This is the only album I have heard from The Robet Case Band.
That said Robert Case’s bio states “he traveled throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia with the Robert Case Band singing and preaching the gospel of grace.
During that time they produced praise/worship albums in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Russian.” I am unable to find any of these foreign language albums but I’m sure they are of the same style and quality of this album.
This album was released on the MRC label but it is not their usual type of talent. To be clear this is a worship style album.
The quality of songwriting and production is excellent and I’m actually quite surprised it wasn’t more popular than it was. Robert Case has gone on to be the Head Pastor at the Eastside Calvary Temple in Bellevue WA.
Track Listing: 01 – Bless the Lord – 2:45 02 – I Wanna Be Like Jesus – 3:51 03 – I Love You Lord – 3:52 04 – Psalm 62 – 2:05 05 – Falling – 2:02 06 – Come To Me – 3:46 07 – It Won’t Be Long – 4:13 08 – What is Man – 3:40 09 – Fool For Christ – 3:21 10 – When You’re Hot – 4:10 11 – Make a Noise – 3:20
Petra’s Beat The System was released in 1984 into a musical age that was dealing with the first generation of electronic sounds, video games, and mainstream home computers.
Petra continues to build on their sing-along arena rock style with even more synthesizer and electronic drum sounds. Their updated version of “God Gave Rock’n’Roll To You” brings that forward but without the acoustical drama of the original. Its inclusion on this album helped maintain the song as a CCM anthem for yet another generation.
This is the last of Greg X. Volz’s albums with the band before Jon Schlitt took over as lead vocalist. Greg joined Petra for their third album, Washes Whiter Than in 1979, then billed as the “New Improved Petra.”
Beat The System had several tracks that stayed with the band as classics, including “Clean” and “Adonai.”
Track Listing: 1 – Beat The System – 4:22 2 – Computer Brains – 4:01 3 – Clean – 3:01 4 – It Is Finished – 3:52 5 – Voice In The Wind – 4:30 6 – God Gave Rock And Roll To You – 3:54 7 – Witch Hunt – 4:34 8 – Hollow Eyes – 4:03 9 – Speak To The Sky – 4:16 10 – Adonai – 4:42
Credits: Bass Guitar, Synthesizer [Synthesizer Bass], Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Mark Kelly Drums, Percussion – Louie Weaver Keyboards, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – John Lawry Lead Guitar, Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – Bob Hartman Lead Vocals – Greg X. Volz Producer, Recorded By, Mixed By – Jonathan David Brown
White Heart’s second album, Vital Signs was a masterpiece of finely produced songs. The band self-produced, with executive help from Chris Christian. The album was released on Chris Christian’s Home Sweet Home Records.
The opening song, “Sing Unto The Lamb” is a big sounding song that would qualify for a modern major Broadway number. The vocals stay true to this big performance sound all the way through the album, which is one of the things that made White Heart so popular. Standout tracks include the high energy “Carried Away” and power ballad “Let Your First Thought Be Love.”
The album was recorded in Nashville and attracted a who’s who of contributing artists. The closing song, “We Are His Hands” includes a choir with (among others) Bob Farrell (of Farrell and Farrell), Scott Wesley Brown, David Meece, Amy Grant, Steve Green, Russ Taff, Chris Christian and Kathy Troccoli. We Are His Hands was their first number one radio single.
Former lead singer, Scott Douglas went to prison in 1986. White Heart continued on with a new lead singer after this album, Rick Florian who was allegedly promoted from roadie to lead singer all at once. Florian remained in the lead post throughout the rest of White Heart’s existence.
Track Listing:
1 – Sing Unto The Lamb – 3:15
2 – Draw The Line – 4:38
3 – Walking In The Light – 3:56
4 – Carried Away (Safe On The Wings Of The Lord) – 4:19
5 – Quiet Love – 3:52
6 – Following The King – 4:05
7 – Let Your First Thought Be Love – 3:51
8 – Undercover – 3:54
9 – Vital Signs – 3:50
10 – We Are His Hands – 4:13
Credits:
Arranged By – Billy Smiley, Dann Huff, Mark Gersmehl
Arranged By [String Arrangements] – Ronn Huff
Art Direction, Design – Bill Brunt
Bass Guitar – Gary Lunn
Design Concept [Cover Concept] – Bill Brunt, Mark Tucker
Design Concept [Vital Signs Concept] – Kent Hunter
Drums, Percussion – David Huff*
Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Bill Deaton, Brent King, Mike Psanos
Engineer [Assistant] – Doug Sarrett
Executive-Producer – Chris Christian
Graphics [Vital Signs Logo] – Ken Wolgemuth, Ken Wolgemuth
Graphics [White Heart Logo] – Ellen Hodnett, Ellen Hodnett
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Mixed By – Jack Joseph Puig
Photography By – Mark Tucker
Piano, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals – Billy Smiley
Producer – White Heart
Recorded By – Jeff Balding
Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Vocals – Dann Huff
Strings – Carl Gorodetzky, Craig Nelson, Dennis Molchan, Gary Vanosdale, David Boyle*, Pam Vanosdale*, Phyllis Hiltz*, Roy Christensen, The Nashville String Machine, Walt Schwede*
Synthesizer, Piano, Vocals – Mark Gersmehl
Vocals – Scott Douglas
This 1984 Refuge Records sampler dished up some singles/bands we were well aware of such as Daniel Amos and Jerusalem.
Two lesser known artists were Marloe Scott Wilson and Peter Beveridge and there were three artists that don’t appear to have ever been released elsewhere, Communique, Christian Gonzales, and Dave Eastman.
All in all a good sampler of hits from the era.
Tracklist
1 – Jerusalem – Let’s Go – 3:42
2 – Daniel Amos – Home Permanent – 3:05
3 – Semaja – Hey Friend – 4:14
4 – Jan Groth – Lie Is Not Truth – 4:05
5 – Marloe Scott Wilson – Love Explosion – 3:91
6 – Peter Beveridge – No Doubt In This Love – 3:86
7 – Communique – A New Song – 3:86
8 – Christian Gonzales – What Ever’s Happ’nin’ – 3:33
9 – Daniel Band – Here I Am – 3:03
10 – Dave Eastman – The Power Of Love – 3:76
For a church-goin’ teenager in the 80s, Amy Grant’s albums were almost required listening. Along with musicians like Michael W Smith and David Meece, she helped fill out the actual ‘pop’ corner of CCM.
Amy’s music had a broad appeal. Parents liked the positive lyrics sung by a friendly, wholesome girl-next-door; youth choir directors liked both the lyrics and the quality of the music. And teens, I think, appreciated that her music sounded different than any easy listening Christian music they’d heard before. Here was a Christian pop singer with just enough of an edge to make a sheltered teen feel a tiny bit rebellious. (Okay. Maybe that was just me.)
On to the album itself. For the most part, the songs of Straight Ahead have aged well. There are some recognizably 80s synth settings and electric guitar stylings, and the fade-to-black endings stuck out a little, but nothing sounded as dated as I thought it might. And whatever you think of the style, the production values are fantastic. This is a well-engineered recording of a tight band. Amy’s vocals are always good, with clarity of enunciation and sound, and lyric-appropriate colour and shading.
Track Listing:
1 – Where Do You Hide Your Heart 3:56
2 – Jehovah 5:56
3 – Angels Watching Over Me 4:10
4 – Straight Ahead 3:47
5 – Thy Word 3:21
6 – It’s Not A Song 3:27
7 – Open Arms 3:23
8 – Doubly Good To You 3:13
9 – Tomorrow 3:23
10 – The Now And The Not Yet 3:37
Credits:
Arranged By [Strings] – Alan Moore (3)
Art Direction – Dennis Hill (6)
Engineer – Jack Joseph Puig
Engineer [Additional] – Daniel Garcia*, Gene Eichelberger, Jim Baird*, Jerry Mahler, Kevin Burns, Steve Ford
Executive-Producer – Dan Harrell, Gary Chapman, Michael Blanton
Photography By [Amy’s photos] – Aaron Rapoport
Photography By [Traffic light] – Michael Borum*
Producer – Brown Bannister
This was the first of two albums from Justus. Justice were brothers Rod and Kevin Pahl and Donny Hackett.
Other than that I know very little about the band. The album was on Tunesmith records and to the best of my knowledge only released in Canada.
The album is a new wave rock mix and is very good. The band was tight and the production quality is quite high which is surprising as Tunesmith was not really known for having high quality production.
Note: although I always had thought that “Justus” was just a play on the words “Just Us” there’s more to it. It’s a reference to a person named “Jesus Justus” who the Apostle Paul gives a shoutout to in the greeting section of his letter to the Colossians.
Track Listing:
1 – Face The Music – 4:00
2 – Never Let You Down – 3:52
3 – What Are We Doing Here – 2:53
4 – Quarter To Two – 3:15
5 – Just Keep Running – 4:25
6 – Don’t Turn Away – 3:17
7 – Won’t Let Go – 2:30
8 – Surrender – 4:15
9 – Take Me Home – 3:45
10 – Suicidal Teens – 3:05
Credits:
Songwriter, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals – Rod Pahl
Songwriter, Drums, Keyboards, Vocals – Kevin Pahl
Songwriter, Bass, Keyboards, Lead Vocals – Donny Hackett
Co-producer – Brian Campbell
Engineer – Brian Campbell
Mixed By – Brian Campbell
Producer – Pahl Hackett
Album Photography – Joshua Berson
In 1984 The Keep (then Scepter) recorded this demo to sell at their concerts.
The concerts were very well received and from what I’ve heard the cassette sold well. Most of the tracks appear on their album but there are a couple previously unheard tracks.
The tracks that also appear on the album have slightly different arrangements here. I have done everything I can to improve the quality but bear in mind this is from a cassette recorded in 1984.
Track Listing:
1 – Eye In The Sky
2 – Presence
3 – Nero
4 – Hang On
5 – Physical Evidence
6 – Forgiven Again
7 – Star
Credits:
Joseph Madden – Lead Guitar, Rythym Guitar, Vocals,
Wendell Koop – Vocals, Rythym Guitar,
Gilbert Vielfaure – Drums
Darrell Reimer – Bass Guitar
Engineer – Jon Stevens, Chris McPherson
Produced by Jon Stevens, Chris McPherson, Sceptor
This 1984 release from DeGarmo & Key featured more of what we expected from them.
Strong guitar tracks with keyboard support are the sound they followed. This album, while good, did not particularly stand out from the others and is considered a “fill in” album by some.
Personally I think it was a good stand alone album. Strangely the album offered a cover of Are You Ready by Pacific Gas & Electric which actually works pretty good.
Point of trivia is that the album cover changed slightly between first and subsequent pressings with the lettering of the band name switching from white to black.
Track Listing:
1 – Are You Ready – 3:17
2 – Rejoice – 3:31
3 – It’s A Shame – 3:24
4 – Alleluia, Christ Is Coming – 2:43
5 – Everyday’s A Celebration – 2:42
6 – Blessed Messiah – 3:46
7 – Perfect Reflection – 3:45
8 – He Has Risen – 2:48
9 – Six, Six, Six – 3:49
10 – Man Of His Word – 3:46
11 – Dear Friend – 1:40
Credits:
Bass, Vocals – Tommy Cathey
Drums, Vocals – Greg Morrow
Producer, Guitar, Lead Vocals – Dana Key
Producer, Keyboards, Vocals – Eddie DeGarmo
Vocals [Kid] – Breckon DeGarmo, Brian Tarrell, Shannon DeGarmo
Written-By – E. Allen* (tracks: 1), D. Key* (tracks: 2 to 11), D. Robbins* (tracks: 8), E. DeGarmo* (tracks: 2 to 11), M. Hill* (tracks: 1)
This appears to be the only thing ever released from Urgent. It has a normal mid 80’s Rock/Pop sound with vocal flavours of Scandal.
While only 5 tracks long the album/ep has a nice feel and structure to it. I’m actually kind of surprised that a record label didn’t pick them up and do a full album. I know what was out at the time and this definitely ranked above some of the stuff I heard.
Track Listing:
1 – Not Ashamed Of Love
2 – No Secrets
3 – Hands From Heaven
4 – Don’t Run
5 – Counting The Days
Credits:
Producer – Russ Kirkland
David C. Brown – Drums
Kerwin Hickey – Guitar
Kristy Hickley – Vocals
Dennis Roberts – Bass
Glenn Winslow – Keys
This was the 2nd album from Kerry Livgren after he and Dave Hope left Kansas.
While Kansas headed into obscurity Kerry Livgren’s Christian music career was just starting to take off. While most of the band members had connections to Kansas the album really doesn’t have much of a Kansas sound.
It has almost a funkier sound and features a brass section. Livgren wanted to have the band perform under the name AD, but the record label insisted he attach his name to the album making for a rather odd name for the band.
Track Listing:
1 – Time Line 4:04
2 – Tonight 4:53
3 – Make Or Break It 3:49
4 – Take Us To The Water 4:28
5 – Beyond The Pale 3:33
6 – New Age Blues 3:54
7 – Slow Motion Suicide 4:46
8 – High On A Hill 3:52
9 – Life Undercover 3:27
10 – Welcome To The War 4:11
Credits:
Art Direction – Ken Marcellino
and, Bass Guitar – Dave Hope
Band, Drums, Percussion – Dennis Holt
Band, Guitar [Guitars], Keyboards, Programmed By [DMX Prog.], Bass – Kerry Livgren
Band, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion – Michael Gleason
Band, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Woodwind [Woodwinds], Harmonica – Warren Ham
Concept By [Front Concept] – Ken Marcellino, Kerry Livgren, Mark Ferjulian, Rick Griffin
Engineer [Assisted By] – Davy Moire (tracks: 10), Michael Gleason
Executive-Producer – Budd Carr, Ken Marcellino, Mark Ferjulian
Illustration [Front Cover], Design [Logo] – Rick Griffin
Management – Ken Marcellino, Mark Ferjulian
Mastered By – Glen Meadows
Photography By [Back Cover] – Mark Tucker
Producer [Produced By], Engineer [Engineered By] – Kerry Livgren
