Tag: 1987

Cross – Metal From Above – 1987

In 1987 Cross self released this demo album. 1987 was a big year in Christian metal and many bands appeared on the scene. Cross unfortunately was pretty short lived as they broke up the following year so this is all we got from them. The album is very Guitar heavy and borders on thrash occasionally. As far as metal goes it’s okay I guess. Nothing here really stood out to me but poor production didn’t help the situation much. However the people who enjoy this genre will likely enjoy this one. In 2006 Steel Legacy Records rereleased the album on CD and vinyl along with 3 very very poorly recorded live tracks. As they are so poor we chose not to release them.

Tracklist
1 – Sign Of The Cross (Instrumental) – 4:46
2 – Metal From Above – 8:01
3 – The Final Journey – 10:35
4 – Deliverance – 4:35
5 – The Ascension – 6:16

Credits
Bass – Mike Cano
Drums – Steve Cano
Guitar – Henry Chavez, Tommy Salas
Lead Vocals – James Sanchez

DC Talk – Christian Rhymes To A Rhythm – 1987

This is a very simple 2 side 2 track cassette that was sold by DC Talk before Kevin Max even joined the group. It is purported to have sold 3000 copies when Toby and Michael performed the song Heavenbound for their fellow students at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1987. It was copied countless times and spread through the CCM industry and the band shortly after prepared a proper 10 track demo.

Tracklist
1 – Heavenbound – 3:50
2 – Always Leaning – 3:50

Credits
Performer [Uncredited] – Michael Tait, Toby McKeehan
Written-By, Producer – Toby McKeehan

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Ministries Of Tait & McKeehan

Randy Matthews – Streets Of Mercy – 1987

This has to be one of the most mysterious albums I have come across and it is without a doubt the strangest album from Randy. It is his one and only album with Refuge Records. Randy put this album out in 1987 but his previous album was in 1981 on Spirit Records. A 6 year gap in albums when you are at your height is bizarre enough but then this album got completely ignored by the entire industry. I know it didn’t sell well as it took us a long time to find a copy so maybe Refuge just didn’t distribute it very well but that is strange too as Randy was a very highly respected artist. There is also radio silence on this album with no one talking about it. The internet’s a big place but this album takes an incredibly small space on it. In fact there’s very little info on what Randy was doing at this point in his career. The album itself is actually very very good and is probably now my favourite album from him. I would say the single is “The Day Death Died” which is a great rock & roll track. Probably his hardest track ever. The other highlight of the album is probably the only CCM track about Santa Claus but be warned it is a very sad song actually about abortion. That said it is a stunningly good track.

Tracklist
1 – Amazing Grace – 1:15
2 – Hearts On Ice – 3:22
3 – Grumble Alley – 3:30
4 – Ti Chapé-Kum Ba Ya – 4:33
5 – Eyes Of The Heart – 3:34
6 – Streets Of Mercy – 2:57
7 – I Wish It Were Only Make Believe – 3:55
8 – No Cross, No Crown – 3:04
9 – The Day Death Died – 3:52
10 – Nuclear Hymn – 3:27

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Cover [Concept] – Randy Matthews
Art Direction, Design – Jeff Spencer
Backing Vocals – Anthony Nelson, Demetrius Alexander, Duane Hamilton, Eddie Williams, Grace Rosenburger, Greg Tornquist, Kim Hill, Monty Matthews, Robbie Anderson, Roger M. Major
Booking – Barbara Matthews
Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Greg Tornquist
Engineer – Gary Wysocki
Engineer, Remix – John W. Thompson
Keyboards, Acoustic Guitar – John W. Thompson
Management – Dave Peters II, Image Communications International
Photography – Peter Nash
Producer – John Thompson

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Refuge Music Group
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Refuge Records
Copyright © – Refuge Records
Copyright © – Stowaway Music
Copyright © – Group Seven Music
Copyright © – Morning Gate Music
Recorded At – Morning Gate Studio, Franklin Tennessee

Bloodgood – Detonation – 1987

The second release from Bloodgood continues the raw metal sound they had in their first album. This album is better produce and engineered but some fans preferred the edgier first album. But that said Detonation placed 8th in a poll by Heaven’s Metal fanzine of the top 100 Christian metal albums of all time. The band toured heavily for this album and as the world was dumb in 1987 the tour was heavily protested by the more conservative element of Christianity. The tour was quite successful and continued into Europe in 1988. Bloodgood is a mainstay in the Christian metal genre and most hold up this or their first album as their best work.

Tracklist
1 – Battle Of The Flesh – 2:45
2 – Vagrant People – 3:26
3 – Self-Destruction – 3:29
4 – Alone In Suicide – 4:04
5 – Heartbeat (Of The City) – 3:25
6 – Eat The Flesh – 4:25
7 – Holy Fire – 3:10
8 – Crucify – 3:05
9 – The Messiah – 4:25
10 – Live Wire – 2:37

Credits
Arranged By – Bloodgood
Art Direction, Layout – Ed McTaggart
Bass, Backing Vocals – Michael Bloodgood
Drums – Mark Welling
Engineer – Doug Doyle
Guitar, Backing Vocals – David Zaffiro
Illustration [Cover] – John Dickenson
Mastered By – John Matousek
Mixed By – David Zaffiro, Doug Doyle, Les Carlsen, Michael Bloodgood
Other [Litho Prep] – Graphic Masters, Santa Ana, CA
Other [Stage Clothes] – Brent Flemming
Photography By – Ken Baley, Lynn DeBon
Producer – David Zaffiro, Les Carlsen, Michael Bloodgood
Vocals – Les Carlsen

Companies, etc.
Published By – Broken Songs
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Frontline Records
Copyright © – Frontline Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Distributed By – The Master’s Collection
Distributed By – Kingsway Publications Ltd.
Recorded At – Rocshire Records
Recorded At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.
Edited At – Digital Brothers
Mastered At – Motown Records

Glory Fire – Decision – 1987

I can’t find anything about this band online except that their contact info was based in Montana so I have to guess they were from Montana. Anyway what we have here is an album sound that I’ve heard several times at this point. There were several bands in the 80’s that would have this pop sound with a female vocalist. I am not insulting this recipe it’s just that at this point I’ve seen it many many times. As for this album specifically it’s pretty good. In fact there’s a couple tracks here that are pretty well written. If they had got a second album deal they could have capitalized on their writing but unfortunately for them this was the only album they had.

Tracklist
1 – New Day – 3:59
2 – Heart Beat – 4:03
3 – How Long – 4:22
4 – Cross Road – 4:23
5 – Skybound – 4:23
6 – C’mon Home – 3:03
7 – Little Bit of Heaven – 3:55
8 – Jesus Is Outta Sight – 4:16
9 – Lift Your Eyes – 4:19
10 – Let Love Reign – 4:13
11 – Decision – 0:39

Credits
Bass – Clint Shaules
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Duane Nichols
Guitar – Brad Spear
Keyboards, Vocals – Lindsay Nesheim

Companies, etc.
Label – The Barn

Phil Driscoll – Make Us One- 1987

Let it never be said that Phil Driscoll was lazy. He was able to get an album out almost every year. This is his album in 1987. I think Phil and the record label were trying to produce an album that was a little more Pop than he usually does. The album cover shows a much younger Phil than his covers usually did. it should be noted that this album cover portrayed his correct age, he was 40. For some reason they usually portrayed him as much older on his record covers. As is the case with just about every album from Phil this one is fantastic. I will say it again for the record. I do not like most of the songs Phil does BUT his fantastic vocals always sell me on them anyway. This album the standouts are the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy”, Cool Rain”, and the rocker for this album “Trumpet In A Heavenly Band”.

Tracklist
1 – Make Us One – 3:24
2 – I’ll Be Ridin’ With Him – 4:28
3 – I Can Feel Your Love – 4:35
4 – Wait On The Lord – 5:20
5 – Cool Rain – 4:17
6 – Trumpet In A Heavenly Band – 3:40
7 – All Around The World – 2:55
8 – Standin’ In The Shadow – 3:40
9 – Holy, Holy, Holy – 3:44
10 – The Magnificat – 7:21

Credits
Arranged By – Bill Maxwell, Jerry Cleveland, Phil Driscoll
Art Direction – McConnell Graphics
Backing Vocals – Alfie Silas, Jean Johnson, Rose Banks, Von Faggett
Bass – Abraham Laboriel
Drums – Bill Maxwell
Engineer – Doug Rider
Executive-Producer – Dennis Blackburn, Gregory Pope
Guitar – Hadley Hockensmith
Lead Vocals, Trumpet, Flugelhorn – Phil Driscoll
Percussion – Alex Acuna*
Photography By – Dean Dixon
Piano [Acoustic], Electric Piano, Organ – Harlan Rogers
Producer – Bill Maxwell, Phil Driscoll
Remix – Bill Maxwell, Doug Rider, Phil Driscoll
Synthesizer – Claude Gaudette

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Mighty Horn Records
Copyright © – Mighty Horn Records

Zion (OR) – Cry Out – 1987

There are several “Zion”s in the CCM market. This is the one from Jacksonville, Oregon. They were an excellent Pop Rock band that released two self financed albums. This is the second one of those albums. I’m a little mystified how these guys didn’t get a record deal. They are really good in my opinion. The vocals are shared between Dave Day and Linda Holt Morrison. I’m a big fan of Dave’s vocals but I struggle with Linda’s. That said I think it could be fixed in post production but what do I know. I don’t like Sandie Brock from Servants vocals either so I think it comes down to personal preference. My other small criticism is that the tracks are a touch long but again that would be fixed in post production. But lets toss all that aside because this is a great album and it’s pretty well engineered. The credits say it was mastered by Steve Hall. I don’t know if it’s THE Steve Hall but if it is wow, he’s one of the best. Anyway this is a great Pop Rock album and there are a couple tracks here that are going on my playlist for sure.

Tracklist
1 – Cry Out – 5:10
2 – The Edge – 4:03
3 – Kidz – 5:31
4 – Take My Life – 5:46
5 – Heaven Help Us – 6:17
6 – Rad – 4:16
7 – Love You To Life – 4:43
8 – I’ll Be There – 5:57

Credits
Bass, Vocals, Guitar – Larry Wick
Drums, Percussion – John Scott Armas
Guitar, Lead Vocals – Dave Day
Keyboards, Guitar, Vocals, Producer – Jeff Bates
Lead Vocals – Linda Holt Morrison
Mastered By – Steve Hall

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Starlight Recording, Applegate, Oregon
Mastered At – Future Disc
Published By – Crosstalk Music
Published By – D-Day Music

Split Level – Sons Of Liberty – 1987

This is the second album from Split Level and what a great album it is. Their first album was released on a label I’ve never heard of and can’t find any record of, Big Feet Records. I also can’t find a copy of the album. The band went into the studio with Andy McCarroll who was about to produce his first album. Reportedly when the album came out the band said the album didn’t sound like them. I just watched a live cut of them and I think it did represent them well. Maybe the band wasn’t used to a studio album toning down the rawness that band has live. From the one track I saw live the album is a pretty good representation. Anyway the album was popular and the band kept on touring and playing gigs where they thought they could reach people who wouldn’t normally listen to Christian music. It should be noted that the released album track order was not the same as the album label. I have no idea if this was intentional or a gimmick but here we’ve presented the tracks in to order on the record label. Word only released the album in the U.K. and why they did that is beyond me. I’m sure this album would have done well in the North American market.

Tracklist
1 – Land Of Freedom – 3:45
2 – Peace Of Home – 3:02
3 – I Will Live – 3:25
4 – Into The Fire – 3:40
5 – It Won’t Be Long – 4:27
6 – Sons Of Liberty – 3:58
7 – View Of A World – 3:48
8 – Desertland – 3:21
9 – God Is – 4:13
10 – Dove – 3:54

Credits
Design – James Kessell
Keyboards – Brian Jones
Keyboards, Programmed By [Engineering Programming] – Enda Walsh
Mixed By – Neil Costello, Pat McCarthy
Photography By – Jim Loring
Photography By [Additional] – Branka Jukić
Producer – Andy McCarroll
Vocals, Bass Guitar – Derek Currie
Vocals, Drums – Barry Kennedy
Vocals, Guitar – Adrian Thompson

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Gap Music
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word (UK) Ltd.
Mixed At – ICC Studios
Recorded At – Homestead Studios
Copyright © – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Copyright © – Gap Music (2)
Printed By – Shorewood Packaging
Made By – Shorewood Packaging
Mixed At – Windmill Lane Studios

Steve Green – Joy To The World – 1987

Here’s a collection of Christmas tracks that the record company put together for Steve Green to sing. I say this because this is about the 3rd CCM artist Christmas album I’ve listened to that had nothing contemporary about it and doesn’t seem to have that touch from the artist. That said it’s an okay album but it won’t go on my Christmas playlist.

Tracklist
1 – Joy To The World – 2:25
2 – Hark! The Herald Angels Sing / Angels We Have Heard On High – 2:41
3 – Angels From The Realms Of Glory / O Come, All Ye Faithful – 3:06
4 – Silent Night, Holy Night – 3:19
5 – The Birthday Of A King / O Holy Night – 4:24
6 – Jesus Is Born – 3:24
7 – Messiah Medley – 3:16
8 – Rest – 4:09
9 – Adorar Al Niño (Go And Worship Jesus) – 2:08
10 – O Come, O Come Emmanuel / Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne – 4:21

Credits
Arranged By [Percussion Arrangement] – Don Hart
Arranged By [Rhythm Arrangements] – Greg Nelson, Phil Naish
Arranged By [String Arrangement] – Don Hart
Arranged By [String and Vocal Arrangements] – Alan Moore
Arranged By [Vocal Arrangement] – Don Hart
Arranged By [Vocal Arrangement], Conductor – David T. Clydesdale
Arranged By, Orchestrated By, Conductor – David T. Clydesdale
Art Direction – Barbara Catanzaro-Hearn
Bass – Craig Nelson
Contractor [Background Vocalists] – Beverly Darnall
Contractor [Orchestra] – Carl Gorodetzky, The Nashville String Machine
Design – Jackson Design
Drums – Mark Hammond
Engineer – Brent King
Engineer [Assistant] – Bill Whittington, David Murphy
Engineer, Mixed By – Bob Clark
Guitar – Jon Goin, Mark Casstevens
Keyboards – Phil Naish
Percussion – Farrell Morris
Photography By – Steven A. Heller
Piano [Acoustic], Harpsichord – David Huntsinger
Producer – Greg Nelson
Sleeve Notes – Steve Green

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – Word Music
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The Sparrow Corporation
Distributed By – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Recorded At – Great Circle Sound
Recorded At – OmniSound Studios
Recorded At – Downstage Studio
Mixed At – Great Circle Sound
Published By – LCS Songs
Published By – Pamela Kay Music
Published By – Beckengus Music
Published By – River Oaks Music
Published By – New Wings Music
Published By – Greg Nelson Music

Paul Janz – Electricity – 1987

This is Paul’s second solo album. His first album was released almost worldwide but not in the United States. As he’s Canadian that’s where his main audience was though he also did well in Germany where he has also lived and produced music. This album was released world wide including the U.S. Strangely A&M Records decided to take the most successful single from his first album and put it on this album. I am guessing the thinking was that it would re-single in the U.S. market. The album was not selling well but the record company decided to release “Believe In Me” as the final single and it caught making it to #26 on the Canadian Charts and #25 on the U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary chart but that was it for U.S. chart success. It did much better in Canada with 3 other top 100 singles. All in all it’s a solid pop album and as I grew up in Canada it is an album I remember and still quite like.

Tracklist
1 – One Night (Is All It Takes) – 3:42
2 – Electricity – 3:51
3 – I Won’t Cry – 4:45
4 – We Touch – 4:50
5 – I’ll Be Your Eyes – 3:57
6 – Send Me A Miracle – 3:51
7 – Believe In Me – 4:46
8 – I Go To Pieces – 3:29
9 – Angel – 5:00
10 – Alien – 4:39
11 – One Last Lie – 3:51

Credits
Art Direction – Richard Frankel
Bass – Bob Press
Design – Melanie Nissen
Drums – Michael Root
Engineer – Dave Slagter, Mike Fraser
Guitar – Tim McKenzie
Lead Vocals, Keyboards, Percussion – Paul Janz
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Mixed By – Greg Ladanyi
Photography – James O’Mara
Producer – Paul Janz

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – A&M Records Of Canada Limited
Distributed By – A&M Records Of Canada Limited
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – A&M Records Of Canada Limited
Copyright © – A&M Records, Inc.
Mastered At – THE MASTERING LAB
Pressed By – Electrosound Group Midwest, Inc.
Pressed By – Cinram
Printed By – Ever Reddy