1981 – Real 80s CCM

Graham Kendrick – Cresta Run – 1981

I’ll be honest I wasn’t very impressed with a previous Graham Kendrick album I listened to but I take it all back for this one. This album has raced into my personal top 100 albums of the era and genre. The opening track is absolutely mesmerising. Whoever played guitar on this track, Neil Costello or Andy Billups, absolutely nailed a Mark Knopfler sound. I don’t mean he came close, I mean he nailed it. There are several tracks that have a Dire Straights feel and Les Moir did some excellent production. I wish I had been in the studio for this one. The vibe I get is that was a great session. The album does end a little weak as Graham returns to his previous stylings but some real quality organ (Chris Eaton) makes up for the less exciting tracks. Les ordered the tracks perfectly. How this album didn’t get a North American release is beyond me. The Dire Straights feel was completely absent in the genre. This was that segment artist.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLauNcEYkhPQ

Tracklist
1 – This Is The Fall – 3:57
2 – That’s Life – 4:08
3 – News At Ten – 2:12
4 – God Knows What’s Going On – 4:24
5 – Anywhere You Walk – 3:55
6 – Cresta Run – 3:29
7 – War Games – 4:16
8 – Come On And Live – 4:00
9 – When You Gonna Turn Round – 3:02
10 – Jesus Coming Back – 3:54

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Vocals, Written-By – Graham Kendrick
Bass – Spud Spurling
Bass, Producer – Les Moir
Drums – David McSparran
Engineer – Simon Humphrey
Guitar – Andy Billups, Neil Costello
Organ, Backing Vocals – Bazil Meade
Piano, Electric Piano – Chris Eaton
Synthesizer – John Pantry

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – Thankyou Music
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Kingsway Music
Copyright © – Kingsway Music
Published By – Thankyou Music
Lacquer Cut At – Tape One

Barratt Band – Playin’ in the City – 1981

This is one of my personal favourites from the 80’s and easily resides in my top 100. It was released as Playing In The City in the U.K. and Playin’ in the City in North America. It also had 2 different album covers with the North American one coming in as the clear winner. The Strat will usually win. The Barratt Band was basically The Alwyn Wall band without Alwyn with Norman on vocals instead but with a more mainstream sound. There’s a bit of an After The Fire feel and they did have a connection as Bass player Tim Hatwell had been in the band Narnia with John Russell and Peter Banks. I also read somewhere that Tim did some work with ATF but I have not confirmed that with Peter Banks yet. Anyway these guys meshed really really well and the opening track sets the tone for a great rock pop album. If you missed this one in the day you need to give it a listen, you won’t be sorry.

Tracklist
1 – The Only One – 3:18
2 – Not The Way – 4:50
3 – Your Love – 5:40
4 – Playing In The City – 4:15
5 – Coming Of The Man – 1:55
6 – Bad Mean World – 2:37
7 – My Spirit’s Free – 4:15
8 – Voice In The Night – 6:54
9 – Never Seen Your Face – 6:30

Credits
Bass Guitar – Tim Hatwell
Drums – Russell Caldwell
Engineer – Paul Cobbold
Guitar – Norman Barratt
Keyboards – Dave Morris
Keyboards [Additional Keyboards] – Walter Bollard
Producer – Vic Coppersmith, Norman Barratt
Vocals – Norman Barratt
Written-By – Norman Barratt, Tim Hatwell

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – Refuge Records
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Refuge Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company
Recorded At – Chapel Lane Studios
Mastered At – Masterfonics

The Sharretts – Let It Shine – 1981

This is the 5th album from the Brothers Sharrett and this really was their last album. They did have a Christmas album after this but Christmas albums aren’t truly albums to me unless it’s a collection of newly written songs and theirs wasn’t. I’ll be truthful, this is another band I had no idea even existed. This isn’t surprising as it doesn’t look like they were distributed in Canada. There were several bands in the late 70’s that did the Imperials sound and style and unfortunately that’s the category these guys fall in. I have listened to several of their albums now and quite frankly they’re pretty good for this genre but they just don’t stand out. Now to be fair I am completely unqualified to judge this style of music because quite frankly I just don’t like it and I did not listen to it in the 80’s. So if you were a fan I am not faulting you but I’m actually interested in what drew you to this band and this album. Feel free to let me know all about it in the comments section of wherever you are reading this.

Tracklist
1 – We’ll Be Changed – 3:19
2 – Depend On Me – 3:19
3 – With My Faith In God – 3:56
4 – We Welcome You – 3:26
5 – You Haven’t Changed – 4:12
6 – Let It Shine – 3:49
7 – The Home Of The Lord – 3:13
8 – The Master’s Love – 3:25
9 – Smile – 3:17
10 – The Kingdom Of The Lord – 3:44

Credits
Bass – Dennis Belfield
Design – Dennis Hill
Drums – Ed Greene
Engineer – Billy Taylor, Jack Joseph Puig
Guitar – Paul Jackson, Jr.
Management – Adoration, Inc.
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Photography By – Harry Langdon
Producer, Arranged By, Keyboards, Percussion, Synthesizer [Prophet 5] – David Diggs
Saxophone, Flute – Jim Coile
Strings – The Doug Cameron String Section
Trumpet – Danny Ackerman, Terry Winch
Vocals – The Sharretts

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Mama Jo’s
Recorded At – Martinsound
Overdubbed At – Hit Man Studio
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab

Andrus And Blackwood – Soldiers Of The Light – 1981

Another successful album for Andrus And Blackwood who dropped the “& Co.” for this album. Of course the big hit was “Soldier Of The Light” which made it to #1. This was followed up by “The Captain & Me” which made it to #4. Strangely I entirely missed this one back in the day. I don’t know how I could have missed it, the album cover alone should have peaked my interest. Speaking of the cover how did the record company not see the WKRP look alike situation going on when the T.V. show was at it’s peak. Unless they wanted the look alike feature. Still a very strange album cover to me because of that. Anyway this is a great album though not really my style.

Tracklist
1 – Soldier Of The Light – 4:06
2 – The Well Will Never Run Dry – 4:58
3 – God Made Man – 4:58
4 – Close To You – 3:50
5 – I Still Do – 3:15
6 – The Other Side – 4:57
7 – Walk On Water – 4:27
8 – Give It All – 3:36
9 – The Captain & Me – 3:53
10 – You Are – 3:25

Credits
Sherman Andrus – Vocals
David Baroni – Songwriter
Terry Blackwood – Vocals
Russ Bracher – 2nd Engineer
Kenny Buttrey – Drums
Bob Clark – Engineer
Bobby Cotton – Engineer
Dave Coy – Bass
Steve Gibson – Guitar
Jon Goin – Guitar
Randy Goodrum – Keyboards
Joe Hayden – Recorded (Assisted)
Jerry Hey – Horn Arrangements
Bruce Hibbard – Songwriter
Hadley Hockensmith – Guitar
David Huff – Songwriter
Phil Johnson – Producer, Songwriter
Alice Keister – Songwriter
Shane Keister – Songwriter, Keyboards, Synthesizer Bass
Brent King – Engineer
Abraham Laboriel – Bass
Larrie Londin – Drums
Ronnie Meek – Songwriter
Farrell Morris – Percussion
Joe Osborn – Bass
Warren Peterson – Engineer
Smitty Price – Engineer, Horn Arrangements, Keyboards, Synthesizer
John Raines – Drums
Steve Schaffer – Bass
Seawind – Horns
Tim Sheppard – Songwriter
Denis Solee – Saxophone
Ken Suesov – Engineer, Mixed
Randy Thompson – Songwriter
Hank Williams – Mastered
Jack Williams – Bass

Farrell And Farrell – Make Me Ready – 1981

The third album from Farrell & Farrell picks up nicely from where their second album left off. It has a slightly more pop sound but for the main part is very similar. Strangely all of their albums up to this point featured a cover photo of the two of them. I always found this odd. It is common for a first or second album to have a cover featuring the artist as the thinking goes you want the listener to identify the music with the artist themselves. But for your first 3 albums it’s a little strange. Also strangely this album didn’t have a CCM charting single which I find odd because it is definitely the same quality as their highly successful 2nd album. In 1991 this album and their second album were rereleased on CD. The CD had “He That Overcomes” left off entirely and even more strange was that “Only Love” was shortened and sped up. I can only guess this was a space issue so they could get both albums on one CD but still odd. Anyway pretty good album here and a nice blast form the past.

Tracklist
1 – Make Me Ready – 4:02
2 – Still Here – 3:27
3 – You’re The Heart Of Me – 4:11
4 – You Keep Me Holdin’ On – 3:35
5 – Old Friends – 4:05
6 – Sonata – 2:53
7 – Just In Time – 2:45
8 – To Know That I’m Loved By You – 3:07
9 – Lead Me On – 3:24
10 – Only Love – 4:24
11 – All That You’ve Done For Me – 3:29
12 – He That Overcomes – 3:01

Credits
Arranged By [Strings] – Alan Moore
Art Direction, Design – Bob McConnell, Michael Harris
Bass – Leon Gaer, Mike Brignordello
Drums – Lynn Williams (2), Paul Leim
Engineer [Rhythm Tracks] – Ron Capone
Flute, Saxophone – Dennis Sollee
Guitar – Billy Walker*, Jon Goin
Guitar, Synthesizer, Keyboards – Mike Demus
Overdubbed By, Remix – Brown Bannister
Percussion – Terry McMillan
Photography By – Mike Borum
Piano – Larry Muhoberac
Piano, Synthesizer, Keyboards – Shane Keister
Producer – Brown Bannister
Recorded By [Strings] – Mike Psanos
Strings – The Shelly Kurland Strings
Synthesizer, Keyboards – Eddie DeGarmo, Michael Smith

Companies, etc.
Published By – Paragon Music Corp., StraightWay Music, Five Flat Music, Brown Bannister, Addi Music, Lexicon Music
Recorded At – Westwind Studio, Ardent Recordings, Sound Stage Studios, Gold Mine Studio, The Bennett House

Paul Clark – A New Horizon – 1981

This is Paul’s 8th album but it had a first for him. The album had his first CCM charting single with “Tell Them All” making it to #18. Paul certainly had many great songs before this but finally CCM saw fit to put him on the charts. As usual however the charting single is not the best track on the album. That would be “Here To Stay” which is an excellent duet with Kelly Willard. It’s a much better track that should have singled. The album has a Soft Rock sound with a jazzy feel in places and is pretty good but a little repetitive in places. While a good album this is not his best work as his 70’s work was phenomenal but his 80’s work was more mainstream.

Tracklist
1 – Tell Them All – 3:12
2 – Breakaway – 4:54
3 – Broken Fool – 3:12
4 – One You Love – 3:45
5 – He’ll Use Me – 3:33
6 – Every Breath – 3:54
7 – Here To Stay – 3:48
8 – Hold On – 4:09
9 – Distant Shore – 3:17
10 – More Than Survivors – 5:06

Credits
A&R – Neal Joseph
Acoustic Guitar, Guitar, Electric Guitar – Curt Bartlett
Artwork, Design – Paul Gross
Bass [Fretted], Bass [Fretless] – Lee Jones
Design [Inner Sleeve] – Dennis Hill
Drums, Percussion – Jim Delong
Engineer – Bobby Cotton
Engineer [Additional] – Bill Maxwell, Chris Bauer, Peter Haden
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Photography By – Scott Hensel
Piano, Electric Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Producer, Engineer, Written-By – Paul Clark
Saxophone, Flute, Synthesizer – Dan Mardock

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Sound Recorders, Omaha
Recorded At – Paramount Recording Studios
Mixed At – Paramount Recording Studios
Mastered At – A&M Mastering Studios
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co.

Sandi Patti – Love Overflowing – 1981

This is the one that propelled Sandi into one of the greatest female CCM artists of all time. The track “We Shall Behold Him” was written by Dottie Rambo would win him 2 Dove Awards for Song of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. It also became Sandi’s signature song that she performed in every concert until her retirement form touring in 2016. The album also features an excellent duet with Russ Taff, “The Home Of The Lord”. This album would also be start of Sandi’s domination of the Dove Awards Female Vocalist of the Year which she would win for the next 11 years. I actually didn’t know that until I was doing the research on this album. That’s quite the accomplishment. This album was actually re-released twice, once in 1987 and again in 1991. Those two releases actually replaced the cover with a painted portrait of Sandi but I prefer the original cover. Anyway if you’re a Sandi fan this is obviously one of your favorites and if you didn’t listen to this one back in the 80’s because it wasn’t your style give it a listen now. You will likely appreciate it as one of the great CCM albums of the 80’s.

Tracklist
1 – Down In My Heart – 2:40
2 – Keeper Of The Well – 3:07
3 – Love Overflowing – 3:45
4 – So Far – 3:22
5 – When The Time Comes – 4:59
6 – The Home Of The Lord – 3:15
7 – Somebody Believed – 2:56
8 – In His Hand – 3:20
9 – We Shall Behold Him – 5:49
10 – I Will Praise Him – 3:11

Credits
Alan Steinberger – Synthesizer
Bill K. Myers – Artwork, Design, Illustrations
Billy Puett – Horn
Bob Clark – Engineer, Overdub Engineer, Remixing
Brent King – Engineer
Brent Rowan – Guitar
Chris Banniger – Engineer
Claire Cloninger – Composer
Cozette Byrd – Vocals (Background)
Darrel Powell – Engineer
David Diggs – Arranger, Composer, Track Arrangement
David Huntsinger – Keyboards, Piano, Piano (Electric), Piano (Grand)
David Lyndon Huff – Percussion
David T. Clydesdale – Arranger, Composer, Conductor, Orchestral Arrangements, Orchestration
Dawn Rodgers – Composer
Denis Solee – Horn
Don Hart – Horn Arrangements, String Arrangements
Don Sheffield – Horn
Dottie Rambo – Composer
Doug Benge – Arranger, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background)
Ernie Collins – Horn
Farrell Morris – Percussion
Fred Satterfield – Drums, Percussion
Gary Chapman – Composer
Gary Dunham – Composer
George Tidwell – Horn
Hank Williams – Mastering
Jimmie Lee Sloas – Bass
John Bolt – Engineer, Overdub Engineer
John Helvering – Vocals (Background)
Keith Thomas – Arranger, Keyboards, Track Arrangement
Mark Hammond – Drums
Michael W. Smith – Composer
Neal Joseph – Arranger, Producer, Remixing, Track Arrangement, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background)
Paul Johnson – Brass Arrangement, Bass Arrangement
Phil Johnson – Vocals
Randy Hammel – Organ, Organ (Hammond), Synthesizer
Robert Mason – Composer
Ron Harris – Composer
Rosemary Dunham – Composer
Russ Taff – Vocals
Sandi Patty – Arranger, Assistant Producer, Composer, Duet, Primary Artist, Production Assistant, Track Arrangement, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Scott Hendricks – Engineer, Overdub Engineer
Steve Dokken – Bass
Steve Green – Vibraphone, Vocals (Background)
Steve Moore – Vocals (Background)
Steven Schaeffer – Bass

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Impact Records
Copyright © – Impact Records

The David Coate Group – Time Keeps On Running – 1981

David Coate became a Christian at the age of 17. He had actually put away his guitar after finding his faith until he saw a Phil Keaggy concert. He realized at that point that he could be a part of the growing CCM music movement. This is his first album after putting together The David Coate Group. The rest of the group was also new performers in the industry. I would classify the album as light rock with some definite rock moments. The album cover screams 80’s though the album itself is a mix of 70’s and 80’s. This was a nice precursor to his sec0ond album which I think is a little better but this one is definitely a great listen.

Tracklist
1 – Sing To The Lord (Psalm 33) – 5:15
2 – Follow Me – 4:34
3 – Time Keeps On Running – 4:20
4 – It’s The Way – 3:43
5 – Where Will You Be – 4:08
6 – Galatians 2:20 – 5:38
7 – Creation – 6:26
8 – What A Love – 4:59
9 – Abundantly – 3:46

Credits
Backing Vocals – Mary Ellen Hopperstad
Backing Vocals, Keyboards – Kevin Wells
Bass – Bob Tillman
Drums – Phil Bonomo
Producer, Lead Vocals, Guitar – David Coate
Saxophone – Larry James
Strings – Anne Herrmann

Gary Rand – Break That Ground – 1981

You probably know Gary more because of his second album but this is his first album which is far more worship oriented. Gary was one of those kids who was a musician from an early age. His first group was The Crimson Bridge who had an album back in 1971. He went unrecorded for many years but in 1981 Milk & Honey records released this his first solo album. As I said this is more of a worship oriented album but is very good for that style. Gary always struggled with the Christian music industry as he wanted to sing about current affairs in the world but the record companies wanted him to just sing about Jesus and keep his JPM count as high as possible. This album doesn’t really show that struggle but it was his first album and on a persons first album you pretty well have to do what the record company wants.

Tracklist
1 – Family Of Love – 3:12
2 – Isaiah 58 – 3:00
3 – You Have Turned My Sorrow Into Dancing (Psalm 30:11) – 2:27
4 – Let Justice Roll Down (Amos 5) – 3:29
5 – Time Of Jubilee – 3:02
6 – Break That Ground (Hosea 10:12) – 3:04
7 – Psalm 146 – 2:05
8 – Pass The Peace – 2:25
9 – Communion Song – 1:31
10 – Narrow Way – 2:53
11 – Psalm 121 – 2:20

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Piano – Gary Rand
Bass – Andy Rae
Drums – Keith Edwards
Engineer – Brian Tankersley, Larry Goode, Rick Thigpen
Guitar – Jerry McPherson
Keyboards, Synthesizer, Engineer – Paul Mills
Percussion – Russell Dunlap
Producer, Arranged By, Flute, Synthesizer – Fletch Wiley
Saxophone – Larry Slezak

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Singspiration
Copyright © – Singspiration
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – Rivendell Sound Recorders
Recorded By – Sam’s Tape Truck
Mixed At – Rivendell Sound Recorders
Mastered At – Masterfonics
Pressed By – Electrosound Group Midwest, Inc.

Gary Chapman – Sincerely Yours – 1981

This is the first album from Gary. He had already written the hit song for Amy Grant “Fathers Eye’s” so it was natural for him to get an album deal to try to recreate that success. But first lets talk a minute about Gary’s back story. Born in Waurika, Oklahoma he actually grew up in De Leon, Texas. His Father was a pastor at an Assemblies Of God church. After high school he attended Southwestern Bible College and after graduation he moved straight to Nashville. He was almost immediately hired as a guitarist for famed 60’s and 70’s CCM band The Rambos. Gary’s music writing received some attention and his first success was his song Father’s Eyes which Amy Grant performed on her 1979 album “My Father’s Eyes”. Somewhere about the time of this album he started dating Amy also and they would get married the following year. Amy actually appears on this album on the track “Anywhere” which is a duet between them. Also of interest on the album are Degarmo & Key who as well as producing the album played instruments and sang backing vocals. This album had one top 10 single with “Sincerely Yours” peaking at #4. 1981 was a good year for Gary as he also won the dove award for songwriter. Anyway as far as the album is concerned it is an easy listening effort that while not my style is definitely a great album.

Tracklist
1 – No Time At All – 4:18
2 – I Wanna Be Loved By You – 3:40
3 – Love Is A Name – 3:46
4 – Open Up My Eyes – 3:50
5 – Sincerely Yours – 3:07
6 – The Secret Of Love – 4:05
7 – Anywhere – 3:37
8 – I’d Really Like To Tell You – 3:45
9 – Feelin’ Right – 3:11
10 – One Hope – 3:54

Credits
Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Andrew Love
Arranged By [Strings], Arranged By [Horns] – Carl Marsh
Backing Vocals – Gary Pigg, Jack Holder, Jimi Jamison
Baritone Saxophone – Gary Topper
Design [Album Design] – Bill Brunt
Drums – Chad Cromwell, John Hampton
Guitar [Solo] – Jack Holder
Lacquer Cut By [L.Nix in runouts], Mastered By – Larry Nix
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals – Gary Chapman
Photography By [Album] – Mike Borum
Piano, Electric Piano – Keith Thomas
Producer [Executive Producer] – Dan Harrell, Dan Raines, Mike Blanton
Producer, Electric Guitar, Backing Vocals – Dana Key
Producer, Organ, Synthesizer – Ed DeGarmo
Producer, Twelve-String Guitar, Bass – Joe Hardy
Strings – The Claude O’Donnell Strings
Vocals – Amy Grant

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Lamb & Lion Records
Copyright © – Lamb & Lion Records
Produced For – Blanton/Harrell Productions
Recorded At – Ardent Studios
Recorded At – Great Circle Sound
Mastered At – Ardent Mastering
Designed At – Private Eye Studio
Pressed By – PRC Recording Company, Richmond, IN