Checo Tohomaso was a studio and touring musician for several R&B stars throughout the 70’s and 80’s. He has worked with the likes of Marvin Gaye, The Commodores, and Lionel Ritchie. He was in the band “Nova” who had a successful non gospel album in 1980. In 1985 Checo decided to release his own gospel album. Chico performed all the instruments on the album making it truly a solo effort. The album was well received and in his travels after putting out the album he ended up in Vancouver Canada for Expo 86. He continues his ministry in Vancouver Canada doing both music teaching as well as preaching the gospel.
Tracklist
1 – Come On Children,Let’s Praise The Lord – 3:35
2 – Magnify The Lord – 3:56
3 – If You Ask Anything – 3:46
4 – Love,Joy,Peace,Kindness – 2:40
5 – Keep In Touch – 4:50
6 – True Love – 3:58
7 – Sing Hallelujah,Praise The Lord – 3:02
8 – Psalm 121 – 4:21
9 – Don’t Let The Devil Rip You Off – 3:50
10 – Thank You Jesus,I’m Free – 3:00
Credits
Bass – Checo Tohomaso
Co-producer – Robert Benson
Engineer – Robert Benson
Lead Vocals – Checo Tohomaso
Percussion – Checo Tohomaso
Photography – Rob D’Estrubé
Piano – Checo Tohomaso
Producer – Checo Tohomaso
Synth – Checo Tohomaso
Covenant is another band I know nothing about. Usually I try to avoid releasing bands I don’t know until I know something about them but in this case I wanted to get this album out there. I love this album. It has that early 80’s raw feel like a Servant or Barnabas. The album is well produced but the raw sound comes through and I love it. I’m sure this description will be updated once someone tells me about the band. Do you know them?
Tracklist
1 – Ending Of Time
2 – Traps
3 – Don’t Give Up
4 – He’s There
5 – Out From The Dark
6 – Hustler
7 – A Special Friend
8 – Tough Guy
9 – Give Your Life To The Lord
10 – It’s All Gonna Burn
This 1985 release from Darrell is probably one of if not his best album. This album definitely had a hard rock feel that made it stand out from his previous albums. While it is difficult to name singles on any christian album this album had plenty. Darrell brought in some outside talent for this album. Guitarist Paul Gilbert joins the band for two tracks, “After The Storm” and “Jesus Will Reign”. Harmonica player Rod Piazza joins in on “Don’t Let Them Stand In Your Way”. I always found it interesting that one of the greatest harmonica players in the world would invite another harmonica player to work on his album. The album was re-released in 1987 on CD but does not appear to have been remastered as I found a noise that is both on the vinyl and CD release. As it is on a silent section it would have been removed in a remaster. The album was yet again re-released in 2012 but this time as an Expanded Edition. It includes 7 bonus live tracks recorded at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa California in 1988. These tracks appear all be from Darrell’s 1988 “Live” release which is an album I’ve never even seen for sale.
Tracklist
1 – Thunder ‘N Lightning – 4:46
2 – After The Storm – 4:42
3 – Runnin’ – 2:57
4 – Give It Up – 3:41
5 – Bible Study – 4:21
6 – Jesus Will Reign – 4:29
7 – Tokyo – 3:46
8 – Don’t Let Them Stand In Your Way – 3:46
9 – Waiting – 6:02
Expanded Edition Bonus Tracks
10 – Lay Down This World – 3:31
11 – No More Blues – 4:08
12 – Runnin’ – 2:45
13 – Thunder ‘N Lightning – 5:22
14 – Heaven Southwestern – 9:14
15 – Jesus Will Reign – 4:31
16 – Bible Study – 8:41
Credits
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Kenny Samuels*
Bass – Darrel Cooke*
Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Jeff Nicholson (4)
Drums, Backing Vocals – Greg Eckler
Drums, Percussion – Terl Bryant
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Bob Anglin, Eric Turner (2)
Harmonica – Rod Piazza (tracks: B3)
Lead Guitar – Paul Gilbert (tracks: A2, B1)
Lead Vocals, Harmonica – Darrell Mansfield
Mastered By [Runout Etching] – JM*
Painting – Rick Griffin (2)
Producer – Darrell Mansfield, Doug Doyle, Eric Turner (2)
Producer, Engineer – Wally Grant
Companies, etc.
Recorded At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.
Mixed At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.
Mastered At – Motown Recording Studios
Axia was a great Swedish metal band and this EP was their entry into the market. The EP was released in very limited numbers but the band re-released it in 2009 on CD. If you liked their 1988 self titled release you’ll like this EP. It has a bit of a rawer sound but it suits the band well.
Tracklist
1 – Increasing Action – 2:29
2 – Forced Into Darkness – 4:38
3 – Never Ending Love – 3:33
4 – The Savage Ramblers – 3:07
Credits
Peo Pettersson – Vocals
Morgan Blomquist – Guitars
Niclas Ericson – Bass
Michael Alexandersen – Drums
Modern Mission was a little known mid 80’s New Wave band. The album is very strong lyrically with some very “challenging” lyrics. Brian Quincy Newcomb of CCM wrote that the band “may only do one thing, but they do it quite well.” The members of the band are somewhat cryptic as only one member was identified by his real name. The album credits state that John Mehler was involved in the project.
Tracklist
1 – The Race
2 – Time Is Running Out
3 – Stick To Your Guns
4 – Through The Fire
5 – Hide My Heart
6 – Never Let Me Go
7 – Magazine
8 – Time To Fight
9 – When Heaven’s Crying
10 – Believe In You
Credits Arranged By – John Mehler, Modern Mission Producer – Gord Driver* Recorded By, Mixed By – Gord Driver*
Credits Arranged By – John Mehler, Modern Mission Producer – Gord Driver Recorded By, Mixed By – Gord Driver Vocals – Iggy Guitar – Dave Newman Bass – Sugarbear Drums – Zac
This Carman release from 1985 is one of his albums that stands out. Not so much because of the music but because of one song. The title track is more of a spoken word story than a song that people either loved or hated. Personally I was neither here nor there on it. The track did single at #28 but only stayed on the charts for 8weeks. The real single was Revive Us, Oh Lord which actually climbed to #2 and was on the charts for 24 weeks. Fear Not My Child also singled climbing to #24. There were a couple names on the backing vocals, Marty McCall from Fireworks and Paul Smith of the Imperials. The CD has a bonus track “Love Can” (included here). It was put as the second last track of the CD as I’m guessing they wanted the title track as the last track on both the CD and the Vinyl.
Tracklist
1 – Prepare To Die – 5:20
2 – Abundance Of Rain – 3:36
3 – Revive Us, Oh Lord – 3:47
4 – A Little Bit More Conviction – 4:34
5 – It Happened To Me – 3:24
6 – The Destination Is There – 3:57
7 – Fear Not My Child – 4:55
8 – Love Can – 5:40
9 – The Champion – 8:39
Credits
Arranged By [Strings] – Bruce Koblish (tracks: 7), Ronn Huff (tracks: 5, 9)
Art Direction, Design – Joan Tankersley
Backing Vocals – Bonnie Keen, Marty McCall, Melody Tunney*, Patti Morris, Paul Smith (22)
Bass – Jimmie Lee Sloas (tracks: 1), Mike Brignardello (tracks: 2 to 9)
Coordinator [Choir] – Dan Jones (tracks: 9)
Coordinator [Producer’s Assistant] – Brett Perry
Drum Programming [Linn Drum] – Mark Hammond
Drums – Mark Hammond
Engineer [Assistant] – Allan Henry, Bill Heath, Danny Mundhenk, Jeff Coppage, Ken Criblez
Executive-Producer – Lynn Nichols
Graphics – Lori Cooper
Guitar – Greg Jennings, Jon Goin
Guitar [Solos] – Jon Goin
Keyboards, Programmed By [Synth Programming] – Keith Thomas
Percussion – Terry McMillan
Photography By – Aaron Rapoport Photography
Producer, Arranged By – Keith Thomas
Programmed By [Emulator] – Neal Merick
Recorded By, Mixed By – Jeff Balding
Saxophone – Mark Douthit
Sleeve [Logo Design] – Patrick Pollei
Strings – The Nashville String Machine
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word Communications Ltd.
Manufactured By – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Made By – JVC
Recorded At – Emerald Sound Studios
Recorded At – Bullet Recording
Recorded At – Goldmine East, Brentwood, TN
Recorded At – Hummingbird Studio, Nashville, TN
Mixed At – Bullet Recording
Published By – Some-O-Dat Music
Published By – Dayspring Music
Published By – Birdwing Music
Published By – Word Music
Often it is said “I wish a secular label would have picked up a Christian artist. Well here is a time that did happen. This album is on a secular label. Critique wasn’t the largest label but it was an established secular label. Now if the cover isn’t a tell to the style of this album it’s best described as Rick James meets Prince. Now this is not a style of music I know a lot about but I thought this album was actually OK. It actually caught my attention. The single from the album was “Save The Children” which received some airplay but was really more of a cult favourite. This was the only album from Dwayne until 2011. Anyway I think it’s a pretty good album in a style that was rare in the Christian music scene.
Tracklist
1 – Holy Rock – 3:58
2 – Rockin’ For J.C. – 3:15
3 – Annointed One – 4:00
4 – Devastating Revelation – 3:00
5 – Would You Marry Me – 3:56
6 – Save The Children – 4:20
7 – God Bless America – 4:30
8 – Latter Days – 3:20
9 – Baby, Baby, Baby – 4:27
10 – New Superstar – 4:44
Credits
Arranged By, Producer, Written-By, Instruments, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Dwayne Omarr
Engineer – Jack Pinard, Pat Costa
Executive-Producer – Carl Strube
Producer [Production Assistant] – Richie Kraby
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Critique Records, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Critique Records, Inc.
Published By – Solid Smash Music
Recorded At – Eastern Sound Studios
Mixed At – Eastern Sound Studios
Mastered At – Sterling Sound
Pressed By – Hub-Servall Record Mfg. Corp.
Charizma originally started out as a punk band named “High Voltage”. With the change to hard rock/metal the name changed. In 1985 they were lent $15,000 to cut their first album. This is that album. The studio production was not the best which is a pity because these guys are pretty good. The album leans more hard rock than metal on most tracks and I took a liking to “God Bless Rock’N’Roll” but it is a little repetitive. It’s a song that was begging for a good cover version. This album has some interesting history. It was released in Poland immediately and that version of the album has a different cover. The original Swedish pressing was on white vinyl which is a little odd for a first release. The CD version of the album wasn’t released until 1990 by Magdalene Records who specialized in re-releasing previous hard rock/metal vinyl albums on CD. The CD featured two bonus tracks and they are included in this playlist.
Tracklist
1 – The Knights – 4:44
2 – Free From The World – 4:54
3 – Make Up Your Mind – 5:04
4 – Rock The World – 4:45
5 – God Bless Rock’N’Roll – 3:07
6 – Try It (Feel The Love) – 4:20
7 – On Your Own – 4:25
8 – Won’t Let Me Down – 4:12
9 – Where Do You Stand – 5:02
CD Bonus Tracks
10 – Turn Me On – 4:15
11 – Guardian Angels – 5:36
Credits
Artwork [Cover Painting] – Micke Arwidson
Bass, Lead Vocals – Bosse Nikolausson
Design [Cover Design] – Hakan Isefjord, Janne Nikolausson, Micke Arwidson
Drums, Vocals – Janne Nikolausson
Engineer – Janne Apelholm
Guitar, Vocals – Göran Nikolausson
Keyboards [Special Guest] – Hasse Engström
Photography By – Gunnar Swärd
Producer – Hasse Engström
Companies, etc.
Recorded At – OAL Studio
Distributed By – EMI
Lacquer Cut At – Cutting Room
Pressed By – Audiodisc AB
This is one of the Edin’s from Edin-Ådahl. In 1984/85 both Bertil Edin & Simon Ådahl put out solo albums. This was not due to a break up of the group as the group continued on putting out albums. I’m guessing they both just got that solo album itch. Bertil actually did another solo album in 1994 but I haven’t listened to it yet. This album is slightly different than his Edin-Ådahl offerings but the vocals are easily recognizable. This is a good pop album with my only complaint being that the lyrics struggle a bit but that’s normal as these songs were usually written in Swedish and then translated for the English release. That said this album was released in Sweden in English but does not appear to have been released in Swedish.
Tracklist
1 – Cross The Border – 3:06
2 – Keep The Love Around – 3:20
3 – Don’t Turn Your Back On Me – 3:00
4 – Rainy Weather – 3:56
5 – Like A Motion Picture – 3:08
6 – Soulhealing – 4:07
7 – I Can’t Lose – 3:42
8 – Time To Get Ready – 3:20
9 – Fancy House – 3:18
10 – I’m Waiting For You – 3:35
This live album from Jerusalem was recorded in Shreveport, Louisiana and Dallas, Texas. It was strange in that it features 4 at the time unreleased songs. Usually Live albums are a sort of greatest hits but in this case it was really kind of a fresh album. The tour was to support their “Can’t Stop Us Now” album that had a Pop sound but this album is straight out hard rock. Kind of implies to me that “Can’t Stop Us Now” wasn’t really a good representation of the band. That said I love both albums and this album is one of the better live albums of the 80’s.
Tracklist
1 – In His Majesty’s Service – 4:37
2 – From The Bottom Of Our Heart – 3:32
3 – I’m Waiting For You – 4:06
4 – Read Between The Lines – 5:29
5 – The Tide – 6:06
6 – Ashes In Our Hands – 3:46
7 – Can’t Stop Us Now – 3:59
8 – Time – 6:19
9 – Man Of The World – 4:20
Credits
Bass, Backing Vocals – Peter Carlsohn
Design – Camilla B.
Drums, Backing Vocals – Michael Ulvsgärd
Engineer – Malcolm Harper
Executive-Producer – Ray Nenow
Guitar, Vocals – Ulf Christiansson
Keyboards – Dan Tibell
Photography By – Ulf Nilsson
Producer – Dave Perkins, Jerusalem
Technician – Gordon Garrison, Mason Harlow
Technician [House Sound] – Göran Buller
Written-By – Ulf Christiansson
Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Refuge Records
Copyright (c) – Refuge Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded By – Real Sound Mobile
Mastered At – Sterling Sound
Published By – Snellsong
Produced For – Royal Music Productions
