Though this was Steve’s first solo album he wasn’t new to the music scene. He had been in the band Butler in the 70’s who had one album. They were the go to opening act for bands touring through New Zealand in the early 70’s. Steve played gospel music through the earl 80’s and went full time in 1987. In 1989 he released this album. It was not released outside of New Zealand which I’m not surprised at as I really don’t think it’s that good. That said his second album is fantastic and we’ll be uploading it soon. Anyway this album has a bit of a blues style that Steve would perfect on his next album. I don’t want to be too negative about this album however as it is relatively good and it’s great to hear something from a music market I didn’t even know existed.
Tracklist 1 – Something Beautiful – 4:38 2 – The Ant Song – 5:50 3 – Cross Over – 3:56 4 – Of All The Wonders – 1:09 5 – Living Sacrifice – 4:40 6 – Cast Your Cares – 7:14 7 – Ruth’s Song – 3:02 8 – David’s Theme – 3:22 9 – Psalm 61 – 6:08
Credits Backing Vocals – Donna Tairakena, Graham Flaws, Jacobien Birch, Jenny Newbery, Kit Grenon Bass – Graham Flaws Drums – Wally Tairakena Flute – Donna Tairakena Guitar – Kit Grenon Keyboards – Donna Tairakena, Stephen Bell-Booth Lead Vocals – Ainsley Apirana Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Guitar – Steve Apirana Saxophone – Graham Wilkinson
Companies, etc. Recorded At – Tandem Studios Mastered At – Marmalade Studios Distributed By – Someone Up There Records
This is the first of 2 children’s albums done by Terry Taylor and Greg Flesch. This one is centered on a “Rap Battle” theme. Apparently this idea didn’t get much traction but I commend them for trying. The naming of a track “If They’d Adone It Then, It Woulda Helped Them Later” would have made it impossible for an adult to remember the name of the track never mind a kid. This project didn’t age very well but it may have been cool in the 80’s if I was 10 years old.
Tracklist 1 – Megamouth Theme – 1:59 2 – If They’d Adone It Then, It Woulda Helped Them Later – 3:35 3 – Just Say “N-O” – 2:47 4 – That’s Rad (Part 1) – 3:37 5 – The Frequency Jam (Killocycle Theme) – 3:30 6 – Trouble In Big City – 5:17 7 – David Said A Prayer – 3:08 8 – Rap Zapper (The Rap Blaster’s Song) – 3:46 9 – The “Rap” Battle: Megamouth’s Challenge – 3:16 10 – The “Rap” Battle: Megamouth vs. Killocycle – 4:06 11 – The Last Word – 0:33 12 – Megamouth Theme (Reprise) – 1:57 13 – That’s Rad (Part 2) – 2:26
Credits Art Direction, Layout – Ed McTaggart Cover – John Dickenson Engineer, Recorded By, Mixed By – Doug Doyle Illustration – June Valentine Mastered By – John Matousek Producer, Arranged By, Recorded By, Mixed By, Instruments, Written-By, Concept By – Greg Flesch Producer, Arranged By, Recorded By, Mixed By, Written-By, Concept By, Voice Actor – Terry Taylor Vocals – Amy Watson, Lisa Grimaud, Nancy Hanson, Nancy Marquez Voice Actor, Vocals – Dan Rupple, Dennis Bowen, Diane Meador-Pemelton, Scott Rummell
Companies, etc. Recorded At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA. Mixed At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.
This is the first album from Seventh Angel after 3 fairly popular demos. They signed with the UK’s Under One Flag but I think had some sort of deal to retain the masters. I say this because over the years this album has been re-issued on at least 9 other labels. I can honestly say I don’t think I’ve seen that before. Anyway Ian Arkley started the band up in late 1989 and the band quickly rose to be one of the top Thrash bands around. In fact this album was ranked #51 on the Top 100 Christian Metal Albums of All Time in 2010 by HM Magazine. If you’re into thrash this album will give you everything you want from a Thrash album. Normally all these varying styles would leave people questioning an album but not this one. It supplies everything thrash has to offer on one album including a nearly 10 minute track which is pretty rare in the Thrash genre.
Tracklist 1 – Tormented Forever – 4:18 2 – The Charmer – 7:16 3 – Forbidden Desires – 3:43 4 – I Of The Needle – 5:38 5 – Expletive Deleted – 3:23 6 – Dr. Hatchet – 6:04 7 – Locked Up In Chains – 5:07 8 – Acoustic Interlude – 0:39 9 – Katie – 9:41 10 – Epilogue – 1:48
Credits Artwork – Rodney Matthews Bass – Simon Bibby Drums – Tank (7) Guitar [Rhythm] – Scott A. Rawson Producer, Engineer – Paul Hodson Vocals, Guitar – Ian Arkley
Companies, etc. Licensed From – Edge Records Phonographic Copyright (p) – Edge Records Copyright (c) – Edge Records Glass Mastered At – MPO
This is Scott’s 8th studio album and at this point in his career he had making albums down to a fine art. While not my preferred style of music I can’t deny that Scott was good at what he did and produced some of the best albums in this style of CCM. This album has a couple upbeat tunes that are actually quite likeable for those us a little more rock oriented. As usual for Scott he did well on the charts with “Yeshua Ha Mashiach” making it to #1 and Kingdom Of Love making it to #29. Other than that I don’t have much to say about the album but I don’t mean that in a negative way I just find it difficult to talk about Easy Listening albums.
Tracklist 1 – Yeshua Ha Mashiach – 4:25 2 – Kingdom Of Love – 3:24 3 – Stronger – 3:52 4 – Give Your Life Away – 2:48 5 – Jesus I Love You – 3:21 6 – Born To Love You – 3:36 7 – The Wall – 4:04 8 – Peace By Peace – 2:47 9 – All Of Us Together – 3:24 10 – In Jesus’ Name – 3:31
Credits Arranged By [Rhythm] – Scott Wesley Brown Arranged By [Rhythm], Conductor – Greg Nelson Arranged By [Strings], Conductor – Alan Moore Arranged By [Strings], Orchestrated By – David T. Clydesdale Engineer – Bob Clark Engineer [Additional] – Brent King, Chris McCullom, Doug Sarrett, Gary Laney, Scott Hendricks Engineer, Remix – Joe Neil Mastered By – Hank Williams Mixed By, Recorded By – Lynn Fuston Producer – Greg Nelson, Phil Naish
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Nineteenth Street Productions Copyright (c) – The Sparrow Corporation Distributed By – Nye Toner / Teovision, Finngospel, Sephora Diffusion, GMI Records, Master Music, Grace Music, Leon Music A.B., Kir Music, Word (Uk) Ltd., Pila Music Produced For – Nineteenth Street Productions Made By – Shorewood Packaging Printed By – Shorewood Packaging
This was the one and only album from Tim Koller and it’s almost impossible to find any info on him. His album appears to be the first full album released on Ministry Resource Center which in itself is rather historic. Taking a look at the credits we can see that Kelly Willard sang some background vocals and her husband Dan engineered and produced the album. We also see Michelle Pillar supplying some background vocals so there was no shortage of talent on the album. The track “May You Get All The Glory” appears to have been the single and was also released on the 1981 sampler “Back To The Rock!”. The album itself has a late 70’s rock feel and is actually really good and I’m surprised it wasn’t more widely heard but that’s how this industry went at the time. If you missed this one in the 80’s (and I’m guessing you did) give it a listen now.
Tracklist 1 – Last Days – 5:16 2 – New World Comin’ – 4:40 3 – Rock-n-Roll for Jesus – 4:05 4 – Take Another Drink – 4:58 5 – Spiritual Counterfeits – 4:51 6 – May You Get All The Glory – 5:53 7 – The Just Shall Live By Faith – 3:29 8 – The Puzzle – 5:14
Credits Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals – Tim Koller Drummer – Keith Edwards Keyboards – Jeff Lams Bass – Darrel Cook Electric Guitar – Tony Dean Piano, Background Voclas – Kelly Willard Background Vocals – Michelle Pillar Producer, Engineer – Dan Willard Master – Kevin Grey, Thom Roy Photography – Bill Valenzuaia Art Director – Bill Converse
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
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.
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.
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 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
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
