Tag: 1980

The 2nd Chapter Of Acts – The Roar Of Love – 1980

While this is the fourth album released from 2nd Chapter of Acts it was actually recorded in 1976 before their third album Mansion Builder. Unfortunately it got tied up in legalities which delayed it’s release. Luckily it all got figured out and the album got released. These legal problems were because of the album was based on a telling of the story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe which was the first published book in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series by C. S. Lewis. Matthew Ward tells the story that the vocals were recorded in a bedroom of their house but the mixer was in the garage which in turn caused them to put hole in the wall for the cords of the microphone. This album is one of their most popular even today. Apparently people really enjoyed the C.S. Lewis tie in.

Tracklist
1 – Are You Goin’ To Narnia – 3:26
2 – Lucy’s Long Gone – 1:46
3 – Tell The Truth – 2:27
4 – Turkish Delight – 3:00
5 – Son Of Adam Daughter Of Eve – 2:16
6 – Christmas Where Are You – 1:50
7 – Gifts From Father Christmas – 1:54
8 – Aslan Is Killed – 2:28
9 – The Roar Of Love – 2:28
10 – I’ve Heard The Stars Sing Before – 2:13
11 – He’s Broken Thru – 3:14
12 – Witch’s Demise / Get It Into Your Head – 2:40
13 – Something Is Happening In Me – 2:03
14 – White Stag – 3:25

Credits
Arranged By [Instrumental Arrangements] – Michael Omartian
Bass – Leland Sklar
Engineer, Producer – Buck Herring
Guitar – Jay Graydon
Guitar, Soloist [Guitar] – Phil Keaggy
Illustration, Design – Larry McAdams
Keyboards, Synthesizer [s] – Michael Omartian
Lacquer Cut By – KPG
Liner Notes [Inner Sleeve quote] – Clyde S. Kilby
Programmed By [Synthesizers] – Alex Cima
Sounds [Crystal Glasses] – 2nd Chapter Of Acts
Whistle – Matthew Ward
Written-By – Anne Herring, Matthew Ward, Nelly Greisen

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Copyright © – Latter Rain Music
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Recorded At – United Western Studios
Recorded At – Sunwest Recording Studios
Recorded At – Frog Shoes
Mastered At – Location Recording Service
Lacquer Cut At – The Cutting System, Inc.

Birtles & Goble – The Last Romance – 1980

This is an album that I had no idea existed until someone brought it to my attention a few weeks ago. This album is Beeb Birtles (Gerard Bertelkamp) and Graeham Goble who were from Little River Band. In 1980 they approached the Manager of Little River Band Glenn Wheatley if they could do an album as a duo using songs they had written that had not been chosen for LRB to do. Apparently the idea caught and the guys went into the studio with a combination of studio musicians and other LRB members. Several of the chosen tracks were of a religious nature and that’s why this ended up on our channel. The album was released by Capitol records but apparently had little or no promotion. The theory goes that Capitol did not want the duo to split from LRB and as such never promotes the album. I can attest to this as my family were huge LRB fans but I have never heard of this album. The album is fantastic. It has a LRB sound in places but other tracks have a more independent sound from the guys. All the tracks were written by the duo with the exception of “He Gives Us All His Love” which was written by Randy Newman. So here is a lost classic that you should hear.

Tracklist
1 – Lonely Lives – 3:31
2 – Last Romance – 3:02
3 – I’m Coming Home – 3:50
4 – I Didn’t Stand A Chance – 3:07
5 – He Gives Us All His Love – 4:56
6 – The Netherlands – 5:02
7 – Into My Life – 5:39
8 – You’ll Never Change Your Mind – 4:07
9 – How I Feel Tonight – 3:25
10 – Whales – 3:57

Credits
Arranged By [Strings] – Rick Formosa
Arranged By [Strings], Conductor [Strings] – Graeme Lyall
Bass – Barry Sullivan, Clive Harrison, George McArdle, Joe Creighton, Michael Clarke
Clavinet, Piano, Synthesizer – Mal Logan
Design – Ian McCausland
Drums – Jerry Kroon
Drums, Percussion – Derek Pellicci, Mark Kennedy
Engineer – Brown Bannister, Ross Cockle
Engineer [Additional] – Ian McKenzie, Jim Barton*, Roger Savage
Flute – Don Burrows
Guitar [Electric Rhythm], Guitar [Lead] – David Briggs
Keyboards – Steve Nathan
Lacquer Cut By – Wally Traugott
Photography By – Derek Hughes
Piano [Acoustic], Keyboards, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Peter Jones
Producer – Beeb Birtles, Ern Rose, Graham Goble
Saxophone – Bill Harrower
Synthesizer [Oberheim] – Alan Zavod
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Beeb Birtles, Graham Goble

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Capitol Records, Inc.
Copyright © – Capitol Records, Inc.
Manufactured By – Capitol Records, Inc.
Recorded At – AAV
Recorded At – Goldmine Studio, Brentwood, TN
Recorded At – T.C.S. Studios
Mastered At – Capitol Mastering
Pressed By – Capitol Records Pressing Plant, Los Angeles

Steven Soles – The Promise – 1980

Soles is well known as a member of Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Review. Us in the Christian music scene probably know him best as a member of The Alpha Band. When the Alpha Band broke up in 1979 Stephen started a solo career. This album is the first of two solo albums from him. I’ll be honest when I sat down to listen to this one I wasn’t very excited about listening to it. The opening track “Touch The Power” really sucked me in and got me excited. I would say the album is evenly split between up tempo and low tempo tracks. I actually really liked this album and I didn’t expect to. Fellow Alpha Band member David Mansfield provides electric guitar for the album and if you want to hear his skills and hear the best track on the album listen to “Shake The Dust”. It has a great 70’s Dylan feel. Anyway this is a definite must hear. If your likes lean very early 80’s I’m pretty sure this one will enter your regular rotation.

Tracklist
1 – Touch The Power – 2:34
2 – The Healer – 3:50
3 – Lead Me To Water – 3:21
4 – The Witness – 3:49
5 – The Promise – 3:59
6 – Shake The Dust – 3:07
7 – Can I Get An Amen – 2:33
8 – Heartbroke And Happy – 5:23
9 – I Found A Love – 2:58
10 – If You Believe – 2:14

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Vocals – Steven Soles
Backing Vocals – Jude Johnstone, Wendy Matthews
Bass Guitar – Jerry Scheff
Drums – Ron Tutt
Guitar, Violin, Dobro – David Mansfield
Percussion, Handclaps – Geoffrey Hales, Jude Johnstone, Larry Hirsch, Ray Vaughn, Wendy Matthews
Photography By – Ray Vaughn
Producer – Steven Soles
Recorded By, Engineer, Mixed By – Larry Hirsch

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Sangre Productions
Copyright © – Sangre Productions
Copyright © – Specific Gravity Music
Published By – Bug Music Group
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – City Recorders Studios
Recorded At – Reggie Fisher Recording Studio
Recorded At – Paramount Recording Studios
Mixed At – Paramount Recording Studios
Lacquer Cut At – Kendun Recorders

The Living Sacrifice Band – A Call To Brokeness- 1980

This is the third and last album from The Living Sacrifice Band out of Spokane WA. Apparently they went through a few name changes starting out as Last Call of Shiloh, then Living Sacrifice, and finally as Living Sacrifice Band. They also released one album as The Last Call Of Shiloh. They released this album on Shekinah records which was a micro label out of Oceanport, NJ. The album has a progressive seventies Rock sound and feel and features the multiple instruments you would expect on a progressive album. Side one is more Rock oriented while side 2 is a little more mellow. Pretty good album here that you have probably never heard of due to it’s obscurity so if that 70’s progressive style is your thing this one is for you.

Tracklist
1 – Hallelujah
2 – Resurrection
3 – Woman At The Well
4 – Marriage Supper Of The Lamb
5 – Ezekiel 38 & 39
6 – Armegeddon
7 – Raging Sea
8 – A Call To Brokeness

Credits
Rob Neuschwander – drums, vocals, bass
John Murray – vocals, harmonica, guitar, bass
Diane Murray – vocals
Doug Houser – vocals, flute
Heidi Nelson – vocals, piano
John Rosenberry – vocals, guitar

Andrew Culverwell – Everyday – 1980

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

Maria Muldaur – Gospel Nights – 1980

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

Little Anthony – Daylight – 1980

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

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – MCA Records, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Songbird Records
Copyright © – Songbird Records
Pressed By – MCA Pressing Plant, Pinckneyville
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio
Mixed At – Gold Mine Studio
Mastered At – Masterfonics

Love Chapter Band – City Of Refuge – 1980

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. Stevenson – Lifeline – 1980

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

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – MCA Songbird
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Songbird Records
Produced For – Home Sweet Home Productions

Geri Baird – Cool Age – 1980

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