Tag: 1984

Rez Band (Resurrection Band) – Bootleg – 1984

1984’s offering from Rez Band is a collection from their songs on Sparrow Records, recorded live in Chicago, the band’s hometown. There are three previously unreleased tracks on this album. Gameroom and Playground were new offerings intended to engage with 1980s teen culture.

Quite Enough is a solid blues piece like we had rarely heard from Rez up to this point, but it is clear that the band knows how to put this together and that Glenn Kaiser knows the blues inside and out. The song was on the band’s original demo tape, which was never formally released, and also showed up in a 3 CD compilation released in 1998.

The record is some 42 minutes long, with 6 1/2 minutes of message. Wendi does a ‘rap’ on side one and Glenn closes out side two with his ‘rap’. This seems like a gutsy move for a band that always had closed out their albums with memorable rock songs. Glenn, an ordained minister at JPUSA always made sure to include the gospel in every show, so this should come as no surprise.

There is a blistering live version of White Noise, from D.M.Z. which came out just prior to this release. The live version of Lovin’ You adds extra energy that wasn’t in the studio version, replacing some of the synth sound with a steady bass line.

This is the only official live release other than XX Years Live, which came out in 1992.

Tracklist
1 – Military Man – 4:50
2 – Gameroom – 4:19
3 – Wendi’s Rap – 2:00
4 – Playground – 4:00
5 – Medley – (6:20)
5a Waves
5b Awaiting Your Reply
5c Broken Promises
5d Autograph
5e City Streets
6 – White Noise – 3:57
7 – Quite Enough – 5:03
8 – Area 312 – 3:56
9 – Can’t Stop Lovin’ You – 3:34
10 – Glenn’s Rap – 4:24

Credits
Artwork [Back And Inside Artwork] – Cornerstone Graphics, Dick Randall
Artwork [Front Cover Concept And Art] – Janet Cameron
Bass – Jim Denton
Drums – John Herrin
Engineer – Phil Bonanno, Roger Heiss
Guitar, Keyboards – Stu Heiss
Mastered By – Steve Hail
Photography By – Dick Randall, Pat Peterson, Tom Wray
Producer – Resurrection Band
Synthesizer, Guitar – Jim Denton (tracks: A4)
Vocals – Wendi Kaiser
Vocals, Guitar [Solo] – Glenn Kaiser

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Sparrow Records, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Sparrow Corporation
Published By – Luminar Music
Published By – Rez Band Music
Mixed At – Hedden West Studios
Mixed At – Solid Sound Studios, Hoffman Estates, IL
Mastered At – Future Disc
Recorded LIVE at the Odeum, Chicago, Octorber 21 and 22, 1983

Randy Stonehill – Celebrate This Heartbeat – 1984

Celebrate This Heartbeat starts out with an overture, which really does have a strong orchestral sound that only stops a little bit short of sounding like an outtake from The Nutcracker.

“Who Will Save The Children” is an important song on this record. The liner notes included a sign-up form to sponsor a child. Sally Struthers was working hard to get children sponsored at the time, and Randy had his hat fully in the ring starting around this time.

As usual, Randy gives us a fun song to both entertain us and challenge us on this album
Stop the World / I wanna get off / This place is too weird for me

This album is another polished studio approach from Randy, and a little farther from his rock’n’roll roots than what we were used to hearing. Fortunately we wouldn’t have to wait long for him to come back to the rock style we got to know him for.

Tracklist
1 – Overture: Celebrate This Heartbeat – 3:25
2 – Still, Small Voice – 4:04
3 – Celebrate This Heartbeat – 4:08
4 – Modern Myth – 3:51
5 – Who Will Save The Children – 5:27
6 – When I Look To The Mountains – 3:41
7 – Allison – 3:18
8 – Whatcha Gonna Do About That – 3:19
9 – Stop The World – 4:34
10 – I’ll Remember You – 4:26

Credits
Acoustic Guitar [All Acoustic Guitars] – Randy Stonehill
Arranged By [Rhythm Section And Vocal Arrangements] – Barry, Randy
Art Direction – Tim Alderson
Congas, Bongos, Percussion – Rick Geragi
Electric Guitar [Electric Guitars] – Danny Jacob
Electric Guitar [Electric Twelve String Guitar] – Mark Heard
Engineer [Engineered By] – Mark Heard
Engineer [Second] – Dan Reed
Flute, English Horn – John Clarke
French Horn – Darrel Gardner
Harp – Michael Amorosi
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Oboe – Barbara Northcutt
Orchestrated By, Arranged By, Conductor [Conducted By] – Tom Howard
Photography By – Aaron Rapoport
Piano, Electric Piano [Electric Grand Piano], Synthesizer, Timpani – Tom Howard
Producer [Produced By] – Barry M. Kaye
Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Flute – Jay “Shotgun” Leslie*
Vocals [All Vocals] – Randy Stonehill

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. – Δ26410
Engineered At – Fingerprint Recorders
Mixed At – Fingerprint Recorders
Edited At – Wilder Bros. Studios, Los Angeles
Mastered At – Future Disc
Published By – Stonehillian Music
Published By – Word Music
Published By – Tom Howard Music

Morgan Cryar – Keep No Secrets – 1984

This was Morgan Cryar first commercial release though he previously put out a self published album which is next to impossible to find. This album is a solid pop effort and spawned 4 singles on Christian radio. I have to admit that I hadn’t heard this album in the 80’s though I wish I had. It’s not one of the most thought provoking album of all time but it is fun. Special appearances on the album is Farrell & Farrell and Dave Thrush who is Steve Taylor’s Sax player.

Tracklist
1 – I Get Carried Away – 3:08
2 – Keep No Secrets – 3:53
3 – Someone To Change Me – 3:56
4 – Life In The Blood – 3:32
5 – Holy Fire – 3:55
6 – A Few Of My Old Friends – 3:03
7 – I Wanna Be Good – 2:51
8 – Concealed Weapon – 3:28
9 – Just A Little Like You – 4:21
10 – Made-up Mind – 5:42

Credits
Alto Saxophone – Dave Thrush
Arranged By – John Andrew Schreiner, Jonathan David Brown, Morgan Cryar
Art Direction, Design – Joan Tankersley
Backing Vocals – Bob Farrell, Chris Roberts, Jayne Farrell, Jonathan David Brown, Morgan Cryar
Cymbal [Overdubs] – Scott Cactus Moser
Drum Programming [Oberheim DMX Programming] – Jonathan David Brown
Engineer [Additional] – Brian Tankersley, Dan Yeaney, Greg Butler, Joe Ballamy, Michael C. Ross, Paul Mills, Steve Ford, Todd Van Etten, Wally Grant
Guitar – Marty Walsh
Layout – Lori Cooper
Lead Guitar [Guitar Solo] – Adam Smith
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Other [Hair Styling] – Dru Venable
Other [Make-Up] – Heidi Schulze
Photography – Craig Stewart
Producer – Jonathan David Brown
Programmed By [Keyboard Sequencer Programming] – John Andrew Schreiner
Programmed By [Synclavier Programming] – Paul Mills
Recorded By – Jonathan David Brown
Synthesizer, Programmed By [Fairlight Synthesizer Played And Programmed] – Carl Marsh
Tenor Saxophone – Brandon Fields

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Star Song
Copyright (c) – Star Song
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. – MR 26588
Mastered At – Future Disc
Recorded At – Rivendell Recorders
Recorded At – Mama Jo’s
Recorded At – Peace In The Valley Recording
Recorded At – Weddington Studios
Recorded At – Fireside Studios

Barnabas – Feel The Fire – 1984

This was the 4th release from Barnabas and the lineup remained the same as their previous release (Approaching Light Speed). This is also the line up that would be together until the end in 1986. This album continues their Heavy Metal / Hard Rock / Pop sound. If Barnabas wasn’t known for this sound combo I would probably be annoyed with it but by this album I was used to it. I read a few reviews of this album and was struck by how many said this was their favourite album. Personally after thinking about it I don’t even know which I would pick as my favourite. Anyway it’s another great album from Barnabas.

Tracklist
1 – Prelude – 2:20
2 – The Dream – 2:32
3 – Breathless Wonderment (The Dream Becomes Reality) – 6:48
4 – Hearts – 7:02
5 – Feel The Fire – 5:22
6 – Northern Lights – 3:45
7 – Follow You Up – 5:09
8 – Suite For The Souls Of Our Enemies (Part I – Hammer & Sickle) – 5:03

Credits
Art Direction [Art Director] – Dan Lienart
Artwork [Cover Art] – Kernie Erickson
Bass Guitar, Keyboards – Gary Mann
Drums, Percussion – Kris Klingensmith
Guitar – Brian Belew
Photography By – Randy Taylor
Producer – Tom Tucker
Producer, Arranged By – Barnabas
Vocals – Nancy Jo Mann

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Pressed By – Electrosound Group Midwest, Inc.
Published By – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Recorded At – Triad Studios, Des Moines
Mastered At – Future Disc

Leslie Phillips – Dancing With Danger – 1984

Leslie Phillips drew a lot of comparisons when her sophomore album, Dancing With Danger came out. This one was a lot more bold than her debut, and she stood out well.

Primarily she was tagged as the Cyndi Lauper of Christian music. Being a female redhead new wave artist with a poppy sound might have been enough.

Leslie’s songs were highly entertaining, but also addressed a few topics that her male counterparts were not going to go near. She clearly had a talent for creating memorable and enjoyable music, but also a desire to deepen the message. Leslie addressed the conversation around what we would come to know as ‘purity culture’ long before we were talking about in that way.

The song “Give ’em All You Got (Tonight)” is certainly what she did with every song.

Tracklist
1 – Dancing With Danger – 3:53
2 – I Won’t Let It Come Between Us – 4:36
3 – Strength Of My Life – 5:33
4 – Give ‘Em All You Got (Tonight) – 4:25
5 – By My Spirit – 4:42
6 – Hiding In The Shadows – 3:52
7 – Powder Room Politics – 2:38
8 – Light Of Love – 4:13
9 – Song In The Night – 3:51
10 – Here He Comes With My Heart – 2:46

Credits:
Arranged By – Dann Huff (tracks: A1, A2, A4), Jeff Lams (tracks: A3, A5, B1, B2, B4, B5), John Schreiner (tracks: B3)
Backing Vocals – Buddy Owens, Greg Volz, James Hollihan, Matthew Ward, Russ Taff
Bass – Nathan East
Concept By [Photo] – Bradley Grose
Design – Vigon/Seireeni
Drums – Carlos Vega
Engineer – Jeremy Smith
Engineer [Additional] – Bill Deaton, Bud Wyatt, David Schober, John Early
Engineer [Vocals] – Mike McClain
Executive-Producer – Brad Burkhart
Guitar – Dann Huff
Keyboards – Jeff Lams, John Schreiner
Mastered By – Mike Reese
Percussion – Victor Feldman
Photography By – Aaron Rapoport
Producer – Dan Posthuma
Vocals, Written-By – Leslie Phillips

Companies, etc.:
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Published By – Word Music (2)
Recorded At – Bill Schnee Studios
Recorded At – Studio Southwest
Recorded At – Goldmine Studio, Brentwood, TN
Mixed At – Eagle Audio Recording
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. – △26562

Various – Front Row – 1984

This is a 1984 Refuge Records sampler

Included on this sampler;

Rick Cua – “Changed” from his album No Mystery
Edin-Adahl – “Wake Up” from their album Alibi
Bonnie Bramlett – “White Dove” from her album Step By Step
Per-Erik Hallin – “You Put Another Song In My Heart” from his album Better Late Than Never
Will McFarlane – “That’s How I Know You Called Me” from his album A Colony Of Heaven
Tom Douglas – “Jesus Never Sleeps” which was not released on an album
Forerunner – “Faith Walk” from their album (a.k.a)
Jerusalem – “Time” which was released as a bonus track on the CD release of Can’t Stop Us Now
Lifesavors – “Break In My Head” from their album Dream Life
Bryn Haworth – “Never Give Up On Love” from his album Pass It On
Joe English – “Anthem” from his album The Best Is Yet To Come

Tracklist
1 – Rick Cua – Changed – 3:50
2 – Edin-Adahl – Wake Up – 4:14
3 – Bonnie Bramlett – White Dove – 3:31
4 – Per-Erik Hallin – You Put Another Song In My Heart – 4:13
5 – Will McFarlane – That’s How I Know You Called Me – 3:21
6 – Tom Douglas – Jesus Never Sleeps – 4:10
7 – Forerunner – Faith Walk – 4:04
8 – Jerusalem – Time – 5:50
9 – Lifesavors – Break In My Head – 2:33
10 – Bryn Haworth – Never Give Up On Love – 3:35
11 – Joe English – Anthem – 3:20

The Alarm – Declaration – 1984

This is the first offering from The Alarm and what an offering it was. They had actually released 5 EPs before this album so by the time the album came out many people were familiar with them. Many, if not most of the songs on the album were on those EP’s. The Alarm were still touring as warm up for U2 when this album finally came out and they actually finished the tour with U2. This gave people attending these concerts with what amounted to having two headline acts. The opening track “Declaration” sets the tone for the album letting new listeners they were in for a treat. While “68 Guns” was the huge hit personally I loved “Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke?” This is one of the best albums released in the 80’s and is in my top 20 overall.

Tracklist
1 – Declaration – 0:45
2 – Marching On – 3:35
3 – Where Were You Hiding When The Storm Broke? – 2:56
4 – Third Light – 3:25
5 – Sixty Eight Guns – 5:49
6 – We Are The Light – 3:16
7 – Shout To The Devil – 4:10
8 – Blaze Of Glory – 6:04
9 – Tell Me – 3:14
10 – The Deceiver – 5:05
11 – The Stand (Prophecy) – 1:15
12 – Howling Wind – 6:44

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals – Dave Sharp
Bass Guitar, Electric Guitar, Guitar [Bowed], Vocals – Eddie Macdonald
Design, Art Direction – Michael Ross, Simon Adamcewski
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Twist
Engineer – Chris Porter
Illustration – Robert Mason
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Harmonica – Mike Peters
Photography By – Stephen Oliver
Producer, Keyboards – Alan Shacklock

Mark Williamson Band – Missing In Action – 1984

You might know Mark Williamson Band as Lyrix as they released an album using that name in the U.S. This is the follow up album to that album. At this point they used their original name. As near as I can tell the whole “Lyrix” thing was a Larry Norman bad idea. All that aside lets talk about this album. I love this album and it’s in my top 100. It’s a Rock album for the main part but has Pop overtones on a few tracks. The first 3 tracks are my favourite and get the album off to a great start. As you listen through the album it does get a bit weak by the end but this albums weak songs are stronger than a lot of albums strong tracks.

Tracklist
1 – Come On Over (To My Heart) – 4:26
2 – Missing In Action – 4:27
3 – Really Takes Care – 3:06
4 – The Voice – 4:30
5 – Deception – 4:10
6 – Better Way – 3:25
7 – Seven 8 – 4:12
8 – Give It Up – 3:10
9 – Lifetime Guarantee – 3:29
10 – Where Do We Go From Here – 3:49

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Mark Williamson
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Mark N. Millin
Guitar, Violin, Vocals – Rob Marshall
Keyboards, Vocals – Chris Eaton
Producer – Francis Usmar

Robert Case Band – Recklessly Abandoned – 1984

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 – Beat The System – 1984

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