Tag: 1987

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

Arlen Salte – Winner Like You – 1987

This is Arlen’s fourth album but you’ve probably never heard it or even heard him. Why have you never heard of him? Well it’s because his albums were never released outside of Canada. We’re not talking about someone who had one or two albums either. He had six albums in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. The albums are for them main part great. Lot’s of good Rock & Roll and great lyrics. This album is no different it’s fantastic. The cover is horrible but it was his first release on label Image 7 and I have seen many times that a new label lobes to do a portrait cover for some reason. I’ve never understood it. So give this one a listen as I doubt you’ve ever heard it and it’s a great Pop Rock album.

Tracklist
1 – Hoping & Coping – 4:26
2 – Falling In Love Again – 4:11
3 – I’ve Been Hiding – 4:18
4 – Verdict – 3:46
5 – A Winner Like You – 4:13
6 – Sing Out His Name – 2:41
7 – Love Showed Us The Way – 3:19
8 – Outrageous – 3:35
9 – Let My Light Shine Bright – 3:13
10 – Rock On Which I Stand – 4:14

Avion – Live – 1987

Avion Live is Sydney band Avion’s swansong independent release. The album was dedicated to the memory of the late Evan Murray, the band’s previous keyboard player who died in a motor vehicle accident. This album captures what they did best – performing their own particular brand of AOR live. The band’s last studio album, White Noise, features very strongly, as 7 of its tracks are performed live. Only 3 tracks from the band’s self-titled album are featured, which leaves the following 4 songs that, to my knowledge, have never been recorded – Long Night, Ransom, Money Or Love, and The Bigger You Are. On Being’s music editor, Vic Campbell, wrote: ‘These 14 tracks – five recorded in September ’86 at Sydney Entertainment Centre, the others at Selina’s in June ’87 – serve as a powerful reminder of this now-defunct Aussie band of talented rock ‘n’ roll Christians. Avion came so close to achieving widespread commercial success. This cassette-only release is a genuine collector’s item.’ (On Being, May 1989)

Tracklist
1 – Long Night – 3:34
2 – Where Do We Go From Here – 3:17
3 – In My Mind – 3:38
4 – Ships – 5:14
5 – Secrets – 4:06
6 – Warrior – 5:00
7 – Ransom – 4:09
8 – On And On – 5:06
9 – Money Or Love – 3:37
10 – Berlin Wall – 3:56
11 – Celebration – 4:17
12 – I Need You – 4:46
13 – The Bigger You Are – 4:15
14 – Never Too Late – 4:29

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Kendall Waller
Drums, Vocals – John Waller
Guitar, Vocals – Paul Gannell
Keyboards – Evan Murray
Lead Vocals, Guitar – Randall Waller
Producer, Engineer – John McConnell
Recorded By – Wyn Wynyard
Remix – John McConnell

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Selina’s Nightclub
Recorded At – Sydney Entertainment Centre

Bebe & Cece Winans – Bebe & Cece Winans – 1987

In 1987 Bebe & Cece left the PTL Club singers to strike out on their own. This is their first album after striking a deal with Sparrow Records. The album was hugely successful with the first single, “I.O.U. Me” topping R&B and inspirational charts. It generated a Grammy nominations as well as making it to #1 on the CCM charts. CeCe also earned a Grammy for “Best Soul Gospel Performance, Female” for the track “For Always.” They also won the 1988 Dove award for New Artist Of The Year. That’s a pretty successful album. It was also the first heavily played R&B album on many CCM radio stations and it also received heavy airplay on secular R&B radio stations.

Tracklist
1 – I. O. U. Me – 4:42
2 – I Don’t Know Why – 3:58
3 – For Always – 4:02
4 – No Hiding Place – 3:17
5 – Still In Love With You – 4:02
6 – Call Me – 5:18
7 – Love Said Not So – 4:30
8 – Change Your Nature – 4:56
9 – In Return – 3:47
10 – He’s Coming Soon – 4:21

Credits
Arranged By [Backing Vocals] – BeBe Winans, CeCe Winans, Keith Thomas, Marvin Winans
Arranged By [Strings] – Keith Thomas
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Angie, Bebe & Cece Winans, Constance Jackson, Debra, Debra, Kevin Jackson, Michael, Regina, Ronald, Vicki
Bass – Jimmie Lee Sloas
Drums, Drum Programming – Mark Hammond
Engineer [Assistant] – Bill Heath, Billy Whitington*, Michael Koreba
Guitar – Tom Hemby
Keyboards – Keith Thomas
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Producer – Keith Thomas
Producer [Associate] – Brett Perry
Recorded By, Mixed By – Jeff Balding
Saxophone – Mark Douthit

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Bullet Recording
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio East
Recorded At – Hummingbird Studio, Nashville, TN
Recorded At – The Winans Studio
Recorded At – OmniSound Studios
Mastered At – Future Disc
Manufactured By – Capitol Records, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Capitol Records, Inc.
Copyright © – Capitol Records, Inc.
Pressed By – Allied Record Company

First Call – Somethin’ Takes Over – 1987

This is the third album from First Call. It features the same lineup as their previous two albums and the magic continued with this combo. The album had 4 top 10 CCM charting singles including “The Reason We Sing” which sat at #1 for 6 weeks. The other three top 10 singles were, O Sifuni Mungu at #9, Back To His Heart at #10, and Lord Of All also at #10. The band actually never thought they would be as popular as they were and in fact when they started they just wanted to put out a Christmas album while still working on their solo careers. This album is a more worship oriented album and while not my style there is no denying that its a great album.

Tracklist
1 – The Comin’ Of The Lord – 3:21
2 – Somethin’ Takes Over – 3:23
3 – The Reason We Sing – 3:33
4 – Billy On The Boulevard – 4:14
5 – Forever In His Care – 4:03
6 – O Sifuni Mungu (All Creatures Of Our God And King) – 5:41
7 – The Look – 4:46
8 – Back To His Heart – 3:05
9 – Double Talk – 4:17
10 – Lord Of All – 4:59

Credits
Wayne Berry – Songwriter
George Binkley III – Strings
Mike Brignardello – Bass
Jonathan David Brown – Engineer
Cole Burgess – Contractor, Alto Sax
Paul Butcher – Trumpet
Paul Butcher – Trumpet
J.T. Cantwell – Engineer
John Chisum – Songwriter
John Darnall – Acoustic Guitar
Randall Dennis – Songwriter
Mark Douthit – Soprano & Alto Sax
Connie Ellisor – Strings
First Call – Vocal Arrangements
Carl Gorodetzky – Strings
Barry Green – Trombone
Mark Hammond – Drums, Percussion
Mike Haynes – Trumpet
Tom Hemby – Guitar
Robert Heuer – Horn
JB Baird – Engineer, Mixed
Neal Joseph – Producer
Bonnie Keen – Vocals
Shane Keister – Songwriter
Lee Larrison – Strings
Les Mas – Vocal Percussion
Sam Levine – Alto Sax
David Maddux – Producer, Songwriter, Arrangements, Piano, Keyboards, Drum Programming, Vocals
Ted Madsen – Strings
Asukulu Yunu Makalay – Songwriter
Pam Mark Hall – Songwriter
Rich Mayes – Bass Trombone
Tom McAninch – Horn
Marty McCall – Songwriter, Vocals
Paul McCusker – Songwriter
Chris McDonald – Trombone
Phill McHugh – Songwriter
Jerry McPherson – Guitar
Doug Moffet – Tenor Sax
Dennis Molchan – Strings
Laura Molyneaux – Strings
Farrell Morris – Percussion
Mmunga Mwenebulongo Mulongoy – Songwriter
Nashville String Machine – Strings
Craig Nelson – Acoustic Bass
John David Parker – Mix Assistant
Bill Pearce – Trombone
Brett Perry – Assistant Engineer
Rick Ricker – Horn
John Rommel – Trumpet
Clarke Schleicher – Engineer
Pam Sixfin – Strings
Buddy Skipper – Tenor Sax
Chris Teal – Strings
Keith Thomas – Track Arrangements, Programming, Keyboards
Becky Thurman – Songwriter
Geoff Thurman – Songwriter
Dick Tunney – Songwriter
Melodie Tunney – Songwriter, Vocals
Hank Williams – Mastered

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – The Bennett House
Mixed At – 16th Avenue Sound
Recorded At – The Lawrence Welk “Champagne” Studio, Nashville, TN.
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio
Recorded At – Audio Media Recorders
Mastered At – Mastermix
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.

The Bond – Won By One – 1987

This is yet another Geoff Mann project. Geoff must have been a pretty busy guy because he must have put out 10 albums using different names in the mid 80’s. As I said in a previous review of his work I am sorry I didn’t know about him in the 80’s as his music is exactly what I was listening to back then. As near as I can tell this album was only released in the UK which is probably why I never heard of him. Geoff is joined by Dave Mortimer, and Steve Ridley to form “The Bond”. It’s another excellent new wave album but less conceptual than his other work I have listened to.

Tracklist
1 – Trumpet Call – 5:58
2 – Rest Assured – 4:11
3 – New – 3:59
4 – Cry Out – 4:37
5 – His Love – 4:18
6 – Too Modern – 4:59
7 – After The Storm – 6:03
8 – Certainly – 5:47
9 – Willy Welsh – 8:04

Credits
Backing Vocals [Backing Voices], Keyboards, Wind [Wind Instruments] – Steve Ridley
Bass Guitar – Adrian Cathcart
Engineer – Clive Davenport
Guitar [Ghastly Green Gibson] – Dave Mortimer
Lyrics By – Geoff Mann
Mastered By – Jack Adams
Music By [Music Written], Arranged By, Performer – Dave Mortimer, Geoff Mann, Steve Ridley
Producer – Clive Davenport, The Bond
Voice [Voices], Guitar [Wobbly/Non-Wobbly Guitars], Programmed By, Drum Programming [Realtime Drum Machines] – Geoff Mann
Written-By – Dave Mortimer
Written-By [Songs By] – Geoff Mann

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Marshall Pickering Records
Copyright © – Marshall Pickering Records
Copyright © – Geoff Mann
Recorded At – Charter Studio

Take 6 – Take 6 – 1987

This is the first album from Take 6 and I believe it’s the only A Capella album we’ve uploaded to YouTube. The group started out in 1980 when Claude McKnight started to assemble a group of singers who would be know as Gentleman’s Estates Quartet. Once the band was complete they changed their name to Alliance. When they signed with Reprise Records/Warner Bros. in 1987, it was discovered that there was another group with the same name. So the band sat down and picked a new name using the level of laughter as the deciding factor and Take 6 was born. The band won two Grammy awards for this album, Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo Or Group, and Best Soul Gospel Performance By A Duo, Group, Choir Or Chorus. Humorously the song that won Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Duo Or Group only made it to #25 on the CCM charts. If this isn’t proof of the idiocy that was the CCM charts then I don’t know what further proof I would need.

Tracklist
1 – Gold Mine – 3:52
2 – Spread Love – 3:29
3 – If We Never Needed The Lord Before (We Sure Do Need Him Now) – 4:59
4 – A Quiet Place – 2:43
5 – Mary – 3:31
6 – David And Goliath – 4:25
7 – Get Away, Jordan – 4:23
8 – He Never Sleeps – 3:10
9 – Milky-White Way – 4:47
10 – Let The Words – 0:55

Credits
Arranged By – Mark Kibble, Mervyn Warren
Art Direction, Design [Cover] – Kav Deluxe
Engineer – Don Cobb
Executive-Producer – Jim Ed Norman
Hair – Jeffrey Johnson
Lacquer Cut By – Denny Purcell
Make-Up, Stylist [Wardrobe] – Vanessa Ware
Management – C.H.O.I.C.E., Nashville
Mastered By [Originally] – Denny Purcell
Mixed By – C. McKnight, D. Cobb, M. Kibble, M. Warren
Percussion [Finger Snaps], Effects [Sound] – David Humphries
Photography By – Jeff Katz
Producer – Claude V. McKnight III, Mark Kibble, Mervyn Warren
Vocals – Alvin Chea, Cedric Dent, Claude V. McKnight III, David Thomas, Mark Kibble, Mervyn E. Warren

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Reprise Records
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – WEA International Inc.
Copyright © – Reprise Records
Copyright © – WEA International Inc.
Copyright © – Mervyn Warren Music
Copyright © – Claude V. Music
Copyright © – Warner-Elektra-Asylum Music, Inc.
Copyright © – Winston Kae Music
Copyright © – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Produced For – JEN Productions, Inc.
Recorded At – Digital Recorders
Mixed At – Digital Recorders
Mastered At – Georgetown Masters
Published By – Winston Kae Music
Published By – Warner-Elektra-Asylum Music, Inc.
Published By – Mervyn Warren Music
Published By – Claude V. Music
Published By – Lexicon Music, Inc.
Pressed By – Specialty Records Corporation
Record Company – Warner Communications

Terri Gibbs – Turnaround – 1987

You might know Terri Gibb better due to her top Pop hit “Somebody’s Knockin'”. She had a pretty good secular Pop/Country career but when it started to fail she decided to do Gospel music. I’m not saying anything negative but this is a trend we saw in the 80’s and admittedly it gave several artists a second run. She had a 3 album run in the Christian music industry and this is the first of those albums. Terri was a great artist so I was expecting a good album. I was not disappointed and while it is an Easy Listening album I quite liked it. I’ve been on a bit of a run lately with Easy Listening albums I quite like but I hope my taste in music isn’t changing because generally this isn’t my preferred genre.

Tracklist
1 – You Can Say It To Him – 3:32
2 – I Can See Heaven – 3:04
3 – Gettin’ Ready – 3:22
4 – Driving Nails – 3:44
5 – Turn Around – 4:22
6 – Run To You – 3:49
7 – What About Him – 4:22
8 – Have You Made Your Reservation – 4:18
9 – Already There – 3:16
10 – Merciful Lord – 3:25

Credits
Eddie Bayers – Drums
George Binkley III – Strings
Jonathan David Brown – Engineer
David Davidson – Strings
Connie Ellisor – Strings
Michael English – Background Vocals
Terri Gibbs – Vocals
Carl Gorodetzky – Strings
Richard Grosjean – Strings
Ron Hemby – Background Vocals
Jim Horn – Saxophone
Danny Johnston – Assistant Engineer
Ted Madsen – Strings
Carl Marsh – Fairlight
Bob Mason – Strings
Gary McSpadden – Producer
Laura Molyneaux – Strings
Farrell Morris – Percussion
Brent Rowan – Guitars
Gene Sisk – Keyboards
Elisabeth Small – Strings
Wendy Suits – Background Vocals
Dianne Tidwell – Background Vocals
Alan Umstead – Strings
D. Bergen White – Producer, Background Vocals
Bill Whittington – Assistant Engineer
Kristen Wilkinson – Strings
Hank Williams – Mastered
John C. Williams – Bass

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.

Glen Allen Green – Down This Avenue – 1987

Strangely I couldn’t find much info on Glen. He was a songwriter in the early 80’s and wrote some stuff we’ve all heard. He wrote “We Are The Light” by Servant, “Run” by Steve Archer, and “Take The Cross” by Joe English among others. This is actually his second album and again Chris Christian was the executive producer and it was on Chris’s label Home Sweet Home Records. Glen’s first album was full of big names but this one seemed a little more reserved with Glen handling most of the instruments except the guitar and bass tracks. As for the album it’s a fun Pop oriented album and is quite fun to listen to. You may have missed this one in the 80’s so I would suggest you listen to it now.

Tracklist
1 – Love Is Waiting Here – 5:23
2 – Down This Avenue – 4:32
3 – Living For Babylon – 5:05
4 – Eternity – 4:55
5 – Look Up – 4:15
6 – Turn Up The Music – 4:03
7 – A Million Miles Away – 4:54
8 – Out West – 5:15
9 – Famine Of The Heart – 4:45
10 – Not In The Grave – 4:36

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Rod Brown Design
Backing Vocals – Christopher Davis, Grant Cunningham
Bass [Additional Arrangements] – Matt Pearson
Engineer, Drum Programming – Kent Davis
Executive-Producer – Chris Christian
Guitar – Jerry McPherson
Producer, Arranged By, Keyboards, Drum Programming, Backing Vocals – Glen Allen Green

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Home Sweet Home Records, Inc.
Copyright © – Home Sweet Home Records, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio East
Recorded At – Big Planet Studios
Mixed At – Big Planet Studios
Mastered At – Future Disc

Valor – Masquerade – 1987

Valor rose out of the ashes of another band named Golgotha. The band was pretty much the same lineup but with Chris Price replacing Todd Price. Chris brought a more thrash sound to the band. Vic Sardon was brought on as a second guitarist to solidify that thrash sound. The band had a pretty good following as Golgotha so they had a head start as they toured and played across the U.S. They actually stayed together for several years and though they never got a real record deal (they did release a full self produced album) they were quite popular. Now it’s well known that thrash bands had a very difficult time with record deals I am kind of surprised that Valor had this problem. Their version of thrash is far more bearable than most. The lyrics are clear and good. The guitar has distinguishable chords and quite frankly this is probably one of the best thrash albums I’ve ever heard. Even if you’re not a fan of thrash I’d really suggest you give this one a quick listen. You might be pleasantly surprised.

Tracklist
1 – Masquerade – 4:26
2 – Fight For Your Life – 2:42
3 – Burn – 5:00
4 – Didn’t I – 4:27
5 – The Flesh Is Weak – 4:11

Credits
Bass, Backing Vocals – Adam Alvarez
Drums – Jim Maxwell
Guitar – Chris Price, Vic Sardon
Vocals – Michael Brueck