Johnson
Bass – Louis Johnson
Drums – John Robinson, Ricky Lawson
Electric Piano [Rhodes] – Louis Johnson
Engineer, Mixed By – Jack Joseph Puig
Flute – Michael Perkins
Guitar – Curtis Nolen, David Williams, Greg Moore, Louis Johnson
Keyboards – David Wolinski, Louis Johnson, Raymond Crossley, Rene Moore
Lead Vocals – Louis Johnson, Richard Heath, Valerie Johnson
Percussion – Richard Heath
Piano [Acoustic] – David Wolinski, Raymond Crossley
Producer – Louis Johnson
Saxophone [Solo] – Michael Perkins
Steel Guitar – Al Perkins
Synthesizer [Bass] – Louis Johnson
Vocals – Louis Johnson, Richard Heath, Valerie Johnson

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – A&M Records, Inc.
Copyright © – A&M Records, Inc.
Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Pitman
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab

Stephen Alexandersen – Let The Music Move Me – 1977

There’s not a whole lot out there about Stephen and this was his only album. I did find that he’s still out there doing music in Chicago so there’s that but not much more. So we will discuss the album instead of some long bio. The album has an excellent soul feel. I have discovered that through the late 70’s early 80’s there were some excellent white soul artists and Stephen is one of them. This is a style of music I wasn’t very familiar with in the 80’s as it wasn’t readily available on our local Christian record store. I’m guessing this was somewhat normal in towns like mine which were predominately white. Anyway this is a great album and I really enjoyed it. One point of trivia about the album is that it was pressed on white vinyl. This label only ever put out one other album and it was on white vinyl too. I guess it was a play on their name White Horse Records. Odd choice though because if you’re a tiny label generally you don’t want to do things that increased your costs.

Tracklist
1 – Let The Music Move Me – 4:18
2 – Lyin’ Lucifer – 3:22
3 – I’ve Got Jesus’ Love (To Hold Onto) – 4:38
4 – Just Like They Said (It Would Be) – 4:24
5 – That’s Enough For Me To Know – 4:50
6 – Walking With Jesus – 3:25
7 – Take Up Your Cross – 3:20
8 – Sing Unto The Lord – 4:53
9 – Lonely Stranger – 5:35
10 – State Of The World – 4:00

Credits
Arranged By – Gary Filip
Arranged By [Vocal] – Jessy Dixon
Backing Vocals – Myriad, Jessy Dixon Singers, Thompson Community Singers
Composed By – Stephen Alexandersen
Design [Album] – Chuck Strantz
Engineer [Assisted By] – Jim Commisano
Engineer, Mixed By [Mixdown] – Mal Davis
Executive-Producer – Ray Nenow
Mastered By – Gary Hedden
Musician – Dick Lux, Gary Filip, Gary Thompson, Jack Kelly, Russ Daughtry, Stephen Alexandersen
Photography By – Gene Johnson
Producer – Gary Filip, Mal Davis, Stephen Alexandersen

Companies, etc.
Pressed By – Wakefield Manufacturing – 31797
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – White Horse Records
Copyright © – Windy Music Company
Distributed By – Windy Distributor Company
Published By – Windy Music Company
Recorded At – D.B. Sudios

Glen Allen Green – Down This Avenue – 1987

Strangely I couldn’t find much info on Glen. He was a songwriter in the early 80’s and wrote some stuff we’ve all heard. He wrote “We Are The Light” by Servant, “Run” by Steve Archer, and “Take The Cross” by Joe English among others. This is actually his second album and again Chris Christian was the executive producer and it was on Chris’s label Home Sweet Home Records. Glen’s first album was full of big names but this one seemed a little more reserved with Glen handling most of the instruments except the guitar and bass tracks. As for the album it’s a fun Pop oriented album and is quite fun to listen to. You may have missed this one in the 80’s so I would suggest you listen to it now.

Tracklist
1 – Love Is Waiting Here – 5:23
2 – Down This Avenue – 4:32
3 – Living For Babylon – 5:05
4 – Eternity – 4:55
5 – Look Up – 4:15
6 – Turn Up The Music – 4:03
7 – A Million Miles Away – 4:54
8 – Out West – 5:15
9 – Famine Of The Heart – 4:45
10 – Not In The Grave – 4:36

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Rod Brown Design
Backing Vocals – Christopher Davis, Grant Cunningham
Bass [Additional Arrangements] – Matt Pearson
Engineer, Drum Programming – Kent Davis
Executive-Producer – Chris Christian
Guitar – Jerry McPherson
Producer, Arranged By, Keyboards, Drum Programming, Backing Vocals – Glen Allen Green

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Home Sweet Home Records, Inc.
Copyright © – Home Sweet Home Records, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio East
Recorded At – Big Planet Studios
Mixed At – Big Planet Studios
Mastered At – Future Disc

Surprise – Reformation – 1990

Reformation is the excellent sophomore studio album by Sydney band Surprise (previously known as Surprise Surprise), released by American record label, Refuge Records. The band was locally managed by David Smallbone who is the father of renowned CCM artist, Rebecca St. James. Out of all the 80s Australian bands I have reviewed so far, this is one of my favourite music finds. In preparing for this review I’ve listened to this album several times, and I still love it. The band’s music style is best described as ‘eclectic’ – ranging from rockabilly (‘Into The Light’), pop, rock, shock rock (‘Jack The Ripper?’), alternative, and even some hard rock/metal. What keeps things interesting is that the band has a male (Alexander MacDonald) and female vocalist (Lisa Parsons). The band are not as direct or in your face when it comes to sharing their Christian faith & worldview as other bands, and yet they share it in creative and sometimes witty/humorous ways. For example, in one of my favourite songs, ‘The Sixty-Six’, when referring to the canon of the Bible, the lyrics are:
I know 66 reasons for all these feelings inside my head.
I’ve seen 39 old ones full of bold ones and what You said.
Be still and know I am God…
I know that 27 speak of heaven, and that You bled.

Another great lyric is: No condemnation in the Him of Hymns, when life ends is when it all begins.

Another highlight are the guest vocals provided by In The Silence’s John Dickson on the track ‘Destroy all Monsters/Carnival Freakout/Onward’ (the ‘Onward’ part of the song is the band’s great remake of the classic hymn ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’).

The 13th track which is a bonus song contains the lyric:
I believe in the canon.
I believe in three-in-one.
I believe in the sixty-six, and the Virgin’s holy Son.

I’m looking forward to giving the band’s debut album, Fish!!!, on Refuge Records another listen.

Contributor – Frank Axel Rasenberger

Tracklist
1 – A-Z – 2:31
2 – Living Is Easy – 3:23
3 – Madder Than Me – 3:58
4 – Destroy All Monsters/Carnival Freakout/Onward – 3:35
5 – Into the Light – 2:32
6 – Jack the Ripper? – 2:29
7 – Slash’n’Burn – 2:41
8 – Voice Inside – 3:15
9 – Victim of Love – 1:50
10 – Look Inside Your Heart – 3:15
11 – The Sixty-Six – 2:15
12 – Come Back Today – 2:58
13 – I Believe (Bonus Track) – 3:03

Credits
Backing Vocals – Allan Dowthwaite, David Welch, Malcolm Kiely
Bass – Malcolm Kiely
Drums – Allan Dowthwaite
Engineer – Dave Simpfendorfer
Guitar – Alexander MacDonald
Keyboards – David Welch
Mixed By – Jeff Todd
Producer – Dave Simpfendorfer, Surprise
Vocals – Alexander MacDonald, Lisa Parsons

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Windwood Studios

Jamie Owens-Collins – Love Eyes – 1978

Jamie Owens-Collins is the daughter of Jimmy and Carol Owens who were pioneers in the CCM movement and some of the first people to bring CCM music into the Church. Jamie had been on several of their children’s albums and this is her first solo album. So we know she had a good head start and the results of this album show that she was ready for the industry. It had 2 singles with the first being “Love Eyes” which made it to #6. “Pleasure Servin’ You” also singled peaking at #13. Pretty good for your first album. It should also be noted that her husband is Dan Collins who was also well known in the CCM industry having appeared on several “The Maranatha Singers” albums.

Tracklist
1 – Love Eyes – 3:42
2 – Daniel – 2:59
3 – Radio Man – 4:07
4 – Hidden Treasure – 2:25
5 – It’s Been Quite A Year – 3:27
6 – Pleasure Servin’ You – 2:50
7 – Only You – 2:32
8 – New Day – 3:35
9 – Waters Of Rest – 2:28
10 – Mighty River – 3:19

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Al Perkins, Art Munson
Arranged By [Strings], Conductor – Jimmy Owens
Backing Vocals – Dan Collins, Jamie Owens-Collins, Terry Talbot, Tim Archer
Bass – Dennis Kovarik, Jim Fielder
Concertmaster – Sid Sharp
Drums – David Kemper
Electric Guitar – Al Perkins, Art Munson, Rick Vito, Steve Steffy, Tim May
Engineer – Jack Puig, Wally Duguid
Engineer [Assistant] – Greg Thompson
Graphics – Carthy Lamb
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Organ – Richard Souther
Percussion – Steve Forman
Photography By [Back Cover] – Dan Collins
Photography By [Front Cover] – Ron Anderson
Piano – John Hobbs, Pete Hallin, Richard Souther
Producer – Dan Collins
Resonator Guitar [Dobtro], Steel Guitar – Al Perkins
Synthesizer – Richard Souther

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Copyright © – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Recorded At – Martinsound
Recorded At – Sound Castle Recorders, Los Angeles
Mastered At – A&M Mastering Studios

Hope Of Glory – Second Look – 1977

I really cant find much info on this band which is surprising as they had 5 albums. So I’m left to talk about the album. It’s a seventies sound album that leans worship in some spots and country in others. The jacket brags that Bob Farrell arranged 2 of the tracks which I found rather odd as these guys should have been able to stand on their own reputation by album number 4. Anyway of you like the seventies give this one a listen.

1 – Lifesaver – 3:03
2 – Walkin’ – 2:51
3 – Lost And Found – 5:23
4 – Kiss Of Life – 2:08
5 – Tell My People – 5:02
6 – Hope Song – 3:21
7 – Someone Chased Away The Rain – 4:11
8 – Only Jesus – 5:08
9 – Homespun Harmony – 3:08
10 – Here I Am – 5:14

Chryztyne – Tales Of Paradise – 1993

This appears to be the only album for this German metal band Chryztyne. There isn’t much info out there on the band but we do know that vocalist Frank Schepp was previously in the band Saint Attack. The album isn’t overtly Christian but instead leans towards Christian experiences but to be sure they were a Christian band on a Christian label. As for the album it’s a rather typical metal album for the period and I would rank it slightly above average. It’s relatively well produced but the mix feels a little off to me. The album was only released in Germany, Brazil, and Russia so there’s a good chance you’ve never heard this one. Apparently there was a music video for “Born In The Fire” but I couldn’t find a copy of it anywhere. So if you’re a Christian metal head here’s one you probably haven’t heard and for that reason alone you should give it a listen.

Tracklist
1 – For Me – 4:08
2 – Tell Me Why – 3:50
3 – Danger – 3:45
4 – Remember You – 4:16
5 – Mama Doesn’t Know – 5:00
6 – Stay With Me – 3:55
7 – All That You’ve Got – 4:29
8 – All Day All Night – 3:56
9 – Never – 3:03
10 – Born In The Fire – 3:34
11 – In The Darkness Of The Night – 3:19

Credits
Backing Vocals – Chrissi Rokitte, Isabel Wüst, Sascha Lien
Bass [All Bass Tracks Played By] – Marcus Lafferton
Design Concept [Cover Concept] – Andi Reusch, Chryztyne
Drum Programming [Percussion Programming] – Achim Köhler, Tommy Claus
Drums – Lars Nippa
Guitar – Mathias Loris
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Thomas Kessel
Layout [Lay-Art (Except] – Jörg Steinmetz
Performer [Bass Player] – Hans-Martin Kaufmann
Photography By [Cover Photo], Layout – Atelier Braun
Photography By [Inlay Photos] – Andreas Dalferth, Brigitte Gonzalez
Vocals, Backing Vocals – Frank Schepp