1983 – Page 4 – Real 80s CCM

Russ Taff – Walls of Glass – 1983

This was Russ’s first album after leaving the Imperials and I’m pretty sure it’s success confirmed to him that he had made the right decision by going solo. The lead single “We Will Stand” sat at #1 on the CCM charts for 15 weeks. That’s a pretty respectable first album single. He also won the 1983 Grammy award for Best Male Gospel Performance. As for the album I’m pretty sure Myrrh records pulled out all the stops as the production quality and over all quality of the album is very high. If your a fan of Russ’s albums after this one you might be surprised a bit at how mellow this one is. It is definitely a transition of styles from the Imperials to his more rock style on subsequent albums. We did get a hint of what was to come with “Inside Look” which is actually a pretty darn good Rock track. While this album doesn’t make many “Best of the 80’s” lists I think it probably deserves a spot.

Tracklist
1 – Tell Them – 4:23
2 – Walls Of Glass – 3:57
3 – I Want To Change – 5:05
4 – Pure In Heart – 3:59
5 – We Will Stand – 4:37
6 – Jeremiah – 4:02
7 – Inside Look – 4:01
8 – Just Believe – 4:26
9 – Kathryn’s Song – 4:24
10 – Unto The Lamb – 2:42

Credits
Mike Baird – Drums
Laury Boone Browning – Choir, Background Vocals
Bonnie Bramlett – Background Vocals
Raymond Brown – Songwriter
Harry Browning – Choir
Robbie Buchanan – Songwriter, Synthesizer Bass, Rhodes, Synthesizer
Don Cason – Choir
Lenny Castro – Percussion
Bill Champlin – Background Vocals
Tamara Champlin – Background Vocals
Cynthia Clawson – Choir
Ragan Courtney – Choir
Charlotte Crossley – Background Vocals
Nathan East – Bass
Daniel Garcia – Assistant Engineer
Bill George – Songwriter, Rhodes
Gary Grant – Horns
John Hammond – Drums
Joann Harris – Background Vocals
Susan Pyron Heard – Choir
Jerry Hey – Horn Arrangements, Horns
James Hollihan – Songwriter, Guitar
Richard Hopkins – Bass
Abraham Laboriel – Bass
Michael Landau – Guitar
David Lasley – Background Vocals, Choir
Charlie Loper – Horns
Arnold McCuller – Choir, Background Vocals
Dony McGuire – Background Vocals
Bobby Messano – Choir
James Newton Howard – Songwriter, Piano, Synthesizer
Michael Omartian – Songwriter, Piano, Rhodes, Synthesizer
Stormie Omartian – Songwriter
Jeff Porcaro – Drums
Frank Previte – Choir, Background Vocals
Jack Joseph Puig – Vocal Production, Engineer
Reba Rambo – Background Vocals
Patti Roberts – Songwriter
Doug Sax – Mastered
Bill Schnee – Producer, Engineer
David Schober – Assistant Engineer
Russ Taff – Songwriter, Vocals
Tori Taff – Songwriter, Choir
Keith Thomas – Songwriter
Carmen Twillie – Background Vocals
Marty Walsh – Guitar
Ernie Watts – Horns, Sax Solo
Gary Whitlock – Choir

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Word, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Bill Schnee Studios
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. – △26106

Michele Pillar – Reign On Me – 1983

This was Michele’s second solo album and I noticed something rather odd about her album covers while researching this album. She had 3 albums with Sparrow Records and for some reason Sparrow chose to use a portrait picture of her for all 3 albums. I am assuming this was a strategy for the worship album sector as quite frankly it’s a little weird to me. Often an artists first or second album will have a good picture of the artist which helps people “identify” with the artist but to do it on 3 straight releases is just weird. Anyway on to the album itself. It was quite successful with the title track making it to # 9 and the follow up single “He Rolled Away The Stone” making it to #4. At the same time she had a #4 duet single with Steve Camp, “Love’s Not A Feeling” off of his 1984 album, Fire And Ice. As for the album itself it is your usual female vocalist worship album. I’m not trying to downplay the album but really there were so many of these cookie cutter albums at the time it is very difficult to get excited about them.

Tracklist
1 – Shout It From The Rooftop – 3:41
2 – He Rolled Away The Stone – 4:32
3 – Reign On Me – 3:21
4 – Look Up – 3:04
5 – There He Was – 5:00
6 – My Heart Is A Stone – 4:19
7 – Don’t Wait Too Late – 3:39
8 – When Love Draws Near – 4:04
9 – One Move Of Your Spirit – 4:12
10 – Song Of Praise – 2:43

Credits
Arranged By [Strings] – J.L. Wallace
Art Direction – Stan Evenson
Backing Vocals – Cindy Richardson, Gary Baker, J.L. Wallace, Lenny LeBlanc, Mac McAnally, Michele Pillar
Bass – Butch Ledford
Concertmaster – Earl Spielman
Cover [Coordination] – B. Charlyne Hinesley
Design [Lyric Sheet] – Marlene Bergman
Drums – Owen Hale
Engineer – Jerry Masters, Steve Moore
Engineer [Additional] – Dan Garcia
Engineer, Remix – Ron Capone
Executive-Producer – Billy Ray Hearn
Guitar – Will McFarlane
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Percussion – Alex Acuña
Photography – Mark Hanauer
Piano, Keyboards – Larry Muhoberac, Steve Nathan
Piano, Keyboards, Guitar – J.L. Wallace
Producer – J.L. Wallace
Producer [Additional], Remix, Mastered By – Ken Pennell
Saxophone – Ronnie Eades
Vocals – Michele Pillar

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Sparrow Records
Recorded At – Muscle Shoals Sound Studios
Remixed At – Westwind Studio
Mastered At – Future Disc

Phil Keaggy – Private Collection Volume 1 (Underground) – 1983

This is a collection of stuff Phil recorded in his basement studio. It was all recorded on a Teac 144 Porta-Studio and Phil played all of the instruments. If you didn’t know this I’m pretty sure you would think this was a studio recorded album with studio musicians. Apparently there was enough material for a double album but a decision was made to make it a single album release as Volume 1. Volume 2 never came unfortunately. I would have loved to hear more. I had not listened to this album back in the 80’s as I wasn’t really a big Keaggy fan. Wow did I miss out. This is a fantastic album. It has a great rock / pop sound with a 70’s feel. In my opinion this might have been some of his best work. Keaggy said he never intended to release these tracks but somehow it happened. I’d love to hear the story of that decision. Keaggy said of this album “The uniqueness of this album lies in the fact that all the tunes were recorded at my leisure, in a comfortable setting, without realizing they would be used for an official record release. Because of this factor, I feel there is a freedom and confidence expressed in these songs which sets them apart from some of my other recordings.”

Tracklist
1 – What A Love – 3:56
2 – The Ransom – 3:47
3 – Deadline – 3:36
4 – Think About It – 3:36
5 – One In A Million – 4:36
6 – I Know Someone – 3:41
7 – The Two Of You – 4:56
8 – Paid In Full – 4:20
9 – What You Are Inside – 3:35
10 – Follow Me On – 3:24
11 – The Survivor – 5:12

Credits
Arranged By – Phil Keaggy
Art Direction, Design – Stan Evenson Design
Coordinator [Cover Coordination] – Charlyne Hinesley, Judith Cotton
Engineer – Phil Keaggy
Engineer [Additional Overdubs] – Mike Ross, Wally Grant
Mixed By – Bob Cotton, Phil Keaggy
Performer, Instruments [All] – Phil Keaggy
Photography By – The Design Oasis
Producer – Phil Keaggy
Vocals – Phil Keaggy (tracks: A1, A3 to B1, B3, B5)
Vocals [Additional] – Bernadette Keaggy (tracks: A4)
Written-By – Phil Keaggy

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Nissi Records
Published By – Marguerite Music
Published By – Emmaus Road Music
Recorded At – Weddington Studios
Mixed At – Weddington Studios
Mastered At – Future Disc
Distributed By – Sparrow Distribution

Keith Thomas – Instrumental Appetite – 1983

I was quite surprised when I first listened to this album. I have heard Thomas’s follow up album to this one and quite liked it’s synth heavy pop sound. This album has nothing in common with that album. This is an instrumental jazz album and quite frankly I don’t like it. I don’t deny that there is a ton of talent here but this album is not what CCM was looking for at the time. I can’t find any info on how well it sold so I’m guessing not well. As I said there is no shortage of talent here but to put out an album for a niche part of a niche market just seems odd to me. Thomas was one of the best studio musicians of the time and must have had tons of contacts in the industry but chose to do a jazz album instead of something a little more trendy. That said if you do like instrumental jazz you’ll love this one and it’s probably the best instrumental jazz album of the era, not that it had much competition in this category.

Tracklist
1 – Road To Paradise – 3:32
2 – I Can’t Believe It’s True – 2:24
3 – Midnight Celebration – 4:15
4 – Made To Love You – 3:18
5 – Livin’ Without Your Love – 3:09
6 – The Heartmender – 3:45
7 – Changes – 5:43
8 – One More Song For You – 3:40

Credits
Arranged By [Strings] – John Darnall
Art Direction, Design – Bill Brunt
Bass – Bob Wray
Drums, Percussion – Mark Hammond
Engineer [Recording] – Jeff Balding
Executive-Producer – Neal Joseph
Flugelhorn – Terry Townson
Guitar [Acoustic], Electric Guitar – Jon Goin
Mastered By – Hank Williams
Mixed By – Bill Schnee
Percussion – Terry McMillan
Photography By – Mike Borum
Producer, Arranged By, Piano [Acoustic], Synthesizer [Prophet V, Oberheim], Electric Piano – Keith Thomas
Strings – The Kris Wilkinson Strings
Woodwind – Mark Douthit

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.

Shelter – Prophets And Clowns – 1983

There is very little information out there on this band. I’m a little surprised at this as the album was produced by Terry Taylor (Daniel Amos). Rob Watson (Daniel Amos) also helped with some Keyboards. The sheer involvement of these guys should have made this band a little more known. On their album sleeve they thank Servant so there is some connection with them too. But that’s it, that’s all I could find on this band. The album is mainly easy listening with a couple livelier tracks but for the main part is light rock. It’s good though and the production is strong so it really deserves at least one listen. It won’t make it into my regular rotation but as I say, it’s worth a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Singer And The Song – 3:15
2 – Prophets And Clowns – 3:22
3 – Super Heroes – 3:15
4 – Walk In The Spirit – 3:15
5 – Here I Am Again – 3:25
6 – This Is The Day – 4:59
7 – Hope – 3:38
8 – I’ll Play The Fool – 3:18
9 – Song To The Church – 4:16
10 – Come All Who Labor – 4:15
11 – Singer And The Song (Reprise) – 1:12

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Mark Sullivant
Drums – Darrell Ferraiuolo
Guitar, Vocals – “Jimmy T” Thomas
Keyboards – Tim Robbins
Producer – Terry Scott Taylor
Vocals, Guitar – David Bunker
Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion – Jan Thomas

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Word Records Limited

Larry Norman – Come As A Child – 1983

Come As A Child is a live solo set by Larry Norman released in 1983. It was probably recorded in 1982 or 83. This record is billed as a concert for the benefit of The Calcutta Mission. Very little information about that transaction is available, but we assume that a portion of the profits of record sales were used to help the poor in India. It starts out with an introduction by Barry MacGuire, who was a late convert to Christianity and had a huge hit with the spiritual song “Cosmic Cowboy.” Larry always seemed to have a heart for California Culturals who were willing to learn about Jesus. There seems to be no lasting connection between Barry and Larry other than this introduction. Evidently Barry really was a fan. The performance is good and is a great example of vintage Larry. The sound quality is not great, but better than some of the other bootlegs released by Phydeaux. Unlike Roll Away The Stone and Live At The Mac, this album is primarily an acoustic performance. He did a lot of those on tours during the 1970s as well as the ones near the end of his career. Always with his “Spanish guitar” and the contract specifying 2 microphones set at the same volume. One for him and one for the guitar. Nightmare and Peacepollutionrevolution are stand-out tracks here because he did not do them live all that often, and they do not normally show up in his acoustic sets. Some of Larry’s humourous banter is here introducing songs, and talking about salvation and what we now call “Chritianese” on his talk “Heaven And Hell.”

Tracklist
1 – Barry McGuire Introduction – 2:34
2 – U.F.O. – 3:01
3 – I Hope I’ll See You In Heaven – 5:17
4 – Why Can’t You Be Good – 2:38
5 – Singing At The White House – 2:54
6 – The Great American Novel – 4:09
7 – Nightmare – 4:52
8 – Six Sixty Six – 2:26
9 – Peacepollutionrevolution – 2:45
10 – The Outlaw – 3:01
11 – Heaven And Hell – 2:16
12 – Strong Love, Strange Peace – 2:54

Credits
Lead Vocals, Guitar, Piano – Larry Norman
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Written-By – Larry Norman

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – Solid Rock Records
Mastered At – A&M Studios

Mark Heard – Eye of the Storm – 1983

Mark Heard tried something a little different for this album. He put down the electric guitar and did everything on an acoustic. The album definitely has an acoustic feel but I’m not comfortable calling it an acoustic album, it’s much more than that. Mark recorded most the tracks himself at home with his wife Janet manning the board. Additional tracks were recorded at Gold Mine studios but there weren’t many. For the most part Mark recorded and played this album himself. Tom Howard did come over one day and they played around with an Emulator Synthesizer. This album gives us a little exposure to another side of Mark and I would say it’s a nice exposure. This album definitely goes down as one I remember well from those days.

Tracklist
1 – Eye Of The Storm – 3:00
2 – The Pain That Plagues Creation – 3:57
3 – Castaway – 3:16
4 – Well-Worn Pages – 2:44
5 – He Will Listen To You – 2:58
6 – In The Gaze Of The Spotlight’s Eye – 3:59
7 – Gimme Mine – 3:33
8 – These Plastic Halos – 3:02
9 – No One But You – 2:27
10 – Moonflower – 2:24

Credits
Backing Vocals – Dave De Coup Crank, Mark Heard
Design [Cover Design], Art Direction – Tim Alderson
Drums [Linn Drums], Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Lead Guitar, Slide Guitar, Accordion, Mandolin, Harmonica, Xylophone, Percussion, Other [Voicehorns, Voicestrings] – Mark Heard
Engineer [Assistant], Photography By – Janet Heard
Engineer, Mixed By – Mark Heard
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Mastered By [Assistant] – Wally Grant
Pedal Steel Guitar – Al Perkins
Producer – Mark Heard
Saxophone – Brandon Fields
Synthesizer [Emulator], Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes], Synthesizer – Tom Howard
Synthesizer, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes] – Phil Madeira
Tambourine, Shaker, Other [Toothbrush, Bowling Pins] – Harry Stinson
Written-By, Design [Cover Design], Photography By – Mark Heard

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Home Sweet Home Records, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Home Sweet Home Records, Inc.
Published By – Bug & Bear Music
Recorded At – Gold Mine
Mastered At – Future Disc
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. – △25939

The Visitors – Death Of A Gunfighter – 1983

Before The Lead there was The Visitors. They self produced this 7″ in 1983. It highlights their punk roots and quite frankly I wish they would have kept this style as they were good at it and quite frankly CCM needed this style right at this time. But alas they would do punk for a few more years and then switch to thrash. But it’s fun to hear where they came from.

Tracklist
A – Death Of A Gunfighter – 4:06
B – I’ll Never Know – 2:38

Credits
Written-By – Julio Rey
Vocals, Bass – Peter Lopez
Vocals, Guitar – Julio Rey
Drums – Juan Carlos

Keith Green – The Prodigal Son – 1983

This is the second posthumous album from Keith Green. The highlight of the album is the track “The Prodigal Son Suite” which was part of a Rock Opera that Keith was writing but unfortunately was interrupted by his death in 1982. The album featured a multipage booklet from Keith’s Ministry “Last Days Ministry”. It details the history of Last Day’s Ministry and is actually a pretty good read. The album is typical Keith and needless to say if your a fan of his work you will love this album as it is very well produced as usual.

Tracklist
1 – I Can’t Wait To Get To Heaven – 3:19
2 – Lord I’m Gonna Love You – 2:46
3 – The Prodigal Son Suite – 12:03
4 – Keep All That Junk To Yourself – 3:23
5 – Open Your Eyes – 4:02
6 – Love With Me (Melody’s Song) – 3:15
7 – Only By Following Jesus – 3:10
8 – Song For Josiah – 6:12

Credits
Arranged By [Strings, Orchestra], Conductor, Electric Piano [Rhodes], Organ – Harlan Rogers
Artwork By [Art Direction, Design] – Last Days Ministries, Pretty Good Graphics
Backing Vocals – Alphanette Silas*, Howard Smith, Keith Green (2), Linda McCrary, Maxi Anderson
Bass – Abraham Laboriel, Hadley Hockensmith
Co-producer – Melody Green
Engineer – Peter Granet
Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith
Orchestra – The London Philharmonic Orchestra
Photography – Jerry Melrose
Piano [Acoustic] – Keith Green (2)
Producer, Drums, Percussion – Bill Maxwell
Written-By – Keith Green (2) (tracks: A1 to B1, B3 to B5), Melody Green (tracks: A1, B1, B2, B4)

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – MCA Distributing Corporation

Avion – Avion – 1983

A few decades before he would grace the stage nightly with country mega-star Shania Twain, guitarist and vocalist Randall Waller lead his band Avion with amazing guitars and vocals. The band would release two albums and Waller would release a solo project under the “Larry Norman Presents” banner on Tunesmith Records. In 1983 the band would release its first album on 1983 and despite great songs, top notch production and radio friendly image and music, the album just didn’t go anywhere. There are so many great songs here produced so incredibly well it becomes another one of those great frustrations in the music world. Several songs also appear on Waller’s “Midnight Fire.” Straight ahead early 80’s rock with a touch of southern rock thrown in for fans of the Eagles (Long Run), Aerosmith, Loverboy and 38 Special. I Need You, Lady of the Night and Always waiting are those that also appear on Waller’s solo album, but appear here with slightly different arrangements and significantly better production. “Once Bitten, Twice Shy” remains a favorite some 30 years later with it’s great rhythm guitar riff and sexy vocals. Waller commands the vocal stage so well it’s really amazing he never broke into the mainstream. The album can be a tough find but well worth the effort.

Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/

Tracklist
1 – I Need You – 3:51
2 – Diamond Eyes – 4:17
3 – Lady Of The Night – 2:58
4 – We Can Try – 3:24
5 – Warrior – 4:34
6 – Never Let Me Go – 4:27
7 – Where Do We Go From Here – 3:40
8 – Always Waiting – 3:32
9 – Who’s Crying Now – 3:06
10 – Once Bitten, Twice Shy – 3:19

Credits
Bass, Backing Vocals – Kendall Waller
Drums, Backing Vocals – John Waller
Guitar – Martyn Toole
Keyboards – Evan Murray
Producer – Chris Gilbey
Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Randall Waller

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – RCA Records
Copyright (c) – RCA Inc.
Distributed By – RCA Inc.
Manufactured By – RCA Inc.