This is the second and last album from Street Angel. It is a little less U2ish than their first album but I think I preferred their first album. Strangely the band seems to consist of only one member, Bill Romansky. He had an album out in 1979 using his name but this is all I can find out about him so for this album we’re just gonna have to enjoy the music.
Tracklist 1 – Sinsad – 5:16 2 – Love Will Set You Free – 2:56 3 – Sun Don’t Shine – 5:13 4 – Better Off Today – 3:51 5 – Heart Of Hearts – 4:45 6 – Newland – 3:33 7 – King Of Rock And Roll – 2:35 8 – Breathe On Me – 2:34 9 – God Is Not – 6:46
Credits Executive-Producer – Armand Pirollo Guest – Michaux Cocoon Performer – Bill Romansky Producer – Street Angel
Companies, etc. Distributed By – Spectra Distribution, Inc.
A decade before the Mac Powell lead Third Day began owning the Christian radio and album sales charts there was a band from Ontario, Canada with the same name and a distinctly different sound. Once again it was the little, progressive Canadian label, Tunesmith, that delivered the band to the States. The band released one fantastic and completely original album in 1982 and little is known about them other than what I can read on album sleeve and hear in the grooves. Primarily a jazz influenced, progressive rock band with a male lead vocalist and female backing vocals. Great guitar and synthesizer work. “Covenant” kicks off side one with the albums most memorable tune. I vaguely remember playing this one for a short while on KYMS back in 1982. The album is often filled with straight scripture. It is also filled with very good guitar solo work. The opening track has both. I have always enjoyed a band that is not afraid to stop singing and actually play their instruments, something they do quite well. In fact, there is a nearly 7-minute instrumental on an album only containing 8 songs. Outside of the one token cheesy ballad (His Yoke Is Easy) most of the album rocks pretty hard within the progressive constraints. This would be more for fans of early Genesis, with more folk and rock influences. In fact, I read a review once that described them a “prog-folk,” and the label kind of works. In 1982 there was Resurrection Band and a few “metal” bands, but very few progressive rock band in the vein of Third Day and, as a result, they stood out. They also stood out initially because of the great artwork and “gate fold” LP packaging Tunesmith provided. If only the label would have spent a few more pennies on the production of many of their releases. But here Third Day stands out again with great production.
Contributor David Lowman – https://legacyccmsgreatestalbums.wordpress.com/
Tracklist 1 – Covenant – 3:53 2 – The Real You – 5:30 3 – It’s A New Day – 6:30 4 – His Yoke Is Easy – 2:47 5 – Revelation – 5:20 6 – The Word – 4:55 7 – Without Love – 4:54 8 – He Holds The Sun – 4:37
Credits Acoustic Guitar – Al Tiernay, Lazarus Varla Art Direction, Photography By – Tom Fenney Artwork [Signed] – D. Rieger Backing Vocals – Beth Hudson, Esther Hudson, Sharon Hudson Bass – Geoff Taylor, Lazarus Varla, Steve Kennedy Cover, Illustration – Adolph Rieger Drums – Frank Difelice, Paul Quinton Electric Guitar – Al Tiernay, Lazarus Varla Electric Piano [Rhodes] – David Geldart Engineer [Assistant] – Lori Taylor, Paul Templeman Engineer [Second] – Cam Shearer, Frank Kitson Engineer, Mixed By – Paul Massey Flute, Piccolo Flute – Bev Joel Guitar – Lazarus Varla Lead Guitar – Lazarus Varla Lead Vocals – Lazarus Varla Mixed By – Doug McKenzie Percussion – Paul Quinton Producer, Arranged By – Lazarus Varla Rhythm Guitar – Al Tiernay Synthesizer – Lazarus Varla Synthesizer [Oberheim O B X] – David Geldart, Lazarus Varla Synthesizer [Prophet 5] – Bob Federer Vocals – Al Tiernay, Lazarus Varla Written-By – Al Tiernay, L. Varla
Companies, etc. Published By – Noteworthy Publishing Recorded At – Master’s Workshop Mastered At – Greg Lee Processing
I don’t really know much about Steven Prince but I do know he was an artist is Australia. This year he re-released this 1989 album with new and improved audio. It is very sad that we didn’t get to hear more about these Australian artists in North America. For some reason the music industry chose not to share them with us. This actually continues to this day as there are several country stars in Australia that don’t get released in America. Anyway Steven re-released this album this year and it’s lucky for us because it deserved a chance to be listened to again. It is a little conceptual in places and is without a doubt has the closest track to Pink Floyd in “Forrest Fear”. Overall a fantastic album.
Tracklist 1 – Keep On Trying – 4:06 2 – Hurting Me – 5:03 3 – A Friend Beside You – 6:50 4 – Looking Out From Circles – 4:43 5 – Invader-Crusader – 4:18 6 – You Can Fly – 5:00 7 – Wintertime – 5:53 8 – Forest Fear – 5:59 9 – Lifetime – 7:12 10 – Old Timer – 4:39 11 – The Next Plateau – 3:58
Dipping well into the 90’s here but this is an 80’s artist. Phillip Sandifer is joined by his brother Michael for this one off album in 1996. Though it’s a 90’s album it really maintains Phillip’s 80’s sound. I’m not a huge fan of Phillip as he doesn’t really do my style of music but this album is actually pretty good. It is fairly mellow but has a nice flow to it and is a good example of how to structure an album so you can listen to the whole thing. The album was well received with 2 top singles, “Love Speaks Louder” and “Wider Sky”.
Tracklist 1 – Wider Sky – 5:08 2 – Moon Circles – 5:31 3 – Soul Need – 5:31 4 – Wanting The Things You Get – 5:15 5 – Looking For A War – 4:38 6 – Imperfect Vision – 5:18 7 – Love Speaks Louder – 4:34 8 – There Is A Place – 4:40 9 – Circle Of Love – 4:59 10 – The Sun Goes Down Too Fast – 4:40
Formed in 1989 in San Diego, California Crystavox was quick into the studio to get this album out to us. Now keep in mind I’m not the biggest fan of Metal but this is an album I can listen to. Now it’s probably due to the commercial feel but this really is a good album and is probably one of my favourite metal albums. Of particular note is “It’s All Right (To Rock N’ Roll)”. There are so many bands that have done a song exactly along these lines but this is probably one of the best. It comes off as a real song and doesn’t have a cliché feel to it at all. It’s a great Rock & Roll track and made it right into my regular rotation. Given the quality of this album I can’t wait to hear their next one.
Tracklist 1 – Sacrifice – 3:49 2 – Power Games – 4:22 3 – Wear It Out – 2:41 4 – Turn It On – 4:15 5 – Home Again – 4:53 6 – All The Way – 4:07 7 – It’s All Right – 4:13 8 – All Around The World – 3:18 9 – Never Give In – 4:15 10 – Tough Boys – 4:27
Credits Bass Guitar – Leo Correla Drums – Fred Helm Keyboards – Loren Holmquist Lead Guitar – Tony Lopez Rhythm Guitar – Loren Holmquist Vocals – Adam Lee Kemp
I assume John’s Songs For Worship Volume I sold pretty well so they did a Songs For Worship Volume II. Of course as the first one was actually name Volume I they probably had plans for this one all along. There isn’t really too much I can say about this album because it’s just a collection of worship songs and as such there really isn’t any stand out tracks. That’s not a bad thing for a worship album so it’s not a criticism. I suspect the album was met with a bit of a yawn however as it didn’t even garner a CCM single. Oh well this is a great Sunday worship album if you like that kind of thing.
Tracklist 1 – Taste And See – 2:31 2 – Lord, Every Nation On Earth Shall Adore You – 4:13 3 – Jesus Prayer – 2:44 4 – Lord Have Mercy – 1:46 5 – Glory To God – 3:06 6 – Holy, Holy, Holy – 2:35 7 – The Spirit Of The Lord – 3:18 8 – Father, I Put My Life In Your Hands – 3:47 9 – Lamb Of God – 2:23 10 – I Am The Ressurection – 4:18 11 – Let Us Sing To The Lord – 2:51
Credits Design [Lyric Sheet Design] – Steve Cox Engineer [Orchestra Recorded And Mixed] – Mike Ross-Trevor Engineer [Solos And Guitar] – Ron Capone Engineer [Vocals] – Bill Cobb Photography By [Cover] – Edd Anthony Producer, Arranged By, Orchestrated By, Conductor – Phil Perkins Producer, Written By, Guitar, Vocals – John Michael Talbot Vocals – Bekah Crabb, Carole Butler, Craig Smith, Ed Koharchick, Irene Davis, Jeanne Mitchell, Jo McGinty, John Peter Slauson, Kemper Crabb, Ken Pennell
This is the fourth album for Petra. It marked a pretty substantial shake up in the band. First we had the departure of Rob Frazier then Mark Kelly and John Slick joined the band. This album also marked Greg X. Volz’s taking on full time vocal duties. I assume all these changes were as a result of the poor showing of the previous album “Washes Whiter Than”. Personally I think this was the best lineup the band had. The album was more Rock oriented than their previous work and most pf the 70’s sound is gone. “The Coloring Song” was a huge success reaching #1 and is commonly heard in worship services to this day. That said it is not representative of what is actually a Rock album. I read that the band toured in support of Servant for this album but I distinctly remember them being the main act when I saw them in 1981 but I can’t remember who the opening act was. Point of trivia, the album cover was the first with Petra’s signature flying guitar.
Tracklist 1 – The Coloring Song – 2:52 2 – Chameleon – 5:47 3 – Angel Of Light – 4:21 4 – Killing My Old Man – 3:46 5 – Without Him We Can Do Nothing – 3:26 6 – Never Say Die – 3:42 7 – I Can Be Friends With You – 4:12 8 – For Annie – 4:24 9 – Father Of Lights – 3:02 10 – Praise Ye The Lord – 3:18
Credits Arranged By [Track Arrangements] – Jonathan David Brown, Petra Bass, Backing Vocals – Mark Kelly Drums, Percussion – Keith Edwards Guitar – Bob Hartman Illustration – Randy Rogers Keyboards, Backing Vocals – John Slick Layout – Mary Ann Smith Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Greg X. Volz Mastered By – Steve Hall Percussion – Alex MacDougall Photography By [Sleeve] – Diane McLaughlin Producer, Engineer, Mixed By – Jonathan David Brown Trombone – Joe Miller Trumpet – Bob Welborn
Companies, etc. Recorded At – Rivendell Sound Recorders Overdubbed At – Martinsound, Whitefield Studios Mixed At – Whitefield Studios Mastered At – MCA Whitney Recording Studios Manufactured By – Word Records Limited
This is the third album from Rick and his first with Sparrow records. We get a hint of bad things to come from Ric as he transitioned to a more Easy Listening sound. I’m not saying Easy Listening is bad, I’m just saying if you were a fan of Rick’s at this point you probably weren’t a fan of his later work. That said there are still some great Rock & Roll tunes on this album. Probably the best track on the album is “Don’t Say Suicide” as it was a bit of a touchy subject and I’ll be honest I loved songs that talked to their listeners. Maybe just maybe this song prevented a self deletion. Relatively unknown guitarist Jock Guthrie does a great job on the track. I also quite liked the title track as it had a more of a early 80’s rock feel. anyway this is a good Pop Rock album with some good guitar work. Definitely a must listen to from the era.
Tracklist 1 – Don’t Say Suicide – 3:30 2 – You’re My Road – 3:54 3 – One Child In Pain – 3:40 4 – We Are The Chosen – 3:51 5 – You’ve Only Got One Life – 3:40 6 – House Calls – 3:14 7 – Runaway – 3:33 8 – We Are Yours – 3:22 9 – The Old Man – 4:12 10 – Cant’ Stop – 3:07
Credits Jeff Balding – Engineer Niles Borop – Songwriter Barbara Catanzaro – Background Vocals Lisa Cates – Percussion Buz Cua – Guitar Diane Cua – Songwriter Rick Cua – Producer, Songwriter, Bass, Vocals Ron DeRollo – Guitar David Dix – Drums Rob Frazier – Background Vocals Jock Guthrie – Guitar, Background Vocals Bob Halligan, Jr. – Producer, Songwriter, Keyboards, Guitars, Background Vocals Jim Horn – Saxophone Richard Langford – Background Vocals Dwight Liles – Songwriter Chris McCollum – Engineer Mike Mead – Drums, Background Vocals Dino Pastin – Synthesizer Programming Janna Pastin – Background Vocals Dave Perkins – Songwriter, Engineer, Guitar, Background Vocals Brett Perry – Assistant Engineer Sam Tritico – Synthesizer Programming Wendy Waldman – Duet (We Are Yours) Peter York – Guitar
Companies, etc. Produced For – Koo-Ah Productions Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio Recorded At – Oak Hill Assembly
Not to be in any confused with CCM stalwarts, Caedmon’s Call, this is Caedmon, a progressive, medieval folk, blues, Celtic, jazz quintet from Edinburgh University that unleashed a completely original and creative project embraced a both sides of the pond and both sides of the music realm, garnering great reviews in Christian and mainstream publications. The group started off as a trio of veterinary students that primarily performed traditional British folk tunes and Church hymns and spirituals. The group expanded, as did their repertoire. They played with Water Into Wine, After the Fire, Larry Norman among other Jesus Music artists of the 70’s in Britain. But like many contemporaries…they disappeared quickly. Though the desire for the music has prompted a few re-releases over the years. Whether it’s the Celtic like folky number, “Ten Maidens fair” that kicks off the album or the moody, folky jazz tune, “Man Maker” that follows, the production is top notch, the quality of musicianship, originality and harmonies are simply compelling. Male and female lead vocals trade off with each song and often within each song. But one of the more compelling aspects is the vocal arrangements. There is really a lot going on here. “Sea Song” starts off like an old British shanty, then moves into a progressive rock like instrumental section with a killer guitar solo. The beautifully returns to its roots. Other true stand out tracks include “Living in the Sunshine” and “Columbas’ Song.” This a truly a brilliant gem that most likely would appear much higher on this list of I didn’t come to it so much later in life. I assume if I had owned this throughout its life cycle it would appear much higher on this list. I expect complaints from many claiming it deserves a higher ranking and an equal amount revealing they have never heard of it. The latter would do well to track it down as a phenomenal re-release with vastly improved sonics took place in the past year or so.
Contributor David Lowman – https://legacyccmsgreatestalbums.wordpress.com/
Tracklist 1 – Ten Maidens Fair – 4:17 2 – Maker Man – 3:25 3 – Death Of A Fox – 4:18 4 – Sea Song – 5:35 5 – Aslan – 4:15 6 – Living In The Sunshine – 3:27 7 – Storm – 6:06 8 – Columba’s Song – 2:21 9 – Smile On Your Face – 4:35 10 – Caedmon’s Hymn – 4:15 11 – Give Me Jesus – 6:45 12 – Beyond The Second Mile – 4:15
Credits Acoustic Guitar – Jim Bisset Acoustic Guitar, Spoons [Spoon And Teacup] – Ken Patterson Vocals – Angela Naylor Vocals, Bass Guitar – Sam Wilson Vocals, Electric Guitar – Jim Bisset Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin, Other [etc] – Simon Jaquet Vocals, Piano, Cello – Ken Patterson
This is the album that started it all for Kathy and for Reunion Records. But lets start a few years earlier. Kathy grew up Catholic but became born again in 1978. She had been working in the music industry struggling to get noticed. Kathy got her break in 1980 when she opened for Glad at her own church. Ed Nalle from Glad took note of her voice and approached her about cutting a demo with his band. Ed shopped that demo to Michael Blanton and Dan Harrell who reportedly were thinking of starting a new record label. This album became the first album on that label, Reunion Records. The release was a smashing success and the album is reportedly the best-selling debut album by a CCM female artist. That said the album only had one charting single with “Stubborn Love” peaking at #2. In my opinion “You’re All I Need To Get By”, a cover of a Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrellduet hit, was the best track on the album. But this was 1982 and no way were the CCM chart people going to allow a secular cover to chart. The whole album is great for this genre of CCM music and is easily as good as anything Amy Grant was doing at the time. You probably heard this one in the 80’s so today’s a great day to listen to it again for the memories.
Tracklist 1 – You’re All I Need To Get By – 4:02 2 – Hand In Hand – 3:40 3 – All I Must Do – 3:47 4 – It’s The Small Things – 3:20 5 – Lord I Need You Now – 4:03 6 – There’s Still Time – 3:42 7 – Once In A Lifetime Love – 4:44 8 – Stubborn Love – 4:29 9 – It’s Your Love – 4:22 10 – Love Of My Life – 3:57
Credits Arranged By [Strings] – Alan Moore Bass – Craig Nelson, Mike Brignardello Design [Album] – Dennis Hill Drums – Keith Edwards Engineer – Gene Eichelberger Executive-Producer – Dan Harrell, Mike Blanton Guitar – Dann Huff, Jon Goin Harp – Cindy Reynolds Keyboards – Gerrit Wilson, Michael W. Smith, Shane Keister Liner Notes – Brown Bannister Mastered By [Runout Etch] – Hank Williams Overdubbed By – Bob Clark Percussion – Mark Morris Photography By [Back] – Mark Pleasant, Wade Jaynes Photography By [Front] – Mike Borum Producer – Brown Bannister Saxophone – Dennis Solee Synthesizer – Shane Keister Vocals – Denny Henson, Diana Dewitt, Donna McElroy, Greg Guidry, Kim Flemming, Sandy Guidry
