This is Pam’s 4th and most successful album. It continued the pop sound she adopted earlier in the decade as opposed to her folk sound in the 70’s. I believe this album was produced with the goal of hitting the CCM charts and in this aspect it succeeded with 3 singles. “Unexpected Places” made it to #11, What Can I Do to #15, and Jordan to #27. That’s a pretty successful album. As usual the singles are just a little too worship oriented for my liking but there are some very good pop tracks on this album and that’s what makes the album worth listening for me.
Tracklist 1 – This Is A Test – 3:19 2 – Jesus In The Street – 3:48 3 – Unexpected Places – 2:50 4 – Never Trade My Love – 4:13 5 – Keeper Of The Vision – 4:40 6 – What Can I Do – 3:30 7 – Jordan – 3:42 8 – Determined – 3:09 9 – The Longing – 4:24 10 – Love Conquers Everything – 3:45
Credits Acoustic Guitar – Craig Bickhardt (tracks: 5) Bass – Michael Rhodes Drums, Percussion – Harry Stinson Engineer – John Wiles Executive Producer – Dan Harrell, Michael Blanton Guitar – Kenny Greenberg Keyboards – Gary Primm Producer – Wendy Waldman Rhythm Guitar – Wendy Waldman (tracks: 9) Saxophone, Recorder – Jim Horn
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Reunion Records Copyright (c) – Reunion Records Recorded At – Ten Thirty Studio, Nashville Mixed At – Georgetown Masters
It is amazing to consider that within a year the conclusion of the Alarma Chronicles will be celebrating its 25th anniversary. 25 years ago one of the most impressive, ambitious and amazing four album series came to an end with a work of sheer art. Each album was unique musically with Fearful Symmetry being the darkest, brooding and mysterious of the four. Following the significantly more new wave “pop” of Vox Humana, FS was shocking, intriguing and…well…fearful. The majority of the album deals with darker subjects like death, pain and loss and the musical soundscape of ethereal vocals and sweeping and weeping keyboards envelope the listener in the dark cloud of the content. That is not to say that the album is replete of hope or grace, but actually just the opposite. It is through the valley of this projects the light that does shine through appears that much brighter. Terry Scott Taylor’s admiration of and inspiration by William Blake is the strongest on this project. From the album title to the most haunting song, Sleep Silent Child, the album is filled with images and direct quotations from Blake. The album does close with the stunningly simple and beautiful lullaby or sorts, Beautiful One. This one hearkens back to Taylor’s solo projects with the sing-songy simplicity and lush keyboard strings and Taylor’s lilting higher register. It is the perfect ending to the “chronicles” as it’s message about the eternal hope of all Christians to find themselves in the arms of the Beautiful One upon their death. I remember when the album was released the number of complaints we received were almost exclusively related to the naked man (from the waist up) on the album cover. Those that complained obviously never listened to nor understood the content of the project or the complaints may have been drastically different. More keyboard driven and music less guitar oriented. the album reflected much of the European alternative music of the day like Depeche Mode, Alphaville, etc but also shows reflections of art rock music of Genesis and Pink Floyd. Not immediately accessible or as warmly received as the first four projects, the album eventually became regarded as one of the best of the Daniel Amos catalog.
Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/
Tracklist 1 – A Sigh For You – 3:58 2 – The Pool – 3:47 3 – Sleep Silent Child – 4:38 4 – Neverland Ballroom – 3:17 5 – Strong Points, Weak Points – 3:55 6 – Instruction Thru Film – 3:20 7 – When Moonlight Sleeps (On The Frosted Hill) – 3:55 8 – Sudden Heaven – 3:23 9 – Shadow Catcher – 4:32 10 – Beautiful One – 3:33
Credits Arranged By [All Arrangements By] – DA Art Direction, Layout – Mr. Ed (McTaggart) Backing Vocals – Crystal Lewis (tracks: B2, B5), Jerry Chamberlain (tracks: A5, B5) Design Concept [Cover Concept] – DA Drums, Percussion, Synthesizer [Synthesizers] – Ed McTaggart Electric Bass, Double Bass [Upright Bass], Bass [Electric Twelve-String Bass], Guitar [Guitars] – Tim Chandler Keyboards, Snare [Snares] – Rob Watson (tracks: A3) Lead Guitar [Lead Guitars], E-Bow [E-Bo], Synthesizer [Synthesizers], Organ [Pump Organ], Dulcimer, Mandolin – Greg Flesch Mastered By – John Matousek Narrator – Jerry Chamberlain (tracks: B1) Percussion – Alex MacDougall (tracks: B2, B5) Photography By [Band Photos By] – Linda Dillon Baley Photography By [Photographics By] – Ken Baley Photography By, Photography By [Photographics By] – Derrill Bazzy Producer – DA, Terry Taylor Recorded By, Mixed By – Dave Hackbarth, Doug Doyle, Terry Taylor Synth [Synth Treatments] – Dave Hackbarth (tracks: A1, B3), Doug Doyle (tracks: A1, B3) Text By [¡Alarma! Chronicles Text Volume 4 By] – Greg Flesch, Terry Taylor Vocals, Guitar [Guitars], Harmonica, Synthesizer [Synthesizers] – Terry Taylor
Companies, etc. Distributed By – The Benson Company Distributed By – The Master’s Collection Phonographic Copyright (p) – Frontline Records (3) Copyright (c) – Frontline Records (3) Published By – Broken Songs Recorded At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA. Mastered At – Hitsville
This was Koinonia’s 4th release and as with their other albums it wasn’t very successful in North America but was a big hit in Europe. This album is almost entirely instrumental except for “Making Room” and “Señor”. I am guessing this is a result of the jazz style but the vocals are so good it’s too bad they didn’t do more. As with their previous albums this album has a strong Jazz Fusion sound and they were probably the best Christian artists in this style. That said I don’t think their were many CCM bands doing this style. Their next album was far more mainstream so this is the end of an era for their listeners and fans. This is one I missed in the 80’s so I’m glad I got a chance now to enjoy it.
Credits Arranged By – Koinonia Bass – Abraham Laboriel Drums, Percussion – Alex Acuña, Bill Maxwell Engineer – Don Murray Executive-Producer, Producer – Greg Mathieson Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith Keyboards – Harlan Rogers Producer – Koinonia Saxophone, Flute – Justo Almario Synthesizer [Programming] – Greg Mathieson, Smitty Price Vocals – Abraham Laboriel (tracks: B1, B5), Alex Acuña (tracks: B1), Diana Neciosup-Acuña* (tracks: B1), Harlan Rogers (tracks: B1), Howard Smith (tracks: B1), Tata Vega (tracks: B1, B5)
Companies, etc. Distributed By – Sparrow Records Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Sparrow Corporation Copyright (c) – The Sparrow Corporation Recorded At – Sunset Sound Mixed At – Mama Jo’s Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering
Wild Blue Yonder were a new incarnation of the CCM Rockabilly band The Lifters minus Rex Harvey and of course the addition of Crystal Lewis doing lead vocals. The album essentially came out on Crystal’s 17th birthday so ignore the “she was 15” stuff on the internet. The album was released September 9th 1986 and her birthday is September 11th 1969. Both Terry Taylor and Rob Watson from DA were involved in the project and they bring some quality production to the album. The album has a Rockabilly sound in places and is often referred to as Cow-punk but it’s not really Cow-punk in my opinion. It’s just a fun 80’s album with Rockabilly influences though Crystal’s vocals are so strong she really dominates the album almost making you forget about the rest of the band. The album was re-released in 1995 with 2 bonus tracks (this upload is that 1995 release) and is catalogued as being a Crystal Lewis album titled Wild Blue Yonder.
Tracklist 1 – Just One Look – 3:49 2 – You And Me – 3:07 3 – This Love’s For Real – 4:05 4 – Where Can I Go (Bonus Track) – 2:24 5 – Heart Beat – 2:34 6 – Over The Rainbow – 3:20 7 – Every Day (Bonus Track) – 3:23 8 – Only One – 3:42 9 – Revival Meeting – 2:35 10 – You’re My Love – 3:19 11 – Only You – 2:45 12 – Crying Eyes – 3:07 13 – If I Could Write A Poem – 5:01
Credits Art Direction, Layout [Original] – Phillip Kim Artwork By [Logo] – Dave Gibson Artwork, Design [New] – Timothy McCaig Backing Vocals – Terry Taylor Bass – Paul Martin Drums – Joey Mitchell Engineer – Doug Doyle Guitar – Chris Brigandi Pedal Steel Guitar – Garry Brandon Photography By – Brian Ray Piano, Organ, Backing Vocals – Rob Watson Producer – Terry Taylor Remastered By – Dave Hackbarth Remix – Chris Brigandi, Gene Eugene Vocals – Crystal Lewis
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Metro One, Inc. Copyright (c) – Metro One, Inc. Distributed By – Diamante Distribution Glass Mastered At – Disctronics USA – 131230
This was an album in a series of instrumental albums released by Meadowlark Records in the 80’s. Amy is an excellent harp player and I will admit this is probably the only instrumental harp album I have ever listened to. I only discovered this series of albums recently and in a way I am glad because I would never have appreciated their quality in the 80’s when I was listening to Resurrection Band. That said I am enjoying the series now. Amy continues to release albums and tour with her ministry to this day. She successfully battled cancer in 2015 and attributes her healing to her faith. Her albums are available on her web page and if you enjoy her music I would urge you to visit her website. http://amyshreve.com/
Tracklist 1 – Invocation – 3:41 2 – Northern Lights – 3:30 3 – Crystal Night – 4:34 4 – Apogee – 4:05 5 – Hymn VII – 2:02 6 – Diamonds From Dust – 3:18 7 – Silent Partner – 2:28 8 – Peace In The Puzzle – 2:25 9 – Carol For Russia’s Children – 3:17 10 – Jester’s Lament – 4:06 11 – Twilight Pavan – 3:14
Credits Producer – Peter York
Companies, etc. Copyright (c) – Birdwing Music Phonographic Copyright (p) – The Sparrow Corporation
It has been said here and elsewhere (and quite often) that a CCM album’s depth, quality and creativity will be inversely proportionate to its sales success. Meaning; the better the album the fewer the people that will purchase it. This appears to remain true even for CCM’s golden boy and most popular and prolific male artist, Michael W Smith. The Big Picture, Smith’s artistic triumph remains his weakest selling album and the only album in his career not to reach even gold status. After a strong debut and the utterly forgettable argyle sock of a sophomore release (aptly titled “2”), Smith grabbed the CCM world by the throat with an album that was sonically, creatively and musically miles ahead of the rest of the Nashville pablum for the time. From the dark purple and gold hues of the artwork to the tasteful technological advances and superior production, the Big Picture is great from start to finish. What keeps the album from falling off the tracks in a travesty of technological traps is that the songs themselves are very organic and real. Taking themes from the culture and wrapping them in modern sounds with a clear and poignant response to the baggage those theme bring along makes the album the one worthy release from Smith in the Top 100. Producer John Potoker had worked with Brian Eno, Madonna and a host of others and had a huge influence on the musical direction and big production sound. Many will obviously find the music and production technique dated, but one of this lists presuppositions was to judge albums based on the time they were recorded and what was happening musically. And for that, this album is the most “current” album of Smith’s career. He would record about 10 more albums in a row that are completely indistinguishable from one another. But the strength here lies not in the production (or over-production) but in the strength of a songwriter album to have his songs outlast even the dated production technique.
Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/
Tracklist 1 – Lamu – 5:55 2 – Wired For Sound – 6:00 3 – Old Enough To Know – 4:47 4 – Pursuit Of The Dream – 5:00 5 – Rocketown – 4:32 6 – Voices – 5:50 7 – The Last Letter – 4:37 8 – Goin’ Thru The Motions – 4:55 9 – Tearin’ Down The Wall – 3:35 10 – You’re Alright – 4:36
Credits Artwork By [Art Direction And Design] – Kent Hunter, Thomas Ryan Design Backing Vocals – Chris Harris, Wayne Kirkpatrick Bass, Chapman Stick – Tony Levin Bass, Drum Programming – Gary Lunn Drum Programming – Frank Doyle, Tokes, Mark Kovac Drums – Steve Ferrone Drums, Drum Programming – David Huff Engineer [Additional] – Bill Heath, Bob Vogt, Clark Schleicher, Ed Goodreau, JB, Jeffrey Dovner, Jon Goldberger, Keith Odle, Ken Criblez, Mike Clute, Nick Deire, Rob Feaster, Spencer Chrislu, Tim Hatfield, Tony Volante Executive-Producer – Brown Bannister, Dan Harrell, Michael Blanton Guitar – Dann Huff, Eddie Martinez, Nick Moroch Guitar, Backing Vocals – Chris Rodrigues Horns – Jim Pugh, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker Keyboards, Drum Programming, Backing Vocals – Michael W. Smith Keyboards, Programmed By [Fairlight], Drum Programming – Shane Keister Mastered By – Ted Jensen Other [Child] – Christopher Copeland Other [Grooming] – Jody Morlock, Julie Miller Overstreet Other [Production Coordinator] – Kimberly Smith Other [Styling] – Beverly Ann Moore Percussion – Bashiri Johnson Photography By – Dean Dixon, Larry Williams Producer – John Potoker, Michael W. Smith Programmed By [Synclavier] – Steve Schaffer
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Reunion Records – 1986 Copyright (c) – Reunion Records – 1986 Manufactured By – Word, Inc. Distributed By – Word, Inc. Recorded At – Power Station Recorded At – Mediasound Recorded At – Sigma Sound Studios, New York Recorded At – Soundtrack Studios Recorded At – Bullet Recording Recorded At – The Bennett House Recorded At – Emerald Sound Studios Recorded At – The Castle Recording Studios Recorded At – Blue Jay Studios Mixed At – Blue Jay Studios Mastered At – Sterling Sound
This White Heart live album was recorded on April 20 1984 at Six Flags Over Texas. Confusingly the album “Chris Christian With Whiteheart – Live At Six Flags” was recorded on the same day and released at the same time. This appeared to be the brilliant thinking of Chris Christian and I’m at a loss to see how he thought this was a good idea. Anyway I have covered the Chris Christian album previously so I was interested to hear how this one compared. This album is definitely more upbeat but it feels like the band definitely turned it down for this event. The same day as this was recorded the Imperials played so between these 3 concerts this was definitely the most upbeat. The album is enjoyable and the music is good but usually live albums turn things up a notch but in this case it appears they turned it down a notch. That said it is nice to hear the original band lineup play the songs that brought them onto the CCM scene and if you’re a White Heart fan you’ll probably enjoy the album but it’s certainly not the best live album I ever heard and in fact is not even in the top 20.
Tracklist 1 – Sing Unto The Lamb – 3:20 2 – Carried Away (Safe On The Wings Of The Lord) – 4:15 3 – Nothing Can Take This Love – 6:35 4 – We Are His Hands – 3:50 5 – Hosanna – 3:50 6 – Undercover – 3:58 7 – Quiet Love – 4:00 8 – Vital Signs – 5:27 9 – Carry On – 3:35 10 – He’s Returning – 2:50
Credits John Allman – Engineer Jeff Balding – Engineer Steven Curtis Chapman – Songwriter Chris Christian – Executive Producer, Engineer Scott Douglas – Vocals Mark Gersmehl – Songwriter, Keyboards, Vocals Wally Grant – Engineer Dann Huff – Songwriter, Guitars, Vocals David Huff – Drums, Percussion Dan Humann – Engineer, Mixed Gary Lunn – Songwriter, Bass Jack Joseph Puig – Engineer Billy Smiley – Songwriter, Guitars, Vocals White Heart – Producer
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Home Sweet Home Records, Inc. Copyright (c) – Home Sweet Home Records, Inc. Manufactured By – Word, Inc. Distributed By – Word, Inc. Distributed By – Word Records Limited Distributed By – Word (UK) Ltd. Recorded At – Six Flags Over Texas Overdubbed At – Gold Mine Studio East Overdubbed At – Gold Mine Studio Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio Mastered At – Future Disc Published By – Bug & Bear Music Published By – Paragon Music Corp.
This was Ward’s second solo album. All songs were written by Ward and keyboard player, Jim Tenneboe. The album definitely has a more rock feel than his work with 2nd Chapter of Acts or his previous solo album. Supporting that Rock sound and partly responsible for it is guitarist Dann Huff (White Heart). The album only had one single however which was “Love” which made it to #14. The album is pretty good with strong keyboards and guitar but was a little thrifty on the content with only 8 tracks. Personally at times I don’t think Ward’s voice matches the songs but I’m nitpicking because it’s a really good album.
Tracklist 1 – Red And Yellow, Black And White – 3:38 2 – Trust In You – 4:18 3 – By Your Side – 4:26 4 – Armed And Dangerous – 4:12 5 – Glory To God – 3:44 6 – Moment By Moment – 3:53 7 – Put On The Armour – 4:01 8 – Love – 4:58
Credits Arranged By – Jim Tenneboe, Matthew Ward Art Direction, Design – Bradley Grose Artwork By [Cover Concept] – Bradley Grose, Buddy Owens Backing Vocals – Eric Tagg, Matthew Ward Bass – Lee Jones Drums – Mike Baird Engineer – Greg Hunt Engineer [2nd] – Daffydd Morgan Guitar – Dann Huff Horns – Chuck Smith, Keith Jourdan, Kim Hutchcroft, René Saenz Keyboards, Programmed By [Keyboard Programming] – Jim Tenneboe Mastered By – Bernie Grundman Photography By – Constance Ashley Photography By [Back Cover Photo] – Marty Justice Producer – Matthew Ward Saxophone [Sax Solos] – Kim Hutchcroft
Companies, etc. Phonographic Copyright (p) – Live Oak Records Copyright (c) – Live Oak Records Manufactured By – Word, Inc. Distributed By – Word, Inc. Pressed By – ElectroSound Los Angeles – ∆ 27319 Recorded At – Rosewood Studio Recorded At – Easter Song Studios Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering Copyright (c) – Megin’s College Fund Music Copyright (c) – Midi Mouse Music Published By – Megin’s College Fund Music Published By – Midi Mouse Music
This was the first on label release for Barren Cross. They had released a self produced EP “Believe” in 1985 that was well received so Star Song gave them a one album deal. They went back into the studio and recorded 3 more tracks to add to their previous 6 songs from the EP. Dino Elefante sat down and mixed it all up for this release. I’m relatively sure Star Song was watching the success of Stryper at this time so they wanted to jump head long into the Metal scene. That said this album does not really compare to Stryper. It is much less commercial sounding and has a much more raw metal sound. I didn’t listen to this style of music back then but I’d be interested to know how Stryper fans reacted to this album. It must have been well received overall as Enigma Records immediately signed the band up for 2 albums. This album was re-released in 1990 by Medusa Records (a division of The Enigma Records) with 6 bonus live tracks (this is the version here).
Tracklist
1 – Dying Day – 3:27
2 – He Loves You – 4:32
3 – It’s All Come True – 4:02
4 – Believe – 2:16
5 – Going Nowhere – 3:47
6 – Killer Of The Unborn (Live) – 3:56
7 – Rock For The King – 5:03
8 – Give Your Life – 2:53
9 – Just A Touch – 3:27
10 – Light The Flame – 5:22
11 – Dead Lock (Live) – 4:20
12 – Cultic Regimes (Live) – 2:47
13 – He Loves You (Live) – 4:13
14 – Living Dead (Live) – 7:11
15 – Heaven Or Nothing (Live) – 4:59
Credits
Art Direction, Design – Ed McTaggart
Bass – Jim LaVerde
Concept By [Cover] – Barren Cross
Drums – Steve Whitaker
Engineer [Second] – Matt Cerbin, Mike Miereu
Guitar – Ray Parris
Other [Hair] – Carla
Other [Make-up] – Lisa Kawasaki
Photography By – Ken Baley, Linda Dillon Baley
Producer, Engineer – Dino Elefante
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar – Mike Lee
Companies, etc.
Record Company – Jubilee Communications, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Star Song Records
Copyright (c) – Star Song Records
Distributed By – Sparrow/Star Song Distribution
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Mixed At – Pakaderm Studios
Pressed By – Discovery Systems
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia
This was Bailey’s second Christian label album as he continued to run a parallel career of albums on both Secular and Christian labels. Of his 3 Christian label albums I think this is probably the best one. It had 3 top 10 CCM chart hits with “The Other Side” doing the best and making it to #4. It also had a 4th single that made it to #13. So 4 top 15 hits is pretty darn good but lets add in a Grammy Award for “Best Gospel Vocal Performance, Male” and I think it can honestly be said that this was one of the most memorable albums of 1986/87. Admittedly however it’s not one that made it into my collection at the time. It just wasn’t my style of music and at the time I wasn’t very good at appreciating quality music that may not be in my taste. But times have changed and I can listen to an album that is good though maybe not my style. This is one of those albums. So if you missed this one in the 80’s take the time to give it a listen, it really is a good album.
Tracklist 1 – All Soldiers – 4:47 2 – Thank You – 3:40 3 – The Love Of God – 3:12 4 – Marvelous – 4:27 5 – The Same Way (You’ve Always Been) – 4:32 6 – The Other Side – 4:45 7 – Bring It To Jesus – 5:38 8 – Triumph – 4:55 9 – Come Before His Presence – 4:31
Credits Arranged By [Vocals] – Philip Bailey Art Direction – Chuck Beeson Backing Vocals – Carl Carwell, Josie James, Kathy Hazzard, Lynn Davis, Winston Ford Bass – Byron Miller (tracks: A5, B1, B2), “Ready” Freddie Washington (tracks: A1, A3, A5) Design [Graphic Design] – Donald Krieger Engineer – Ed Cherney (tracks: A1, A3, A5 to B4), Erik Zobler (tracks: A4), Phil Walters (tracks: A2) Guitar – David Williams (4) (tracks: A3, A5, B3), Jerry Peters (tracks: A3, A5, B2, B3), Kevin Chokan (tracks: A2), Paul Jackson, (tracks: A1 to A3, A5 to B4) Horns – Andrew Woolfolk (tracks: B2) Keyboards – Bobby Nunn (tracks: A2), Greg Phillinganes (tracks: A1 to A3, A5 to B4), Robbie Buchanan (tracks: A1 to A3, A5 to B4) Other [Stylist] – Robert Trachtenberg Percussion – Paulinho Da Costa (tracks: A1, A3, A5 to B4), Philip Bailey (tracks: A1, A3, A5 to B4) Photography By – Bonnie Schiffman Producer – George Duke (tracks: A4), Jerry Peters (tracks: B3), Philip Bailey
Companies, etc. Recorded At – Buckman Studio Recorded At – Cherokee Studios Recorded At – The Complex Recorded At – Le Gonks West Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc. Copyright (c) – Word, Inc. Distributed By – Word (Uk) Ltd. Printed By – Shorewood Packaging Made By – Shorewood Packaging
