Albums – Page 89 – Real 80s CCM

Love Life – Goodbye Lady Jane – 1991

You might know this band by the name “Fear Not” or “Reaction” as apparently they had difficulty with names. I will admit again that I don’t look forward to Metal albums and it was the same for this one. However for some reason I really enjoyed this one. Most likely this is due to it’s very heavy commercial feel and sound. This is an album that would have done well in the secular market and quite frankly I could hear “Girl Gone Bad” on any 80’s station to this day. Signed by tiny label Blonde Vinyl Records I doubt they got much promotion which is a pity because I believe they found a real diamond here. Even if you don’t care for metal albums I would urge you to give this one a listen, I suspect you might like it. At the very least give their cover of The Beatles “A Hard Day’s Night”, it’s a pretty good cover.

Tracklist
1 – Real Love – 2:52
2 – Do You Love Me – 3:37
3 – Hearts On Fire – 4:05
4 – When Loneliness Comes Knockin’ – 4:27
5 – Girl Gone Bad – 3:32
6 – Fill ‘er Up – 0:13
7 – Goodbye Lady Jane – 3:48
8 – In Blue Again – 5:01
9 – 1000 Reasons – 4:56
10 – A Hard Day’s Night (Beatles Cover) – 2:33
11 – Do You Believe In Love – 3:22

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Brian Ray
Bass, Backing Vocals – Rod Romero
Drums, Backing Vocals – Gary Hanson
Engineer – Doug Beiden
Engineer, Mixed By, Backing Vocals [Additional] – Brian Davis
Executive-Producer – Michael G. Knott
Guitar – Darin Eby
Mastered By – Doug Doyle
Photography By [Cover] – Nigel Skeet
Producer, Mixed By – Christopher Colbert, Larry Worley
Vocals, Guitar, Backing Vocals [Additional] – Larry Worley

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Blonde Vinyl Records
Copyright © – Blonde Vinyl Records
Recorded At – Pakaderm West Studios
Mastered At – Digital Brothers
Glass Mastered at – Nimbus, Virginia

Priscilla Engle – Ageless Love – 1989

This is Priscilla’s second album. Her first album was on Frontline Records but this one was on tiny label Diadem Music. It appears she didn’t get a second album deal with Frontline. Now I have not listened to her first album yet but after listening to this one I am kind of surprised she couldn’t get a larger record deal. This album is very good. The jacket cover had me worried I was about to listen to a worship album but not so. This is a fun 80’s Pop album. I can’t find much out there on this album but I’m not overly surprised due to the label it was on. Diadem was owned by Benson (a much larger label) but I don’t know if they did much promotion of their Diadem label. Anyway this is a great fun pop album and is definitely a fun listen.

Tracklist
1 – Ageless Love – 3:04
2 – Nothing But Jesus – 3:34
3 – He Is Still A Father – 5:02
4 – Just Believe – 3:56
5 – No Need (Bow Down) – 4:27
6 – He’s Leading The Way – 3:55
7 – There You Are – 3:25
8 – River To The Throne – 5:00
9 – Follow You – 3:39
10 – Fire Of The Holy Spirit – 3:47
11 – To Live Is Christ – 3:28
12 – Don’t Dance – 3:11
13 – Kingdom Love – 5:00

Credits
Backing Vocals – Beverly Darnall, Guy Penrod, Jimmie Lee Sloas, Kip Raines, Mark Ivey, Paul Marino, Ray Boltz, Steve Millikan
Bass – Gary Lunn, Randy Melson
Drums – Dane Clark, Mark Hammond
Guitar – George Cocchini, Sandy Williams
Keyboards – Joe Hogue, Steve Millikan
Producer – Steve Millikan
Saxophone – Mark Douthit

Mad At The World – Seasons Of Love – 1990

This was probably one of the most surprising albums of 1990. MATW did a complete change of direction going from a new wave pop sound to a more hard rock sound. I can honestly say that this new “The Cult” sound was quite a surprise to me and honestly I was not a fan. I didn’t mind the sound, I had The Cult in my collection at the time but when a band does a switcharoo like this it is just too startling to me. Now that aside the album is very well done and these guys nailed a sound that was not well represented in CCM music at the time. The album sold very well as I think the new style was a welcome change to a lot of fans. I think it can be said that this album was a rather historic CCM music moment so if for no other reason than that you should give it a listen.

Tracklist
1 – The Narrow Road – 3:39
2 – Seasons Of Love – 4:51
3 – City Of Anger – 5:34
4 – When The Wind Blows – 5:38
5 – Marshmallow Land – 2:58
6 – Summer’s Gone – 3:06
7 – Promised Land (The Deception Of Drugs) – 5:24
8 – So Insane – 3:22
9 – It’s Not A Joke – 3:27
10 – The Love That Never Fades – 4:05
11 – Seasons Of Love (Reprise) – 5:04

Credits
Arranged By, Engineer [Engineered By] – Roger Rose
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Band [Mad At The World Is] – Brent Gordon, Mike Pendleton, Randy Rose, Roger Rose
Illustration [MATW Logo Illustration Re-worked By] – David Jackson
Layout – Joe Potter
Mastered By – John Matousek
Photography By – David Dobson
Producer [Produced By] – Roger Rose
Songwriter [Songs Written By] – Randy Rose, Roger Rose

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Alarma Records
Copyright (c) – Alarma Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company
Recorded At – MATW Studios
Mastered At – Soundworks West
Published By – Broken Songs
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Glen Allen Green – A Living Fire – 1985

This was the first of 2 albums from Glen Allen Green. I can’t really find much information on Glen but I do know that this album was pretty popular. The album was released on Chris Christian’s Home Sweet Home Records and Chris took the title of executive producer though the album was produced by Keith Thomas. The album is your typical 80’s pop album but it is well done and I’m sure it was one of those albums that could bridge the gap between teens and middle aged music lovers. Give it a listen, it deserves it.

Tracklist
1 – A Living Fire – 4:17
2 – The Dance – 4:00
3 – Mirror Of My Heart – 4:24
4 – Forevermore – 4:19
5 – Beyond The Door – 4:48
6 – Run – 3:59
7 – Blessed Be The Lord – 4:32
8 – Jezebel – 3:58
9 – The Beauty Of His Love – 4:07
10 – Jesus Shall Reign – 3:20

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Kent Hunter
Backing Vocals – Denny Henson, Glen Allen Green, Keith Thomas
Bass – Mike Brignardello
Bass [Moog Bass] – Keith Thomas
Choir – Bonnie Keen, Brett Perry, Celeste Hammond, David Martin, David Pierce, David Ramsey, Dawn Rogers, Jim Foster, Keith Thomas, Lee Ann Ramsey, Lori Lee Loving, McLauren Pearman, Mel Tunney, Pam Mark Hall, Pete Calson, Richard Headen, Rick Cua, Teri Headen
Directed By – Bruce Koblish
Drums – Dennis Holt
Electric Piano [Rhodes] – Glen Allen Green
Engineer [Assistant] – Brett Perry
Executive-Producer – Chris Christian
Guitar – Gregg Jennings
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Percussion – Lisa Crates
Photography By – Ron Keith, Scott Bonner
Piano – Keith Thomas
Producer, Arranged By, Programmed By [Synthesizer] – Keith Thomas
Programmed By [DMX Programming] – Keith Thomas
Recorded By, Mixed By – Jeff Balding
Synthesizer – Glen Allen Green, Keith Thomas
Synthesizer [Synclavier] – Keith Thomas

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Home Sweet Home Records, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Home Sweet Home Records, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Published By – Bug & Bear Music
Recorded At – Goldmine East, Brentwood, TN
Recorded At – Master’s Touch
Mixed At – Goldmine East, Brentwood, TN
Mastered At – Mastermix

Tonio K. – Notes From The Lost Civilization – 1988

Tonio K released two albums for the Christian market in the mid 80’s on What? Records. Both of them reach the Top 100 on this list. Both a must own album and truly brilliant works. Both are completely different musically and differ greatly in topic and theme. More will be said about Tonio K in a future post, but it should be noted here that for nearly three decades he released some of the most important releases that no one knows about. Before embracing the Christian faith Tonio K released several critically lauded and publicly ignored masterpieces. The same rang true in Christian music circles. I believe “Notes” was the last release for What? Records, a brilliant label whose imprint was the kiss of death in the CCM world. I cannot confirm this right now, but I believe every What? Records release appears on this countdown. The label was a joint effort between Word Records and A&M with the intent to bring Christian music to the masses with artists that had the chops and integrity to pull off the crossover. Where Tonio’s CCM debut (Romeo Unchained) was driven by technology and “new wave” rhythms and production, “Notes” was organic, blues and country influenced Americana rock and roll set in the heart of city life and suburban nightmares. There are two versions of the album with the Word released version not containing a song that will be discussed later. No one should own the Word version and I refused to carry that version in my store at the time.

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

Tracklist
1 – Without Love – 3:33
2 – Children’s Crusade – 4:56
3 – Stay – 4:14
4 – City Life – 4:07
5 – You Were There – 4:46
6 – The Executioner’s Song – 6:27
7 – I Can’t Stand It – 4:08
8 – What Women Want – 4:27
9 – I Can’t Stop – 3:19
10 – Where Is That Place? – 3:59

Credits
A&R [Productive A&R] – Aaron Jacoves, Tom Willett
Arranged By – David Miner, T Bone Burnett, Tonio K.
Art Direction, Photography By, Design – Linda Myers-Krikorian
Bass – James Jamerson, Jr. (tracks: 7 to 10)
Bass, Double Bass [String Bass], Harmonium, Marimba – David Miner
Drum Programming – Ralph Forbes
Drums – Raymond Pounds (tracks: 7 to 10)
Drums, Synthesizer [Dynacord] – Jim Keltner
Electric Guitar – Jack Sherman
Electric Guitar [12-string, Gut String, National], Acoustic Guitar – T Bone Burnett
Engineer [Assistant Engineering] – Barry Conley, Bob Loftus, Brian Soucy, Dave “The Blade” Knight, Duncan Aldrich, Ira Rubnitz, Tom Banghart
Executive-Producer – T Bone Burnett
Graphic Design, Layout – Karl Shields, Susan Shields
Mastered By – Tony Dawsey
Mixed By – Tchad Blake
Organ [Farfisa] – Rick Neigher
Organ [Hammond] – Booker T. Jones
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Piano – John Keller
Producer [Produced By] – David Miner, Tonio K.
Recorded By – Larry Hirsch
Recorded By [Additional Recording By] – Larold Rebhun (tracks: 8)
Rhythm Guitar [Occasional], Vocals – Tonio K.

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – What? Records
Copyright (c) – What? Records
Manufactured By – A&M Records, Inc.
Distributed By – A&M Records, Inc.
Recorded At – The Sound Factory
Recorded At – American Recorders
Recorded At – Ocean Way Recording
Recorded At – Mad Hatter Studios
Recorded At – A&M Studios
Mixed At – The Sound Factory
Mastered At – Masterdisk
Published By – Bibo Music Publishers
Published By – N.Y.M.
Published By – Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Published By – Safespace Music
Published By – Unicity Music
Published By – Tea Time Tunes
Published By – Yellow Brick Road Music
Published By – VALEVISTA Music

Dennis Agajanian – Where Are The Heroes – 1984

Produced by Terry Talbot, this 1984 outing from Dennis is a different sort of foray into Country music. It includes two songs written by Steve Camp, and one co-written by Dennis and Terry Talbot. There is also a pseudo-country version of Bach’s Jesu Joy Of Man’s Desiring. Dennis has been referred to as a “guitar virtuoso” and this is a demonstration of why. In general, this album has a lot more prominent guitar work than earlier releases like Rebel To The Wrong. Backing vocalists on this album include Dennis Agajanian, Julie Miller, Matthew Ward, and Terry Talbot. Over a career spanning around 30 years, Dennis released over a dozen albums and spent some significant time contributing to Billy Graham crusades. This record has all the polish you would expect from a Terry Talbot project, and a smooth sounding Nashville country sound.

Tracklist
1 – If You Say – 2:37
2 – Via Dolorosa – 4:36
3 – Where Are The Heroes – 4:20
4 – The Tongue Is A Fire – 4:32
5 – Jesu Joy Of Man’s Desiring – 2:54
6 – She’s A Servant (Single And Living Alone) – 2:55
7 – Goodbye Old Man – 3:32
8 – Colleen’s Pirouette – 2:48
9 – I Will Never Leave You – 3:36
10 – All That I Am – 2:52

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Backing Vocals – Dennis Agajanian
Backing Vocals – Julie Miller, Matthew Ward
Bass – Abraham Laboriel, Scott Parish (tracks: A5)
Drums – Bill Maxwell
Electric Guitar – Michael Thompson
Keyboards – Dennis Bouchard*
Mastered By – Ken Pennell, Steve Hall
Mixed By – Ron Capone
Producer, Backing Vocals, Mixed By, Acoustic Guitar – Terry Talbot
Recorded By [@ Poiema] – Bill Cobb
Recorded By [@ Westwind] – Ron Capone

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – The Sparrow Corporation
Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Sparrow Corporation
Record Company – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Birdwing Music
Copyright (c) – Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company Inc.
Copyright (c) – Paragon Music Corp.
Recorded At – Poiema Studios
Recorded At – Westwind Studio
Mastered At – Future Disc

Various – East Coast Metal – 1988

This 1988 Regency Records sampler featured some of the best East Coast Metal bands of the time and some very exclusive tunes. There are a few unreleased tracks and other than that I have listed below where you can find the albums with the songs.

Tracklist
1 – Apostle – The Sword – On the 1988 Demo “Hymns”
2 – Rage Of Angels – Reason To Rock – On the 1989 Album “Rage Of Angels”
3 – Arsenal – Message Of Love – Unreleased
4 – The Lead – Tunnel Vision – On the 1987 Album “The Past Behind”
5 – Taker – Yesterday, Today & Forever – On the 1987 Demo “Mat. 11:12”
6 – Second Chance – The Blazing Wasteland – On the 1988 Demo “The Blazing Wasteland”
7 – Arsenal – Stand Strong – Unreleased
8 – Believer – The Chosen – Unreleased until “Extraction From Mortality” in 2001
9 – Taker – Living By Faith – On the 1987 Demo “Mat. 11:12”

David Zaffiro – The Other Side – 1989

Guitarist David Zaffiro left Bloodgood to do his own thing here. The album definitely has it’s own feel and it shouldn’t be mistaken for Bloodgood. The guitar riffs sound similar in places but it looks like David had his own sound that he wanted to get out to the public. Michael Bloodgood does help out on a couple tracks so it’s nice to see that David leaving Bloodgood wasn’t in bad blood. My only fault on the album is that there should have been a few more rockin tracks and a few less ballads but that said they are very well done and I would have been hard pressed to pick ones to delete. So to sum up this is a good rockin album and I look forward to listening to David’s next album.

Tracklist
1 – Stay – 4:00
2 – I See Red – 3:22
3 – Where Are You Now – 3:36
4 – Why Me – 3:58
5 – The Other Side – 6:18
6 – Diversity – 4:42
7 – You – 3:11
8 – To The End – 4:27
9 – Only Eyes – 3:39
10 – Spirit Of The Lord – 4:50

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Assemblage – Jason Brown
Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Charlene Nemieyer, David Schueler, Marlene Cochran, Paula Prince, Richard Bartholomew
Bass Guitar – Bill Hale (4), Mark Mosholder (tracks: 2)
Co-producer [On Lead Vocals] – Michael Bloodgood (tracks: 2, 10)
Drums – Davin McLaird
Engineer – Charles Meserole
Keyboards – David Hubbard (tracks: 10), Kelly Carpenter
Lead Vocals, Guitar, Producer, Engineer, Written-By – David Zaffiro
Photography By – Mark Wilkins
Rhythm Guitar – Maverick Gibson (tracks: 1)
Written-By, Co-producer [On Lead Vocals] – Maverick Gibson (tracks: 1,8)

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Alarma Records
Copyright (c) – Alarma Records
Mastered At – Hitsville
Distributed By – The Benson Company
Published By – Broken Songs
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Silverwind – A Song In The Night – 1982

While the first Silverwind album is still somewhat terrifying to me this one is a huge improvement. Not that the first album was bad it was just scary in it’s level of Easy Listening. This album turns it up a notch or two and presents us with a ABBA sound that was appropriate at the time. Not that I liked ABBA but I sure preferred this sound to their first album. Skip to track2 if you really want to hear that ABBA sound. Now lets be clear, I was not the market for this band and I know it, but I am adult enough to appreciate what they were doing. Their timing was impeccable and this sound was needed in the industry. The first single was “New Beginning” which peaked at #8. The better track however was the second single “A Song In The Night”. There was even a music video for the song which I just watched and it’s not horrible. The title track only made it to #25 which I think is a little low. The rest of the album was too ABBA for CCM magazine to chart any more singles.

Tracklist
1 – A Song In The Night – 4:16
2 – Daybreak – 3:08
3 – Elya – 3:48
4 – Cinderella’s Dream – 3:54
5 – Forgiven – 4:29
6 – A New Beginning – 3:54
7 – Destiny – 3:24
8 – Colors – 2:42
9 – Love Came Softly – 2:53
10 – The Rider – 2:59

Credits
Accordion – Frank Marocco
Arranged By – Georgian Banov, Larry Muhoberac, Tony Salerno
Bass – Abraham Laboriel, Joe Chemay
Design – Stan Evenson Design, Inc
Drums – Paul Leim, Rick Shlosser
Engineer [Recording Engineer] – Ron Capone
Executive-Producer – Tony Salerno
Guitar – Billy Walker, Timothy May
Keyboards, Synthesizer – Larry Muhoberac
Management – Dharma Artist Agency
Mixed By – Bruce Swedien
Percussion – Alex Acuña, Paulinho Da Costa
Performer – Betsy Hernandez, Georgian Banov, Patty Gramling
Photography By – Mark Hanauer
Piano – John Hobbs, Larry Muhoberac
Producer – Georgian Banov, Larry Muhoberac, Tony Salerno

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Word Ltd.
Published By – Garden Valley Music
Published By – See This House Music
Recorded At – Westwind Studio
Mixed At – Westwind Studio

Hank Laake Band – How Laake Can You Get! – 1985

This was our final offering from Hank and it followed very closely with his previous work. The hard Rock style he was known for continued. Over his 3 albums the band didn’t seem to mature but for me this is a positive as I loved their sound and still love it today. Apparently Hank got disillusioned with Tunesmith records so this is the end. Not many artists even lasted 3 albums with Tunesmith so he should be commended for trying to make it work. It is probably a testament to how bad he wanted people to hear his music as it’s doubtful he was getting paid what was coming to him.

Tracklist
1 – Dying to Love You – 5:25
2 – Don’t Give Up – 3:30
3 – Plenty of Time – 3:53
4 – Change Your Life – 3:53
5 – Directions – 3:52
6 – Be a Shining Light – 5:31
7 – A Time for Anger – 4:02
8 – Till We Had Jesus – 4:34
9 – Keep Livin’ – 3:57
10 – Family of God – 4:30

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Joe Burriola
Cover Art – Dave Nadler
Cover Photo – Tom Gaskill
Drums, Lead Vocals – Hank Laake
Engineer – Dennis Dyer, Tom Tucker
Guitar – Dan Brown
Guitar, Vocals – Terry Fitzsimmons
Piano – Melody Dyer
Producer – Hank Laake
Synthesizer – Todd Toulouse, Joseph Dunn, Melody Dyer, Josef Laake

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Praise Industries Corp.
Record Company – Tunesmith