Tag: 1987

Prism – Yellow – 1987

Chris Harris and Mark Heimermann are back with the kids of Prism. Their first album, “Blue”, was a great success so they returned to the studio to try the same formula again. This time the budget must have increased as we hear more musical backing and two known CCM stars, Marti McCall, and Gary Chapman join in. The album again features several traditional Sunday School/Campfire songs. There is also a version of Amy Grant’s & Michael W. Smith’s duet “Friends”. The strangest track is an instrumental from Heimermann that would have made Harold Faltemeyer proud. I say strange because I wouldn’t expect an original instrumental composition on a Kidz Bop kind of album. This was usually considered the best of the Prism projects and again was very well received by CCM radio stations. It had 3 singles, Pass It On made it to #12, Anywhere With Jesus to #14, and Sweet, Sweet Spirit made it to #25. So if you’re in the mood for some Kidz Bop, and a synth instrumental, give this album a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Pass It On – 3:51
2 – Have You Seen Jesus My Lord – 3:01
3 – Sweet, Sweet Spirit – 3:17
4 – A Common Love – 4:01
5 – Sing And Be Happy – 3:20
6 – Anywhere With Jesus – 3:24
7 – I’ve Got The Joy, Joy, Joy (Down In My Heart) – 3:03
8 – Gizmo – 2:14
9 – Friends ’88 – 2:27
10 – We Will Always Be With The Lord – 4:45

Credits
Doris Akers – Songwriter
Reed Arvin – Synclavier Assistance
Joe Baldridge – Synclavier Assistance
Brown Bannister – Songwriter
Lisa Bevill – Vocals
Michael Blanton – Executive Producer
Charles F. Brown – Songwriter
Gary Chapman – Vocals
George W. Cooke – Songwriter
Mark Douthit – Saxophone
John Fischer – Songwriter
Lynn Fuston – Engineer, Mixed
Randy Garmon – Assistant Engineer
Dan Harrell – Executive Producer
Chris Harris – Producer, Arrangements, Vocals
Mark Heimermann – Producer, Songwriter, Arrangements, Keyboards, Vocals
James Hollihan – Guitar
Gary Janney – Vocals
Kurt Kaiser – Songwriter
William J. Kirkpatrick – Songwriter
Gary Lunn – Drum Programming, Bass
Marty McCall – Vocals
Donna McElroy – Vocals
Terry McMillan – Harmonica
Jerry McPherson – Guitar
Jeff Moseley – Executive Producer
Jessie B. Pounds – Songwriter
Benny Quin – Mastered
Chris Rodriguez – Background Vocals
Ted Silva – Songwriter
Deborah D. Smith – Songwriter
Michael W. Smith – Songwriter
Chris Thomason – Assistant Engineer
Daniel B. Towner – Songwriter

Nobody Special – Nobody Special – 1987

Real punk rock. Joey “Ojo” Taylor’s (Undercover) little brother went by the name of Pat Nobody with a band called Nobody Special whose debut release was called entitled Nobody Special and was produced by older brother Ojo. There is something about the name Taylor and Christian Music that just screams quality – Ojo, Steve, Terry Scott and Pat! Nepotism and redundancy aside, this album just plain kicked ass! Fast, hard, heavy and one of the finest punk deliveries in Christian Music. Ironically Pat formed the band, Nobody Special, right after the album was released by Frontline records. The original “band” that recorded the project along with Pat included Ojo Taylor (Undercover), Gene Eugene (Adam Again), Chris Birgandi (The Lifters) and others from the OC Christian music “cool scene.” I remember seeing the band Immortal Youth a few times playing around the LA and OC Christian punk scene in the early 80’s with bands like Undercover and the Lifesavors and remembering that I thought they were really cool. I did not find out until many years later that Pat was in that band as well. They (he) would only record two albums and that is a true loss to the industry that could have used many more.

Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/

Tracklist
1 – Sliding Backwards – 2:22
2 – That Feelin’ – 1:45
3 – Come Around – 1:22
4 – I Was – 2:14
5 – Dissertation – 1:02
6 – We Are Confident – 1:26
7 – People Who – 1:48
8 – Killin’ Time – 2:19
9 – Burnt – 3:09
10 – I Wonder – 1:48
11 – Numb – 0:56
12 – Get Off The Air – 2:21
13 – Ain’t That Hard – 3:57
14 – Separation – 1:29
15 – Deeper Things – 1:39

Credits
Artwork [Insert Lettering, Illustrations] – John Russey
Bass, Keyboards – Turner Burn
Drums – Emil Harvey
Edited By – Dave Jahnsen
Guitar – Dickey Moe
Guitar, Vocals – Pat Nobody
Mastered By – John Matousek
Photography By – Brian Ray
Producer, Engineer, Mixed By – Joey Taylor
Written-By – Pat Nobody

The Heart Beats – Only A Heartbeat Away – 1987

I can’t really find any info on The Heart Beats. They were a pretty good girl group of what I assume is 3 sisters. Well at least they all had the same last name so that’s my guess. This was the only album from them so I guess there’s not much more to the story. The album is good fun and actually has 5 pretty good covers. I think my favourite was Higher and Higher originally done by Jackie Wilson. Though my favourite cover of this song in the one in Ghostbusters 2. Rounding out the covers are, Everlasting Love (Robert Knight), When I Need You (Leo Sayer), Chapel Of Love (The Dixie Cups), and Jesus Is The Answer (Andrae Crouch). There may be other covers but those are the ones I recognized. All in all a fun album with a great 80’s girl group sound.

Tracklist
1 – Everlasting Love – 3:44
2 – Higher And Higher – 2:54
3 – When I Need You – 3:57
4 – He’s The Greatest – 2:55
5 – Chapel Of Love – 4:02
6 – Risen Lord – 3:31
7 – Heaven – 2:48
8 – Joining – 4:17
9 – The Superman – 3:39
10 – Jesus Is the Answer – 3:08

Credits
Bass – Dennis Davilio
Drums – David Prater, Terry Silverlight (tracks: A1, A3)
Drums [High Hat] – Rob Cali (tracks: B3)
Guitar – Tony Davilio
Keyboards – George Small
Producer, Arranged By – Joey Powers
Vocals – Angela Bass, Kathleen Bass, Patsy Bass

The Alarm – Eye of the Hurricane – 1987

The third studio album from The Alarm came to us in 1987. It was very well received reaching number 23 in the UK secular charts and number 77 in the US secular charts. The band actually toured with Bob Dylan the same year in support of the album. They also played Greenbelt the same year giving the Christian festival attendees a sneak peek of the album. The first single was “Rain In The Summertime” and when asked about it Mike Peters said they wrote the song together as a band. He also had this to say “We had a huge battle and it tore us apart. To get to the end of the record and have that song, it felt like we’d weathered a massive storm. We’d come through the eye of the hurricane, and here was the rain at the end of this intense period just to wash away all the ill feeling and bad experiences that we had, to bring us together.” The album is actually a little difficult to categorize. On one hand it’s rock but on the other hand new wave and on the third hand pop. However you categorize it, it is very good and a must listen.

Tracklist
1 – Rain In The Summertime – 5:12
2 – Newtown Jericho – 4:05
3 – Hallowed Ground – 4:17
4 – One Step Closer To Home – 4:31
5 – Shelter – 3:08
6 – Rescue Me – 3:19
7 – Permanence In Change – 4:01
8 – Presence Of Love – 4:01
9 – Only Love Can Set Me Free – 4:22
10 – Eye Of The Hurricane – 3:38

Credits
Bass Guitar, Synth [Bass Synth], Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Eddie MacDonald
Design, Art Direction – Steve Stretton
Drums, Drum Programming [Linn Programming], Backing Vocals – Twist
Engineer – Tony Platt
Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Dave Sharp
Lead Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Harmonica – Mike Peters
Management – Ian Wilson, Third Light Management
Mastered By – Jay Willis
Mixed By – David Leonard (tracks: A1 to A3, A5, B1 to B4), Tony Platt (tracks: A4, B5)
Mixed By [Assistant] – Gary Wilkinson (tracks: A4, B5), Jim Champagne (tracks: A1 to A3, A5, B1 to B4), Nick Blundell (tracks: A4, B5), Ron DaSilva (tracks: A1 to A3, A5, B1 to B4)
Musician [Additional], Piano, Organ [Hammond] – Chris Stanton* (tracks: A4, B4, B5)
Musician [Additional], Piano, Synthesizer [Dx7] – Mark Taylor (tracks: A1 to A3, B1 to B3)
Photography By – Spencer Rowell
Producer – John Porter, The Alarm
Programmed By – MacDonald, Porter, Twist
Written-By – Sharp (tracks: A4), MacDonald (tracks: A2 to A4, B1 to B5), Peters (tracks: A2 to A4, B1 to B5), Twist (tracks: A4), The Alarm (tracks: A1, A5)

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – MCA Records, Inc.
Distributed By – MCA Records, Inc.
Pressed By – Europadisk
Recorded At – Great Linford Manor
Mixed At – Soundcastle
Mixed At – Image Recording Studios
Mixed At – Great Linford Manor
Mastered At – Precision Lacquer
Phonographic Copyright (p) – International Record Syndicate, Inc.
Copyright (c) – International Record Syndicate, Inc.
Published By – Illegal Songs, Inc.

Petra – This Means War – 1987

This Means War! is the ninth studio album from Petra. The album was the start of a shift from their better known pop sound to a more guitar driven rock sound though the keyboards did remain and still dominated some tracks. The album was produced by the Elefante brothers and this is the style of music they excelled in producing. It is said that the title track “This Means War!” was a rebuke to those who criticized Christian Rock especially Jimmy Swaggart who had actually singled out Petra on his ridiculous rants against Christian rock. Personally I don’t really hear it but it’s an interesting side note to the album. The album garnered Petra their fourth Grammy Nomination in the Best Performance by a Gospel Duo, Group, Choir or Chorus category but alas they did not win the Grammy for the fourth time. The album released 2 singles. Don’t Let Your Heart Be Hardened made it to #1 and I Am Available made it to #4.

Tracklist
1 – This Means War! – 3:30
2 – He Came, He Saw, He Conquered – 4:10
3 – Get On Your Knees And Fight Like A Man – 4:32
4 – I Am Available – 4:27
5 – Kenaniah – 3:43
6 – You Are My Rock – 4:21
7 – The Water Is Alive – 3:48
8 – Don’t Let Your Heart Be Hardened – 3:41
9 – Dead Reckoning – 3:23
10 – All The King’s Horses – 4:17

Credits
Arranged By [Arrangements By] – Bob Hartman, Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Art Direction, Design – Dave Rogers
Backing Vocals [Background Vocals] – John Elefante, John Lawry, John Schlitt, Mark Kelly (8)
Bass Guitar – Mark Kelly
Booking [Concert Bookings] – William Morris Agency
Booking [Ministry Dates] – Ambassador Artist Agency
Drums – Louie Weaver
Drums [Drum Section] – Tom Hrbacek (tracks: 1)
Engineer [Engineered By] – Dino Elefante, John Elefante, Mike Mierau
Illustration – Chris Hopkins
Keyboards – John Lawry
Lead Guitar – Bob Hartman
Lead Vocals – John Schlitt
Management [Management By] – FirstBorne Productions, Inc.
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Producer [Produced By] – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Programmed By [Additional Programming] – Bob Hartman, John Elefante, Louie Weaver, Tim Heitz
Programmed By [Computer Programming] – John Lawry
Promotion [Newsletter & Band Information] – Petra

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Star Song Records
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Star Song Records
Record Company – Jubilee Communications, Inc.
Distributed By – Sparrow/Star Song Distribution
Pressed By – CTA Co. Ltd. – X-733
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Mixed At – Pakaderm Studios
Mastered At – Future Disc
Published By – Dawn Treader Music
Published By – Gaither Music
Published By – Petsong Publishing
Published By – Uncle Pitts Publishing
Published By – Stop Shakin Publishing

Temperance – They Gotta Know – 1987

Temperance were an unsigned band out of Naples Florida that self produced this album in 1987 and what an album it is. It goes without saying that growing up in Canada I have never heard this album before. What a pity as this is a great Rock & Roll album save the one Reggae track. Yes there’s a Reggae track and it’s just fun so don’t take it too seriously. But back to the Rock. I can’t believe these guys and gals were never signed to a record label. This album was good to go with no production or engineering required. This may be the best production I have ever heard on a self released album. A few of the tracks are very very reminiscent of Barnabas, so mush so that you could easily be fooled into believing it is them. If you missed this one in the 80’s, and I’m betting you did, you need to listen to this album.

Tracklist
1 – Start Praisin’ the Lord – 4:28
2 – Defenders of the Faith – 3:22
3 – Jesus – 3:48
4 – Out of Control – 4:27
5 – Give It to Him – 4:44
6 – They Gotta Know – 4:05
7 – The Great I Am – 3:14
8 – Lord, Lord – 4:07
9 – It’s a Lie – 3:11
10 – Yah Mon – 2:29

Credits
Bass – Eric Bennett
Drums, Percussion – Fred Corr
Keyboards – Beth Clear
Lead Guitar – Scott Carroll
Lead Vocals – Bill Kullen, Sandy Knight

Dual Edge – Knock ‘Em Alive – 1987

This hair metal band from Minnesota were introduced to us by Intense Records. They arrived at a time we were being inundated by Glam metal bands and these guys pretty well fit the mold. This album was actually just a remix of their demo with one new track and one track removed. There are some excellent vocals from Scott Turner and great guitar from Rick Wald. The only thing that could have done some work are the lyrics. That said if you don’t take the genre too seriously you should enjoy this album. I did.

Tracklist
1 – Lift Him Up – 4:06
2 – Fight For The Light – 5:08
3 – Be With You – 4:16
4 – New Life – 3:52
5 – Knock ‘Em Alive – 4:40
6 – Take It To The Bank – 4:04
7 – The Light – 4:09
8 – Follow Your Dreams – 3:23

John Avery – Songwriter, Bass, Background Vocals
Brian Bart – Producer, Engineer, Mixed, Background Vocals
David Harland – Songwriter, Background Vocals
Caesar Kalinowski – Producer, Engineer, Mixed
Rob Poseley – Background Vocals
Terry Steinmeyer – Songwriter, Drums, Background Vocals
Scott Turner – Lead Vocals
Rick Wald – Songwriter, Guitars, Background Vocals

Victory – Victory – 1987

Don’t know much about this band except that Steve Patrick of Holy Soldier was the lead on this project. Strangely he is credited as Steve O’Donnell and there is a Sean O’Donnell credited also. None of the rest of the names in the band seem to have done anything else so this little gem will remain a mystery. I was researching Steve Patrick and was happy to see he’s still making music. His most recent album is country and is actually pretty darn good.

Tracklist
1 – Kill ‘Em With Love – 5:47
2 – Hell On Wheels – 6:17
3 – Emerald Stare – 4:31
4 – Revelation – 2:30
5 – Grave Beneath The Willow – 5:59

Credits
Bass, Keyboards – Kelly McDonald
Drums – David McNinch
Keyboards, Lead Guitar – Sean O’Donnell
Lead Vocals, Rhythm Guitar – Steve O’Donnell

Contagious – Be Ready – 1987

Contagious were a Metal band our of California. This was their short run demo that was released on vinyl. They had an album subsequent to this on Regency records. I kind of liked this demo but I feel the production left a little to be desired. The info says that it was produced by Randy Thomas but I sincerely doubt it was the SCB Randy Thomas. While some of the songs are rather simplistic I took a liking to “He’s The Light” but unfortunately it didn’t make it onto their subsequent album.

Tracklist
1 – Water Then Fire – 3:00
2 – Jesus Is The Way – 3:40
3 – He’s The Light – 2:45
4 – One Way, One Truth – 3:04
5 – Nowhere To Run – 3:13
6 – Lost And Lonely – 3:57

Credits
Bass Guitar, Lead Vocals – Mark Lewis
Drums, Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Ryan Crampton
Engineer – Fred (On The Road) Tadesco, Randy Thomas
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Mike Gribionkin
Mastered By – Wally Traugott
Photography By – Rick Bergquist
Producer – Contagious, Randy Thomas
Written-By – Lewis, Gribionkin, Crampton

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Lamda Studios
Mastered At – Capitol Mastering
Distributed By – Regency Music
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Contagious Music
Copyright (c) – Contagious Music

First Strike – Crank It Up – 1987

This demo is a bit of an odd situation. The band had already had a successful album in 1984 with Exit Records. So this demo came out after they already had a record deal. Exit Records went bankrupt in 1987 the same year as this demo so I know there’s a story as to what happened between the band and Exit. The band were an established Hard Rock/Metal ban as their first album was very well received. Why they had to shop around a demo I’m a little unsure. The band however did have a new lead singer on this demo with Dave Campanaro replacing Tony Gunn. So all the clues, new lead singer, defunct record company, lead me to believe there is a story here. Anyway let’s talk about the demo. It’s only 4 tracks but quite frankly they are 4 album ready tracks. They continue their Hard Rock/Metal style that I liked so much on their studio album. If you liked the album you’ll love this demo.

Tracklist
1 – Some Kind Of Lover – 4:46
2 – Don’t Let Me Walk Away – 3:45
3 – Power – 4:49
4 – Come Back – 3:07

Credits
Bass, Backing Vocals – Chris Salmon
Drums – John Delaney
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Pat Boylan, Tim Larkin
Vocals – Dave Campanaro