Kemper Crabb’s own biography states that he may have been born 700 years too late. That is nor more correct than on his classic Celtic/progressive/folk rock classic, The Vigil. Inspired by the Crusades and the music from nearly that same era, The Vigil is a masterpiece that is admittedly not for everyone. He has played with Caedmon’s Call and Atomic Opera. He fronted the amazing Progressive Rock band, Arkangel (reviewed later) and has a list of credits a mile long. He is also an ordained minister in the Reformed Episcopal Church and lectures on a diverse selection of theological and sociological subjects. How truly magnificent is this work? Consider that every review on Amazon is 5 stars and that sealed original copies can go for as much as $200 without a problem of finding a buyer. The combination of worshipful baroque, Celtic hymns, classical instrumentals and brilliantly conceived and crafted lyrics make this beyond anything resembling an AYSO. Litanies and liturgies are not the normal fair for Christian rockers and many may stumble through upon first listening. But as these brilliant works swirl and envelope an initial appreciation may soon become an obsession. Crabb’s stunningly beautiful rendition of “Be Thou My Vision” is utterly captivating. “The Danse” would later appear on the first Caedmon’s Call worship album.
Contributor David Lowman – https://legacyccmsgreatestalbums.wordpress.com
Tracklist 1 – Sunset Before The Vigil – 1:21 2 – The Vigil – 2:03 3 – They That Go Down To The Sea In Ships – 4:12 4 – Tannin – 3:03 5 – Doulos – 3:32 6 – All Father Litany – 2:09 7 – Be Thou My Vision – 2:45 8 – Outremer – 1:16 9 – Salarello – 1:16 10 – The Danse – 4:50 11 – Thigpen’s Wedding – 2:00 12 – Taking The Cross – 1:35 13 – Candle Flame – 2:34 14 – Te Deum – 1:47 15 – Fairest Lord Jesus (Crusader’s Hymn) – 2:59 16 – The Vigil – 2:04 17 – Sunrise After The Vigil – 2:13
Credits Art Direction – Dave Rogers Bagpipes – Andy White Engineer [Assistant] – Cathy Mills Engineer [Assistant], Backing Vocals – Rick Thigpen Guitar – Lee Ann Turner* Harp [Troubador] – Barbara Goodrich Illustration – Randy Rogers Mandolin – Jerry McPherson Mastered By – Greg Calbi Mixed By – Paul Mills Mixed By, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Recorder, Tin Whistle, Guitar, Dulcimer, Bells, Psaltery – Kemper Crabb Percussion – John Witte, Russell Dunlap Photography – Frank White Photography [Front Photo Concept], Backing Vocals – Bekah Crabb Producer, Arranged By, Engineer, Organ – Paul Mills Written-By – David Marshall, K. Crabb, P. Mills Written-By, Timpani – C. Mills
This is one of only two Maria Muldaur gospel albums and the only one on a Christian label. Maria’s foray into Christian music was brief and rather unprofitable which I’m sure accelerated her return to the secular market and labels. That is not to say the album isn’t good because it’s fantastic but it just couldn’t realize the sales her secular market albums could. I will say that Myrrh threw everything but the kitchen sink at this album with too many CCM stars to list here appearing. They also got T-Bone to produce the album but really all the album needed was Maria. Her talent would have carried the album just fine. Her signature vocals and a nice R&B feel made this a go to album for many CCM fans of the period. The album has aged well and I enjoyed listening to it again.
Tracklist 1 – Keep My Eyes On You – 4:01 2 – I Was Made To Love You – 3:41 3 – There Is A Love – 4:10 4 – Sondown – 5:30 5 – I Do – 4:06 6 – Infinite Mercy – 4:47 7 – In The Holy Name Of Jesus – 3:12 8 – Is My Living In Vain – 5:01
Credits Arranged By – Darrell Leonard Art Direction – Dennis Hill Backing Vocals – Charity McCrary, Dani McCormick, Howard McCrary, Kristle Murden, Linda McCrary, Marvin Winans, Sam McCrary, Vicki Winans Bass – Abraham Laboriel Booking [Agency Representation] – Regency Artists, Ltd. Drums – Bill Maxwell Engineer [Assistant] – Alan Vachon, Dean Alling Flute, Soloist – John Phillips Graphics – Charlie Wallis, Inc, Patrick Pollei Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith Harmonica, Soloist – Delbert McClinton Keyboards – Harlan Rogers, Michael Omartian Liner Notes – Maria Muldaur Management [Artist Assistant] – Mary Alice Artes, Vicki Aman Management [Direction] – Bruce Kramer, K-II Management, Inc., Ron Kramer Mixed By – Stuart Taylor Percussion – Alex Neciosup-Acuña, Larry Hirsh Photography By – Keith Williamson Producer – T-Bone Burnett Producer [Associate] – Nancy Clarke Recorded By – Donivan Cowart Recorded By, Mixed By – Larry Hirsh Synthesizer – Rick Kelly Trombone – Jim Price Trumpet – Darrell Leonard, Lee Thornburg Woodwind – Greg Smith, Lon Price
Although most of the material here isn’t CCM, it is Steve Bell’s early work, which makes it interesting enough for us. “Help Me Lord” is a notable exception but most of the tracks are love songs of one sort or another. It’s a collection of pop-y folk-y songs that sound a little more 70s than 80s. There are plenty of harmonies, and Steve’s strong guitar work is on display here. Elias, Schritt & Bell were a group that Steve played with before starting his solo career, making Christian music for a few decades, and winning a few Juno awards and nominations along the way, as well as various other awards. This was recorded in “Studio 11” at the CBC studios in Winnipeg and released by the CBC. The group did not have any follow up recordings, but did tour locally. Steve released his first solo album in 1989.
Tracklist 1 – Awakening – 3:01 2 – Feelin’ Just Fine – 3:32 3 – Jenny – 2:36 4 – Once In A While – 3:31 5 – Never Too Late – 3:52 6 – Wipe The Tears – 3:32 7 – Kristy – 3:34 8 – So Long – 3:09 9 – Maureen – 1:47 10 – Help Me Lord – 3:15
Credits Alto Saxophone – John Schritt Bass – Gary Stefaniuk Co-producer – Andre LaRiviere, Norm Dugas Drums – Gord Metcalfe (tracks: Once In A while), Gord Osland Electric Guitar – Paul O’Neill Executive Producer – Mark Goldman Flute – John Schritt Guitar – Steve Bell, Tim Elias Keyboards – Norm Dugas Percussion – Paul Cerilli Vocals – John Schritt, Steve Bell, Tim Elias
Companies, etc. Produced For – Radio Canada International Published By – R.E.S.B. Publishing Recorded At – CBC Studio 11, Winnipeg
The day after Christmas, 2007 Roby Duke suffered a heart attack and went home to be with the Lord. Two days before this he was sharing the stage with his musician son. Many, if not most, in the world of CCM did not know of his passing, nor did many even remember what a wonderful artist they had in their midst for three decades. He was 51 years old. Never did Roby Duke fit the mold of pop star. He did not posses those album cover gracing good looks, he didn’t create music for “today” and he didn’t fit the Nashville scene. Even the rerelease of this great album sported a new cover without his picture and just a painting of a guitar! Though growing up in Mississippi he wrote and performed the music of a Californian wearing an Hawaiian shirt and looking more like a Jimmy Buffet fan that a killer jazz and soul musician and singer. His greatest accomplishment may have been never sounding like he was part of the Nashville machine. In 1980 he signed with Songbird records, a joint effort between Sparrow Records and MCA for artists with a decidedly mainstream sound or potential. Roby Duke’s music was so out-of-place in CCM, with its clear soulful and jazz influence and a cool factor that was through the roof. The album sported a host of who’s who musicians and vocalists including Hadley Hockensmith, Marty Walsh, Harlan Rogers, Keith Edwards, Dan Huff, Alex MacDougall and Rob Watson. How can anyone go wrong with two members of Daniel Amos and nearly the totality of Koinonia? CCM sweetheart Kelly Willard also appears on a great duet. Produced by the legendary Jonathan David Brown, the only artist even close was Bruce Hibbard who also added some songwriting support for the project. Tom Keene’s string arrangements are just flawless. The album also marked the increased involvement of the great Wally Grant, another engineer/producer that deserves a heap of praise for his amazing tenure of work. From songwriting to performance this is nearly a perfect album!
Kicking of the a simple electric keyboard and silky vocals “Love Is Here to Stay” makes a quick transition into a killer jazz groove that doesn’t let up for another ten songs. Driven by Hockensmith’s funky riff and the killer brass section the song is the definition of “put the top down” California coast jazz.
“Time to Stand” shows the strength of Duke as songwriter and vocalist. The simple arrangement is carried by Duke’s voice and Patitucci’s amazing bass line. This song oozes with cool.
“Season’s of Change” remains my personal favorite of all of Duke’s great songs here and elsewhere. Live this song was great as Duke was a very underrated guitar player and his upbringing on the bass lead to a “thumping” style acoustic guitar playing that was a real treasure live. This song lent itself to a great live “thumping guitar” experience. It was also one of the three or four songs from the album that stayed on rotation at KYMS for many years.
The ballad, “Carpenter” shows exactly what a great song in the hands (or throat) of a master can be like. The vocal inflections and willingness to let the song’s nuances deliver the feeling is shown perfectly here. There are times when his vocals are restrained in order to make the bigger moments work as well as they do in such a simple and lovely song.
For some reason the re-issue of this album replaced the title “Feel It Comin’” with “You Love Me.” It a great song and features Kelly Willard on a duet. Not sure why the change?
What should have become a praise and worship staple, “O Magnify the Lord” was just a bit too “jazzy” I guess. Lyrically it is nearly straight Scripture and the breezy Seawind like jazz arrangement is just stunning. Here we also get a taste of just how smooth and cool Harlan Roger’s keyboard work can be.
“Can’t Stop Runnin’” is a Bruce Hibbard composition that Marty McCall and Fireworks also performed. “Love is Here to Stay” is also a Hibbard tune. That funky yet smooth groove here just works perfectly.
“Rested in Your Love” is my favorite ballad from the album. Keene’s string arrangement works so nicely in support of Duke’s soulful sound.
The title track returns to the killer groove that are the hallmark of Duke’s music. The chorus just sticks with you and the backing vocals on the chorus really move the song. I still remember roller skating at Christian music night to this song. It’s disco tinged groove combined with the great jazz infusion is very good memory stimulator. The song, like the whole album creates an image of not only a time but a place in history.
The album closer, “Promised Land” is Duke’s finest vocals on the album. There is an emotional tinge that really shines through on this plaintive call of the Gospel presented in the lyrics. This, coupled with Brown’s best backing vocal production and arrangement, makes this call believable, authentic and musically realized. It has a real Bob Bennett quality to it. The slow vocal fade at the end just stays with you.
For all the criticism CCM has thrust upon it (some justified, some not) it is the lack of any real understanding of history and those that went before us a generation previous that frustrates me the most. This, I believe, stems from a Church (universal) that thinks Church History started when their Pastor graduated from Bible School. There is little to no sense of history within the halls of Christendom, so why should the music it creates reflect something different?
I should know better…
That is a such a shame!
But despite that the album remains of the best ever recorded in CCM and more than deserving of its placement in this list.
Contributor David Lowman – https://legacyccmsgreatestalbums.wordpress.com/
Tracklist 1 – Love Is Here To Stay – 3:59 2 – Time To Stand – 3:46 3 – Seasons Of Change – 4:55 4 – Carpenter (Do What You Got To Do) – 4:15 5 – Feel It Comin’ – 3:19 6 – O’ Magnify The Lord – 3:40 7 – Can’t Stop Runnin’ – 3:34 8 – Rested In Your Love – 3:37 9 – Not The Same – 3:57 10 – Promised Land – 4:15
Credits Arranged By – Harlan Rogers, John Patitucci, Jonathan Brown, Roby Duke Art Direction – George Osaki Bass – John Patitucci Drums – Keith Edwards Engineer – Walley Grant Engineer, Mixed By – Jonathan David Brown Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith, Marty Walsh Keyboards – Harlan Rogers Lead Vocals – Roby Duke Mastered By – Steve Hall Percussion – Alex MacDougall Photography By – Alan Bergman Producer – Jonathan David Brown Saxophone – Michael Carnahan Synthesizer – Rob Watson Trombone – Doug Wintz Trumpet – Ralf Rickert
Clearly the single greatest oversight in the previous Top 50 list was the omission of Bob Bennett as an artists, and most specifically, this amazing project as an album. That omission is hopefully rectified here with its inclusion in the Top 20; a well deserved placement for one of the early 80’s most poignant, important and brilliant releases. Bennet’s stories songwriting career found a zenith of sort in the nearly perfect musical expression. A decade before the strains of life brought a painful album of loss and regret in “Songs From Bright Avenue,” Bennett released “Matters of the heart,” an album filled with grace, yearning, hopes, legacy and love. Brilliantly performed with not one stray note or moment, the album is Bennett’s finest complete collection. There is nothing here that can be skipped. No album title has ever been more apropos than the one here as Bennett explores the emotional, nostalgic, inspiration and frailty of the human heart and its faltering condition. The themes are set against some beautiful melodies that warm, soothe and wrap their notes around the listener in such a gentle and calming way that the album serves as both wonderful background music and forefront personal examination encouragement. Bennett’s first release was on Maranatha Music and Bennett noticed from the very beginning that he did not quite fit with the rest of the artists on the label and with the Calvary Chapel way of doing things. the label’s pastoral type executive were kind enough to allow Bennett to record his brilliant debut, but did nothing to garner airplay, tour support or marketing. In fact, Bennett was left out of all of the label sponsored concerts and events. Bennett’s concerns about the relationship were verified when there was never a discussion about a follow up despite the albums relative success given the lack of support. So, as the 1970’s became the 1980’s Bennett found himself with a suitcase full of songs and no label. At the same Time CBS Records was working on an “Inspirational” imprint with eyes of taking CCM into the mainstream with artists they believed carried that potential. The James Taylor-like musical expressions of Bennett’s soulful pop had a strong Adult Contemporary, acoustic appeal that was quite popular at the time. The label would be called “Priority Records” and would be the home of everyone from Bennett to Carman and even a one-off by Mylon LeFevere under the name, “Look Up.” Bennett was impressed initially by the label when the label’s President actually personally returned a phone call to him. This true rarity gave Bennett hope this would be his new musical home. Bennett went into the studio with Jonathan David brown to record some demos for the label and eventually signed with the label. Bennett described to me that after the rather simplistic contract with Maranatha Music, the CBS record deal would make the IRS regulations seem pale in comparison. After signing Bennett returned to the studio with Brown and a sick list of musicians that would make most artists green with envy. Smitty Price was brought in to create the band charts, arrangements and lead the band that consisted of Hadley Hockensmith, John Patitucci, Keith Edwards, John Ferraro, Alex MacDougall and Price. Bennett was joined by Kelly Willard and the impeccable Roby Duke on backing vocals.There are even real strings to be heard here! What made the album seem so consistent throughout was that even though the album was loaded with brilliant musicians there was primarily one core band with only Ferraro and Edwards sharing the drumming duties. This gave an amazing studio album a true band feel throughout. Much kudos here to Brown for making it come together flawlessly for the listener. The albums title track and finishing track share a similar musical landscape and even a similar title. This somewhat thematic approach weaves throughout the entire project. Opening with “Matters of the Heart” and closing with “Heart of the Matter,” the album introduces and brings home all of these themes into one cohesive unit. The album starts off with the title track and the listener is immediately introduced to a wonderful acoustic musical, swirling melody that quickly morphs into a jazzy vibe that is utterly infectious. The listener is also introduced to brilliant songwriter at his very best. The song delivers a powerful message of the truth that there are things that numbers, statistics and sales cannot measure, nor define; these are the true matters of the heart. These undefinable feelings, impressions and responses cannot be put through a strainer or defined by an outside source. The constant struggle to understand the “concrete and the spiritual” that wields this internal battle is so beautifully portrayed that the only lyrical comparison would be something from Bruce Cockburn’s “Dancing In the Dragon’s Jaws.” This would probably also serve as a good starting point musically. the guitar work, especially Bennett’s acoustic work is very reminiscent to Cockburn’s work on that album. It should be noted here that not only did Bennett surround himself with brilliant musicians, he is also an accomplished acoustic guitar player. The previous comparison to Cockburn is meant to be taken lyrically and musically. His playing both melodic and intricate. Perhaps only Keaggy and Heard would rival his playing. The beautifully jazzy “Falling Stars” will remind some listeners of Roby Duke’s softer side or the aforementioned Cockburn’s “Night Vision.” Here the heart’s struggles and pain are examined. Sin and the pain of loss are compared to these falling stars with no hope but to crash. But Bennett finds a glimmer of hope as the song concludes that hints at what will be revealed later in time and on the album. One of Bennett’s truly great artistic achievements follows with “Mountain Cathedrals.” This epic song of epic praise reads like a Psalm where the writer realizes just how minuscule he is compared to the vast creation and majestic work of God, all the while realizes this same God loves him personally. Bennett’s personal frailty is so common that one would be hard pressed not to relate. Musically, the album is a real treasure as it floats from a simply worship like melody to this wonderful Celtic type musical break and closes with a more country rock feel of the same melody. It is nearly progressive in a purely acoustic setting. The first of a few “legacy” songs is “1951,” a poignant picture of his family, especially his father. One can see the song , written in black and white, and compares favourable to Bruce Springsteen’s more emotive lyrics, though musically very acoustic jazz. The legacy of simple faith and the need to pass along to further generations the faith and family values is on display here. Nothing about the life of the family sounds easy, but rather, all too real. A long time personal favourite is “A Song About Baseball.” This same father introduced in the previous song appears here as a loving and compassionate one who loves his son no matter the results of his athletic endeavours. Bennett croons, “He loves me, no matter how I played.” And so, this example rings true about a heavenly father who loves us no matter what. One line that really sticks with the listener is “nothing mattered after the game, when my father would find me, and call out my name.” The simple expression of a father knowing his son by calling out his name leaves an indelible mark. On “Madness Dancing” the heart finds a heart that is more expressive and joyous than elsewhere on the album. There are times when all hearts must simply release its love for God even in ways that are unconventional and uncomfortable. Though there are times to experience a sombre, sober and reflective worship, there are times when the heart must be free of expectations. It is at these times that Bennett cries out, “I don’t want to shoot anyone, with my high powered doctrine gun.” I also would like to bring attention to the great band feel on this song, especially the brilliant guitar work by Hockensmith. The album returns to a much more reflective and difficult content with “Together All Alone.” The struggles for purity and true relationship are contrasted with the desire to be loved and to interact on a deeper level. Very few songs understand the real struggles of young people and older ones alike like this song. The first story revolves around a lonely and needy young boy whose girlfriend had moved away leaving him at a loss. But Bennett’s keen wisdom and lyrical precision describes the struggle perfectly with the lines, “She bounces his heart like a basketball” and “he lies with his with back to back…together all alone.” Then leaves a chilling and sombre reminder that somewhere, half-way around the world, “a shepherd tends his sheep” “Beggar” always brings to mind Walter Wangerin’s great short story, “Ragman,” in which a man trades in his rags for new clothes. In Wangerin’s powerful story the beggar trades his old clothes with another who takes upon himself the wounds and scars of the beggar. Here the beggar is clothed in new garb who is also now well fed because he discovered where true bread resides. I will not claim that “Come and see” in Bennett’s finest moment ever, but it certainly ranks up there among his best. This beautiful and worshipful melody is just captivating. It should have grown to be a great song of invocation or calling for its majestic sound and yearning content. Bennett calls the listener to come and meet this man from Heaven. A recent Facebook discussion led one man I admire greatly in the industry to refer to the song as “majestic.” I cannot disagree, I find myself hitting repeat quite often as I listen to the album. Though it does not serve as the album’s closing piece, it does, in way, close out the albums message with a call to meet the Savior. In the hands of a less gifted communicator the content could have sounded trite and simplistic, but with Bennett it is revealed as authentic, genuine and convincing. The album closes with somewhat of a reworking of the title track in “Heart of the Matter.” After a short acoustic introduction, the title track’s rhythm and groove is repeated with a chord reversal to match the title’s reversal. There is one moment when the song retraces the actual title track’s melody, then returns to its initial form. It is is really a musically brilliant work and Bennett, Brown and, especially Price, deserve serious kudos. CCM Magazine made the album it’s “Album of the Year” and would later include it in the Top 20 of it’s first “Greatest of All Time” countdowns. It would also show up up lower when the CCM released its Top 100 of all time, which is ridiculous! Bennett ranks with Mark Heard, Bruce Cockburn and Terry Scott Taylor as among the finest songwriters in Christian music history. “Matters of the Heart” is Bennett’s finest work ranks among the very best singer-songwriter albums in or out of Christian music.
Contributor David Lowman – https://legacyccmsgreatestalbums.wordpress.com/
Tracklist 1 – Matters Of The Heart – 3:30 2 – Falling Stars – 3:07 3 – Mountain Cathedrals – 4:54 4 – 1951 – 3:07 5 – A Song About Baseball – 3:21 6 – Madness Dancing – 3:19 7 – Together All Alone – 2:48 8 – Beggar – 3:57 9 – Come And See – 2:51 10 – Heart Of The Matter – 6:10
Credits Acoustic Guitar – Bob Bennett Arranged By [Strings & Woodwinds], Conductor – James Gabriel Stipech Art Direction – Bob McConnell Booking – The Holmes Agency Concertmaster – Pavel Farkas Drums – John Ferraro, Keith Edwards Electric Bass, Acoustic Bass – John Patitucci Electric Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith Engineer [Second] – Wally Grant English Horn, Flute, Saxophone – John Phillips Guitar [2nd] – Steve Swinford Hammered Dulcimer [Hammer Dulcimer] – Mark Davis Keyboards – Smitty Price Mastered By – Steve Hall Percussion – Alex MacDougall Photography By – Ken Kim Photography [Bob Bennett and Albie Pearson] – Dad Producer, Engineer, Mixed By – Jonathan David Brown Score Editor [Rhythm Charts] – Smitty Price Steel Guitar – Steve Swinford
This is Wayne’s third album and was really the one that gave us a glimpse of what was to come for him. While he had a CCM charting single on his previous album this album is where he really broke out with 3 CCM charting singles. “New Lives For Old” made it to #5, “The Sacrifice” to #6, and “People Of God made it to #21. This would be the album that put Wayne on the path to superstardom in the CCM genre. Oh and did I mention he was still producing all The Harvest albums at this point. Pretty good to be producing another bands successful albums while putting out your own and touring. At this point Wayne was certainly one of the hardest working members of the industry. The album continues his easy listening style but that genre of CCM was where most the money was so I don’t blame him.
Tracklist 1 – All The King’s Men – 4:02 2 – The Sacrifice – 4:48 3 – Roll On – 3:09 4 – People Of God – 3:03 5 – Take All Of Me – 3:54 6 – New Lives For Old – 5:19 7 – Never Give Up – 4:05 8 – In Those Eyes – 4:37 9 – The Greatest Is Love – 4:13 10 – Light Of The World – 3:01
Credits Accordion – Jim Alderman Arranged By [Strings], Conductor – Don Wyrtzen Art Direction – Bob McConnell Bass Guitar – Darrell Cook Classical Guitar – Rex Thomas Drums – Keith Edwards, Terry Westbrook Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Jerry McPhereson Engineer [Strings] – Bob Whyley Executive-Producer – Phil Brower Mastered By – JL Percussion – Russell Dunlap Photography By – Ken Kim Piano [Acoustic], Electric Piano – Allen Mesko Producer, Arranged By, Acoustic Guitar, Backing Vocals – Wayne Watson Producer, Arranged By, Engineer, Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Brian Tankersley Recorder – Fletch Wiley Synthesizer [Yamaha CS-80] – Paul Mills
This is the Swedish version of the 1983 Edin-Ådahl album Alibi. It actually came out first and was on CBS records. Some of the tracks the music is identical but others were remixed for the English version. Some of the translated song titles are considerable different but as I don’t understand Swedish I don’t know if the lyrics are substantially different. The English version substitutes the track “Idag” with “For The Rain In Your Heart” which is quite frankly a much better song. A couple of the tracks on this version are actually in English. Anyway I really enjoy listening to these albums in other languages as it’s fun to hear songs you know in a different format.
Here is the track listing from both versions;
Swedish English
1 – Hägring (Mirage) 6:00 A4 – Bring Back The Joy 6:01 2 – Observerad (Observed) 5:00 B4 – Send Me, Send Me 5:01 3 – Alibi (Alibi) 3:22 A3 – Alibi 3:13 4 – Spelet (The game) 4:02 B1 – Saviour 3:45 5 – Idag (Today) 5:12 Replaces B2 – For The Rain In Your Heart3:12 6 – Storm In My Heart 3:15 B3 – Storm In My Heart 3:17 7 – Look Out! 4:10 A1 – Wake Up 4:09 8 – Brevet 3:15 A2 – On The Cutting Edge 3:39 9 – Hjälp Dej Själv (Help Yourself) 4:00 A5 – Let All Of The Earth Proclaim 4:20 10 -Hemåt Igen (Home Again) 4:40 B5 – Your Heart Is In His Hands 4:44
Tracklist 1 – Hägring – 6:00 2 – Observerad – 5:00 3 – Alibi – 3:22 4 – Spelet – 4:02 5 – Idag – 5:12 6 – Storm In My Heart – 3:15 7 – Look Out! – 4:10 8 – Brevet – 3:15 9 – Hjälp Dej Själv – 4:00 10 – Hemåt Igen – 4:40
Credits Arranged By, Producer [Produced By] – Edin-Adahl Design [Album Design] – Buhland/Gulledge Engineer [Engineered By] – Lennart Strom, Mats Oberg, Peter Olsson Executive-Producer – Magnus Erikson Graphics – Anders Johansson Instrumentation By – Edin-Adahl Lacquer Cut By – JL Mixed By – Edin-Adahl, Peter Olsson Photography By – Labe Allwin, Lennert Dannstedt Producer [English Vocals] – Tom Douglas
Though Paul was not commonly known by most Christian music listeners he was a very accomplished musician and had several albums through the 70’s and 80’s. He grew up in troubled times and turned to alcohol and drugs in his teens. However in 1970 when his college years were cut short he moved to a cabin and came to terms with the world by engaging himself with God’s word. What would result is one of the best musicians of the time though personally I don’t think he ever got the recognition he deserved. This 1982 album leans towards the more easy listening music of the period but lyrically it really stood out to me. So even if easy listening is not your preferred genre give this one a chance as lyrically it’s up there with the best.
Tracklist 1 – Drawn To The Light – 3:11 2 – Give Them Your Love – 3:04 3 – Stand Up And Believe – 4:39 4 – How Much More Can You Take – 3:03 5 – Carry Me On – 4:50 6 – Good Good Morning – 3:08 7 – The Eye Of The Storm Suite – 11:10 8 – A Heartbeat Away – 3:13 9 – Good Good Night – 1:56
Credits Backing Vocals – Bruce Hibbard, Debbie McClendon, Howard Smith, Judy Cotton, Kelly Willard, Leisa Hibbard, Paul Clark, Phyliss St. James Drums – Keith Edwards Electric Bass – Leon Gaer Electric Violin – Mark Cargill Engineer – Wally Grant Engineer [Chief] – Bob Cotton Layout, Design – Christina Farley Lead Guitar [Electric], Rhythm Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith Lead Vocals, Piano [Yamaha C-7 Acoustic], Acoustic Guitar [Martin 1926 000-45], Synthesizer [Prophet 5] – Paul Clark Mastered By – Steve Hall Percussion – Michael Fisher Photography By [Cover, Inner Sleeve] – David Randall Producer [Produced By] – Paul Clark Rhythm Guitar [Electric] – Carlos Rios Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone – Steve Tavaglione Written-By – Paul Clark
This is a relatively rare one off release from the band and is the first release from them after Michael Knott took over vocals from Mark Krischak. Side A You And Me is an excellent Rockabilly tune and you’ll be excused if you thought you’d stumbled on a Lifter’s track. Side B “The One” was later re-recorded with Brian Goins on vocals and released on Dream Life. This version is actually much better.
Tracklist Side A – You And Me Side B – The One
Credits Michael Knott – Guitar, Vocals Chris Wimber – Bass Kevin Lee – Drums Michael Stand – Lead Guitar on ‘You And Me’ Thom Roy – Producer, Engineer
Joni (Joni Eareckson Tada) is a very interesting story. Unfortunately she became a quadriplegic at the age of 17 due to a diving incident. However she didn’t let this slow her down and was able to record several popular albums over the years mostly on Word records. This is her first and it’s pretty good though it’s not really my style. It’s pretty easy listening and has a bit of a jazz feel in places. She is a very good vocalist though and the album is a very relaxing album and there’s a few good tracks you could consider for Sunday service. Joni has dedicated her life to helping the disabled especially children and for that she has my deepest respect.
Tracklist 1 – Spirit Wings – 4:43 2 – Hosanna – 2:13 3 – The Only Thing I Want – 3:51 4 – Portrait Of Jesus – 2:27 5 – My Jesus As Thou Wilt – 3:07 6 – Run That Race – 2:38 7 – When Pretty Things Get Broken – 2:23 8 – Take My Life – 2:59 9 – Heaven – 3:32 10 – He Careth For You – 2:44
Credits Arranged By – Bill Pursell, David Diggs Cover [Cover Design] – Dennis Hill Engineer, Mixed By [Mixdown] – Chris Banninger Photography By – Harry Langdon Producer, Conductor – Kurt Kaiser
