Tag: 1983

David Diggs – Realworld – 1983

This is actually David’s 6th album. All the time he was making albums with Sweet Comfort, Richie Furay, Barry McGuire, and Candle (to name very few) he had a parallel career going. I knew of David but I had no idea he was putting out albums himself. His sound is kind of jazz infused easy listening style. These albums were released in the secular market but I bet their were a lot of Christian buyers. As for the album it’s great. The track “Come On” might have singled with a slightly different mix and a completely different intro. It’s an excellent track but needed a bit of love to be radio ready. Oh and it was cowritten by Richie Furay which fits perfectly when you hear it. Now David didn’t do any vocals on this album so he had Bob Carlisle provide the vocals on the few tracks with vocals. Anyway this is a great album and I was excited to find a “new” artist to enjoy.

Tracklist
1 – Gentle Thoughts – 4:04
2 – The Red Balloon – 2:52
3 – Come On – 3:09
4 – Cloud Shepherd – 3:36
5 – Welcome To The Real World – 2:23
6 – Window Of A Child – 4:43
7 – Love’s Inception – 3:44
8 – Bluebird – 3:20

Credits
Alto Saxophone – Tom Kubis
Alto Saxophone, Flute – Dave Boruff, Joe Roccisano
Art Direction – Herb Wong
Bass – Leon Gaer
Concertmaster [Strings] – Doug Cameron
Design – Chuck Walker
Drums – Ed Greene
Engineer – Don Holden, Jack Joseph Puig
French Horn – Ken Wiley
Guitar – Paul Jackson Jr.
Harp – Paulette Miller
Keyboards, Guitar, Percussion – David Diggs
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Mixed By, Engineer – Billy Taylor
Photography By – David Cavagnaro
Producer – Bob Edmondson, Ron Peters
Producer, Arranged By, Conductor – David Diggs
Tenor Saxophone, Flute – Jim Coile
Trombone – Bob Edmondson, Doug Wintz
Trumpet – Danny Ackerman, Jerry Hey
Vocals – Bob Carlisle

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Palo Alto Jazz
Copyright © – Palo Alto Jazz
Recorded At – Mama Jo’s
Recorded At – Hit Man Studio
Recorded At – Sound Castle Recorders, Los Angeles
Mastered At – Future Disc
Lacquer Cut At – Future Disc

Labor of Love – Message to the Bands – 1983

Labor of Love is as advertised, it is a message to all bands Secular and Christian about the need to follow Jesus, the very first song on the album is titled Message to the Bands and the very last song/monolog on side B is titled 6. Unleash the Spirit (2:15 Minutes) is a testimony to other bands to follow Jesus. This particular album is a collectors item and rich with the Holy Spirit in the true nature of Contemporary Christian Music and one might say the beginning of a generation of Christian Music, which would make Mark Krischak a pioneer of the industry as Michael Knott is often titled. In the early 1980’s I personally attended the Saturday Night Concert Series at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa with many of my High School/College friends and watched Mark Krishak perform many times when he was the lead singer for the Lifesavors, I owned all their albums, both the Lifesavors and the one Labor of Love album. Ironically I don’t remember Labor of Love ever performing at Calvary Costa Mesa, their album just appeared at Maranatha Music (a branch of Calvary Costa Mesa) and all my friends knew it was Mark Krishak, formerly of the Lifesavors, that made Labor of Love. Although Labor of Love didn’t get the attention level of Lifesavors their one album, Message To The Bands, had tremendous circulation in the early 1980’s

Contributor – Bob Bright

Tracklist
1 – Message To The Bands – 2:38
2 – Dancin’ – 2:27
3 – Will You Be There – 1:43
4 – I Say Start – 2:00
5 – I Don’t Do That Anymore – 2:36
6 – I See Lots A People – 2:47
7 – I Need You – 2:03
8 – All My Love – 1:52
9 – It’s So Simple – 3:09
10 – Oh Israel – 2:31
11 – Ah Ah – 2:43
12 – Modern World – 3:58
13 – Unleash My Spirit – 2:15

Jon Gibson – Standing On The One – 1983

Not many people know that Jon Gibson actually had a secular release before he moved to the Christian genre. Jon was already knee deep in the secular music industry when he became a Christian in the early 80’s. Because of this he went ahead and released this soulful secular release on Constellation Records. The album didn’t do that well but Constellation did spend the money for a music video which we will upload to our music video channel. Jon was torn between his faith and the secular music industry and decided he needed to perform Christian music so this was his only secular album and he went on to join with Frontline Records in 1985.

Tracklist
1 – Start It All Again – 4:55
2 – She Told Me So – 5:33
3 – Standing On The One – 4:47
4 – That Ain`t No Way To Live – 3:12
5 – Are You Gonna Stay With Me Again – 4:35
6 – I Love Her Anyway – 3:48
7 – It’s True – 3:07
8 – So In Love With You – 4:37
9 – Nation In Need – 3:50
10 – She Told Me So (Radio Mix)

Credits
Ben Bridges – Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic)
Bill Wolfer – Composer, Fender Rhodes, Keyboards, Producer, Programming, Soloist, Synthesizer
Bily Greary – Vocals
Brenda MeKeel – Composer, Shouts, Vocals
Carrie Lucas – Composer
Chris Whorf – Art Direction
Clifford Colter – Composer, Piano
Crystal Blake – Vocals (Background)
Ed Sanders – Composer, Engineer, Mixing
Ernie Watts – Sax (Alto), Soloist
Greg Doty – Guitar
Harry Maslin – Shouts, Vocals
Herb Trawick – Shouts, Vocals
Irvin Dugan – Vocals
Joey Gallo – Synthesizer, Synthesizer Bass
Johanna Vigoda – Vocals
John “4 Daddman” Robinson – Drums
John Robinson – Drums
John VanNest – Shouts, Vocals
Jon Gibson – Composer, Primary Artist, Vocals (Background)
Jonathan Moffett – Drums
Ken Rarick – Composer
Larry Williams – Sax (Alto)
Marvin Morrow – Composer
Micki Free – Guitar
Nathan Watts – Bass, Guitar (Bass)
Phillip Ingram – Vocals (Background)
Sneaky Pete – Guitar (Steel)
Stephen Geyer – Composer
Stewart Whitmore – Digital Engineer
Tom Slocum – Shouts, Vocals
Tony Lewis – Drums
W.G. Snuffy Walden – Guitar
Wayne O. Millstein – Percussion, Vocals

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Constellation Records
Copyright © – Constellation Records
Manufactured By – Elektra/Asylum Records
Distributed By – Elektra/Asylum Records
Designed At – Art Hotel
Recorded At – Allen Zentz Recording
Recorded At – Image Recording Studios
Recorded At – Digital Magnetics
Mixed At – Image Recording Studios
Mastered At – Allen Zentz Mastering
Mastered At – Sheffield Lab Matrix – △4912
Pressed By – Allied Record Company – B-18366
Pressed By – Allied Record Company – B-18367

Salmond & Mulder – Fun Raiser – 1983

This is the fourth and final album from the duo. Roy went on to do a couple solo albums and then of course a huge producer career. Mulder on the other hand slipped behind the scenes but I understand he did continue to do some writing. This was also the first album released on Roy’s short lived label River Records INC. This is by far my favourite album from these guys but we don’t have any sales numbers so we don’t know if listeners shared my view. This album contains what is their most famous tune though, “The Turkey Song”. It would be played at many Thanksgiving parties for years. This album was only released in Canada but I have read many U.S. comments about it so it must have got some distribution in the U.S.

Tracklist
1 – Breaking Away – 2:55
2 – You Make It Easy – 3:02
3 – And He Said… – 2:02
4 – The Turkey Song – 2:40
5 – Light Shines In – 2:58
6 – Strength To Be Weak – 4:16
7 – What Am I Worth? – 3:04
8 – Government Man – 2:37
9 – Stone Cold Heart – 3:38
10 – South Side Of Chicago – 7:03

Credits
Guitar, Vocals – Mike Mulder
Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals – Roy Salmond
Guitar, Piano, BG Vocals – Jim Woodyard
Bass – Don Biggar
Drums – Phil Robertson
BG Vocals – Gayle Salmond
BG Vocals – Faye Mulder
Bass – Steve Pugsley
Synth – Dave Pickell
Drums – Kat Hendrickse

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – River Records INC
Distributed By – River Records INC
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Riverbed Publishing Co.
Copyright © – Riverbed Publishing Co.

The Reps – Bad Boy At School – 1983

There is very little info on this album out there but I have put together a few things. The band included husband and wife team John & Sue Ritter. They went on to record another album in 1994 that included a couple tracks from this album. Unfortunately it is even more obscure than this album. Sue was a prolific writer in the 80’s and 90’s having written several Christian books. As for the album it’s kind of a mix of styles including some Ska and some new wave. I hear a lot of talent here and I wish they would have recorded another album which this lineup. The album was produced by Mark Williamson (Mark Williamson Band/Lyrix) but this was relatively early in his career and I don’t think he was a strong producer at this point. Maybe a more experienced producer could have lead this band to a more consistent album. That aside I actually really like this album for some reason. I definitely hear some things I like here.

Tracklist
1 – Laugh – 2:33
2 – Someone’s Hero – 3:41
3 – Face To Face – 3:01
4 – One Way Love – 3:47
5 – Bad Boy At School – 3:24
6 – Second Time Around – 3:10
7 – Shadows Falling – 3:13
8 – Rebel – 3:03
9 – The Moon Shines Red – 3:50
10 – Movin’ On – 2:17

Credits
John Ritter = Lead Vocals, Guitar, Writter
Sue Ritter = Lead Vocals, Keyboard, Writter
Andy Clark = Guitar, Vocals.
Paul Raper = Bass, Vocals.
Jo Stephens = Drums, Vocals.
Mark Williamson – Produce, Engineer
Vladimir Vanazzawith & Max Waxahotti – Mix
Wesley Mahan & Quest Graphics – Album Art

Companies, etc.
All songs published through Thankyou Music.
Kingsway Music record company

Various – Back To The Rock #2 – 1983

This is the second in a series of samplers form A&S Records. This is one is a treasure trove of unreleased and barely released material. The first album in this series had more mainstream tracks but this time they went with some real obscure stuff. Below I’ve listed the tracks and the album they came from;

1 – Bill Batstone – Silver And Gold – Unreleased
2 – Spurr And McNeil – Walkin’ Again – Unreleased
3 – Apocalypse – Call On Jesus – Unreleased
4 – Michael Gonzales – Mountaintop – Mountaintop – 1983
5 – The Lifters – Living Water – The Lifters – 1983
6 – Eden – Break Out Of The Night – released on a 45 – 1983
7 – The Altar Boys – Where’s It Gonna Lead Ya – Altar Boys – 1984
8 – Sheryl Olguin – Easy Rider – Unreleased
9 – James Ledlie – Strangers – released on a 45 – 1983
10 – Danny Daniels – Flyer – Sons Of Thunder – 1982

Tracklist
1 – Bill Batstone – Silver And Gold – 3:50
2 – Spurr And McNeil – Walkin’ Again – 3:44
3 – Apocalypse – Call On Jesus – 4:32
4 – Michael Gonzales – Mountaintop – 3:58
5 – The Lifters– Living Water – 1:48
6 – Eden – Break Out Of The Night – 4:09
7 – The Altar Boys – Where’s It Gonna Lead Ya – 2:21
8 – Sheryl Olguin – Easy Rider – 3:50
9 – James Ledlie – Strangers – 3:38
10 – Danny Daniels – Flyer – 3:40

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – A&S Records
Copyright © – A&S Records
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Mixed At – Whitefield Studios
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. – △26182

Keith Green – I Only Want To See You There – 1983

This was the first album released after Keith’s untimely death. It is a compilation album but includes a few previously unreleased live cuts which is why we are uploading it to YouTube. We generally don’t upload compilation albums unless they have some bonus material such as this one does. The album was also released with a booklet insert which you can see on our web-page. It is full of industry people relating their Keith Green stories.

Tracklist
1 – Introduction – 2:00
2 – My Eyes Are Dry – 3:08
3 – Trials Turned To Gold – 3:29
4 – O Lord, You’re Beautiful – 4:37
5 – You Are The One – 2:39
6 – Song To My Parents (I Only Want To See You There) – 4:15
7 – Until That Final Day – 4:37
8 – If You Love The Lord – 7:20
9 – Pledge My Head To Heaven – 3:00
10 – Draw Me – 4:35
11 – Stained Glass – 2:49
12 – Altar Call – 4:20

Credits
Art Direction – Stan Evenson Design
Coordinator [Cover Coordination] – B. Charlyne Hinesley
Engineer [Assembly and remixes] – Winn Kutz
Illustration – James Henry
Liner Notes – Billy Ray Hearn
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Producer, Liner Notes – Bill Maxwell

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Copyright © – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Recorded At – Olympic Studios
Engineered At – Mama Jo’s
Mastered At – Future Disc
Published By – Birdwing Music
Published By – Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company Inc.
Published By – Ears To Hear Music
Published By – April Music Inc.

Peter York – Close To The Bone – 1983

Peter had performed as a studio musician in the 70’s and 80’s and in his whole career he appears on over 100 albums. Strangely though this is his only personal album. You may know Peter better as the CEO of Sparrow Records and Capitol Christian Music Group. He was involved with Sparrow records in some form for 37 years and just retired in 2020. Anyway back to the album. It was only released in Australia and only on cassette so I am guessing most people have never heard it. It was recorded in 1983 after Peter was able to find a benefactor to pay for the studio time. Peter put together a pretty good team of relatively unknown studio musicians and the album turned out great. I’m actually quite confused that this album didn’t get picked up as it is really good and as Peter was connected in the industry. Oh well thankfully the album is on the internet for us to enjoy today.

Tracklist
1 – Key To My Heart
2 – I’m Alone
3 – Lovely Smile
4 – It’s All Right
5 – On This Day
6 – Noonkanbah
7 – Close To The Bone
8 – Blow Your House Away
9 – Willie’s Blues
10 – So Good To Be Alive

Credits
Martin Zammit – drums
Duane Mitchell – bass.
Graham McCoy – guitar
Jordie Young – flute, vocals
Les Price – keyboards
Rowan Shinkfield – bass on “Willie’s Blues”
Peter Fiddler – guitar on “Blow Your House Away”

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – Just Life
Copyright © – Hedgehog Music
Distributed By – Just Life (Australia)
Recorded At – David Briggs Productions

Andy Piercy – Free Heat – 1983

After the official breakup of After The Fire Andy Piercy hit the studio for a solo album with Producer John Eden. They had some material left over from the final days of ATF so that’s where they started. The album was to be called Free Heat which was an anagram of After The Fire, with the missing letters creating the word “rift”. Musicians who worked on the album with Piercy and Mal Pope included Roger Taylor (Queen), Henry Spinetti & Bob Jenkins – drums, John Giblin & Andy – bass, Alan Murphy & John Russell – guitar, Adrian Lee – keys. Mal Pope and John Russell both did some backing vocals. CBS released “8 Ball in the Top Pocket” (b-side “Deep Waters Still Run”) as a single and it did not get any airplay. They also pressed an extended version of the single but they ditched it before the release though some copies did sneak out. Work on the album had begun to get difficult as the demos were not turning into the tracks Piercy wished for. Then towards the end of recording, the producer, John Eden, told Piercy that he “didn’t like” any of the styles, bands or writers he was aspiring to. The whole project was dropped by CBS and was never released. Piercy recalls “I think they could have been good but I now realize I didn’t get the production help and direction I needed at the time.” Okay that’s enough of the history lesson so now my opinion. The choice of “8 Ball In The Top Pocket” was absolutely the wrong choice. Then they put “Deep Waters Still Run” on the B side which was even a worse decision. Everyone involved in the project knew the single was “Stop Go” followed up by “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place” but CBS didn’t care what all the talent thought. Now as for the album as a whole I actually think I agree with Andy that there were production problems. Normally this is where I would scream and yell about the mix but in this case it’s not the mix that is the problem. Actually I think the production is fantastic BUT the problem is that the tracks were mixed in different styles. I feel that there is 3 distinctly different sounds here. I think they’re all good but the album doesn’t have that continuity that great albums have. That said I believe producer John Eden did a good job but it just didn’t work out. One last gripe was the choice of the album name being a negative attitude towards After The Fire. In my opinion that just wasn’t called for or appropriate and knowing that Andy and Peter Banks were still trying to be friends it was in poor taste.

Tracklist
1 – Stop Go – 4:36
2 – We Gotta Get Out Of This Place – 4:44
3 – Terry – 6:20
4 – Young Love – 4:32
5 – Deep Waters Still Run – 4:13
6 – 8 Ball In The Top Pocket – 5:04
7 – Break Out – 4:53
8 – One Down For The Highway – 4:12
9 – Jewel In The Night – 4:52
10 – 4th Street Room 101 – 4:23

Credits
Artwork By [Design] – Roslav
Backing Vocals – Mal Pope, John Russell
Bass – John Giblin, Andy Piercy
Drums – Roger Taylor, Heny Spinetti, Bob Jenkins
Guitar – Alan Murphy, John Russell
Keyboards – Adrian Lee
Photography By – Eric Watson
Producer – Andy Piercy, John Eden
Vocals – Andy Piercy

Donna Summer – She Works Hard For the Money – 1983

After living the previous decade as the overtly sexual queen of disco Donna Summer entered the 80s experimenting with a few different musical styles and appeared to have lost herself in the wandering. With return to her roots with more of an 80-‘s pop/rock edge, a ferocious vocal delivery and a new born again spirit Donna Summer released one of the biggest albums in her lengthy career entitled “She Works Hard for the Money.” My little Christian bookstore was probably the second store in the country to carry it after I saw it being sold at Maranatha Village. I grabbed a copy immediately, both out of fascination and also to see if it was something I could convince my bosses to carry. Once you get past the often misunderstood innuendo of the opening cut’s title and realized that it actually is a powerful, woman endorsing tribute the rest of the album was an easy fit. “He’s a Rebel” is clearly a testimonial song about her new found faith in the “rebel” Jesus Christ and has a decidedly more rock edge and clearly influenced by producer Michael Omartian. “Unconditional Love” featured popular reggae sensation “Musical Youth.” The song would later receive a punk remodel when covered by Christian punk/rock band the Altar Boys. Another mainstay in Christian Music circles, Matthew Ward (2nd Chapter of Acts) does a duet on “Love Has a Mind of It’s Own” and, as a result, received some pretty good reception of Christian radio. Summer would continue to add more Gospel tinged lyrics to future releases but would not match the success or create such an overall realized album of Christian content.

Contributor David Lowman – https://legacyccmsgreatestalbums.wordpress.com/

Tracklist
1 – She Works Hard For The Money – 5:19
2 – Stop, Look And Listen – 5:46
3 – He’s A Rebel – 4:22
4 – Woman – 4:19
5 – Unconditional Love – 4:41
6 – Love Has A Mind Of Its Own – 4:16
7 – Tokyo – 4:25
8 – People, People – 4:38
9 – I Do Believe (I Fell In Love) – 4:34

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Chris Whorf
Backing Vocals – Dara Lynn Bernard, Mary E. Bernard, Matthew Ward, Roberta Kelly
Bass – Nathan East
Concertmaster – Assa Drori
Congas – Lenny Castro
Coordinator [Production] – Yvonne Garcia
Drum Programming [Simmons] – John Gilston
Drums – Mike Baird
Engineer [Assistant] – Larry Fergusson, Ross Pallone
Horns – Charlie Loper*, Chuck Findley, Dick Hyde, Gary Grant, Jerry Hey
Liner Notes – Donna
Mastered By [A&M] – Bernie Grundman
Mastered By [Future Disc] – Steve Hall
Photography By – Harry Langdon
Piano, Synthesizer – Michael Omartian
Producer, Arranged By – Michael Omartian
Programmed By [Synthesizers] – Michael Boddicker
Recorded By, Mixed By – John Guess

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Phonogram International B.V.
Copyright © – Phonogram International B.V.
Recorded At – Lion Share Recording Studios
Recorded At – Hollywood Sound Recorders
Recorded At – Rhema Studios
Mixed At – Lion Share Recording Studios
Mixed At – Hollywood Sound Recorders
Mixed At – Rhema Studios
Mastered At – Future Disc
Mastered At – A&M Mastering Studios
Pressed By – PRC Recording Company, Compton, CA
Manufactured By – Polygram Records, Inc.
Marketed By – Polygram Records, Inc.