This is/was a fascinating little surprise that appeared in 1985. I’m not really too sure what transpired for this little gem to be recorded/mixed but it’s one of my favourite EP’s from the 80’s. It only has three tracks. The first track is a duet with Steve Taylor & Sheila Walsh covering the David Edwards song “Not Going To Fall Away”. Full disclaimer this is one of my all time favourite songs and this version is fantastic. If I had to make a list of my favourite songs from the 80’s this would be in the top 10. In fact it would probably be #1 or #2. It would have to fight it out with Dylan’s “Saved”. The second track is a remix of Sheila Walsh’s “We’re All One”. Michael Omartian did the remix and did a darn good job. This came off of what I think was Sheila’s best album “Don’t Hide Your Heart” and this remix of “We’re All One” is just excellent. Finally we get a remix of the Steve Taylor favourite “This Disco (Used To Be A Cute Cathedral)”. Another great tune and an excellent remix. This EP was a real treat and I still remember the first time we dropped the needle on it many years ago.
Tracklist
1 – Not Going To Fall Away – 8:05
2 – We’re All One (Extended Version) – 5:48
3 – This Disco (Used To Be A Cute Cathedral) (Extended Version) – 5:15
The second album from Angelica was very well received. Surfing around the Internet I found many glowing reviews. When I listened to the album I found it to be excellent. This album was easily as good as anything on the radio in the late 80’s. The lineup for this album did change up a bit with vocals now handled by Jerome Mazza. Quite frankly he nailed this album, actually the whole band did. The production is excellent which kind of surprised me as it was produced by band member Dennis Cameron. In my opinion when bands self produce their album it has a good chance of being a disaster but occasionally an album proves me wrong and this is one of those albums. Cameron produced, mixed, played guitar, played drums, and provided background vocals. This is quite the workload. Anyway this is a great Metal album with a couple tunes that lean more Hard Rock. Not my preferred style of music I admit but I quite liked this album.
1 – Walkin’ In Faith – 4:42 2 – Hold On – 4:28 3 – All I Can Do – 4:50 4 – Soul Search – 4:13 5 – Time And Time Again – 4:14 6 – Sing And Shout – 4:25 7 – Set Me Free – 4:35 8 – Not Too Late – 5:20 9 – Bring Into Being – 4:41 10 – Harvest – 3:24
Credits Art Direction – Ed McTaggart Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Robert Pallen Co-producer – Daryl Wicker Engineer – Daryl Wicker Guitar, Drum Programming, Backing Vocals – Dennis Cameron Illustration [Cover] – Jeff Foster Keyboards – Daryl Wicker (tracks: A2 to A4, B1 to B5), Dennis Cameron (tracks: A1, A5) Layout – Joe Potter Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Jerome Mazza Mastered By – John Matousek Mixed By – Daryl Wicker, Dennis Cameron, Scott Seehower Producer – Dennis Cameron Written-By, Composed By, Arranged By – Dennis Cameron
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Intense Records Copyright (c) – Intense Records Distributed By – Word (UK) Ltd. Recorded At – GCC Production House Mastered At – Soundworks West
This was the last album Keith recorded before his untimely death later in the same year it was released. He passed away in a plane crash in July of 1982 in an airplane crash that also claimed the lives of his two children, Josiah, and Bethany. His wife was not on the flight and lives in California and continues Mark’s ministry entitled Last Day Ministries. It is unfortunate that this album has that sad piece of news forever attached to it. Lucky for us however there were more recordings made by Keith over previous years so we were able to enjoy more music from him after his passing. Now I will be perfectly clear, Keith does not do my style of music but I know good music when I hear it and this is good music. Probably his best work. That said can anyone explain to me why he didn’t have one chart single off an album this good and especially given the unfortunate attention this album received? I am usually critical of the CCM business because they ignored the up and coming young acts on their charts, but this time I’m critical because they ignored an album that anyone could hear had several chart songs on it. Oh well we are left to enjoy the album and remember Keith as an excellent musician and man of great devotion.
Tracklist 1 – The Lord Is My Shepherd – 4:10 2 – You Are The One! – 2:39 3 – How Majestic Is Thy Name – 3:59 4 – Draw Me – 3:47 5 – Glory Lord Jesus – 3:20 6 – There Is A Redeemer – 3:11 7 – The Promise Song – 3:21 8 – Until That Final Day – 4:38 9 – Jesus Is Lord Of All – 2:32 10 – O God Our Lord – 3:49 11 – I Will Give Thanks To The Lord – 1:47 12 – Holy, Holy, Holy – 3:40
Credits Arranged By [Strings], Conductor – Harlan Rogers Arranged By [Tracks] – Bill Maxwell, Keith Green Backing Vocals – Alphanette Silas, Howard Smith, Keith Green, Linda McCrary Bass – Abraham Laboriel Concertmaster – Sidney Sax Design [Inner Sleeve Design] – Pretty Good Graphics Design, Layout – Stan Evenson Design Drums – Bill Maxwell Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Harlan Rogers Engineer – Gordon Shryock Engineer [Assistant] – Wally Grant Engineer [Orchestra] – Keith Grant Engineer [Overdubs] – Peter Hayden, Willie Harlan Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith Mastered By – Steve Hall Mixed By – Bill Maxwell, Gordon Shryock, Keith Green Mixed By [Assistant] – Wally Grant Percussion – Alex Acuña, Bill Maxwell Photography By – Mark Hanauer Piano – Keith Green Producer – Bill Maxwell, Keith Green Strings, Orchestra – The London National Philharmonic Orchestra Synthesizer – Tom Keene
Companies, etc. Copyright (c) – Last Days Ministries Recorded At – Weddington Studios Recorded At – Olympic Studios Overdubbed At – Paramount Recorders Overdubbed At – International Automated Media Mixed At – Weddington Studios Mastered At – MCA Whitney Recording Studios Published By – Birdwing Music Mastered At – Sheffield Lab Matrix
The followup to their premier album had a very similar sound and feel. Considering the lineup was the same and they were still being produced by Dino Elefante this wasn’t surprising. The odd thing though is that this album concluded their relationship with Light Records. Light had been very anxious to sign them but it looks like something changed a couple albums in. This album was also the last with vocalist Sam Scott, another rather odd turn of events. All that aside the album sold well and also gave the band their first chart single “Prayer For The Children” which made it to #20 in the 6 weeks it was on the charts. I never liked the album cover as it reminds me of a Russian communism poster, but maybe it was supposed to.
Tracklist 1 – Hardened Hearts – 4:32 2 – On With The Fight – 3:36 3 – If You Believe – 3:38 4 – Harmony – 3:50 5 – Prayer For The Children – 4:39 6 – In America – 3:26 7 – Jacque Remembers – 3:44 8 – Somebody Told Me You Were Crying – 3:01 9 – Let’s Fall In Love (All Over Again) – 4:30 10 – Runnin’ Out Of Time – 4:08
Credits Acoustic Guitar, Keyboards [Electric Keyboards], Vocals – Sam Scott Art Direction – Jeff Fey Drums [Acoustic Drums], Electronic Drums – Jim Erickson Electric Bass – Matthew Chapman Engineer – Mike Mierau Engineer [Assistant] – Paul Abajian Illustration – Warren Hile Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Bob Carlisle Photography By – Richard Arrindell Producer, Engineer – Dino Elefante Producer, Guitar, Soloist [Guitar Solos], Guitar Synthesizer, Vocals – Randy Thomas Programmed By [Keyboard Programming] – Tim Heintz
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Lexicon Music, Inc. Copyright (c) – Lexicon Music, Inc. Printed By – Shorewood Packaging Made By – Shorewood Packaging Distributed By – Word (Uk) Ltd. Designed At – Art Hotel
After Marks graduated from Messiah College in Philadelphia in 1971 he began to perform with Billy Graham’s Afterglow Concert Series and actually did so for almost 10 years. In 1981 he participated in a project/album called “Premiere Performance” by Myrrh Records. The album was actually a fan vote project where fans would vote for their favourite artist and that artist would get an album deal. Kenny won that competition with the song “You Don’t Have To Try To Be Somebody”. That song appears on this album and I actually don’t find it to one of the stronger tracks on the album but it was 1981 and I was listening to Resurrection band at the time so my taste wasn’t exactly aimed at Kenny’s music. Kenny apparently wrote the whole album and while the writing was good it was not the strong writing that he had on later albums. The album had all the best CCM studio musicians of the time but the one odd inclusion was Dan Huff who was at the same time working on the introductory WhiteHeart album. I find it kind of surprising that there wasn’t a CCM charting song on this album. Given that it was 1982 there are several tracks that could have comfortably sat on the charts.
Tracklist 1 – Lean On Him – 3:37 2 – Lovin’ Me For Myself – 2:55 3 – You Need Love – 3:06 4 – You Don’t Have To Try And Be Somebody – 3:13 5 – In The Middle Of The Night – 3:34 6 – He’ll Finish What He Started – 3:11 7 – Follow Him – 3:23 8 – I Give It All To You – 4:35 9 – Ringin’ The Bells – 2:52 10 – When I Least Expect It – 3:10
Credits Arranged By – Don Hart Backing Vocals – Diana DeWitt Hanna, Doana Cooper, Keith Thomas, Pamela Marks, Patti Leatherwood Bass – Jimmie Lee Sloas, Mike Brignardello Drums – Bob Gelotte, Mark Hammond, Tommy Wells Executive-Producer – Neal Joseph Guitar – Brent Rowan, Dann Huff, Jon Goin Harp – Cindy Reynolds Keyboards – Keith Thomas Percussion – Mark Hammond, Terry McMillan Piano – Bobby Ogdin Producer, Keyboards – Keith Thomas Saxophone – Dennis Solee Vocals – Kenny Marks Written-By – Kenny Marks
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc. Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Steven Soles may be the most accomplished artists in CCM that very people had ever heard of. Soles was member of Bob Dylan’s famous “Rolling Thunder Revue” tour in 1975 and, along with a few friends were one of those who shared the Gospel with Dylan. Two other band members, T-Bone Burnett and David Mansfield, started the famed Alpha Band and released three amazing albums. He has also gone on to perform on albums by Dylan, T-Bone Burnett, Peter case and Elvis Costello. After The Alpha Band disbanded he recorded two solo projects for the Christian market. Both were widely critically acclaimed if not necessarily widely received. The better of those two is Walk By Love. Using a light reggae rhythm throughout the world music influence set him apart from anything else in the Christian Music world. Lyrically straight forward and yet very smart and original. The title track should have been a hit if not for the suspicious nature of Christian radio and refusal to play music that didn’t fit the normal scheme of things even if it was directly commercial.
Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/
Tracklist 1 – Walk By Love – 3:44 2 – Shepherd Of The Valley – 3:29 3 – The Last Round Up – 5:07 4 – Joy In All – 2:43 5 – The Talents – 4:32 6 – Let Him In – 3:17 7 – Standing In His Power – 3:35 8 – Love Come To You – 3:59 9 – Light Of Lights – 3:20 10 – Walk By Love (Reprise) – 1:29
Credits Bass, Vocals – Jerry Scheff Engineer – Bobby Macias, David Goldstein Flute, Saxophone – Marco Macisso Guitar, Mandolin – David Mansfield Guitar, Vocals – Steven Soles Keyboards, Vocals – Danny Timms Photography, Art Direction, Design – Herbert Wheeler Worthington III Producer – Steven Soles Recorded By, Percussion – Larry Hirsch Vocals – Jude Johnstone, Tommy Funderburk, Wendy Matthews Vocals, Drums – Ron Tutt
Companies, etc. Distributed By – Word Records (2) Published By – Good News Records Phonographic Copyright (p) – Good News Records Printed By – Shorewood Packaging Made By – Shorewood Packaging Copyright (c) – Specific Gravity Music Copyright (c) – Dunamis Music Copyright (c) – Nophir Music Copyright (c) – Arthur Buster Stahr Music Recorded At – Monterey Sound Studios Mixed At – Paramount Recording Studios
Is there a better and more passionate male vocalist in the history of Christian music? After several years in Southern Gospel ensembles and a career building tenure with the Imperials, Russ Taff took his throaty and earthy blue-eyed soul voice of gold into a solo realm and, for several years, created some of the finest albums in CCM. Three of those albums make the list here. After two successful pop albums and a thematic and musical shift with a self-titled release, Taff released his fourth solo album to an overwhelming contingent of positive responses. Not as dark or rock driven as the previous release, The Way Home is more Americana and Springsteen influenced. Not “country,” but decidedly less “alternative” and more earthy. yet the Country market embraced the album charting three singles from the album. Christian radio was not as embracing though a few songs did make a dent including the wonderful ballad, “Farther On.” The ballads on the album are incredibly strong with several written by Michael Anderson (who himself will appear later on this list). In fact, an Anderson penned tune remains my personal favorite on the album. “I Need You,” which appeared on Anderson’s A&M debut release is wonderfully redone here. On several occasions Taff points toward a later release entitles “Under Their Influence” in which he covers several classic country and southern gospel classics. The songs included here reflect Taff’s heritage and respect for the legacy of amazing music left behind by some incredible artists. The album closes with “Table in the Wilderness” that is simply a 4 minute masterpiece. It always felt to me that the song would have worked on a latter Alarm album with it’s anthem like qualities. A huge song with a great hook and Taff’s impressive vocals really carry it through. This would be the last album that would make a major impact in the CCM market for Taff though he has continued to record and release album up to the present. He has also continued an on again off again relationship with the Gaither Vocal Band.
Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/
Tracklist 1 – Winds Of Change – 4:17 2 – It Was Love – 4:26 3 – Farther On – 3:49 4 – The River Unbroken – 4:24 5 – He Came Through – 3:10 6 – I Cry – 4:07 7 – I Need You – 4:36 8 – Go On – 4:22 9 – Ain’t No Grave – 1:19 10 – Guiding Light – 4:13 11 – Take My Hand – 4:35 12 – Table In The Wilderness – 4:15
Credits Arranged By [Strings] – Don Hart Art Direction – Buddy Jackson Bass – Jackie Streets Coordinator [Cover] – Laurie Fink Drums – Lynn Williams Engineer – Tim Crich Engineer [Additional] – Dan Garcia, David Schober, Lynn Fuston Engineer [Assistant] – Chris Rich, Clarke Schleicher, Elaine Anderson, Gil Morales, Mac Smith, Shawn McLean Guitar – James Hollihan Jr., Russ Taff Keyboards – James Hollihan Jr., Larry Hall Management – Zach Glickman Mastered By – Dan Hersch Melodica – James Hollihan Jr. Mixed By – Peter Coleman Photography By [Black And White] – Bonnie Schiffman Photography By [Front Cover] – Loren Balman Producer – James Hollihan Jr., Russ Taff
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc. Copyright (c) – Word, Inc. Recorded At – The Bennett House Recorded At – Downstage Studio Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio Recorded At – Digital Recorders Recorded At – Hollywood Sound Recorders Recorded At – Wayne Cook Studios Mixed At – Mama Jo’s Mastered At – DigiPrep
Joshua Paharia formed the band Joshua in 1983. Later the same year he became a Christian and the band suddenly made lyrical changes to reflect this. This is their first album and it’s pretty darn good. It straddles the hinge of Heavy Metal and Hard Rock and does it well. Strangely the album was a huge success in Japan with “November Is Going Away” making it to #1 on some Japan chart. The album was released in 1984 with 2 bonus tracks in Japan. Those bonus tracks were included in subsequent releases of the album through the years and they have also been included here.
Tracklist 1 – Falling Again – 4:19 2 – November Is Going Away – 4:57 3 – Sweet ‘Lil Hurricane – 3:11 4 – A Song For Lisa – 4:20 5 – Let’s Breakaway – 4:47 6 – Broken Dream – 3:01 7 – Flying High – 4:17 8 – Portrait Of A Woman – 4:25
This was Evie’s album for 1981. She generally put out an album every year which unfortunately, in my opinion, diluted the quality of her albums. This album was pretty well received and some even called it innovative though honestly I don’t hear anything different than her earlier albums. The album had one single on the CCM charts. “How I Love You Lord” made it to #9 with a very strong 27 weeks on the chart. A quick skim through the studio musicians doesn’t reveal any interesting names except for Al Perkins who I think was on every studio musician album in the 80’s.
Tracklist 1 – How I Love You Lord – 3:45 2 – Bind Us Together – 3:20 3 – The Cross Where Jesus Gave His Life – 3:40 4 – Be Still – 4:10 5 – I Love My Jesus – 3:30 6 – Unfailing Love – 5:50 7 – A Picture Of You – 3:50 8 – All The Glory – 3:30 9 – You Gave A Song – 3:10 10 – The Lord’s Prayer – 3:40
Credits Arranged By [String Arrangements], Conductor – Stan Endicott Backing Vocals – Evie Bass – Darrel Cook Design [Cover Design] – Finn Tornquist Drums – Keith Edwards Engineer – Chris Taylor Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith Keyboards – Harlan Rogers (tracks: A1, A2, A3, A5, B2 To B5) Keyboards [Extras], Guitar [Extras], Mandolin [Extras], Synthesizer [Extras], Producer, Arranged By, Backing Vocals – Pelle Karlsson Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Kelly Willard (tracks: A4) Photography By – Allwil, Dannsted Steel Guitar – Al Perkins
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc. Copyright (c) – Word, Inc. Produced For – White Field Music Recorded At – Whitefield Studios Mixed At – Whitefield Studios Manufactured By – Prim
Personally I kind of find this album to be another Barry filler album. I’m not saying the man wasn’t talented but he did put out a few albums that were just sort of there. This is one of those albums in my opinion. That said the track “Communion Song” is definitely a classic worship song that you will even hear today. The track that stands out to me is “Chubby, Chubby” which is a fun song about Christians being fat. It stands out to me because I hate fat shaming (especially when hidden as humour) now and I hated it then. As someone who as a kid (right around 1977) had to hear people make fun of my overweight mother I don’t see the humour in it. Sorry Barry but you struck out on this one.
Tracklist 1 – There Is A Peace – 3:04 2 – Sometime, Someplace – 3:19 3 – Beatitudes – 3:35 4 – Ol’ Branch – 3:11 5 – Chubby, Chubby – 3:26 6 – Communion Song – 3:48 7 – My Lord – 2:34 8 – Good Ole Gospel Feelin’ – 3:04 9 – Light Of The World – 4:13 10 – Don’t Thank Me – 2:41
Credits Arranged By [Strings] – Jimmy Owens Art Direction – Robert Lockart Bass – Leland Sklar Drums – David Kemper Engineer – Larry Emerine, Randy Cox Guitar, Guitar [Dobro], Mandolin – Mike Deasy Percussion – Fred Petry Photography By – Gary Heery Piano – Richard Souther Producer – Billy Ray Hearn Remix – Larry Emerine Vocals – Bili Thedford, Janny Grine, Katherine Ward, Matthew Ward, Mike Deasy, Shirley Matthew’s Singers, The, Terry Oerlich, Terry Talbot
Companies, etc. Recorded At – Quad Teck Recorded At – Studio 55, Los Angeles Mixed At – Studio 55, Los Angeles Distributed By – Word Phonographic Copyright (p) – Sparrow Records, Inc. Copyright (c) – Sparrow Records, Inc.
