Tag: 1978

Michael And Stormie Omartian – Seasons Of The Soul – 1978

This was Michael And Stormie’s first release using both of their names. Stormie had appeared on Michael’s previous albums but this is the first album she did lead vocals on. They actually married the same year they released this album so I guess we could consider this album a celebration of their partnership. If you hear a bit of darkness in some of Stormie’s writings she has previously shared that before Michael she was actually in a disastrous marriage and that her childhood wasn’t that great either. As such she wrote many songs reflecting her life experiences. While Michael was the musical driving force of the marriage without a doubt Stormie was the lyricist. Together they made a great musical couple from whom we would enjoy many more albums. Nice to see Matthew Ward and Phil Keaggy helping out with the album, I’ve been told they were all great friends.

Tracklist
1 – Ms. Past – 4:09
2 – Travel On With Me – 5:27
3 – Gonna Write Me A Song – 2:39
4 – More Like You – 3:19
5 – Where I Been – 4:08
6 – It All Comes Down To You – 3:46
7 – Heaven Will Wait For Me – 4:15
8 – Seasons Of The Soul – 6:47

Credits
Backing Vocals – Matthew Ward, Myrna Matthews
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums, Congas – Paul Leim
Engineer – Buck Herring, Wally Duguid
Engineer [Mixdown] – Jay Graydon
Lead Guitar – Phil Keaggy
Lyrics By, Vocals, Backing Vocals – Stormie Omartian
Music By – Stormie Omartian (tracks: A3)
Photography By [Back Cover & Sleeve] – Harry Langdon
Photography By [Front Cover] – Bob Anderson
Producer, Arranged By, Music By, Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion [Tuned] – Michael Omartian
Rhythm Guitar – Bud Nuanez
Saxophone, Flute – Larry Wilson
Saxophone, Flute, Horn [Solos] – Kim Hutchcroft
Trumpet – Jerry Hey

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Published By – See This House Music
Recorded At – Buckskin Studio
Recorded At – Garden Rake Studio
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab

Bethlehem – Bethlehem – 1978

I am full convinced that more than even the Beatles, the most influential band on Jesus Music was The Eagles. The Way, Parable, Daniel Amos and countless others always seem to be compared to The Eagles. My thesis is that they country/folk/rock was considered “safer” within Church walls than the Beatles, Beach Boys and Rolling Stones. That being said the band that pulled off the comparison best was easily Bethlehem. The songwriting seems legitimate and band leader, Danny Daniels, had the perfect voice for the job. The band released one album on Maranatha Music in 1978 and disbanded shortly after. One reviewer noted that “Desert Song” was a dead ringer for “Peaceful, Easy Feeling” and he was right on. The band separated itself during its short tenure by incredible musicianship, wonderful harmonies and very memorable songs. The album also sported some of the finest production for the time with Jonathan Brown, Tom Stipe and Al Perkins. Side One is more melodic and pop/country influenced while side two demonstrates a bit more rock and creative influence. This is most notable on the album closer, Pilgrim, which features lengthy instrumental breaks, a wall of backing vocals and a more progressive arrangement. Side two also contain a personal and fan favorite, Night Rider, which has more in common with The Outlaws than the Eagles with a great story telling vocal and big chorus. Themes on the album are very consistent with music from the era with songs of repentance, community and more than a few obligatory “end times” songs. Of all of the bands from that era, Bethlehem was a notch above most on nearly all fronts from songwriting and production to musicianship and performance. Daniels went on to a great solo career as many of his solo albums are worth owning.

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

Tracklist
1 – Think It Over – 3:50
2 – Lover – 4:02
3 – Desert Song – 3:41
4 – Holy Ghost Blues – 2:39
5 – Dead Reckoning – 3:47
6 – Night Rider – 3:04
7 – This Road – 3:16
8 – No Good Excuses – 4:02
9 – Just A Prayer Away – 3:57
10 – Pilgrims – 4:43

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Danny Daniels
Artwork [Leather Tooling] – Al Dugas
Backing Vocals – Bethlehem, Bob Bennett, Cindy Simmons, Dan McCleery, Danny Daniels, Dom Franco, Gary Arthur, Jerry Chamberlain, John Falcone, John Wickham, Julie Paulsen, Kelly Willard, Lewis McVay, Lisa Irwin, Perry Hildebrant, Richie Furay, Sharon McLaughlin, Tom Coomes
Banjo – Don Gerber
Bass – John Falcone
Clavinet – Randy Rigby
Cowbell – Dan McCleery
Design [Album], Art Direction, Layout – Neal Buchanan
Dobro – Dom Franco
Drums – Dan McCleery
Electric Guitar – Danny Daniels, Randy Rigby
Electric Piano – Randy Rigby
Engineer – Al Perkins, Jonathan Brown, Peter Gregg
Guitar [Pull-String Guitar] – Al Perkins
Harmonica – Frank Loomis
Keyboards – Randy Rigby
Lead Guitar – Randy Rigby, Randy Rigby
Lead Vocals – Danny Daniel, Dom Franco
Mastered By – Bob Carbone
Mixed By – Al Perkins, Jonathan Brown
Percussion – Dan McCleery
Photography By – Sam Emerson
Photography By [Insert] – Mike Shoup
Photography By [Tinting] – Neal*
Piano [Acoustic Piano] – Randy Rigby
Producer – Al Perkins, Tom Stipe
Steel Guitar – Dom Franco
Vocals – Dan McCleery, Danny Daniels, Dom Franco, John Falcone, Randy Rigby

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – North Star Studios
Recorded At – Buddy King Studios, Huntington Beach, CA
Recorded At – Sound Castle Recorders, Los Angeles
Recorded At – Maranatha! Studio
Mixed At – Maranatha! Studio
Mastered At – A&M Records
Copyright © – Maranatha Music
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Maranatha Music
Published By – Maranatha Music

Terry Talbot – A Time To Laugh, A Time To Sing – 1978

So this album has kind of a cute shtick to it. Side A, “A Time To Laugh”, is a selection of witty and fun moments form Terry’s concerts. Side B “A Time To Sing” is a selection of new tracks from Terry. I have heard some of Terry’s live work before and I didn’t find it particularly witty but obviously Terry has a great sense of humour and it’s great to hear it here. As for the new material there are actually a couple really good 70’s rock tracks here. Hollywood Lies absolutely kicks butt and wow I wish Terry would have perused this style of music as I much prefer it and wow, he was really good at it.

Tracklist
1 – Down To The Well – 5:04
2 – Intro – 1:07
3 – Bible Land – 4:44
4 – Lamplighter – 4:44
5 – Angels! – 4:01
6 – Sing Hallelujah! – 3:37
7 – Pleasin’ You Pleases Me – 3:04
8 – Never Let Yesterday – 3:19
9 – Hollywood Lies – 3:19
10 – Takin’ The Time – 2:15
11 – Father – 2:53

Ishmael – It’s Amazin’ What Praisin’ Can Do – 1978

This album has been floating around the internet claiming that this album was recorded with After The Fire (ATF). I decided I wanted to get to the bottom of the story and talked with Peter Banks about this album. Here is the true story. John Pantry was producing the album and had booked Peter Banks to do some keyboard work for the album. Ishmael consequently asked if ATF could come into the studio as session players. John Pantry asked Peter if this was possible and Peter and ATF agreed to step in to help with the album. The version of ATF at the time was Andy Piercy, Ian Adamson, Robin Childs, and Peter Banks. So the internet story is relatively correct. Okay now that we’ve set the record straight (see what I did there?) lets talk about the album. To be clear this album is the amalgamation of 2 of my top 5 favourite Christian artists and I was excited to give it a listen and I wasn’t disappointed. It is done in Ishmael’s style but you can get a feel of ATF in the background. Peter’s keyboards are very distinctive and you can tell a mile away it is him. Unfortunately in the 80’s we simply didn’t know anything about ATF except Der Kommissar or Ishmael other that Ishmael United due to where we lived. I simply wish I could go back and enjoy those days when their music was fresh but I’m delighted to hear it now.

Tracklist
1 – When Revival Hits Our Town – 3:57
2 – Praise Away – 4:10
3 – It’s Amazin’ What Praisin’ Can Do – 2:28
4 – Soul Man – 2:24
5 – I Will Sing A Song Unto The Lord – 1:07
6 – Martyr’s Praise Song – 2:26
7 – Who Is He In Yonder Stall – 8:30
8 – Benedictus – 4:33
9 – Lord Army/Prayer Force – 4:55
10 – Song Of Emmanuel – 3:09
11 – Jesus Christ Is Risen Today – 3:01
12 – Kiss The Hand Of Jesus – 7:10
13 – We Are Coming To His House – 3:51

Credits
Ishmael – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Andy Piercy – Acoustic Guitar
Ian Adamson – Drums
Robin Childs – Bass
Peter Banks – Keyboards, Electric Guitar
John Pantry – Producer

Companies, etc.
Published By – Thankyou Music
Published By – Word

Cliff Richard – Small Corners – 1977

Right off the bat I have to start out by apologizing because some of the videos in this playlist are blocked in some countries. This has nothing to do with us and everything to do with Cliff Richard. He has always had copyright issues and whatever management company he is using now doesn’t understand digital world copyright. I know Cliff has nothing actively to do with his copyright issues but if anyone reads this and talks with Cliff could you please tell him to fire his management company and get one that understands international copyright law in 2023 because it’s not 1980 anymore. Oh and he’s losing money because of them.

Okay and it’s on to the album. As you probably know Cliff put out a smattering of Christian albums in the 70’s and 80’s that sold poorly but were mostly loved in the CCM community. I believe this is probably the best known of those albums even though it was never released in North America. In reality there’s no original work here and the album is entirely covers of better known CCM tracks. Yes Cliff did change the arrangements but even that’s questioned as some history says that Terry Britten actually did the arrangements. To be clear I’m not picking on Cliff because I really like this album. The Larry covers are excellent I’m just telling the story. Actually my favourite cover on the album is I Love originally from Malcolm & Alwyn. Anyway if you missed this one back in the day it’s a must listen to if YouTube will allow you to.

Tracklist
1 – Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music – 4:05 (Written-By – Larry Norman)
2 – I Love – 3:15 (Written-By – Alwyn Wall, Malcolm Wild)
3 – Why Me – 2:40 (Written-By – Kris Kristofferson)
4 – I’ve Got News For You – 4:14 (Written-By – Randy Stonehill)
5 – Hey Watcha’ Say – 3:56 (Written-By – 2nd Chapter of Acts)
6 – I Wish We’d All Been Ready – 4:38 (Written-By – Larry Norman)
7 – Joseph – 3:22 (Written-By – Terry Britten)
8 – Good On The Sally Army – 3:04 (Written-By – Alan Shiers)
9 – Goin’ Home – 2:51 (Written-By – Annie Herring)
10 – Up In Canada – 2:44 (Written-By – Larry Norman)
11 – Yes He Lives – 3:28 (Written-By – Terry Britten)
12 – When I Survey The Wondrous Cross – 2:11 (Traditional)

Credits
Arranged By – Nick Ingman
Bass Guitar – Alan Tarney
Chorus [Vocal Group] – Cliff Richard, John Perry, Stewart Calver, Tony Rivers
Drums, Percussion – Brian Bennett
Engineer – Tony Clark
Engineer [Assistant] – Allan Rouse, Hayden Bendall*, John Barrett, Mike Jarrett
Guitar – Terry Britten
Keyboards – Graham Todd
Mastered By – Chris Blair, Nick Webb
Photography By – Gered Mankowitz
Producer – Cliff Richard

Companies, etc.
Licensed From – EMI Records Ltd.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – EMI Records Ltd.
Copyright © – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Made By – Shorewood Packaging Co. Ltd.
Printed By – Shorewood Packaging Co. Ltd.

Nutshell – Begin Again – 1978

This is the third release from Nutshell though it was a shell of the previous band. See what I did there? Anyway after the Flyaway album Pam Thiele and Heather Barlowe left the group. They were replaced by Annie McCaig and Mo McCafferty and this lead to the name of the album. The album was of course punctuated by Paul Field’s excellent songwriting. This album continues with that seventies folky sound they had before and if you didn’t know about the change in lineup you would swear it’s the same band. This is not a genre I like very much but if you do like this sound this is a must listen album.

Tracklist
1 – Love With No Limit – 3:32
2 – Don’t Let Me Fall – 3:39
3 – Caroline – 4:38
4 – In The Father’s Hand – 3:31
5 – Starry Eyed & Laughing – 3:16
6 – First Snow – 2:41
7 – Take Me Down – 2:50
8 – Stay Close – 3:42
9 – The Dancer – 5:19
10 – Heaven In Your Heart – 3:14

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Piano – Paul Field
Arranged By [Rhythm Charts And String Arrangements] – Rod Edwards, Roger Hand
Bass – John G. Perry
Design, Photography By – Tony Neeves
Drums – Barry de Souza
Electric Guitar – Norman Barratt
Engineer – Roger Wake
Percussion – Tony Carr
Piano, Electric Piano, Clavinet, Synthesizer [Roland Synthesizers] – Rod Edwards
Producer – Jon Miller (4), Rod Edwards, Roger Hand
Vocals – Annie McCaig, Mo McCafferty, Paul Field

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word (UK) Ltd.
Copyright © – Word (UK) Ltd.
Copyright © – Word Music (UK)
Printed By – Errey’s Printers Ltd.
Printed By – James Upton Ltd.
Pressed By – CBS Pressing Plant, Aston Clinton
Recorded At – Redan Recorders

Andraé Crouch & The Disciples – Live In London – 1978

Well for some reason we waited 5 years before even scheduling an Andraé Crouch album. Kind of silly when you think about it as he really was one of the most important artists of the period. I didn’t really know which album to pick but I kept reading how great this album was so it is the one I chose. Now if you have been following me you know that again this is not my chosen genre to listen to but wow did Andraé ever nail this concert or should I say concerts as it was recorded live at Hammersmith Odeon, London and at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England. I understand why there is high praise for this album as it really is very good. Note that I have carved up the album very differently than it was originally chopped up so as to have a greater flow. Listening to a YouTube album with 30 second tracks just doesn’t work.

Tracklist
1 – Perfect Peace – 4:23
2 – I Surrender All – 4:20
3 – You Don’t Have To Jump No Pews – 4:08
4 – Take A Little Time – 6:28
5 – Tell Them – 3:37
6 – If I Was A Tree (The Highest Praise) – 5:09
7 – Hallelujah – 2:16
8 – Revive Us Again – 2:06
9 – Power In The Blood – 5:30
10 – I Just Want To Know You – 5:04
11 – Just Like He Said He Would – 6:14
12 – I’ll Keep On Loving You Lord – 4:26
13 – You Gave To Me – 3:49
14 – Oh Taste And See – 1:28
15 – Praise God, Praise God – 2:46
16 – This Is Another Day – 6:12
17 – Praise God Reprise 3:02
18 – Well Done – 5:46
19 – My Tribute – 6:00

Credits
Bass – James Felix
Drums – Bill Maxwell
Engineer – Robin Black
Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith, Jimmie Davis
Illustration [Album Illustration] – Robert August
Keyboards – Andraé Crouch, Harlan Rogers, Mike Escalante
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Mixed By – Andraé*, Bill Maxwell, Gordon Shryock, Richie Schmitt
Photography By – Danny Dunn, Paul Slaughter
Producer – Andraé Crouch, Bill Maxwell
Saxophone – Glenn Myerscough
Tambourine – Sandra Crouch
Trumpet – Allen Gregory
Typography [Lettering], Design – Don Zubalsky
Vocals – Andraé Crouch, Bea Carr, Danniebelle Hall, James Felix, Perry Morgan, Sandra Crouch

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Hammersmith Odeon
Recorded At – Free Trade Hall
Published By – Heart Warming Music Co.

DeGarmo & Key – Bringin’ A New Song Radio Show #11 – 1978

This is one of A series of radio shows produced by Word records for distribution to Christian Radio Stations. This one feature DeGarmo & Key. I actually have to give Word some credit here. It was 1978 and D&K were not your typical Jesus Music performers of the era. This was southern rock album and was one of the earliest in this style. The album was not overly rock but it was rock by the standard of the day. The show highlights 7 out of the 10 tracks on the album.

00:00 – Intro
01:23 – Emmanuel
05:19 – Addey
09:22 – Chase The Wind
14:21 – Alleyways Of Strife
16:52 – Wayfaring Stranger
20:12 – Sleeper
22:52 – This Time Thru
27:28 – Outro

Keith Green – No Compromise – 1978

This is Keith’s second solo album and last on Sparrow as he would go on to start his own record label. The album was very successful with 2 top 10 singles, “Dear John Letter” and “Soften Your Heart”. “Asleep In The Light” also made it up to number 11 so I think we can round up and say 3 top 10 singles. The success of this album though changed the way Keith was thinking about the business. He bought his was out of his Sparrow contract as he and his wife wanted to have “free” concerts and albums. In reality it would be pay what you want but I think this says a lot about Keith’s reasons for playing Christian music. He obviously wanted to use it to minister to people instead of make money. I can respect him for that but ministry isn’t free and his ministry always struggled to have the cash it needed. Personally I think somewhere in the middle of business model and free ministry sits a sweet spot for artists in this genre.

Tracklist
1 – Soften Your Heart – 2:48
2 – Make My Life A Prayer To You – 3:21
3 – Dear John Letter (To The Devil) – 3:20
4 – How Can They Live Without Jesus? – 3:03
5 – Asleep In The Light – 4:25
6 – My Eyes Are Dry – 1:57
7 – You! – 3:33
8 – I Don’t Wanna Fall Away From You – 3:07
9 – Stained Glass – 2:45
10 – To Obey Is Better Than Sacrifice – 3:17
11 – The Victor – 4:20
12 – Altar Call – 3:34

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Al Perkins, Hadley Hockensmith, Jay Leach, Mike Deasy
Arranged By [Strings] – Lennart Sjöholm
Backing Vocals – Danniebelle Hall, James Felix, Keith Green, Matthew Ward
Choir – Annie Herring, Chris Beatty, Jamie Owens-Collins, Keith Green, Matthew Ward, Melody Green, Nelly Greisen, Steve Greisen, Tommy Funderburk
Congas – Lee Pastora
Electric Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith, Mike Deasy
Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith, Mike Deasy
Marimba – Mark Z. Stevens
Organ – Harlan Rogers
Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Harlan Rogers, Keith Green
Producer – Bill Maxwell, Keith Green
Recorded By – Peter Granet
Steel Guitar – Al Perkins
Tambourine – Bill Maxwell
Triangle – Lee Pastora

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Recorded At – Sound Castle Recorders, Los Angeles
Recorded At – MCA Whitney Recording Studios
Mixed At – MCA Whitney Recording Studios
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Published By – Ears To Hear Music
Published By – April Music
Published By – Lexicon Music
Lacquer Cut At – The Mastering Lab

Ivor Twidell – Waiting for the Sun – 1978

We’re a little confused at the crediting of this album. We have credited it to Ivor Twidell but it may actually be instead the name of the band, Waiting For The Sun. We also apologize for the low quality of these songs but the fact that we got a copy at all was exciting as this is pretty rare album. Anyway this is the first appearance of Ivor (Iva) in the music scene and came out right when he joined After The Fire. It has a folksy seventies sound and is nothing like his later work. We tried to look into Ivor’s history before this album but we were unable to find out anything. This album has been re-released on CD in 2015 but so far we can’t find a copy but we are looking.

Tracklist
01 – Waiting For The Sun – 3:51
02 – Dear Lord – 3:03
03 – I Want To Dance – 2:21
04 – Old Fashioned Dreamer – 3:12
05 – Come Up Smiling – 2:54
06 – I Can’t Take – 4:02
07 – This Thing’s Gone On Long Enough – 3:41
08 – The Carpenter’s Son – 4:01
09 – Maybe I’m A Fool – 3:18
10 – Come To Me – 4:26
11 – Safe With Me – 3:02

Credits
Bass – Robert Michael
Drums – Ivor Twidell
Electric Guitar – Dusty Miller
Flute – Ivor Twidell, Tamsin Ginger
Guitar – Ivor Twidell
Lacquer Cut By – Spikey
Percussion – Ivor Twidell
Synthesizer – Ivor Twidell
Violin – Nick Battle
Vocals – Ivor Twidell, Nick Battle