Tag: 1983

Kansas – Drastic Measures – 1983

When it became public that Kerry Livgren of Kansas had been “born again” nobody knew what was next for the iconic 70s band. Drastic Measures is their first recording after that and it is a stellar album by any measure. The sound on Drastic Measures is harder than the sound that Kansas was known for due to songs like Dust in the Wind. The 80s demanded a little more modern and hard rock sound, and they delivered, but not without bringing in the softer sounds needed to bring the lyrics home, or the mood of a song like “Andi.” The opening track “Fire With Fire” lets you know they mean business right away. Even though it’s at a slower pace, “Going Through The Motions” still carries a strong rock vibe with a strong rhythm in it. After this album, Kerry put his efforts into his new band “AD” which was mostly new members, other than Dave Hope.

Tracklist
1 – Fight Fire With Fire – 3:40
2 – Everybody’s My Friend – 4:09
3 – Mainstream – 6:36
4 – Andi – 4:15
5 – Going Through The Motions – 5:43
6 – Get Rich – 3:43
7 – Don’t Take Your Love Away – 3:44
8 – End Of The Age – 4:33
9 – Incident On A Bridge – 5:37

Credits
Art Direction – Drennon Studio
Backing Vocals – David Pack, Kyle Henderson, Terry Brock
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Boxcar PeeWee And The Megapeople (tracks: A3), The Gang Of Men (tracks: B1, B2), Women At Work (tracks: B1)
Bass – Dave Hope
Crew [Kansas Crew] – Buren Fowler, Clay Schell, Davy Moire*, Jerry Gilleland, John Thompson (15), Merle McLain
Drums – Phil Ehart
Engineer [Recording Engineer Assistance – Bullet Recording] – Danny Mundhenk
Engineer [Recording Engineer Assistance – Le Mobile] – Cliff Bonnell, Guy Charbonneau
Guitar – Rich Williams
Keyboards [Additional] – Neil Kernon (tracks: A2)
Keyboards, Guitar – Kerry Livgren
Keyboards, Vocals – John Elefante
Lacquer Cut By – HW*
Management – Budd Carr, The Carr Company
Mastered By – Howie Weinberg
Photography By – Glen Wexler
Producer – Kansas (2), Neil Kernon
Recorded By, Mixed By – Neil Kernon
Steel Guitar – Jim Vest (tracks: A4, B3)
Words By, Music By – Dino Elefante (tracks: A1, A2, B1 to B3), John Elefante (tracks: A1, A2, A4 to B3), Kerry Livgren (tracks: A3, B4, B5)

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Corn & Blood, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – CBS Inc.
Manufactured By – CBS Records
Distributed By – CBS Records
Recorded At – Lakewood Fairgrounds
Recorded By – Le Mobile
Recorded At – Bullet Recording
Mixed At – Bullet Recording
Recorded At – Son Of Other Room
Mastered At – Masterdisk
Pressed By – Columbia Records Pressing Plant, Carrollton, GA
Published By – Full Grown Man Music
Published By – Mastodon Music
Published By – Don Kirshner Music
Published By – Blackwood Music Publishing

The Lifters – The Lifters – 1983

This EP came out in 1983 from another great group of guys from the MRC group over at the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California. Their Rockabilly style was like nothing else in CCM at the time. In an era where the Stray Cats were popular this album filled a gap in Christian music. These 6 short fun tracks will leave you tapping your foot and even singing along. I have a love of the rockabilly style so I have to admit I was pretty excited when I saw this album. I knew from the cover it was something I was gonna like. The EP must have been popular as the Band came out with a full album (also great) in 1985. Point of trivia is that Darrell Mansfield supplied the harmonica track for “Bucket of Blues”. Also trivia worthy is Ojo Taylor also played some piano and assisted with song writing.

Tracklist
1 – Living Water – 1:51
2 – Baby Left Me – 2:20
3 – Bucket of Blues – 3:10
4 – Eternity Bop – 1:41
5 – I’m Yours – 2:52
6 – He’s My Lord – 2:07

Credits
Antwan Adams – Horns
Chris Brigandi – Songwriter, Guitars, Lead Vocals
Eddie Espinosa – Songwriter, Guitars
Dave Hackbarth – Horns
Kass – Bass Fiddle, Electric Bass, Background Vocals
Mark Kirschak – Songwriter
Michael Knott – Songwriter
Darrell Mansfield – Harmonica
Brian Ray – Songwriter, Drums, Percussion, Background Vocals
Ojo Taylor – Songwriter, Piano
Bill Walden – Horns
Dan Willard – Producer

Bryn Haworth – Pass It On – 1983

Pass It On was the follow up to The Gap. I loved The Gap and it is in my top 50 albums. For some reason however this album just didn’t have the same feel to me. The style is the same and the songs are good but for some reason it just didn’t resonate with me. That said if you’re a Haworth fan you’ll probably enjoy this album.

Tracklist
1 – Pass It On – 4:54
2 – Never Give Up On Love – 3:35
3 – Come Away – 4:10
4 – Think For Yourself – 5:09
5 – Perfect Love – 2:45
6 – The Cure – 4:01
7 – Peace And Understanding – 5:34
8 – Looking Through Different Ages – 3:34
9 – Come Over To My Place – 2:58
10 – Fear God – 3:28

Credits
Fran Byrne – Drums
Dave Charles – Drums
Terry “Tex” Comer – Bass
Steve Gregory – Flute, Saxophone
Bryn Haworth – Guitar, Primary Artist, Vocals
Alan “Bam” King – Guitar
Dave Markee – Bass
Henry Spinetti – Drums
Peter Thoms – Horn
Pete Wingfield – Keyboards

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Chapel Lane Studios
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Chapel Lane Productions
Copyright (c) – Chapel Lane Productions
Published By – Signalgrade Ltd.

Sheila Walsh – War Of Love – 1983

In my opinion this was the best album from Sheila. Keep in mind I am very Rock/Pop oriented. This album was much more pop than her previous work and after this album she seemed to settle into the easy listening category. As I sat down to re-listen to this album for the first time in probably 35 years I was quite surprised how poppy this album was. For some reason her easy listening albums stick out in my head but really it should have been this one. The album did spawned two singles. Mystery peaked at #19 and, Star Song made it to # 21. Really this album deserved to do better.

Tracklist
1 – Turn, Turn, Turn, – 3:59
2 – Mystery – 3:26
3 – Sunset Skies – 4:36
4 – Private Life – 3:28
5 – Yes He Lives – 4:05
6 – Fooled By A Feelin’ – 3:45
7 – Star Song – 3:40
8 – Sleepwalking – 4:01
9 – Lonely When The Lights Go On – 3:10
10 – Fighter – 5:08

Credits
Kirk Allen – Songwriter
Keith Bessey – Engineer
Terry Britten – Songwriter
Sammy Brown – Background Vocals
Vicki Brown – Background Vocals
John Clark – Guitar
Clem Clemson – Guitar
Mel Collins – Sax
David P. Cook – Songwriter
Costa Coulouris – Songwriter
Chris Eaton – Songwriter
Paul Field – Songwriter
Graham Jarvis – Drums
Mart Jenner – Guitar
Graham Kendrick – Songwriter
Scott McClung – Songwriter
Jamie Owens-Collins – Songwriter
Craig Pruess – Producer, Arrangements, Synthesizers, Brass, Percussion, Background Vocals
Cliff Richard – Producer, Background Vocals
Pete Seeger – Songwriter
Sheila Walsh – Vocals
John Woodfield – Songwriter

Steve Taylor – I Want To Be A Clone – 1983

This debut album from Steve Taylor was considered to be one of the best new wave albums of the 80’s.

It was actually classed as punk by some pundits at the time but it was actually better described as new wave with an edge.

Steve wrote about some very touchy Christian issues at the time which are actually still issues today.

Though only 6 cuts (it was technically a mini LP) it provided many enjoyable hours of listening for owners at the time.

 

Tracklist
1 – Steeplechase – 1:25
2 – I Want To Be A Clone – 2:30
3 – Whatever Happened To Sin? – 3:07
4 – Written Guarantee – 2:36
5 – Bad Rap (Who You Tryinʼ To Kid, Kid?) – 3:00
6 – Whatcha Gonna Do When Your Numberʼs Up? – 4:12

Credits
Bass – Brian Tankersley
Drums – Cactus Moser
Guitar – Kerry Conner
Keyboards [Featuring The Mighty Farfisa] – Steve Taylor
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Producer, Engineer – Jonathan David Brown
Saxophone – Dave Thrush
Vocals – Steve Taylor
Vocals [Rights], Rap, Handclaps – The Screaming Chapalaires (tracks: 2, 4, 5)
Written-By, Arranged By – Steve Taylor

Companies, etc.
Mixed At – Weddington Studios
Mastered At – MCA Whitney Recording Studios
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Sparrow Records
Copyright (c) – Sparrow Records
Published By – Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company Inc.
Distributed By – Spotlight Music Pty Ltd
Distributed By – Concorde Productions (NZ)
Published By – Birdwing Music

Mylon Lefevre – Live Forever – 1983

This live album was recorded in Mylon’s hometown of Atlanta, and it was a rock’n’roll homecoming. The crowd sounds great, and the band is working them. This is a great example of a live record. Interesting inclusion is the second track “It’s Alright” which appeared on Matthew Ward’s landmark album “Toward Eternity.” Mylon’s version is a different take and it works well for him.

Tracklist
1 – Introduction Jesus Is A Waymaker – 3:29
2 – It’s Alright – 5:14
3 – Free Rap & Freedom – 6:31
4 – Relationships Rap & Child Of The Father – 4:44
5 – Workin’ On A Building / Jesus Is The Rock – 13:42
6 – Jesus Loves Me – 1:58
7 – The Invitation – 7:20
8 – Coming Back Again – 1:43

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Kenny Bentley
Design – Mike McCarty
Drums, Percussion – Ben Hewitt
Engineer [Live] – Joe Neil, Larry Goode
Keyboards, Synthesizer, Vocals – Stan Coates
Lead Guitar, Vocals, Photography By [Inner Sleeve] – Dean Harrington
Mastered By – Larry Nix
Producer, Engineer [Live], Mixed By – Joe Hardy
Producer, Vocals, Guitar – Mylon LeFevre
Rhythm Guitar, Vocals – Scott Allen

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Produced For – Broken Heart Productions
Published By – Angel Band Music
Published By – Dayspring Music
Published By – Latter Rain Music
Published By – Rainy Now Music
Published By – Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company Inc.
Mastered At – Ardent Mastering


Joe English – Press On – 1983

This album from Joe follows in the footsteps of his previous albums. There really isn’t anything of interest on this album as it’s just more of Joe. This is not a derogatory comment but let’s face it Joe’s sound didn’t change much and it wasn’t exactly captivating after awhile. That said this is a good AOR album as that’s what Joe did well, in fact better than most. The album spawned one single “Stop” which peaked at #18.

Tracklist
1 – Stop – 3:30
2 – Echoes Of The Spirit – 3:10
3 – Royal Priesthood – 3:59
4 – The Harvest – 3:47
5 – Press On – 3:52
6 – Power Of Prayer – 3:55
7 – All My Heart – 3:29
8 – Let Me Praise You Again – 3:37
9 – Roll Of Life – 3:29
10 – To Know The Heart Of Jesus – 3:18

Credits
Arranged By [Horn And String Arrangements] – Tim Smith
Arranged By [Track Arrangements] – The Joe English Band
Artwork By [Art Direction/design] – Bill Brunt
Backing Vocals – Joe English, Tommy Funderburk
Bass – Tim Smith
Choir – Brenda Nenow, Christy Betts, Dayle English, Debbie Halverson, Grammy Grandall, James Isaac Elliott, John Lawry, Phil Elliott, Tim Smith, Tom Douglas
Engineer [Tracks And Overdub Engineering] – Joe Wilson
Engineer [Vocal Overdub Engineering] – Jim Baird
Executive Producer – Ray Nenow
Guitar – George Cocchini, Paul Brannon
Keyboards – John Lawry
Mastered By – Glenn Meadows
Mixed By – Scott Hendricks
Photography – Mark Tucker
Producer [Assistance] – The Joe English Band
Producer, Drums, Lead Vocals – Joe English
Saxophone [Alto & Tenor] – Doug Moffet
Saxophone [Tenor & Baritone] – Sam Levine
Trumpet – Jay Cobble, John Harbaugh

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Published By – Raybren Music
Published By – Joe English Music
Published By – Quietlane Music
Published By – Snellsong Music
Published By – Rainy Roley Music

Petra – Not Of This World – 1983

The 6th studio album from Petra “Not Of This World” had a very similar sound to their previous album “More Power To Ya”. Strangely they were actually touring in support of “More Power To Ya” but took a break to record this album. I think that in part accounts for the similar sounds. Even Bob Hartman said that he considered the album a sequel. Strangely producer Jonathan Brown actually initially didn’t use Petra drummer Louie Weaver for the drum tracks instead inviting studio musician Keith Edwards to sit in. In the end Louie Weaver did contribute to the project. I think this must have been due to some scheduling conflict as if I were in Louis’s place I would have been done with the band on the spot. Louis however stayed on with the band until 2003. This album was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Gospel Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group, Choir or Chorus but were beat out by Larnelle Harris & Sandi Patti.

Tracklist
1 – Visions (Doxology) – 2:04
2 – Not Of This World – 4:49
3 – Bema Seat – 3:54
4 – Grave Robber – 4:18
5 – Blinded Eyes – 5:33
6 – Not By Sight – 3:20
7 – Lift Him Up – 3:26
8 – Pied Piper – 4:00
9 – Occupy – 3:28
10 – Godpleaser – 4:35
11 – Visions (Reprise ) (Doxology) – 2:28

Credits
Arranged By [Arr] – John Slick (tracks: 1, 11)
Art Direction – Joan Tankersley, The Cover Story
Bass, Vocals – Mark Kelly
Crew [Road Crew – Concessions Coordinator] – Judy “How ‘Bout A Movie” Slick
Crew [Road Crew – Lighting Director] – Roger “Waja” Boor
Crew [Road Crew – Set-Up Coordination] – Marc “The Woz” Wozniak
Crew [Road Crew – Sound Engineer] – Kim “Cool” Hartman
Drums – Keith Edwards
Drums, Vocals – Louie Weaver
Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – David Rogers, Doug Sarrett
Illustration [Illustrations] – Randy Rogers
Keyboards, Vocals – John Slick
Layout – Lori Cooper
Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals – Bob Hartman
Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar, Percussion – Greg X Volz
Management [Petrafied Productions Business Manager, Bookkeeping] – Becky “Errands Forever” Volz
Management [Petrafied Productions Mail Orders, Coordinator, Aerobics] – Janna “Fo Mo, Tu Mo” Pastin
Management [Petrafied Productions Tour Direction, Promotions] – Mark “Security Bob” Hollingsworth
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Photography By [Sleeve Photography] – Mark Tucker
Producer [Produced By], Engineer [Engineered By], Recorded By, Mixed By – Jonathan David Brown
Written-By – B Hartman (tracks: 2 to 5, 7, 8, 10), J Slick (tracks: 6, 9)

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Star Song Records
Record Company – Jubilee Communications, Inc.
Recorded At – Rivendell Sound Recorders
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio
Mixed At – Rivendell Sound Recorders
Mastered At – Future Disc
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia
Published By – StraightWay Music
Published By – Dawn Treader Music

Peter Beveridge – Grinding Wheel – 1983

This is the re-release of the 1982 “Static on the Frequency” album from Peter Beverage. As far as I can tell the Album was originally released in Australia as “Static On The Frequency ” and then re-released worldwide as “Grinding Wheel”. I don’t have a lot of information on Peter other than this was his second album and his last solo effort. In 1990 he released an album with Darlene Zschech using the band name of “Present History”. This is a pretty good pop album and must have been quite popular in Australia to warrant a worldwide release shortly after. Interesting point of trivia on the album is that Eminem sampled the track “Static on the Frequency” on his song “Detroit vs. Everybody”. Don’t really know who approved it but really they shouldn’t have as the Eminem song is garbage. I would not suggest you seek it out and listen to it.

Tracklist
1 – Static On The Frequency – 5:26
2 – Mr. Media – 2:58
3 – Add Up The Wonders – 4:49
4 – Another Marriage On The Rocks – 3:46
5 – Make Up Your Mind – 4:11
6 – Tonight’s Your Night – 2:45
7 – Grinding Wheel – 3:21
8 – Teflon Salvation – 3:27
9 – Winter Nights – 3:47
10 – Shine Your Light – 3:43

Credits
Backing Vocals – Marty McCall, Tyana Parr
Bass Guitar – David Miner
Drums – David Kemper
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Jerry McPherson
Grand Piano, Electric Piano, Synthesizer, Keyboards [Fender Rhodes & Yamaha CS80] – Peter Beveridge
Percussion – Pat Bautz
Producer – Fletch Wiley
Soprano Saxophone, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone – Bill Tillman

Undercover – God Rules – 1983

The second album from Undercover proved they weren’t just a one off but instead were something new and fresh in the CCM scene. The second album picked up where the first left off. At this point their first album was gaining traction so people were ready for a second album. The timing was perfect. The album continued the punk/new wave/pop sound of the previous one but I think it leaned more pop in places. That said the title track will likely go down as the best Christian punk song of all time.

Tracklist
1 – New Creation – 2:40
2 – Closer To You – 3:03
3 – He Takes Care Of Me – 3:00
4 – I Still Want You – 2:16
5 – I Never Knew – 2:28
6 – Jesus Girl – 2:10
7 – His Love – 1:59
8 – Jesus For Me – 1:38
9 – Jesus Is The Best – 1:49
10 – I Am The Resurrection – 2:26
11 – God Rules – 1:01
12 – Wait A Minute – 1:57
13 – I Love God – 4:04

Credits
Arranged By – Undercover
Art Direction – Al X.
Design [Album Design & Foto Tints] – Gary Delacy
Drums, Backing Vocals – Gary Olson
Engineer – Dan Willard
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Gym
Illustration – Camille Krischak
Keyboards, Synthesizer, Bass, Backing Vocals – O-Joe
Lead Vocals, Tenor Saxophone – B
Mastered By [Runout Etching] – KPG
Photography By [Back Cover Pictures] – Wes Covina
Photography By [Sleeve Picture] – Scott Lockwood
Producer – Dan Willard, Joey Taylor
Typography [Lettering] – Joe Christian

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – A&S Records
Copyright (c) – A&S Records
Copyright (c) – Maranatha! Music
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. – Δ25957
Published By – Maranatha! Music
Published By – F.E.L.
Recorded At – Whitefield Studios