Tag: 1977

Imperials – Sail On – 1977

This album was the start of the Russ Taff era of the Imperials. I was going to say this this is was unarguably their most successful era but in retrospect they had so many era’s that I”m not sure I can say which is their most successful. I think my favourite era was the Paul Smith era but I think this was due to timing as opposed to quality. My actual only criticism of this album is the cover. I think they were going for the singers in a spotlight on a dark stage but instead it just came out all dark and boring. Not the best artwork in my opinion. The album was produced by Chris Christian who was just really coming into his own at this point and this is a very well produced album.

Tracklist
1 – Water Grave – 3:56
2 – Satisfaction Guaranteed – 3:50
3 – Gotta Watch, Gotta Pray – 3:08
4 – More Each Day – 3:28
5 – There Will Never Be Any Peace – 2:59
6 – Sail On – 3:30
7 – Keep On Walking – 2:52
8 – Sonlight – 3:03
9 – Bread On The Water – 3:08
10 – Try Again – 2:59

Credits
Lanny Avery – Engineer
Brown Bannister – Engineer, Bells
Peter Bordonali – Guitars
Jerry Carrigan – Drums
Annie Chapman – Songwriter
Steve Chapman – Songwriter
Chris Christian – Producer, Arranger, Songwriter, Keyboards, Guitars, Banjo
Steve Gibson – Guitars
Janny Grein – Songwriter
Bill Grine – Songwriter
James Hollihan – Songwriter
Archie Jordan – Arranger
Shane Keister – Keyboards
Kenny Malone – Drums
Armond Morales – Vocals
Farrell Morris – Percussion
Jim Murray – Songwriter, Vocals
Bobby Ogdin – Keyboards
Joe Osborn – Bass
Billy Puett – Horns
Eugene Record – Songwriter
Terry Robinson – Songwriter
Steve Schaeffer – Bass
Don Sheffield – Horns
Sheldon Kurland – Strings
Tim Sheppard – Songwriter
Buddy Skipper – Horns
Shanon Smith – Engineer
Denis Solee – Saxophone
Russ Taff – Songwriter, Vocals
Travis Turk – Engineer
D. Bergen White – Arranger
David Will – Vocals
Jack Williams – Bass
Bobby Wood – Keyboards
Reggie Young – Guitars

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Produced For – Home Sweet Home Productions
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio
Mixed At – Gold Mine Studio
Mastered At – Masterfonics
Overdubbed At – Sound Stage Studios
Overdubbed At – Jack Clement Recording Studios
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co.

David Meece – I Just Call On You – 1977

This is David’s second album and I totally missed this one back when it came out. I wasn’t the biggest fan of David but I thought I had heard all his work but somehow I had no knowledge of this album. It might be in part because this album didn’t have a charting single. His streak of singles did not start until his next album. The reason I keep pointing out I haven’t heard this album is because it is so good. Again I am not the biggest fan of Meece but I know good music when I hear it. I find his piano work on this album to be some of his best. There certainly isn’t any spectacular orchestral movements here but there are excellent piano melodies. How this album didn’t have a charting single is beyond me. Yet another example of CCM magazine being on another planet at times. The album is strongly easy listening and there’s very little hint of David’s future pop offerings but if you missed this album like I did, take the time to give it a listen.

Tracklist
1 – It’s Gonna Be So Lovely – 2:46
2 – I Just Call On You – 2:37
3 – With Tears In My Eyes – 4:05
4 – God’s Love – 3:01
5 – The Man Who Saved The Fool – 2:45
6 – Follow Me (I’ll Lead You Home) – 3:10
7 – In The Morning – 3:20
8 – Cold October Rain – 3:10
9 – Love Your Brother – 2:33
10 – Do You Know What It’s Like? – 2:50

Credits
Arranged By – Archie P. “Buggs” Jordan
Artwork [Cover] – Dennis Hill
Backing Vocals – Gary Pigg, Gwen Moore, Marty McCall
Bass – Jerry Carrigan, Steve Schaffer
Drums – Jerry Carrigan, Jimmy Isbell
Electric Guitar – Steve Gibson
Illustration [Back Cover] – Charles Wallis Inc., Pat Pollei
Keyboards – Bobby Ogdin, David Meece, Shane Keister
Mastered By – Denny Purcell
Photography By – J. T. Morrow
Producer, Recorded By, Remix, Electric Guitar, Drums, Backing Vocals – Chris Christian
Recorded By, Remix, Backing Vocals – Brown Bannister
Saxophone – Denis Solee
Strings – The Shelly Kurland Strings

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio
Remixed At – Gold Mine Studio
Mastered At – Woodland Studios

Various – Maranatha! Six A Family Portrait – 1977

This is the sixth in the series of well known easy listening Maranatha! Music samplers. Seems strange now to see Daniel Amos and Sweet Comfort (Band) on a sampler like this. Below are the original albums with the tracks.

1 – Karen Lafferty – Beautiful Day – Sweet Communion
2 – Bruce Herring – Perfect Will – Unreleased
3 – Sweet Comfort – Somebody Loves You – Sweet Comfort
4 – Aslan – Who Loves The Lonely – Unreleased
5 – Erick Nelson – He Gave Me Love – The Misfit
6 – Parable – The Plain Truth – Illustrations
7 – Bethlehem – Desert Songs – Bethlehem
8 – Becky Ugartechea – Nightengale – Unreleased
9 – Daniel Amos – Father’s Arms – Shotgun Angel
10 – Bob & Joy Cull – Sail Away – Windborne

Tracklist
1 – Karen Lafferty – Beautiful Day – 4:21
2 – Bruce Herring – Perfect Will – 3:51
3 – Sweet Comfort – Somebody Loves You – 3:01
4 – Aslan – Who Loves The Lonely – 3:54
5 – Erick Nelson – He Gave Me Love – 3:55
6 – Parable – The Plain Truth – 3:33
7 – Bethlehem – Desert Songs – 3:40
8 – Becky Ugartechea – Nightengale – 3:53
9 – Daniel Amos – Father’s Arms – 4:23
10 – Bob & Joy Cull – Sail Away – 4:15

Companies, etc.
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Maranatha! Music
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Maranatha! Music

The Wall Brothers – The Door – 1977

Greg and Kraig Wall are back with their second album. I haven’t heard the first one but have read that this one is huge improvement over their first album. Like many seventies act much of the history of the Wall brothers has been lost to time. They appear to have been quite popular at the time and even had a couple charting CCM singles but not off this album. Anyway what we have here is a mainly easy listening seventies style album. It’s quite well done and the brothers dabbled with a bit of Rock & Roll on the track “Since The Day I Was Born” which has a 70’s funk feel and I find myself wishing there were more tracks like this.

Tracklist
1 – Song Of Joy – 1:47
2 – Little Children – 3:01
3 – I Can Depend On You – 3:56
4 – Since The Day I Was Born – 3:49
5 – Can’t You See – 3:47
6 – Sons Of God – 6:30
7 – Isn’t It A Miracle – 2:48
8 – I Never Knew – 2:58
9 – You And I Are One – 3:01
10 – Now We’re Gone – 4:57

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Greg Wall
Arranged By [String Arrangements] – Joe Huffman
Art Direction – Dill Beaty
Backing Vocals – Greg Wall, Kraig Wall, Mitch Humphries, Roni Goss
Bass – Roni Goss
Drums – Buster PhillipsElectric
Electric Guitar – Randy Nelson
Engineer – James Goss, Stan Dacus
Guitar – Joe Huffman
Percussion – Farrell Morris
Photography By – Dill Beaty
Piano – Kraig Wall, Lari Goss
Producer – James W. Goss
Remix – Bob Clark
Rhythm Guitar – James Goss
Steel Guitar – Tommy Dodd

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Greentree Records
Copyright (c) – Greentree Records
Recorded At – Mark Five Studios
Mastered At – Masterfonics
Remixed At – Great Circle Sound

Barry McGuire – Have You Heard – 1977

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.

Rockland Road – Planet Time – 1977

OK lets see if I can get the story of where these guys came from right. Follow along now. It all starts with the Oakridge Boys in the early 70’s. In 1974 the backing band for the Oak Ridge Boys put out an album using the moniker “The Oakes Band”. It was on the label “Rockland Road” (foreshadowing alert) which appears to be a tiny label owned by The Oak Ridge Boys”. Then in 1977 Skip Mitchell, Don Breland, and Mark Ellerbee from The Oakes Band did this project. Joining them was Garland Craft and vocalist Christine Lakeland. Now if you made it through that let’s talk about the music. The album was first released in Sweden with 11 tracks and was then released in the United States a few months later with 10 tracks. This is odd as they were an American band and most of the album was recorded in Nashville but I’m sure there’s a good backstory to it. The United States version omitted the #11 Track “Did You?”. That track is included in the playlist as we have uploaded the Swedish version.

The album is great and in fact I would say it is probably a notch up from most of the Jesus Music albums of the day. “For Crying Out Loud” is a pretty good 70’s rocking song but my favourite track is a blues/southern gospel song entitled “The Shelter”. That style will always be timeless. As you can see there’s a few different styles on this album which really was typical of the period. That said they do a great job with all the styles and this will go down as one my favourite 70’s albums.

Tracklist
1 – Planet Time – 5:30
2 – Jesus Wasn’t In It For The Dollar – 2:14
3 – The Shelter – 4:35
4 – I Could Be Forever – 3:04
5 – Somebody Lead Me – 3:38
6 – Alpha And Omega – 1:35
7 – For Crying Out Loud – 3:52
8 – Children – 4:10
9 – All His Love – 3:12
10 – Heaven Is A High Place – 3:12
11 – Did You? – 3:52 (Swedish Version Only)

Credits
Skip Mitchell – Guitar
Don Breland – Bass
Mark Ellerbee – Drums
Garland – Keyboards
Christine Lakeland – Voclas

The Archers – Fresh Surrender – 1977

This really was the album that put The Archers on the map. Billy Masters and Nancy Short were out and Janice was finally officially in though she had been with the band on tour for quite awhile at this point. The album took a far more upbeat style that was very well received as was Janice. I’m pretty sure that hair sold a few albums in the male listener market. (Hand Up) The studio was filled with A list musicians and the the quality reflects that. The album had an astounding seven charting singles and was nominated for A Dove award but lost out to Dallas Holm and Praise. Really? OH those were some pretty terrifying times for the Gospel Music Association. Anyway give it a listen, if you’re a Jesus Music fan you’ll like it.

Tracklist
1 – I Need You – 3:33
2 – Fresh Surrender – 3:55
3 – With Every Breath I Take – 4:28
4 – Water Into Wine – 3:16
5 – Give Him Praise – 4:48
6 – I’m Gonna Rise – 3:12
7 – Change – 3:31
8 – Sanctified Life – 3:33
9 – Make Me An Instrument – 4:41
10 – You Know The Future – 4:23

Credits
Arranged By [Instrumental] – Larry Muhoberac, The Archers
Arranged By [Vocals] – The Archers
Bass – David Hungate, Reinie Press, Wilton Felder
Concertmaster – James Getzoff
Drums – Dennis Holt, Jim Keltner, Mike Baird, Paul Leim
Engineer – Billy Taylor, Dennis Drake, John Guess, Larry Emerine, Steve Maslow, Wally Duguid
Guitar – Ben Benay, Dean Parks, Fred Tackett, Lee Ritenour, Tony Sena
Keyboards – Larry Muhoberac, Phil Kristianson
Lead Vocals – Janice Archer, Steve Archer, Tim Archer
Orchestrated By – Larry Muhoberac
Strings – James Getzoff

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Published By – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Published By – Benson Pub. Co.
Published By – Libris Music
Recorded At – Western Recorders
Recorded At – Studio 55, Los Angeles
Recorded At – Hollywood Sound Recorders
Recorded At – Devonshire Studios
Recorded At – Mama Jo’s
Mastered At – Capitol Mastering

Mike Warnke – Jester In The King’s Court – 1977

Mike Warnke is a great preacher and a funny guy. This is his early stuff, from 1977, before his wife Rose joined him in the performance. He had a serious knack for using funny messages to make strong spiritual truths. Speaking of truth, it is well known that Mike recanted much of his testimony about witchcraft. Despite that, these records are packed with truths. Communicating truth is the main point of fiction, after all. One thing that is noteworthy listening to his body of work is that even when he comes up to the edge of socially acceptable comedy, he knew how to stay within boundaries. Just like George Carlin and others of his era, Mike could tell jokes that made fun of situations without making fun of people. In doing so, the message is never lost.

It should be noted that Warnke was revealed as a liar and fraudster in 1991 by Cornerstone magazine. This recording is offered as a historic record of what was being listened to in the Christian community in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

Credits
Design [Cover] – Charles Wallis Inc., Roger Sanders
Narrator – Mike Warnke
Other [Make-up] – Joyce Ward
Photography By – John Guider Studios
Producer – Mike Blanton*, Wes Yoder

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Warbird Publishing Company
Copyright (c) – Warbird Publishing Company
Mixed At – Sumet-Bernet Sound Studios, Inc.
Remixed At – Sumet-Bernet Sound Studios, Inc.

Nutshell – Flyaway – 1977

This was the second album from the trio Nutshell. Surprisingly it was also the last for 2 members of the trio. Heather Barlow and Pam Thiele left to be replaced by Paul for the next album. As such the band is really kind of Paul Field and guests. Paul went on by the way to have a successful solo career after the latter on in the 80’s. This album has a strong Jesus music feel on the more easy listening side. It was a fairly popular album at the time.

Tracklist
1 – Walking Into The Wind – 3:45
2 – Sara – 4:30
3 – Moonlight – 2:37
4 – Conversation Pieces – 4:27
5 – Flyaway – 4:08
6 – Feel Like A River – 5:10
7 – Safe And Sound – 2:38
8 – For Each Other – 4:57
9 – Bedsitter / Sometimes – 7:55

Credits
Arranged By [Strings Arranged By] – Rod Edwards, Roger Hand
Bass – John G Perry
Concept By [Cover] – Paul Field, Rob Kelland
Design, Illustration – Rob Kelland
Drums – Mike Giles
Engineer – Dave Harris
Engineer [Re-Mix Engineer] – Roger Wake
Lacquer Cut By – BilBo
Mastered By – Denis Blackham
Percussion – Tony Carr
Photography By – David Redfern
Piano, Electric Piano, Clavinet, Synthesizer – Rod Edwards
Producer – Jon Miller, Rod Edwards, Roger Hand
Vocals – Heather Barlow
Vocals, Autoharp – Pam Thiele
Vocals, Guitar, Piano – Paul Field
Written-By, Composed By – Paul Field

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word
Copyright (c) – Word
Copyright (c) – Word Music (UK)
Printed By – Robert Stace & Co. Ltd.
Recorded At – Sound Associates Studio
Recorded At – Morgan Studios
Mastered At – Master Room
Lacquer Cut At – Master Room
Pressed By – CBS Pressing Plant, Aston Clinton

Gospel Seed – Growing – 1977

Gospel Seed only released one album that I can find though it appears they did have a cassette demo in 1975. The band were mainly comprised of Gary Luttrell and Mike Moore . They called in some studio musicians for the album and notable in those musicians was Don Gerber who was in Darrell Mansfield’s original band Gentle Faith. The band toured extensively around the United States playing anywhere they could to spread the message. They also had appearances on the 700 Club and The PTL Club which was a pretty big deal at the time. They are/were a great duo who’s vocals worked well together. The album has a deep 70’s sound but was actually pretty high quality for a one album band.

Tracklist
1 – The Singer’s Song – 4:30
2 – The Fool – 3:40
3 – Salvador – 3:16
4 – Top Ten – 3:15
5 – To The Father – 4:20
6 – Lines – 3:20
7 – A Colorful Little Tune – 2:00
8 – The Vow – 4:05
9 – Count The Cost – 2:40
10 – The Last Song (We Ever Sing) – 3:30

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Don Gerber, Gary Luttrell
Arranged By – Bill Baker
Arranged By, Piano – Jim Stipech
Bass – Bill Batstone, Colin Cameron
Composed By, Vocals, Autoharp, Design Concept – Mike Moore*
Composed By, Vocals, Design Concept – Gary Luttrell
Drums, Percussion – Alex MacDougall
Electric Guitar – Virgil Beckham
Illustration [Cover] – David McCall Johnston*
Organ, Clavinet, Electric Piano, Piano [Wurlitzer], Piano – Dave Garland (3)
Photography By – Ray Westbrook
Producer, Engineer, Recorded By, Mixed By – Buddy King (2)
Synthesizer – Marshall Otwell

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Pure Joy Productions
Published By – Word Music, Inc.
Published By – Pure Joy Music
Recorded At – Buddy King Studios, Huntington Beach, CA
Produced For – Pure Joy Productions