This was an album I pulled out of the stack because of the cover. Yes I know the cover is bad but this style of cover has surprised me many times by being a Rock & Roll album. Unfortunately this time I was wrong as this is not a Rock & Roll album. So off I went to learn more about Andrew and he’s actually a really interesting artist. Andrew was actually going to school for acting but music was his real talent. Upon finishing school he joined the group The Four Kingsmen who recorded 4 excellent EP’s from 1964 to 1969. They weren’t particularly Rock & Roll but they were pretty good. While with the Kingsmen he had a day job at a shoe factory as it was almost impossible to earn a living as a Christian artist in the 60’s. Anyway he recorded his first solo album in 1971 and had many more over the years. He is probably best known as the writer of Evie’s huge hit “Come On Ring Those Bells” in 1977. As for this album it is pretty easy listening and not really my style but it is a pretty good album. If you prefer the Easy Listening style this is a must listen.
Tracklist 1 – Everyday – 3:26 2 – Open Your Heart – 3:23 3 – Do You Believe In Love – 3:08 4 – Winner’s Song – 3:13 5 – Final Destination – 2:48 6 – Think Upon These Things – 2:22 7 – Praise Him – 2:49 8 – Follow Me – 2:34 9 – Heaven Is Where You Are – 3:36 10 – Best Friend – 3:16 11 – Ready To Serve – 2:49
This is one of those albums that I wonder how it came about. Here’s the story as it is told today. Muldaur was invited to play a small concert at McCabe’s Guitar Shop in in Santa Monica, CA. She invited The Chambers Bros. to perform with her. For a band she told her friend T Bone Burnett to put something together so T Bone invited his fellow Alpha Band members Steven Soles and David Mansfield along with his friend Stephen Bruton. So now we have all the actors in place let’s move onto the album. I’ll be honest that I wasn’t expecting much from this album as I’m not the biggest Maria Muldaur fan. Boy was I wrong. This is a fantastic album. This is not some hippy dippy affair, this is an in your face soul, blues, rock, bluegrass album. Not all at the same time but they are all there. I guess I should have expected that with such a great line up of artists. I don’t have a top 500 albums list like David Lowman but this would be on mine and I’m surprised it missed David’s list. Anyway, if you missed this one back in the day please do yourself a favour and give it a listen today.
Tracklist 1 – Brothers And Sisters – 6:46 2 – My Jesus Is All – 3:44 3 – Trials, Troubles, Tribulations – 4:22 4 – Bright Morning Star – 3:24 5 – Daniel Prayed – 3:26 6 – Nobody’s Fault But Mine – 1:38 7 – Just Like An Eagle – 4:43 8 – Did You Remember – 3:17 9 – Traveling Shoes – 4:14 10 – People Get Ready – 4:01 11 – Said I Wasn’t Going To Tell No One – 5:55 12 – Guide Me, O Great Jehovah – 1:53
Credits Art Direction – John Van Hamersveld Bass – Leon Gaer Drums – Ron Tutt Electric Guitar – Stephen Bruton Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Steven Soles Electric Guitar, Fiddle, Mandolin – David Mansfield Liner Notes – T Bone Burnett Photography By [Back] – Matt Kramer Photography By [Cover] – Sally Shoaf Piano – Danny Timms Producer – Jon Monday, Maria Muldaur Recorded By, Mixed By – Ron Marks Vocals – Maria Muldaur, The Burns Sisters, The Chambers Brothers
Companies, etc. Recorded At – McCabe’s Guitar Shop Recorded At – Gingerbread Studios
This is Little Anthony from Little Anthony & The Imperials who were huge in the 60’s. As we’ve seen frequently once the record deals dried up Little Anthony turned to a gospel label. I’m not criticizing him as it he deserves a new record deal as this guy can sing. This is the first of two gospel albums Anthony would do but the next one wouldn’t be for another 15 years. As I’ve said many times this just isn’t my style of music but I always appreciate the quality vocals albums like this have. Anthony was a fantastic singer but not a songwriter so this album is entirely written by others. Interestingly he does a cover of Per-Erik Hallin’s Gospel Train which I guess is pretty good versio0n but I really prefer the original. Brown Bannister produced the album and B.J. Thomas listed as an Executive-Producer. All in all a pretty good soul album and if you like that style this is a must listen.
Tracklist 1 – Love’s The Only Way To Survive – 2:30 2 – Your Love – 2:58 3 – You Only Get Out Of Life What You Put In – 3:25 4 – Walk On Water – 3:40 5 – Reach Up – 3:46 6 – Love Was Born For Me – 2:48 7 – I’ll Be Thinking Of You – 3:36 8 – My Best Friend – 2:57 9 – You Came Just In Time To Love Me – 3:45 10 – Gospel Train – 3:09
Credits Engineer – Bob Cotton Engineer, Mixed By – Jimmy Burch Executive-Producer – B. J. Thomas Producer – Brown Bannister, Milton Blackford
Since we uploaded the last album from this band I have learned a little bit about them but still not very much. As I understand it the band was lead by Bard and Doug Buss. They were BC (Canada) Christ’s Ambassadors and part of the Ambassadors in Mission (AIM) program of the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. This was their second album on a Praise Records label with this one Being on Tunesmith. But again there I am out of information. I know they did tour across Canada appearing at several PAOC churches but they never made their way to our little town. As for the album it’s another 70’s style album and as usual from them it’s excellent.
Tracklist 1 – It’s Your Friends – 5:23 2 – Don’t Get Caught – 3:32 3 – What Does It Take – 3:12 4 – Don’t Pull That Trigger – 5:00 5 – Just When – 2:49 6 – Stepping Stones – 3:23 7 – Give It Up – 3:36 8 – Learn To Lean – 3:17 9 – City Of Refuge – 7:03
Credits Lead Vocals – Bard Buss, Doug Buss, Ken Torrance, Dave Russell Background Vocals – Tracy St. Laurent, Donna Mae Henkel, Barb Buss, Doug Buss, Ken Torrance, Dave Russell, Trev Lindberg Guitars – Ken Torrance Bass – Doug Buss Piano, Synthesizer – Barb Buss, Bob Buckley Drums – Ed Liu Percussion – Ed Liu, Tom Wilkstrom, Ken Torrance Sound Man – Tom Wilkstrom Master – Bernie Grundman
Companies, etc. Recorded, Mixed – Little Mountain Sound Co.
B.W., or Buckwheat, Stevenson was a pretty big country star in the 70’s. Stevenson actually had a pretty big hit with “My Maria” which many of us know as it was covered by Brooks & Dunn. He had 6 pretty successful country albums but his last record deal with Warner Bros. Records dried up in 1977. Like many country stars he decided to put out a Christian album which was likely influenced in part by producer Chris Christian who was actually his neighbour at the time. The album is actually pretty good and while it had some success on Christian radio with the hit “Headin’ Home” I think it should have done better. It has a great sound and Chris was able to bring it well into the 80’s and in places it’s actually pretty progressive. Honestly there weren’t that many good country albums in the genre but this one is one of those good ones.
Tracklist 1 – Headin’ Home – 3:26 2 – Take Me To Your Heart – 2:58 3 – Holding A Special Place For You – 2:49 4 – Fiddle And The Bow – 2:47 5 – Save A Little Time – 2:48 6 – Lifeline – 3:18 7 – Show Me The Way To The City – 3:10 8 – You Were There – 3:16 9 – Paradise – 2:46 10 – There Is Someone Who Loves You – 3:26 11 – One True Way – 2:26
Credits B.W. Stevenson – Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Primary Artist, Vocals Bergen White – Arranger, Strings, Vocals Bobby Ogdin – Keyboards Brown Bannister – Engineer Chris Christian – Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic) Diane Tidwell – Vocals, Vocals (Background) Jon Goin – Guitar, Guitar (Electric) Lisa Silver Reynolds – Vocals Roger Clark – Drums Shane Keister – Keyboards, Piano Sheri Cramer – Vocals, Vocals (Background) Steve Gibson – Guitar, Guitar (Electric) Steve Schaffer – Bass Terry McMillan – Harmonica, Percussion
Geri Baird (Karlstrom) was a PK from British Columbia Canada. She was drawn to the performing world at young age and started performing in pop bands at the age of 16. She has a video on YouTube with her band “The Next” performing “Accuser” and it’s actually pretty good. In 1980 she went into the studio with Canadian musician Donnie Gossett (Salvation Air Force) to record this album. Donnie produced and performed on the album as did his brother Michael. The track “Backside of the Desert” actually had some success but unfortunately my memory fails me and I can’t remember what that was. Personally I think the best track is “Taking Baby for a Ride” which has a fun 50’s feel. The album was released in Canada with limited distribution in the U.S. so it is relatively unknown. This is one that I really enjoyed in the 80’s and still enjoy listening to today. Geri pursued a career in the tech industry but always took time to make music. She had 3 self released albums and was heavily involved with bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa recovery and much of her later music was centered on this topic. Unfortunately Geri passed away in early 2025 but her musical legacy is something she will be remembered for.
Tracklist 1 – Super Heroes – 3:41 2 – Backside of the Desert – 3:59 3 – Cool Age – 3:02 4 – Somebody Loves Me – 3:21 5 – Family – 2:36 6 – Taking Baby for a Ride – 2:50 7 – Living on Broken Hearts – 3:07 8 – Visions – 3:30 9 – Just a Heart – 2:26 10 – I Know – 4:39
Credits Alto Saxophone – Garth Kent Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar, Drums, Lead Guitar, Synthesizer – Donnie Gossett Backing Vocals – Judy Gossett Bass Guitar – Rick Adams Bass Guitar – Michael Gossett Drums – Ron Stelting Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Geri Baird Piano – Gary Schellenberg Producer, Engineer, Arranged By – Donnie Gossett
Companies, etc. Recorded at – The Gossett Brothers Studio, Blaine, WA
This is Sharalee’s (Sharalee Lucas Sherman) 5th album. She was completely unknown to me but this is another case of someone who’s genre wasn’t my choice. She actually appeared on a ton of albums in the 70’s including Walt Disney’s Voices of Liberty. She also hosted the 1978 Dove Awards with her husband of the time Jerry Lucas who was a NBA basketball star. As for the album well it’s rather strange. The music has a funk feel but her vocals are completely unsuited to this style. Also strangely there is one country track on the album but this track suits her vocals. The album was produced by John Thompson who was a great producer but I have no idea why he thought this album was good. Continuing the strange of this album, it was re-released a year later on Impact records. Impact did a different much better album cover but otherwise the album was identical. Anyway give it a listen and tell me what you think.
Tracklist 1 – Stand Up And Be Counted – 4:19 2 – Gettin’ Out – 3:12 3 – Welcome Love – 3:45 4 – Even As We Are One – 3:36 5 – Lead Me Home – 3:43 6 – Don’t Give In – 2:55 7 – Open Up My Eyes – 3:15 8 – Glory Forevermore – 4:41 9 – Don’t Look To Me – 2:46 10 – You Mean More To Me – 3:25 11 – Resurrection Power – 3:30
“Saved” was Bob Dylan’s second “born again” album. This series, starting with “Slow Train Coming” in 1979, stretches up to the disputed territory of “Infidels” in 1983. It’s a pretty short period of Bob history but a pivotal one that serves as one of the Great Walls of Before and After in his career.
It starts out with a traditional country gospel number, A Satisfied Mind, that was sung by a lot of cowboys before Bob got his hands on it. Maybe this is a leftover influence from his Nashville Skyline or other previous endeavours. Porter Wagoner had a pretty good run with it in 1957.
There is no country music on this album though. The opening track is a strained, rock influenced plea that begs you to listen to the whole album. There are a lot of soul-styled tracks, such as Saved, Solid Rock, and Pressing On. It’s also a lot of jangly piano rock, recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios, Sheffield, Alabama.
One of the great mysteries of Bob’s born again albums is how earnest they all are. Every bit is on the nose and every lyric so convincing you can’t believe anything but what you’re hearing. And then for some 75 other albums he only hints at spirituality.
Don’t be fooled though, the Gospel according to Bob started some twenty years before this album. His early lyrics, and his later lyrics all talk about God and make direct references to the divine and our human relationship to it.
So with this one, enjoy the pleasure of Bob actually perhaps talking about what he’s talking about for once. Less metaphor in one sense, and more on the nose. That doesn’t keep him from writing fantastic poetry throughout though. “Covenant woman, got a contract with the Lord…” “I’ve been broken, shattered like an empty cup / I’m just waiting on the Lord to rebuild and fill me up / And I know He will do it ’cause He’s faithful and He’s true / He must have loved me so much to send me someone as fine as you”
Now the spiritual talk and divine relationships cross over into human relationships. Nearly the opposite of his “secular” writings.
Lastly, let’s remember Bob’s voice. He has used several different voicings through his career, and this one is fairly nasal, putting some people off. But remember to ask your most highly trained singing friends and they will confirm – he knows how to sing. This is just how he does it. He puts every part of every word where he wants it and it works.
Tracklist 1 – A Satisfied Mind – 1:58 2 – Saved – 4:00 3 – Covenant Woman – 6:03 4 – What Can I Do For You? – 5:54 5 – Solid Rock – 3:55 6 – Pressing On – 5:11 7 – In The Garden – 5:58 8 – Saving Grace – 5:01 9 – Are You Ready – 4:42
Credits Artwork [Cover] – Tony Wright Bass – Tim Drummond Drums – Jim Keltner Engineer – Gregg Hamm Engineer [Assistant] – Mary Beth McLemore Guitar – Fred Tackett Guitar, Vocals, Harmonica – Bob Dylan Keyboards – Spooner Oldham Keyboards, Vocals – Terry Young Mastered By [Engineer] – Bobby Hata Mastered By [Supervisor] – Paul Wexler Photography By – Arthur Rosato Producer – Barry Beckett, Jerry Wexler Vocals – Clydie King, Mona Lisa Young, Regina Havis
Here we go with another band I can’t find any info about. This album was released on Tunesmith who were well known for finding obscure artists and this one is no exception. Though a Canadian label this is most likely a U.S. based band due to the Spanish content on the album. They were managed out of Colorado so that might be a clue also. The album has a seventies rock feel to it with, as I said, a Spanish flair to it in spots including a Spanish track. I really liked the album and am surprised I didn’t see it back in the 80’s as we were Tunesmith addicts and with this cover I know we would have bought this one if we had seen it. Too bad we missed it back then because this is an excellent album and definitely deserves to be listened to.
Tracklist 1 – Cruisin With My Lord – 3:36 2 – Lori’s Song – 3:10 3 – Where Is The Love – 3:21 4 – Prepara Tu Alma – 3:59 5 – Jesus That I Know – 3:28 6 – You’re Blind – 3:23 7 – He Is The Light – 4:39 8 – I Can Do – 3:01 9 – Riding The Line – 3:28 10 – You’re His Puppet – 2:45
Credits Producer – Bobby Murrieta Executive Producer – Jim Stengel & Brian Van Cleave Keyboards & Synthesizers – Bobby Murrieta Lead & Rhythm Guitar – Armando Nunez & Kenny Milton Bass Guitar – Bobby Murrieta & Kenny Milton Drums & Percussion – Jim DeBilzan, Linn-Drum Computer Vocals – The Rhythm Praise Band Additional Background vocals – Neal Burum
Companies, etc. Recorded & Mixed at Scott’s Music & Prosound Clovis, New Mexico ; Eaglear Productions, Greeley, Colorado Mastered by LRS
Eternal Rock were a band out of the Netherlands that you have likely never ever heard of. This is their only album and it leans rather 70’s with a mix of male and female vocals. It was released on Eurosound which was the in house label for Eurosound Studio’s. The album does have some interesting tracks with covers of 2nd Chapter Of Acts’ “Mansion Builder”, Larry Norman’s “I Wish We’d All Been Ready”, which they strangely named “I’ve Wish We’ve All Been Ready”, and finally a version of Bill Withers “Lean On Me” which they reworded as “Lean On Him”. All in all a pretty good effort and maybe with a little more work they could have released a mainstream album outside of the Netherlands.
Tracklist 1 – Life Can Be Hard – 3:44 2 – Mansion Builder – 3:20 3 – I’ve Wish We’ve All Been Ready – 3:40 4 – Blinded By Science – 4:09 5 – Lean On Him – 2:39 6 – Love Is… – 4:19 7 – Threshold – 4:21 8 – You Can Change – 2:30 9 – The Way I Feel – 2:57 10 – Guess Who’s Coming? – 3:10 11 – Show Me The Way – 4:23
Credits Bass – Hans Roman Design – Leon Limpens Drums – Klaas Den Hollander Engineer, Recorded By – Don Vonk Executive Producer – Wim Sanders Guitar – Norbert Schmidt Lead Vocals – Susanne Sanders Organ [Fender Rhodes], Organ, Synthesizer, Lead Vocals, Strings – Peter Roman Producer, Recorded By – Norbert Schmidt Tenor Saxophone – Jan Kuipers, Jurrie Eisinga Vocals – Meineke Roman Vocals, Strings – Veronica Roman Written-By – Peter Roman, Susanne Roman
Companies, etc. Recorded By – Eurosound Mobile Recorded At – Plahadima Recorded At – Eurosound Mobile
