This 1982 release from The Degarmo & Key Band was required listening in the early 80’s. Recorded in Oklahoma City, OK, this album sold very well and was a must have in every CCM listener’s library. The album is a great representation of their first 4 studio albums and ranges from an acoustic guitar cut or two, a strong blues song, a rather odd bass solo cut, and lots of Rock and Roll. I actually was able to attend one of the concerts on this tour and I remember really enjoying it. Perhaps one of the most Rock & Roll shows I had seen to that point.
Tracklist
1 – Light Of The World – 3:58
2 – Go Tell Them – 3:52
3 – Stella, This Ain’t Hollywood – 3:21
4 – When He Comes Back – 3:01
5 – Jericho – 4:44
6 – Alleyways Of Strife – 4:06
7 – Mary – 2:54
8 – Wayfaring Stranger – 3:40
9 – Bass Solo – 3:00
10 – Enchiridion – 1:50
11 – Long Distance Runner – 4:30
12 – Matter Of Time – 4:55
13 – Emmanuel – 7:27
14 – Oklahoma Blues – 6:08
15 – Preacher I’ll Need A Friend – 5:56
16 – Over And Over – 3:45
17 – Let Him Help You Today – 9:25
18 – Love One Another – 3:50
19 – I Have Decided – 3:20
Credits
Art Direction, Design – Bill Brunt
Bass, Vocals – Tommy Cathey
Drums – Greg Morrow
Engineer – Malcolm H. Harper Jr.
Engineer [Road Engineer] – Chris Taylor
Guitar, Vocals – Tony Pilcher
Illustration – Tracy Britt
Lighting Director – Jimmy Taylor
Management – Dan Brock Associates
Mastered By – Larry Nix
Mixed By [Monitor Mix] – David Knight
Photography By [Backcover] – Vernon L. Gowdy III
Photography By [Inside] – Larry Dixon
Producer, Keyboards, Vocals, Mixed By – Ed DeGarmo
Producer, Lead Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Mixed By – Dana Key
Producer, Mixed By – Dan Brock
Production Manager [Concert Productions By] – Darlene Brock
Recorded By [Recording Crew] – Mason Harlow, Paul Stutz
Stage Manager – Terry Mackie
Companies, etc.
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Lamb & Lion Records
Copyright (c) – Lamb & Lion Records
Produced For – Mint Productions (2)
Mixed At – Ardent Studios
Mastered At – Ardent Mastering
This was their fifth release, and their third and final for Light Records. D.M.Z. was the hardest rock that they had given us yet, and it fit the early 80s metal age perfectly.
Opening with a high energy track, Military Man, and pulling out a relentless guitar solo intro on White Noise, they sounded exactly like rock was supposed to in 1982.
The CCM industry at the time couldn’t figure this out but Resurrection band could.
== 1 == Military Man Military Man was the opening track and it became a signature piece for their live shows and a central part of their ceatalogue. The era was still post-Viet Nam. The movie First Blood came out in 1982, Missing in Action in 1984, and Rambo in 1985. Sympathy for soldiers was strong and Glenn’s writing reflected that. A call for pacifism was not the mainstream, but that’s what was different about the CCM world.
== 2 == Reluctance Wendi takes the lead on this song, as she does with three of the ten tracks on this album. She brought energy to the band that Glenn’s vocals, for all their intensity, could not. There were a few critics of Wendi’s vocal style, but there is no doubt she was an integral part of Rez.
== 3 == Babylon Typical Rez fashion was a hard sound like this paired with Glenn’s lyrics about human suffering. In Bablyon his desire to reach lost souls comes through again. The band had a ministry that always returned to the needs of the people, and the desire to share the gospel. At the same time, this is another great rock song from the earliest, hardest Christian rock band of substance.
== 4 == I Need Your Love A rough voice streaming out smooth vocals over a guitar ringing with a mean-streets tone is exactly what we expect from Rez Band. There is energy in the playing, the singing and the writing. This didn’t become one of their most popular tracks but it is just as strong, and a great part of the structure of this album.
== 5 == Area 312 Area 312 is the area code for Chicago’s core, in case you didn’t know. Kids that are born there, grow up there, and need to find hope there are what Rez was about. JPUSA was the birthplace of Rez, and JPUSA was essentially a commune in a needy part of Chicago.
== 6 == No Alibi Almost a hymn of confession, this connects with yet another part of the faith they professed. The process of confession is central to the Christian faith, and whether it is a formal part of your church service or not, here it is, right on your record player ready to bring you into it. Every Rez concert had an altar call where people came forward and members of the band would preach and pray with the people in small groups. This fits perfectly with their message.
== 7 == White Noise is a CCM guitar classic. I remember I was listenting to it and someone asked me, “Is this AC/DC?” I answered that no, it was Rez. “Reall? This isn’t Rez. This is For Those About To Rock.”
It wasn’t AC/DC, and I don’t think a music fan should be able to mix the two songs up, but you get the idea of what kind of music this is. It’s hard rock. It’s what the kids were doing in the 80s. Rez gave us an alternative to following the weird path of Ozzy Osborne, Iron Maiden, Motley Crue, all the way to Twisted Sister. We were proud of the music we listened to because it was different, it was ours, and it was better.
== 8 == Lonely Hearts Loneliness is part of living in a city of 2 million people. It’s a different kind of loneliness, where people are surrounded and alone. Once again bringing the inner city message, this song connects.
Looking back at it from 2018, we look at this as a Tinder attempt to connect with people and finding everything hollow. Emotions stay relevant forever regardless of technology.
== 9 == The Prisoner Rez did a lot of “cause” songs. This one is written from the perspective of a wheelchair bound human being, struggling to be seen as such. I don’t know the back story but it seems clear there is one, and Glenn connected with it. Rez made a big effort to humanize marginalized people, whether it was the poor, the Black South Africans, or the wheelchair-bound.
== 10 == So In Love With You In with everything else, Resurrection Band also wrote praise songs. The Psalms are more blues (lament) than praise, but the praise is there and they never forgot to incldue some of that on their albums. This is a joyful sound, created in the style of Rez.
Tracklist
1 – Military Man – 3:39
2 – Reluctance – 2:14
3 – Babylon – 2:36
4 – I Need Your Love – 3:24
5 – Area 312 – 3:56
6 – No Alibi – 4:39
7 – White Noise – 3:41
8 – Lonely Hearts – 3:00
9 – The Prisoner – 2:54
10 – So In Love With You – 3:38
Credits
Artwork By [Other Art & Layout] – JPUSA Graphics
Artwork, Cover – Dick Randall
Bass [Fretless Bass], Synthesizer, Backing Vocals – Jim Denton
Drums – John Herrin
Engineer – Roger Heiss
Guitar, Keyboards – Stu Heiss
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Photography By – Denise Omernick, Linda Dillon (2), Pat Peterson (2)
Producer – Resurrection Band
Saxophone – Steve Eisen
Vocals – Wendi Kaiser
Vocals, Guitar – Glenn Kaiser
Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Word Records Limited
Farrell and Farrell were for the main part a easy listening/light rock band but this live album offers a hint to their ability to do some Rock and Roll. Recorded live at the Civic Center Music Hall in Oklahoma City this concert sounds like it was great. I normally wouldn’t normally listen to a Farrell and Farrell very many times but honestly this album is on my regular listening rotation. I actually wish I had been at this concert. Something that most would be surprised to hear me say given my penchant for Rock & Roll. So if you think Farrell and Farrell are a little to easy listening for you give this album a listen, you might be pleasantly surprised. Point of trivia about this album is that it was in part produced by Eddie DeGarmo which probably gives it the sound that I like it so much.
Title
1 – All You Need
2 – Let the Whole World Know
3 – After All Those Years
4 – Boundless Love
5 – Make Me Ready
6 – No Need
7 – Homesick Soldier
8 – You Keep Me Holdin’ On
9 – Jailhouse Rock
10 – Let the Whole World Know (Reprise)
Credits
Member Role
Leonard Ahlstrom Songwriter, Electric Guitar, Background Vocals
Brown Bannister Songwriter
John T. Benson Songwriter
Dan Brock Producer
Eddie DeGarmo Producer
Mike Demus Songwriter, Electric Guitar, Piano, Prophet V
Nancy Demus Bass, Background Vocals
Bob Farrell Producer, Songwriter, Acoustic Guitar, OBX, Percussion, Lead Vocals
Jayne Farrell Lead Vocals
Scott Hutsel Rhodes Piano, Arp Axe, Arp Pro, Arp Omni, Moog, Soloist
Alice Keister Songwriter
Shane Keister Songwriter
Bill Landers Songwriter
Dennis Louwen Songwriter
Tim Sheppard Songwriter
Lynn Williams Drums
This was Candy’s first solo album. She started her music career in her family band who had great success with 13 albums and 6 Dove awards. In the mid 70’s she started a band called Heirloom but they never released an album. That brings us to 1982 when Candy finally got her own record deal and this album is the result. At this point in history all the labels were looking for the next Amy Grant and Candy fit that search. Now I am going to cause some controversy because I think Candy is a better vocalist than Amy. I’m kind of confused as to why she didn’t have a lot more success. That said this album did spawn a single, In A Different Light, but it only made it to #28 on the CCM charts. The best part of this album for me are that there are a couple of country tracks on the album that are very good and could easily be released today. It’s a traditional country but it’s very well done.
Tracklist
1 – In A Different Light – 2:41
2 – The Shepherd – 3:04
3 – The Only Real Peace – 3:31
4 – Cast Your Bread Upon The Water – 3:15
5 – I’m Gonna Hold On To You – 2:49
6 – I’m Yours Now – 3:51
7 – Hold Fast To The Right – 3:17
8 – I Am Not Along – 3:09
9 – The Rock That Never Rolls – 2:37
10 – Make Yourself At Home (In My Heart) – 2:56
Credits
Backing Vocals – Bill Beld, Caroline Traylor, Diane Tidwell, Joel Hemphill, Julie Mouser, Labreeska Hemphill, Lisa Silver, Norman Holland, Sheri Huffman, The Cherry Sisters, Trudy Barker
Bass – Jack Williams, Steve Schaffer
Guitar – Billy Sanford, Bobby Thompson, Pete Bordonali
Keyboards – Bobby Wood, Hargus “Pig” Robbins, Shane Keister
Percussion – Jerry Carrigan, Kenny Malone
Steel Guitar – Pete Wade
Strings – The Nashville String Machine
Presented without any theological commentary, as usual. These albums were a lot of fun to listen to, and hearing the jokes again, and the great comedic performances is a great trip down memory lane.Still fun to listen to now.
Tracklist
1 – King Me – The First Encounter – 5:24
2 – That’s Ridiculous – 6:48
3 – The Happy Family – 5:51
4 – P. & R. Lucre Tithe Service – 2:06
5 – King Me – The Second Encounter – 4:07
6 – Big George, Little “G” – 20:53
7 – King Me – The Third Encounter – 5:09
Credits
Artwork – David Schiedt, Herb Allison, Laurie Vette
Graphics – David Schiedt, Herb Allison, Laurie Vette
Photography – Eddie Holder
Producer – Dan Rupple, Dave Toole
Written-By – Dan Rupple (tracks: A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B1), Dave Toole (tracks: B1)
Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Word
Designed At – The Graphics Studio
This was the only full length album from Malcolm (of Malcolm and Alwyn fame) and the Mirrors though some members of the Mirrors would go on to produce another album. Malcolm Wild did do some writing though the 80’s and 90’s but this was the end of his releases. The album had a strong anti nuclear warfare theme which was quite common in the 80’s given the era. This album had several strong punkish/new wave songs and some were compared to the Knack at the time. Personally I never really heard the connection. My personal favourite pick was ” She’s Gonna Go Through Changes”. Can’t really say why, it just tugged on my ear.
Tracklist
1 – Gotta Give – 2:28
2 – Paint Your Windows White – 2:28
3 – Red Alert – 5:38
4 – Where Did All The Love Go – 3:15
5 – Can’t Live Without Him – 2:57
6 – She’s Gonna Go Through Changes – 3:00
7 – Love Your Love – 2:02
8 – You Are My Love – 3:18
9 – Look Up! (His Coming Is Near) – 3:15
10 – Alright By Me – 3:00
Credits
Arranged By – Malcolm And The Mirrors
Backing Vocals – Tommy Coomes
Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Stan Linder
Co-producer, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Alwyn Wall
Cover – Kernie Erickson
Drums – Greg Gustafson
Electric Guitar – Mike Minardi
Electric Guitar, Co-producer – Richard Cimino
Engineer – Richard Cimino, Thom Roy
Keyboards, Backing Vocals, Percussion – Rob Watson
Producer – Thom Roy
Vocals, Percussion, Backing Vocals, Producer – Malcolm Wild
Companies, etc.
Published By – Maranatha Music (2) – 1982
Distributed By – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Copyright (c) – Wild Song Publ.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Maranatha! Music – 1982
Printed By – Garrod & Lofthouse Ltd.
Recorded At – Whitefield Studios
This is the English version of Jerusalem’s 3rd album. It was very well received and Jerusalem subsequently toured in support of it opening for Resurrection Band and Larry Norman. Many including myself feel that this was their best album and it toped the sales charts for the year. The singles were “Man of the World” and “Constantly Changing” and music videos were produced for both and apparently played on MTV. The stand out song on the album is the 12 minute long “Sodom” was very well received but obviously at that length could not be a single. HM Magazine voted the album #65 in the Top 100 Christian Rock Albums of All-Time though for me it would be a little higher. Strangely Anders Mossberg is credited as Bass player on the English version and Peter Carlsohn is credited on the Swedish version. Their history states that Peter Carlsohn replaced Anders Mossberg for this album. Also Michael Ulvsgärd replacing Klas Anderhell on drums for the supporting tour. The album (English) was re-released in 2018 by Retroactive Records and is an excellent reproduction.
Tracklist
1 – Constantly Changing – 5:48
2 – Warrior – 6:17
3 – Pilgrim – 4:14
4 – It’s Mad – 5:36
5 – Man Of The World – 4:26
6 – Sodom – 12:10
7 – Ashes In Our Hands – 4:36
8 – Farewell – 6:08
Credits
Bass – Anders Mossberg
Design [Grafisk Formgivning] – Gullan Martinsson
Drums – Klas Anderhell
Keyboards – Dan Tibell
Photography By – Margareta Boman
Producer, Engineer – Andy Kidd
Vocals, Guitar – Ulf Christiansson
Words By, Music By, Arranged By – Ulf Christiansson
Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Ulf Christiansson
Recorded At – Supreme Studio
Album #29 from the Imperials is a little more uptempo at times than their previous work. I attribute this to producer Bill Schnee stepping in for this album. This was the first album without Russ Taff and instead we got to hear Paul Smith who stepped in to the group starting on this album. The album spawned 3 singles with “Lord Of The Harvest” peaking at #3 with 28 weeks on the charts. “Somebody New” also did well peaking at #9. and “Because Of Who You Are” peaking at just #37. For a change they did not win their usual Dove award for this album being beaten out by Amy Grant’s “Age to Age”.
Tracklist
1 – Stand By The Power – 3:33
2 – Somebody New – 3:52
3 – Part Time Servant – 3:44
4 – This Heart – 4:26
5 – Lord Of The Harvest – 4:37
6 – Under His Reign – 3:26
7 – I Never Get Enough Of Your Love – 4:07
8 – How Can You Live – 3:46
9 – All For The Asking – 3:49
10 – Because Of Who You Are – 3:31
Credits
Arranged By [Horns Arranged By] – Bob Wilson (tracks: B4)
Arranged By [Strings Arranged By], Piano, Synthesizer – James Newton Howard
Bass – Nathan East, Neil Stubenhaus
Drums – Carlos Vega, Jeff Porcaro
Engineer [Assisted By] – David Schober, Scott Hendricks, Skip Moon
Engineer [Engineered By], Producer [Produced By] – Bill Schnee
Guitar – Carlos Rios (2), Dann Huff, Hadley Hockensmith, Steve Lukather
Percussion – Lenny Castro
Photography By [Album Back Photo] – Allan Messer
Photography By [Album Front Photo] – Michael Borum
Production Manager [Production Coordinator] – Susan Pyron
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Bill Schnee Studios
Recorded At – Bullet Recording
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
This is kind of an odd sampler. It was actually recorded with a studio band and then the artists just doing the vocals. Mind you most of these artists were relatively unknown at the time and now for that matter. Several of them never even had a album. I am guessing the point of the sampler was to offer a Country album as that market was undeserved in the 80’s. The one treat on the album was the Bonnie Bramlett track. She was usually connected to the rock scene but she does a great country medley here.
Tracklist
1 – Maria Muldaur – Thank God – 3:45
2 – George Highfill – Make Me A Friend – 4:28
3 – Bruce Herring – What A Friend – 2:02
4 – Cindy Baxter & Dan McCorison – Clear My Mind – 2:48
5 – Von Rogers – Jesus What A Wonder You Are (Jesus How Lovely You Are) – 3:35
6 – Cindy Baxter – Seek Ye First – 2:48
7 – George Highfill – Cause Me To Come – 4:09
8 – Patty Schauer – I Thank You Jesus – 2:26
9 – Bruce Herring – I Will Serve You (Thee)2:03
10 – Bonnie Bramlett – I Keep Falling In Love With Him / His Name Is Jesus – 5:05
Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Don Gerber
Backing Vocals – Becky Burns, Marty Goetz, Patty Schauer, Ricky Skaggs, Ron Tutt
Bass – Jerry Scheff
Drums – Ron Tutt
Engineer – Joe Bellamy
Executive Producer – Dave Swaney
Guitar – Randy Mitchell
Guitar, Banjo – Bernie Leadon
Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle – David Mansfield
Harmonica – George Highfill
Keyboards – Danny Timms
Mandolin – Evan Anderson
Producer – Al Perkins
Steel Guitar, Guitar [Dobro] – Al Perkins
Vocals – Bonnie Bramlett, Bruce Herring, Cindy Baxter, Dan McCorison, George Highfill, Maria Muldaur, Patty Schauer, Ricky Skaggs, Tommy Funderburk, Von Rogers
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Maranatha! Music
Copyright (c) – Maranatha! Music
Published By – Dawntreader Music
Published By – Dimension MusicPublished By – Doulos Publishing
Published By – Maranatha Music (2)
Published By – Milene Music
Published By – William J. Gaither
When I receive albums for upload I normally don’t look at the album cover right away. When this album appeared on my desktop I figured here’s a metal band I’ve never heard of. With a name like “The Reapers” you really can’t blame me. It took exactly one second for me to realize this is not a metal band, in fact quite the opposite. What we have here is a group out of “The Ministry of Good News Crusade” in the UK. This album is a bunch of covers of more popular CCM songs. I can only imagine this album was a licensing nightmare but I suspect that licensing might have been an afterthought because I personally don’t believe you could have gotten the legal permission to cover all these songs. Anyway lets put that aside and talk about the album. The songs are actually well done and well worth listening to. The stand out track to me is Amy Grant’s “Too Late” which I think is a better version. The guitar work is excellent. It’s too bad I can’t find anything else Derek Bond has done as I suspect he is an excellent guitarist. The only artist of any familiarity is Kerry Minnear of the 70’s band “Gentle Giant”.
Tracklist
1 – We Are Persuaded
2 – Do Your Heart A Favour
3 – Too Late
4 – I Am
5 – Star Of The Morning
6 – Praise The Lord
7 – Just Want To Know
8 – I’m Yours
9 – Better Than I Know Myself
10 – Give Me The Love
Credits
Robert Newey – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Derek Bond – Vocals, Acoustic & Electric Guitar
Jeannie Lowe – Vocals
Tony Mettrick – Keyboards
Kerry Minnear – Drums, Percussion, Keyboards, Bass
Kerry Minnear – Procucer
Rob Andrews – Engineer
Mark Williamson – Engineer
Phil Thomson – Sleeve Design
Bryan – Dahlberg – Photography
