Category: Albums

Matthew Ward – Point Of View – 1992

This was Matthew’s first and only album on Benson Records after the untimely closing of Live Oak Records. I’m not really too sure how much effort he put into this album as quite frankly it’s a little dull. It leans to easy listening and quite frankly there aren’t many tunes that caught my attention though “Talk About” did interest me. I’m not saying it’s a bad album it’s just kind of dull. It only had one charting single, “Forever Stay” which made it to #10 but don’t expect much it is a frightfully easy listening track. Snooping through the credits I found that the drummer for the album was Dean Castronovo who is better known as the drummer for Bad English. Strangely I can only find that he ever appeared on 2 Christian albums, both by Ward. Also it was interesting to see Phil Keaggy played guitar on “Waterfall”. The song doesn’t have a guitar solo and I’m not really too sure why Keaggy was on the track as you can barely even make out the guitar track. All that said I am glad I have listened to the album for at least the historical value.

Tracklist
1 – Point Of View – 3:12
2 – Black And Blue – 3:25
3 – Waterfall – 3:48
4 – Too Late – 4:03
5 – Forever Stay – 4:14
6 – Teach My Heart – 3:40
7 – Faces Once More – 3:14
8 – Talk About – 3:43
9 – Sin For A Season – 4:17
10 – I Will Bless The Lord – 2:18

Credits
Art Direction – Connie Harrington
Backing Vocals – Bob Carlisle (tracks: 1, 2, 4 to 6, 8, 9), Debi Lee (tracks: 1, 4 to 6, 8, 9), Matthew Ward (tracks: 1, 4 to 6, 8 to 10), Nelly Greisen (tracks: 3, 7)
Bass – Leon Gaer
Design – The Riordon Design Group Inc.
Drums – Dean Castronovo
Engineer, Arranged By – Greg Hunt
Guitar – Martin Walsh, Phil Keaggy (tracks: 3)
Keyboards, Arranged By – Gary Leach
Mastered By – Denny Purcell
Photography – Russ Harrington
Producer, Arranged By – Matthew Ward

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Benson Music Group, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Benson Music Group, Inc.
Recorded At – Rosewood Studio
Mixed At – Rosewood Studio
Mastered At – Georgetown Masters

Cactus World News – Urban Beaches – 1986

The first of the “asterisk” artists to make the countdown, Cactus World News may also prove to be the least well known. Despite being the first Mother Records, and getting U2’s seal of approval, the band’s success never really came. But it should have! The most obscure of the asterisk artist, CWN released a stellar debut project that yielded a moderate hit with “The Bridge” and a sound that was right in the wheelhouse of what was happening in music at the time. Influences that included The Clash, Ramones, U2 the band also had an energy that equaled The Alarm, Echo and the Bunnymen and Big Country. Christian music listeners might want to use Undercover, 441 and early 77’s as a musical comparison, though their sound was completely their own. The first single and biggest hit, The Bridge, was produced by Bono and helped spur enough interest to be placed on a tour with the Cult. Band members, especially band leader and guitarist, Frank Kearns, shared a longtime friendship with U2 and would often serve as road and equipment support for the then fledgling band. Though immediately likeable and a long time favorite, my favorite cut wasn’t the hit single, but rather the opening track, Worlds Apart. The high energy and passion of the song reveals a heart wrenching longing for acceptance and closeness. Another stand out follows with “In a Whirlpool.” Again, the high energy delivers and impassioned plea for belonging. “The Promise” contains the most direct allusions to a biblical understanding and remains another personal favorite from the album. More questioning than evangelical the band longs for answers as they examine the world around them and discover that they are no less guilty than anyone else. This song is most “U2ish” on the album. Despite the theme of loneliness that weaves itself throughout the project, the album does not feel depressing or dark. For those desiring or demanding a more obvious or clearly evangelical message this album should be avoided. For those who embraced bands like The Waterboys, U2, The Alarm and The Call, this should prove a very satisfying, albeit very obscure, experience.

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

Tracklist
1 – Worlds Apart – 3:36
2 – In A Whirlpool – 3:36
3 – The Promise – 5:03
4 – The Bridge – 4:15
5 – State Of Emergency – 7:10
6 – Years Later – 4:10
7 – Church Of The Cold – 3:49
8 – Pilots Of Beka – 6:04
9 – Jigsaw Street – 3:19
10 – Maybe This Time – 7:00

Credits
Artwork By – Creative Department Ltd, The, Dublin, Ireland.
Artwork By [Sleeve Design] – Steve Averill
Bass – Fergal MacAindris
Drums, Percussion – Wayne Sheehy
Electric Guitar, Guitar [Spanish] – Frank Kearns
Engineer [Assistant, Dublin] – Mary Kettle
Engineer [Dublin] – Mark Freegard
Engineer [Holland] – Thomas Stiehler
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Eoin McEvoy
Photography [Black And White Interiors] – Conor Horgan
Photography [Exterior] – Brian Griffin
Producer – Chris Kimsey
Written-By, Performer – Cactus World News

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – MCA Records, Inc.
Manufactured By – MCA Records, Inc.
Distributed By – MCA Records, Inc.

Rez – Civil Rites – 1991

The tenth studio album from Resurrection Band pretty well picks up where Innocent Blood left off. They continue their blues rock sound and the album is impeccable produced. Wendi is brought in for a few more vocals than usual on their albums and love her or hate her she does a great job on this album. The lyrics for the album seem to hit more on their social causes pattern with some strong evangelical themes. Lyrically I think this album has more in common with some of their early work but musically it is more of their late 80’s style. I had quit listening to Rez by the time this album came out which is too bad because this is a really good album and I’m glad I got a chance to listen to it all these years later.

Tracklist
1 – Lovespeak – 3:29
2 – Mission Bells – 3:36
3 – Comatose – 3:14
4 – Death Machine – 2:57
5 – Players – 4:17
6 – Lincoln’s Train – 4:42
7 – Hotfootin’ – 2:55
8 – Little Jeanie – 2:44
9 – Footprints – 4:29
10 – Pauper’s Grave – 2:37
11 – In My Room – 4:30
12 – Somebody To Love – 3:01

Credits
Arranged By [All Songs Arranged By] – REZ
Bass, Keyboards – Roy Montroy
Drums – John Herrin
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards – Stu Heiss
Vocals – Wendi Kaiser
Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica – Glenn Kaiser
Cover [Cover Art], Design – Dick Randall
Engineer [Engineered By] – Roy Montroy
Engineer [Engineered With] – Ed Bialach, Roger Heiss
Lyrics By – Arlene Maass (tracks: 7), Dave Canfield (tracks: 1, 3, 6, 8, 9), Glenn Kaiser (tracks: 11), Jace Seavers (tracks: 2, 4, 10), Jon Trott (tracks: 5)
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Mixed By – Roger Heiss, Roy Montroy
Music By [All Music By] – REZ, Roy Montroy Photography By – Mike Tabor Producer [Produced By] – REZ, Tom Cameron

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Grrr Records
Copyright (c) – Grrr Records
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Mastered At – Future Disc
Pressed By – Disctronics USA – 114435
Published By – Grrr Music
Published By – Irving Music Co.

Saint – Live 05 – 2005

Saint came together on September 3, 2005 at X-Fest to record this 13 track album. They played a great selection of songs from over their entire career. The production is a little thin in my opinion but in all fairness production on live recordings is difficult and they did produce the album themselves so I can’t really fault them. That said if you prefer the raw sound of a Metal concert then maybe the production is best left as a little rough. The band showed that night that they still had it after so many years.

Tracklist
1 – Sacrifice – 6:59
2 – Vicar’s – 3:29
3 – In The Battle – 3:34
4 – Holy Rollin – 3:37
5 – The Path – 3:28
6 – In The Night – 3:30
7 – WOS – 3:30
8 – Here We Are – 3:33
9 – Too Late For Living – 3:30
10 – Primed And Ready – 3:27
11 – Ryders – 5:15
12 – Full Armor – 2:58
13 – Plan 2 – 6:04

Credits
Bass – Richard Lynch
Drums – Tim Lamberson
Guitar – Dee Harrington, Jerry Johnson
Vocals – Josh Kramer

Ransom – Soul Asylum – 1992

This is the second and unfortunately last album from Ransom. The album leans a little more Rock and a little less Metal than their first release but it should satisfy fans of both genres. I’m more Rock oriented and I love this album. Lisa Faxon’s vocals shine again and are even better than their first release. Producer Lanny Cordola stepped in for this album and though he didn’t have many productions under his belt at this point he knocked it out of the park with this one. It is a very very well produced album. The last track is rather odd in that it’s a blues tune that doesn’t fit with the rest of the album BUT it features Oz Fox (Stryper) so it is a must listen. I’d love to hear the story of how that arrangement occurred. Anyway this is a great Rock album and deserves to be listened to.

Tracklist
1 – Soul Hymn – 4:29
2 – Exit (Euthanasia) – 4:35
3 – Windows Of My Heart – 4:22
4 – The Lies – 3:20
5 – Prayer Asylum – 4:37
6 – Only The Just Let Go – 4:12
7 – Not That Kind Of Girl – 4:19
8 – Watching Over Me – 4:42
9 – Higher Ground – 4:13
10 – Sister Blue – 4:16

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Bass – Michael Preciado
Co-producer, Engineer – Mike Mierau
Drums [Additional Musicians], Percussion [Additional Musicians] – Joe Calletta
Guitar – Tony Ortiz
Illustration [Original Illustration] – Kevin Short (2)
Keyboards [Additional Musicians] – Roger Mielke
Layout – Brian Godawa
Mastered By – John Matousek
Other [Hair And Make-Up] – Dawn Gill
Photography – Wayne Armstrong
Producer – Lanny Cordola
Vocals – Lisa Faxon

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Mixing Lab A
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Mixed At – Front Page Recording
Mastered At – Soundworks West

Teri Desario – A Call To Us All – 1983

This was Teri’s 4th album but her first in the CCM genre. She had a very successful run in Secular music before having a disagreement with her record company and switching to Word/Dayspring records. As a point of trivia her separation from secular Casablanca records left an album on the shelf that has never been released. Another weird piece of trivia is That she put out a secular album in the same year as this one but it was only released in Japan. Anyway onto this album, it was produced by her hubby, Bill Purse. He didn’t have much of a production history but did a great job on this album. The album had 2 singles with “Battleline” making it to #8 and “I Dedicate All My Love To You” to #10. Pretty successful album but given her secular success this isn’t surprising. Actually I’m a little surprised they didn’t pull a 3 and 4th single off the album. The album is a Easy Listening affair but has a couple pretty good upbeat tracks. “Dig A Little Deeper” is the track that most resemble her secular work and has a nice pop dance feel to it.

Tracklist
1 – Thank You – 3:30
2 – Battleline – 3:40
3 – I Dedicate All My Love To You – 4:57
4 – Dig A Little Deeper – 4:00
5 – Clouds Without Water – 5:30
6 – All I Need – 4:30
7 – Jesus, Call Your Lambs – 4:10
8 – I’ll Carry On – 4:54
9 – A Call To Us All – 7:25

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin – John Chiodini
Art Direction, Design – Paul Gross
Backing Vocals – Bill Purse, David Roitstein, Kelly Koehr, Kim Fox, Nicole Ann Kujala, Rosalina R. Sackstein, Stephen R. Kujala, Teri DeSario Purse
Berimbau, Kalimba, Caxixi – Michael Fisher
Concertmaster – Doug Cameron
Design [Inner Sleeve] – Steve Elowe
Drums – Carlos Vega, Tony Lewis
Engineer [Assistant] – Steve Ford
Flute – Rosalina R. Sackstein
French Horn – William Alsup
Guitar – Kevin Clark
Harp – Amy Shulman
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Photography By – Harry Langdon
Producer, Arranged By, Piano, Synthesizer – Bill Purse
Recorded By, Mixed By – Kevin Clark
Saxophone – Dave Boruff
Sitar – Dan Ratkovich
Tabla, Percussion – Ron Wagner

Companies, etc.
Mastered At – A&M Studios
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.

DeGarmo & Key – The Pledge – 1989

DeGarmo & Key are back with one of their most successful albums. When I say successful I am referring to radio play and sales numbers. Personally it’s not one of my favorites but I’m from the early 80’s crowd so of course I prefer their work from that era. That said I admit this is a pretty good album. D & K had album making down to a fine science at this point. In a 1989 interview with John Styll, Eddie DeGarmo said they “planned to place more emphasis (than before) in their ministry towards motivating young Christians and those in church to witness to people and win them to Christ, as well as motivating them to take a stand in situations that affect the public” and I think that’s where this album really shined. I have seen “Pledge” patches everywhere over the years and there are still places you can get one. As for the charts this album had 4 charting singles. “If God Is For Us” did the best at #3, “Hand In Hand” made it to a respectable #7, “I’m Accepted” to #15, and “Who Will” made it to #24. All in all a pretty successful album.

Tracklist
1 – Boycott Hell – 3:21
2 – Aliens And Strangers – 3:04
3 – I’m Accepted – 3:55
4 – Hand In Hand – 4:37
5 – The Pledge – 5:15
6 – Life In The New Age – 2:32
7 – Let’s Get Upset – 4:31
8 – Who Will – 3:20
9 – Right On Track – 4:30
10 – If God Is For Us (Who Can Be Against Us) – 3:30

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Jackson Design
Backing Vocals – Eddie DeGarmo, Steve Taylor, Tommy Cathey
Bass – Tommy Cathey
Choir – Christ Church, Nashville TN
Drums – Chuck Reynolds
Engineer, Mixed By – Billy Whittington
Executive-Producer – Dan R. Brock
Guitar – Dana Key, Steve Taylor
Keyboards – Carl Marsh, Eddie DeGarmo
Lead Vocals – Dana Key
Management – Brock And Associates
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Percussion – Carl Marsh
Photography By – Dave Hawkins
Producer, Engineer – Ron W. Griffin

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – The ForeFront Communications Group, Inc.
Copyright (c) – The ForeFront Communications Group, Inc.
Copyright (c) – DKB Music
Distributed By – Benson Music Group
Made By – Discovery Systems – 56D0600A
Recorded At – Ardent Studios
Recorded At – OmniSound Studios
Mixed At – The Castle Recording Studios
Mixed At – Masterfonics
Mixed At – Kiva Recording Studio
Mastered At – Mastermix

Tom Franzak – Shadowboxing – 1985

This is the second of 2 albums from Tom Franzak in the 80’s but he has released some worship albums in the 2000’s. If you don’t know Tom’s background I’ll just skim it here. He was the first Catholic performer signed by Word records and as such stands out as an oddity. This album is considerable better than his first album. Not that his first album is bad, it’s actually quite good but this one is quite a bit better. The themes are Christian but there’s no hint of evangelism as he was Catholic. That said the lyrics are solidly Christian and regardless of your denomination there are some good messages here. The album is pop keyboard heavy and at times even has a Steve Taylor feel. Tom continues in a music career becoming the Director of Music Ministries at St. John XXIII Parish in Pennsylvania. If you missed this one in the 80’s and you like Pop you should really give it a listen.

Tracklist
1 – We Can Make A Difference – 3:56
2 – Theology – 3:25
3 – I’ll Come After You – 4:08
4 – Stuff – 3:39
5 – David Danced – 3:33
6 – Shadowboxing – 4:17
7 – Where’s Love For Susie – 4:33
8 – Soon To Be Without A Major Attraction – 4:54
9 – Without Love – 5:49

Credits
Dawn Bianchi – Background Vocals
Bill Bodine – Bass
Kevin Clark – Engineer, Mixed, Guitar, Bass-o-matic
Laura Creamer – Background Vocals
Jeff DeMorris – Assistant Engineer
Teri DeSario – Background Vocals
John Flynn – Background Vocals
Tom Franzak – Songwriter, Arrangements, Keyboards, Vocals
Bill Purse – Producer, Arrangements, Keyboards, Background Vocals
Brooke Romano – Background Vocals
Peter Romano – Background Vocals
Robert Sanchez – Background Vocals
Doug Sax – Mastered
Larry Treadwell – Guitar
Cheryl Wilks – Background Vocals
Art Wood – Drums
R. Tandy Xeno – Assistant Engineer

Companies, etc.
Pressed By – Electrosound Los Angeles – Δ27133
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab

T-Bone Burnett – Truth Decay – 1980

The first release from T-Bone Burnett after the demise of the incredible Alpha Band proved the songwriting genius of T-Bone Burnett suffered no loss at the bands demise. Fresh, current, original and utterly and completely T-Bone Burnett. The Alpha Band is not completely gone here as Steven soles, David Miner and David Mansfield all appear on the album with T-Bone. I have worked in the Christian music arena since the late 1970’s and have never been starstruck when meeting artists. Even backstage at Anaheim Stadium meeting Bono and the Edge was exciting, but no stuttering or stammering conversations took place. But when Leslie Phillips released the Turning the store I was managing did an in-store appearance with her. She brought T-Bone Burnett with her in tow. I completely lost it. I mean, seriously. the dude is T-Bone freakin Burnett! I met him again a few years later at Anaheim Stadium at the same U2 concert where my wife and I were seated between then Sam Phillips with T-Bone on one side and Nick Cage and his date on the other side. I’m sure people around me had to wonder why I was more enthralled with the fact I was next to this tall lanky, Texan with an unfamiliar face. It was with Truth Decay that i was first introduced to T-Bone Burnett. I went back to get the Alpha Band after discovering him through this great album. If I was to create a “Best Of” project it would include nearly every song from this album and a few songs from his others. Every song here rang true with great country and blues driven guitar and Burnett’s nasally and caustic vocals. It was my introduction to “roots rock” and I was sold! The album possesses a wonderful combination of bluesy rockers and stark, introspective ballads. The lyrics are as caustic, raw and emotive as the music. Relationships, selfishness, materialism and faith all are explored here with precision and honesty. One song to note is “Power of Love,” which would later be covered impressively by Mark Heard. Quicksand, Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk, and Boomerang are all major standouts on a record filled with. the latter is simply brilliant! I could never prove it but I have always been convinced that Gene Eugene was influenced by the melody and vocals found here on Madison Avenue. This is an obvious AYSO like the rest of T-Bone’s catalog. Very few artists have even scratched the surface of the brilliance of Burnett. His accolades run a mile long and his production credits have earned him Grammy and even Oscar’s, but it is with his wonderful, simply solo projects that the genius truly is exposed.

Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/

Tracklist
1 – Quicksand – 3:54
2 – Talk Talk Talk Talk Talk – 3:40
3 – Boomerang – 4:15
4 – Love At First Sight – 4:11
5 – Madison Avenue – 2:35
6 – Driving Wheel – 3:10
7 – Come Home – 4:22
8 – Power Of Love – 2:54
9 – House Of Mirrors – 3:30
10 – Tears Tears Tears – 2:30
11 – Pretty Girls – 4:00
12 – I’m Coming Home – 4:00

Credits
Art Direction – John Van Hamersveld
Bass – David Miner
Drums – David Kemper
Engineer [Recordist] – Geoff Gillette
Lacquer Cut By – JG
Mixed By – Larry Hirsch
Performer – Billy Swan, Gary Montgomery, Jerry McGee, Jude Johnstone, K.O. Thomas, Stephen Bruton, Steven Soles
Performer [Uncredited] – T-Bone Burnett
Photography By – Nick Rozsa
Producer – Reggie Fisher

Companies, etc.
Lacquer Cut At – Kendun Recorders
Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Terre Haute
Distributed By – Chrysalis Records, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Takoma Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Takoma Records

Leon Patillo – Don’t Give In – 1981

This is Leon’s second album. His first album over on Maranatha! Music was a snorefest but his deal here with Myrrh records turned up the funky fun. This was really the album that established Leon’s long standing run in the CMM genre. Myrrh must have had some real confidence in Patillo as they paid licensing fees for 2 tracks that must not have been cheap. George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” and Jackie Wilson’s “Higher And Higher” are both excellent covers and both bring an element of fun to the album. The album did do well garnering 2 charting songs on the CCM charts. “Star Of The Morning” made it into the top 10 at #9 and the title track “Don’t Give In” made it to #16. The album also contains one of Patillo’s most famous tracks “Flesh Of My Flesh” which oddly didn’t single. This is a fun funk album that mainly stands in the Easy Listening crowd but has some upbeat tracks that made for some listening fun in 1981.

Tracklist
1 – Blessed Is – 3:33
2 – Have Faith – 4:33
3 – Flesh Of My Flesh – 4:42
4 – We Must Believe – 4:38
5 – (Your Love Is Lifting Me) Higher And Higher – 3:14
6 – Star Of The Morning – 3:48
7 – Don’t Give In – 4:13
8 – How Can I Begin – 4:04
9 – My Sweet Lord – 3:13
10 – Go – 3:27

Credits
Art Direction – Dennis Hill
Backing Vocals [Background, Additional] – Dennis Correll, Fred Field, Joni Dias, Kirsten Konte, Mickey Rooney, Jr., Patty Bolton, Regunia Peoples, Tim Correll
Backing Vocals [Background] – Donn Thomas, Leon Patillo
Bass – Charlie Souza
Booking – Dharma Artist Agency
Drums – Gaylord Birch
Engineer – Brook Johnson, Willie Harlan
Lead Vocals, Keyboards – Leon Patillo
Mastered By – Richard Donaldson
Mixed By – Willie Harlan
Orchestrated By – Dave Garland
Photography By – Alan Bergman
Producer, Percussion – Skip Konte
Written-By – Leon Patillo

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – International Automated Media
Mixed At – International Automated Media
Mastered At – International Automated Media
Record Company – Myrrh Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Published By – Dayspring Music
Published By – Chevis Music, Inc.
Published By – Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Published By – BRC Music Corp.