This was our final offering from Hank and it followed very closely with his previous work. The hard Rock style he was known for continued. Over his 3 albums the band didn’t seem to mature but for me this is a positive as I loved their sound and still love it today. Apparently Hank got disillusioned with Tunesmith records so this is the end. Not many artists even lasted 3 albums with Tunesmith so he should be commended for trying to make it work. It is probably a testament to how bad he wanted people to hear his music as it’s doubtful he was getting paid what was coming to him.
Tracklist 1 – Dying to Love You – 5:25 2 – Don’t Give Up – 3:30 3 – Plenty of Time – 3:53 4 – Change Your Life – 3:53 5 – Directions – 3:52 6 – Be a Shining Light – 5:31 7 – A Time for Anger – 4:02 8 – Till We Had Jesus – 4:34 9 – Keep Livin’ – 3:57 10 – Family of God – 4:30
Credits Bass, Vocals – Joe Burriola Cover Art – Dave Nadler Cover Photo – Tom Gaskill Drums, Lead Vocals – Hank Laake Engineer – Dennis Dyer, Tom Tucker Guitar – Dan Brown Guitar, Vocals – Terry Fitzsimmons Piano – Melody Dyer Producer – Hank Laake Synthesizer – Todd Toulouse, Joseph Dunn, Melody Dyer, Josef Laake
Companies, etc. Distributed By – Praise Industries Corp. Record Company – Tunesmith
This is a fun little EP by a band out of Hawaii and I think they may be the only CCM band I have heard of as being from Hawaii. Anyway it’s a self produced effort and it’s pretty good. Their pop sound is strong and aside from some weak lyrics on a few tracks I really think one of the labels should have picked them up for at least a one album deal. I really like Mariko Martinez’s keyboard work and for that reason alone it should have got a deal. Anyway, they didn’t and this is all we would get from them. So many good bands in the 80’s just never got the chance they deserved. Apparently the cassette version has 4 bonus live tracks but I have read that they are pretty poorly recorded so perhaps it’s best we don’t have that version. Give them a listen, you might be pleasantly surprised at this self produced effort.
Tracklist 1 – Red White And Blue – 4:44 2 – When The Lord Comes Back – 4:04 3 – Not Tough Enough – 4:08 4 – Life With The Lord – 5:04 5 – Power And Might – 3:12 6 – You’ve Got To Know – 5:56
Credits Bass, Vocals – Ronald P. Simmons Drums, Percussion – Bret Kik Keys Keyboards, Synthesizer, Vocals – Mariko Martinez Lead Guitar, Vocals – Robert Giverink Lead Vocals, Guitar – Doug Morris Lead Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards – Dave Chumchal Engineer, Producer – Randy Bluer
Companies, etc. Recorded At – Songwriters Dream Studios Manufactured By – Greenworld Distribution Marketed By – Greenworld Distribution
This was Sheila’s 6th studio album and by this time she knew what she was doing. This album has a very pop sound and her vocals are very strong. One of my favorite things about Walsh’s work was that she did not try to sound like Amy Grant. I won’t go into any names but so many female artists in this time were just trying to sound like Amy in a reach for her success. In all fairness this was probably pushed by the record companies too. But not Sheila, you could never mistake her vocals for anyone else. The CCM magazine single was “Jesus Call Your Lambs” which is actually a duet with Cliff Richards. It reached #9 on their charts but the real single was “We’re All One” which did very well on the radio charts. It is actually a cover of a 1978 Bryn Haworth song and it was also released on Steve Taylor’s Transatlantic Remixes project. For that release it was heavily remixed by Michael Omartian and that version remains one of my favourite songs of the 80’s. This probably comes in as my favorite Walsh album but most fans don’t rank it that high.
Tracklist 1 – Don’t Hide Your Heart – 4:04 2 – Under The Gun – 3:58 3 – Jesus Call Your Lambs – 4:05 4 – Alpha Omega – 3:20 5 – You’ll Never Be The Same – 4:22 6 – Light Across The World – 3:27 7 – We’re All One – 3:28 8 – It’s All For You – 4:44 9 – Not Guilty – 4:55 10 – Thief In The Night – 4:19
Credits Backing Vocals – Annie McCaig, Chris Eaton, Cliff Richard, Joe Chemay, Kin Bassey, London Community Gospel Choir, Mark Williamson, Mo Turner, Sheila Walsh, Terry Williams Bass – Abraham Laboriel, Andy Pask Brass, Percussion – Craig Pruess Drums – Graham Jarvis, Paul Leim Guitar – Michael Landau, Phil Manzanera, Rick Fenn Keyboards – Craig Pruess Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Michael Omartian Percussion – Dave Mattacks Saxophone – Gary Herbig, Mel Collins Strings – Trevor Smith
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Sparrow Corporation Recorded At – Gallery Studios Recorded At – Lion Share Recording Studios Mixed At – Gallery Studios Mixed At – Lion Share Recording Studios Mastered At – Future Disc
This is Justo Almario’s 3rd album. It is part of the ongoing Meadowlark Records series of easy listening albums. This is a strong Jazz album that may have slipped by you in the 80’s if you are a Jazz fan as these Meadowlark albums weren’t very well promoted. This one however must have had some success as it has been re-released 3 times. I’m not a fan of Jazz or easy listening but I’ll admit there is a couple tracks on here I quite liked. Perusing the credits I noticed that most of Koinonia was on the album at some point. Good work guys.
Tracklist 1 – Sharing – 6:08 2 – Song For Lea – 6:11 3 – Forever Friends – 5:05 4 – Siciliano – 3:13 5 – Beautiful – 5:05 6 – Skipping Pebbles – 4:14 7 – To The Praise – 3:50 8 – My Love – 3:50
Credits Acoustic Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith Arranged By, Conductor – Abraham Laboriel (tracks: B4), Jimmy Tanaka (tracks: A1 to B2), Justo Almario (tracks: B3) Bass – Abraham Laboriel, Larry Klein Bass [Melody Bass] – Abraham Laboriel Design – Buddy Jackson Drum [Log Drum] – Jimmy Tanaka Drum Programming [Rhythm Programming] – Alex Acuna Drums – Alex Acuna, Bill Maxwell Electric Piano [Rhodes] – Jimmy Tanaka, Russell Ferrante Engineer – Win Kutz Engineer [Assistant Engineer] – Matthew Warnick Flute – Justo Almario Flute [Pan Flute] – Alex Acuna Guitar – Abraham Laboriel, Hadley Hockensmith Lyricon – Justo Almario Percussion – Alex Acuna, Bill Maxwell Photography By – Mark Tucker Piano [Acoustic Piano] – Jimmy Tanaka, Russell Ferrante Producer – Bill Maxwell Producer [Associate Producer] – Jimmy Tanaka, Justo Almario Soprano Saxophone – Justo Almario Synthesizer – Russell Ferrante Synthesizer [DX-7] – Jimmy Tanaka Tenor Saxophone – Justo Almario Vocals – Bill Maxwell, Jimmy Tanaka, Justo Almario
Companies, etc. Manufactured By – The Sparrow Corporation Marketed By – The Sparrow Corporation Distributed By – The Sparrow Corporation Designed At – Jackson Design Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Sparrow Corporation Recorded At – Monterey Sound Studios Mixed At – Monterey Sound Studios
Is their a more powerful or intense female vocalist in the world than Lone Justice’s Maria McKee. If there is I have never heard her. Once the opening question, “Should I go North?” is belted out at full velocity this amazing record never loses ferocity and passion. All this is wrapped up in cowpunk like country rock the defies comparison. The first single “Ways to Be Wicked” penned by Tom Petty was sorely misunderstood by many in Christian market that ventured out and bought the project based on reviews in many Christian Music publications. But one cut from the album, the finale, “You Are the Light” found its way onto many Christian Rock radio shows as well as Orange County’s famous KYMS. The beautiful country tinged ballad is a stunning and memorable tune reminiscent of Patsy Cline. Stark, stunning and instantly emotional and authentic. They would follow this with the more commercial and “Christian” sounding album, “Shelter,” that will be discussed later.
Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/
Tracklist 1 – East Of Eden – 2:36 2 – After The Flood – 3:38 3 – Ways To Be Wicked – 3:26 4 – Don’t Toss Us Away – 4:19 5 – Working Late – 2:44 6 – Sweet, Sweet Baby (I’m Falling) – 4:10 7 – Pass It On – 3:38 8 – Wait ‘Til We Get Home – 3:17 9 – Soap, Soup And Salvation – 4:01 10 – You Are The Light – 3:59
Credits Art Direction – Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff, Paula Greif Bass – Marvin Etzioni Design – Jeri McManus Drums – Don Heffington Engineer – Shelly Yakus Guitar – Ryan Hedgecock Management – Carlyne Majer Mastered By – Stephen Marcussen Mixed By – David Thoener (tracks: B4), Don Smith (tracks: A1 to A3, A5, B2, B3), Greg Edward (tracks: A4, B1, B5), Shelly Yakus (tracks: A1 to A3, A5, B2, B3) Photography By – Deborah Turbeville Piano, Organ – Benmont Tench Producer – Jimmy Iovine Production Manager [Coordinator] – Janet Weber Recorded By – Greg Edward (tracks: A4, B1, B2), Joe Chiccarelli (tracks: A3, B3), Shelly Yakus (tracks: A1, A2, A5, B5), Thom Panunzio (tracks: B4) Vocals – Maria McKee
Companies, etc. Distributed By – WEA Music Of Canada, Ltd. Manufactured By – WEA Music Of Canada, Ltd. Recorded At – Power Station Recorded At – Sunset Sound Recorded At – Amigo Studios Recorded At – Rumbo Recorders Overdubbed At – Sunset Sound Overdubbed At – The Village Recorder Overdubbed At – Amigo Studios Overdubbed At – Rumbo Recorders Overdubbed At – Studio 55, Los Angeles Mastered At – Precision Lacquer Mixed At – The Village Recorder Mixed At – Rumbo Recorders Mixed At – Sound City Studios
This self released 7″ with 4 tracks is the initial release from “The Lead”. By keeping the songs short they actually fit 4 tracks on it. # of the tracks are good quality punk tracks and 1 track leans towards the thrash metal that they would be better known for. In my opinion their punk is much better than their Thrash but they decided they wanted to go the Thrash route. I also think Nina Llopis vocals were better than Julio Rey’s but in the end we would hear more of Julio than Nina. I really don’t care for their later work but I will admit I really liked this 7″ release.
Tracklist 1 – It’s Thru You – 1:40 2 – Better Off – 2:02 3 – Get Out Of My Face – 1:42 4 – Question What Authority? – 2:04
Credits Drums, Percussion – Robbie Christie Guitar, Vocals – Julio Rey Mastered By – Mike Fuller Producer, Engineer – Mike McNamee Producer, Graphics – The Lead Vocals, Bass – Nina Llopis
Companies, etc. Recorded At – Sync Studios Mastered At – Criteria Recording Studios
A lot of 70’s fans of Deliverance don’t even know that Paul Janz went on to have a successful solo career after Deliverance dissolved. They might further be surprised that he went on to release 4 albums in the secular market. This is the first of those 4 albums. This album was released in Canada (Paul’s home country), the U.K., Greece, and Japan. It was not released in the United States. It did very well in the Canadian market with the first single making it to #29 on the Canadian Charts. “Don’t Cry Tonight”, “High Strung”, and “Close My Eyes” were also released as singles but did not do better than #85. Now a quick warning that if you are expecting a Deliverance sound you won’t get it and no one from Deliverance appears anywhere on this album other than Paul. Instead this is a straight up 80’s pop album. I will be honest that I remember it playing on Canadian radio and I honestly never made the connection to Deliverance until many years later. It should be noted that Paul did not turn on his faith but instead just changed himself to the category of a Christian artist as opposed to an artist doing Christian music.
Tracklist 1 – High Strung – 3:40 2 – Don’t Cry Tonight – 5:32 3 – Close My Eyes – 4:16 4 – Solid Ground – 3:38 5 – All I Have – 4:25 6 – Go To Pieces – 3:21 7 – Suggestions Of Love – 4:17 8 – Cover To Cover – 3:55 9 – Right From The Start – 3:47 10 – Waiting – 4:00
Credits Bass – Doug Edwards, Peter Clark (tracks: B1) Drums – Chris Taylor (tracks: B1), Darryl Burgess, Jim Vallance (tracks: A3,A4,B3) Guitar – David Sinclair, Harris Van Berkel Keyboards [Main] – Dave Pickell Organ – Robbie King (tracks: A4) Percussion – Jim McGillveray (tracks: A1, B2), Ken Chalmers (tracks: B1, B3) Saxophone – Tom Colclough (tracks: A3) Vocals, Percussion, Keyboards, Effects – Paul Janz
Companies, etc. Manufactured By – A&M Records Of Canada Limited Distributed By – A&M Records Of Canada Limited
Though promoted heavily as a band featuring two members of the classic Southern Rock band, Lynard Skynard, Vision was really driven by the guitar and vocals of Rocco Marshall. Lynard Skynard pianist Billy Powell lends both credibility and chops as the piano is a central force and Powell delivers. The comparisons to Skynard are not quite as accurate as is something more akin to 38 Special and even Kansas as there are some very progressive moments included. More pop infused than Skynard Southern funk, Vision was unfortunately short lived. Heartland records did not survive very long and seemed unable to introduce the band to the CCM world at large. This should not keep the reader from doing whatever possible to track down a copy of the CD which has been recently released. This is another AYSO!
Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/
Tracklist 1 – Dynamos – 4:10 2 – Lord Is My Joy – 3:45 3 – Old Man – 3:19 4 – Dedicated – 3:40 5 – Soldiers Song – 3:40 6 – Standing On The Rock – 4:25 7 – Don’t Say It’s Over – 3:54 8 – Psalm 23 – 3:52 9 – You Are My Only Lord – 3:24 10 – You’re The One – 3:17
Credits Bass – Greg McNeily (tracks: A5, B3), Martin Tomlinson Design – Stephen Wells Drums, Vocals – Mike Maple Engineer [Assistant] – Andy Deganahl, Chuck Kjergaard, Shawn Hurley Mastered By – Mike Fuller Photography By – John Petrey Piano – Billy Powell Producer, Engineer – Greg McNeily Saxophone – Keith Holmes Synthesizer – David Jinright Synthesizer [Additional] – George Atwell Vocals, Guitar – Rocco Marshall Vocals, Guitar, Violin – Leonard Jones
Companies, etc. Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc. Recorded At – New Covenant Ministries Overdubbed At – Starke Lake Studios Mastered At – Criteria Recording Studios Mixed At – The Full Sail Dream Machine
Not to be outdone by Bob Geldof and the Band Aid project, Steve Camp decided the CCM bands needed to do something similar. As a project this is quite amazing. The collection of artists is the Who’s Who of the industry. It’s actually quite astonishing how many he brought together. This project would have been much harder than it’s secular version. The secular record industry has limitless money to make things like this work but the Christian scene has always been tightly budgeted and just the cost of flying everyone in would have been tremendous. All in all I think they all need to be commended for a job well done. I do have one criticism however and that is the song itself. The song was written by Steve and unfortunately it just comes off as a copy of the Band Aid project but in his defence these songs are essentially choirs so there’s only so much you can do. Steve was a great songwriter and I just wish he had put together a bit of a better song. The album had the final studio version on one side and a commentary/interview version on side B. There was also a music video released and it is included in the above playlist.
Tracklist 1 – Do Something Now! – 5:15 2 – Do Something Now! (With Commentary) – 13:05 3 – Do Something Now! (Music Video) – 11:54
Credits Choir – Amy Fletcher, Angie Lewis, Billy Crockett, Billy Sprague, Bob Farrell, Bobby Jones And NewLife, Brown Bannister, Cam Floria, Candy Hemphill, Chris Christian, Connie Scott, David Meece, Dennis Agajanian, DMB Band, Doug Oldham, Ed DeGarmo, Flo Price, Found Free, Gary Chapman, Gary McSpadden, Geoff Moore, Glad, Glenn Kaiser, Gloria Gaither, Jim Murray, John Fischer, Karen Kelly, Kim Perry, Lanny Wolfe, Larry Bryant, Lisa Whelchel, Michael Card, Morgan Cryar, Owen Brock, Pam Mark Hall, Pete Carlson, Rick Cua, Rob Frazier, Robin Crow, Rusty Goodman, Sherman Andrus, Shirley Caesar, Silverwind, Steve Green, Sue Dodge, Tami Gunden, Bill Gaither Directed By [Uncredited] – Cam Floria Lead Vocals, Choir – Amy Grant Lead Vocals, Choir [Uncredited] – Second Chapter Of Acts, Dana Key, Evie Karlsson, Jessy Dixon, Kathy Troccoli, Larry Norman, Matthew Ward, Michele Pillar, Mylon LeFevre, Phil Keaggy, Russ Taff, Sandi Patti, Scott Wesley Brown, Sheila Walsh, Steve Taylor Producer [Choir Tracks, Uncredited] – Greg Nelson, Jack Joseph Puig Producer, Arranged By, Synthesizer [Arrangement, Uncredited], Lead Vocals, Choir – Steve Camp Synthesizer [Arrangement, Uncredited] – John Rosasco Written-By – P. Madeira, S. Camp
Companies, etc. Distributed By – Sparrow Distribution Published By – Birdwing Music Copyright (c) – Compassion International
When I first listened to this album I didn’t really think there would be anything interesting to write about but I was surprised that the story of this performer is actually quite interesting. This performers real name was Richard Douglas Trowbridge Souther. He put out both albums on piano and synth. On his piano albums he used the name Douglas Trowbridge and on his synth albums he used the name Richard Souther. This being a piano album we’re listening to Douglas Trowbridge. Anyway this album is a nice piano instrumental album that may lull you to sleep but he is definitely a good pianist. Apparently the whole album was played on a 1940 Steinway. It’s a good album but don’t listen to it while operating heavy machinery.
Tracklist 1 – Daybreak Communion – 3:36 2 – A Most Remarkable Meeting – 3:48 3 – Beyond The Shadows – 4:44 4 – Unending Melody – 2:08 5 – Where Dreams Are Born – 3:33 6 – For A Season – 2:44 7 – Finlandia – 3:57 8 – Matters Of The Heart – 2:25 9 – Upon His Arrival – 2:35 10 – The Farewell – 5:58
Credits Arranged By – Douglas Trowbridge Composed By – Douglas Trowbridge (tracks: A1 to B1, B3 to B5), J. Sibelius (tracks: B2) Design – Buddy Jackson Engineer – Bernie Kirsh Engineer [Assistant] – Ira Rubnitz Mastered By – Bernie Kirsh, Steve Hall Photography By – Mark Tucker Piano [Improvisation] – Douglas Trowbridge Producer – Peter York
Companies, etc. Record Company – Capitol Records Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Sparrow Corporation Copyright (c) – Birdwing Music Published By – Birdwing Music Recorded At – Mad Hatter Studios Mastered At – Future Disc Designed At – Jackson Design Manufactured By – The Sparrow Corporation Marketed By – The Sparrow Corporation Distributed By – The Sparrow Corporation
