Tag: 1988

Michael W Smith – I 2 (Eye) – 1988

Michael W. Smith is back with his 5th album and wow what an album it was. Full disclaimer, I do not like AOR BUT even I think this is a fantastic album. It sold Platinum and was #1 on the Top Contemporary Christian charts. It actually had 7 top 10 singles including 2 #1’s and 2 #2’s. Here is all of them;

Pray For Me #1
The Throne #1
On The Other Side #2
Hand Of Providence #2
I Miss The Way #4
Live And Learn #7
I Hear Leesha #7

This album had a much younger feel than earlier albums but it was approaching the end of the 80’s and that was acceptable at this point in Christian AOR music. I’m not really going to get too deep into the album as I am guessing most of you either had it or listened to it. If not I do suggest you take the time to listen to it. Reading through the credits I noticed Dann Huff (White Heart) played guitar and here’s the real surprise, Michael Sweet & Oz Fox did some background vocals. I’m not really too sure what track they appeared on but I was pretty surprised to find them here.

Tracklist
1 – Hand Of Providence – 4:33
2 – Secret Ambition – 6:26
3 – On The Other Side – 3:40
4 – All You’re Missin’ Is A Heartache – 5:39
5 – I Miss The Way – 4:35
6 – Live And Learn – 6:17
7 – I Hear Leesha – 5:26
8 – Help You Find Your Way – 5:28
9 – Ashton – 3:17
10 – The Throne – 6:49
11 – Pray For Me – 3:52

Credits
Michael W. Smith – keyboards, lead vocals, background vocals (2, 3, 6, 7, 10), horn arrangement (6), drum programming (9)
Dann Huff – guitars (1–8)
Chris Rodriguez – guitars (1, 3, 5, 6, 8), background vocals (4, 6, 8, 11)
Jerry McPherson – guitars (2, 4, 9, 10), acoustic guitar (7)
Billy Sprague – acoustic guitar (11)
Tom Hemby – guitars (6, 8, 10, 11), bass guitar (9, 11)
Mike Brignardello – bass guitar (1–5, 7, 8)
Tommy Sims – bass guitar (6)
Gary Lunn – bass guitar (10)
Paul Leim – drums (1–4, 6, 7, 8, 10)
Terry McMillan – percussion (1, 3, 5, 7, 8), harmonica (1)
Mark Hammond – drum programming (11)
Ronn Huff – string arrangements (5)
Mark O’Connor – fiddles and mandolins (9)
Wayne Kirkpatrick – background vocals (1–8, 10), acoustic guitar (3), drum programming (9)
Chris Harris – background vocals (1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10), recitation (6)
Mark Heimmerman – background vocals (2, 5)
Billy Simon – background vocals (4)
Michael Sweet – background vocals (4)
Oz Fox – background vocals (4)

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – MCA Distributing Corporation
Copyright (c) – Reunion Records, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Reunion Records, Inc.
Recorded At – The Bennett House
Recorded At – Deer Valley Studio, Franklin, TN
Recorded At – The Castle Recording Studios
Recorded At – OmniSound Studios
Recorded At – Sixteenth Avenue Sound
Mixed At – Sixteenth Avenue Sound
Mixed At – Masterfonics
Mastered At – Mastermix
Published By – O’Ryan Music, Inc.
Published By – Emily Boothe, Inc.
Published By – Riverstone Music, Inc.
Published By – Whitney Katherine Music, Inc.

Torah – Torah – 1988

Torah were a 4 person Metal band out of Decatur IL and this is all we got from them. I can’t really find out much about them but they sound like a pretty good Metal band. The problem with 1988 is that there were a lot of Christian Metal bands at the time and I assume these guys got lost in the crowd. They did get the track “Pray for the Children” released on a Metal sampler “Big Rage! Volume 1” which I can not find a copy of. There are a few videos of them on YouTube and they do have an active Facebook group so good to see they are still around.

Tracklist
1 – Rock and Roll Warriors – 4:03
2 – Dreams – 3:33
3 – Don’t Reign on My Parade – 3:43
4 – Pray for the Children – 6:04

Credits
Bobby Sheets – Bass
Doug Rudow – Drums
Gary-O – Guitars
Tammy Sheets – Vocals

Greg X. Volz – Come Out Fighting – 1988

This was Greg’s second solo album and was well received but it wasn’t as strong as his first. I think Myrrh thought the same as he was dropped by the label after this album. The album did have 2 singles on the ACC charts. “Take Me To The End” and “Will You Take Me Back?”. Both only made it to #29 on the charts. That said I will make the point again that an albums representation on this chart has nothing to do with whether it was a good album or not but usually was closer connected to home many easy listening tracks the album had. All that aside I think this is a pretty good album. I like the Pop leaning Rock tracks but the slow tracks are probably the stronger part of the album.

Tracklist
1 – I Come Out Fighting – 3:34
2 – I Don’t Know Why – 4:01
3 – Take Me To The End – 4:51
4 – Let The Mountains Fall – 4:14
5 – Dream On – 5:11
6 – What Will Remain – 4:16
7 – Back Burner – 4:44
8 – Will You Take Me Back? – 4:11
9 – I Know You By Heart – 3:24
10 – Up To The Mountain – 3:34

Credits
Arranged By [Track Arrangements] – George Atwell, Greg X. Volz, Michael Atwell, Mike Schmitz
Arranged By [Vocal Arrangements] – Greg X. Volz
Art Direction – Camille Engle
Booking [Concert] – Jeff Roberts
Design – Barbara Keller, Camille Engle
Drums, Drum Programming – Michael Atwell
Engineer – Andy de Ganhal, Dana W. Cornock, Jonathan David Brown
Guitar – Kirk Henderson
Keyboards – George Atwell, Michael Atwell
Management [Personal] – Ron C. Volz
Mastered By – Chris Bellman
Other [Hair And Grooming] – Michelle Kebre
Photography By, Illustration – Empire Studio
Producer – George Atwell, Greg X. Volz, Michael Atwell
Programmed By [Fairlight And Bass Programming] – Michael Atwell
Programmed By [Synclavier Programming] – Michael Atwell, Rich Head
Tape Op [Tape Transfers] – Gary Platt, Robert Knox
Typography [Typesetting] – D&T Typesetting
Vocals, Backing Vocals – Greg X. Volz

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Rare Form Studio
Recorded At – Wolf’s Head Studios
Recorded At – Parc Studios
Recorded At – Starke Lake Studios
Overdubbed At – OmniSound Studios
Overdubbed At – The Pond
Mixed At – Parc Studios
Mixed At – Criteria Recording Studios
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering

Joshua – Intense Defense – 1988

This was the final album from Joshua and it was probably their best. It is reported that the album took a better part of a year to record with a $700,000 budget. Strangely after RCA invested this time and money they actually dropped the band reportedly because they included the phrase “This album is dedicated to the Glory of God” in the liner notes. I have no idea how the album went over but wow is that a dumb reason to drop a band but that’s record companies for you. They do some really stupid things. Unfortunately this silliness probably played a part in the band splitting up. Rob Rock, Greg Shultz, and Emil Lech went on to form the band Driver and Joshua Perahia changed the name of the band to Jaguar. Unfortunately neither band had any commercial success. Back to the album though, it is a very good Hard Rock/Metal album and you can hear the dollars spent in the production and engineering. This album absolutely sounds as good as anything released commercially at the time and it’s a pity it was not better received in North America because it really deserved to be.

Tracklist
1 – Reach Up – 4:43
2 – I’ve Been Waiting – 4:27
3 – Only Yesterday – 3:38
4 – Crying Out For Love – 4:16
5 – Living On The Edge – 4:10
6 – Tearing At My Heart – 3:47
7 – Remembering You – 5:06
8 – Look To The Sky – 4:21
9 – Don’t You Know – 4:09
10 – Stand Alone – 5:02

Credits
Arranged By – Frank Mono, Joshua Perahia
Bass – Emil Lech
Cover [Illustration] – Norbert Lösche
Drums – Tim Gehrt
Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Uli Baronowsky
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Joshua Perahia
Keyboards [Programming] – Jimmy Waldo
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Greg Shultz
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Rob Rock (tracks: 3 to 10)
Mixed By – Pete Woodroffe
Mixed By [Mix Assited By] – Uwe Sabirowsky
Producer, Engineer – Frank Mono
Programmed By – Al Topo, Uwe Sabirowsky
Vocals [Uncredited] – Ken Tamplin (tracks: 1, 2)

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – BMG Ariola Hamburg GmbH
Copyright (c) – BMG Ariola Hamburg GmbH
Produced For – Breeze Music GmbH
Recorded At – Dierks Studios
Mixed At – Dierks Studios
Mastered At – Townhouse 3
Pressed By – Sonopress – C-4181
Published By – Breeze Music GmbH

Larry Bryant – Silent Movies – 1988

This was Larry’s second and last album. He turned it way up for this album from his previous AOR release. This is a solid Pop/Rock album and is very well done. It was produced by Joe Huffman and this may be the most Rock & Roll album he ever produced as he regularly produced Jimmy Swaggart albums. The memorable track on this album is “Frog In A Box” and while a very quirky name it’s actually a pretty good song. I kind of wonder why I hadn’t heard it before listening to this album just recently. This is another one I missed in the 80’s but I’m very happy I discovered it now.

Tracklist
1 – Frog In A Box – 5:42
2 – Once You Give Your Heart Away – 4:11
3 – Mighty Love – 4:09
4 – Silent Movies – 5:22
5 – Life Goes On – 3:55
6 – Won By One – 3:14
7 – Let The Praise Begin – 3:10
8 – Sometimes I’m Samson – 3:40
9 – East and West – 3:53
10 – My Soul Waits In Silence – 5:05

Credits
Reed Arvin – Synclavier/Extra Keyboards, String and Horn Arrangements
Larry Bryant – Songwriter, Vocals, Piano, Background Vocals
John Bryant – Background Vocals
Kimber D. Cherry – Songwriter
Jon Goin – Guitars
Mark Hammond – Drums
Joe Huffman – Producer
Gary Lunn – Bass
Marty McCall – Background Vocals
Niki Mikals – Engineer
Phil Naish – Keyboards
Mike Psanos – Re-mix Engineer
Lisa Whitford – Songwriter

The Newsboys – Read All About It – 1988

This was the first studio album from The Newsboys. They had got a deal from Refuge records but it would end up being a one album deal as this album was not well received. Lucky for the band Star Song picked them up so their career could continue. I’m actually quite surprised this album didn’t do better. It’s a pretty good pop album and certainly as good as most of the CCM stuff at the time. I suspect this may have been more of a problem with distribution and/or promotion. Like I say the talent was there and these guys went on to be one of the top CCM bands of all times as far as sold albums is concerned and they are still going strong today. This album included 4 tracks from their demo so if you had their demo this album wasn’t really a good deal but the songs were reworked.

Tracklist
1 – I Got Your Number – 4:45
2 – Listen For The Shout – 3:20
3 – Lighthouse – 3:16
4 – It’s Joy – 3:48
5 – You’re Still There – 3:06
6 – Read All About It – 4:46
7 – Hold On Tight – 3:57
8 – Never Surrender – 4:09
9 – The Big Time – 3:56
10 – He’s Coming Back – 3:48

Credits
Bass Guitar – Sean Taylor
Drums – Peter Furler
Guitar – Phil Yates
Lead Vocals – John James
Producer – Tommy Sims

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Rock Of Refuge

Hope Sterling – The Way Things Are – 1988

I really can’t find much on Hope but I will summarize what I did find but with no claim of it’s accuracy. Hope was a Canadian artist who went into the studio in 1987 or 1988 to record this excellent album. It has a great female pop sound and quite frankly I am surprised I can’t find out more about it. The album was produced by Roy Salmond who produced some of the best Canadian artists at the time and had some good albums of his own. Apparently Hope toured with Sheila Walsh in on Walsh’s Canadian tour as well as African Sonrise and Connie Scott on various dates. That’s about all I can find but this is an excellent album so give it the love it deserved in 1988 when it came out.

Tracklist
1 – Love Comes Along – 3:52
2 – Can’t Give It (If You Don’t Have It) – 3:59
3 – Standing In The Shadows – 3:59
4 – You Will Not Leave Me – 3:08
5 – I Remember – 6:37
6 – Oh The Distance – 3:10
7 – The Way Things Are – 4:12
8 – Arms Up – 5:17
9 – Don’t Keep On Running – 4:37
10 – Never Let Us Go – 4:28

Credits
Backing Vocals – Hope, Roy
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Donny Hackett (tracks: 6), Gayle Salmond (tracks: 6)
Bass – Miles Hill (tracks: 7)
Design, Layout – Nancy Yeasting
Drums, Percussion – Daryl Bennett
Engineer – Gary Tole
Engineer, Mixed By – Dave Slagter
Executive-Producer – Bill Sterling, Mark Sterling
Guitar – Dane DeViller
Keyboards, Bass, Drum Programming [Drum And Percussion Programming], Guitar – Roy Salmond
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Photography By – Francis Cheng
Producer, Arranged By – Roy Salmond

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Inside Trak Studios
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering

Paradox – Power and Glory – 1988

Paradox were a relatively unknown Metal band out of San Antonio Texas. They released 2 demo’s in the 80’s and got a song released on the Underground Metal sampler in 1988. This is another band that I wonder why they didn’t get a full ride record deal. This band was performing right at the perfect time but for some reason were overlooked. I don’t think they were the best metal band of the era but they were good and there was some real talent here. They did finally get a “Record Deal” in 2011 with Demon Doll Records, a relatively small Indy metal label. The album was all old material as the band hadn’t recorded in years. I’m guessing if you’re not from Texas you are probably not familiar with their work but give it a listen so you are. If you’re still on the fence at least give their version of Amazing Grace, “God’s Amazing Grace” a listen. I kinda liked it.

Tracklist
1 – Power And Glory – 4:39
2 – I Just Want To Love You – 5:05
3 – Meet The King – 3:23
4 – Sweet Reunion – 5:22
5 – God’s Amazing Grace – 2:09

Credits
Bass, Keyboards, Vocals – Phil Garcia
Drums – Efrain Galicia
Guitar – Fernando Hernandez
Lead Vocals – Manuel Castillo

Matthew Ward – Fade To White – 1988

By this point 2nd Chapter Of Acts was all done with studio work so Ward could concentrate on his solo career. Annie Herring from 2nd Chapter however does join Ward on the album. The album continues his more upbeat style and really several tracks on this album could easily be classified as Pop. The album had 3 singles. Far Behind made it to #10, Perfect Union to #3, and You Alone to #21. All in all a pretty successful album though it seems to get lost sometimes as his previous album, Armed & Dangerous, made quite a splash but this one didn’t seem as good of an album.

Tracklist
1 – Then I Realized – 4:32
2 – Racing For The Goal – 4:21
3 – You Alone – 3:42
4 – Show Them – 3:53
5 – Heart – 3:25
6 – So Many Are Lookin’ – 3:10
7 – Time Will Tell – 4:25
8 – Far Behind – 3:30
9 – Perfect Union – 4:38
10 – Fade To White – 4:26

Credits
Arranged By [Musical Arrangements] – John Andrew Schreiner
Art Direction, Design – Bradley Grose
Backing Vocals – Annie Herring, Interdenominational Youth Choir Of Nachodoches, Kelly Willard (tracks: 5), Nelly Greisen
Bass – Leon Gaer
Classical Guitar – Frank Kimlico
Drums – Mike Baird
Engineer [Engineered By] – Greg Hunt
Guitar – Michael Thompson
Keyboards – John Andrew Schreiner
Lyrics By – Matthew Ward
Mastered By – Doug Saax
Music By – Jim Tenneboe (tracks: 5, 6), John Andrew Schreiner (tracks: 1 to 10), Matthew Ward (tracks: 1 to 4, 6 to 10)
Other [Make Up] – Ken Gonzales
Photography By – Aaron Rapoport
Photography By [Assistant] – Tracy Lamonica
Producer [Produced By] – John Andrew Schreiner
Programmed By [Synthesizer] – Gary Leach, John Andrew Schreiner

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Live Oak Records
Copyright (c) – Live Oak Records
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Rosewood Studio
Mixed At – Rosewood Studio
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Published By – Megin’s College Fund Music
Published By – JAS Music
Published By – MIDI Mouse Music

Contagious – Free Indeed – 1988

I actually read a few reviews of this album before I listened to it and they weren’t that great. In fact they were all bad. Most of you are aware that metal is not my chosen style of music but I buckled down, got a soda and started listening. My first surprise was that all the songs were mislabeled. Turns out the album and the CD had different track orders but the CD used the back of the vinyl jacket for it’s track listings meaning they were all in the wrong order. As a result the software I use immediately mislabeled all of the tracks. On the upside I actually had to listen to the album to pick out the tracks properly. I really don’t know why this album was disliked as much as it was. Yea the vocals aren’t stunning but I don’t expect every metal singer to have a 5 octave range. I found the vocals to be adequate and the guitar was very very good. Bass was…. well it was bass and the drums sounded pretty good to me. Now I do agree that the album could have had better production quality. It was produced by Randy Thomas (Sweet Comfort Band) and maybe production isn’t his strong suit or maybe he just wasn’t familiar enough with this style of music. Personally I found the album to be OK but again this is not my favored style of music so my opinion might be completely wrong.

Tracklist
1 – Free Indeed – 4:03
2 – Fighting The Good Fight – 4:09
3 – Backslider – 4:15
4 – Building On The Rock – 4:46
5 – The Provider – 2:56
6 – Hebrews 13:8 – 3:33
7 – Turn – 3:11
8 – To The King – 3:03
9 – Children Of The Father – 5:18

Credits
Backing Vocals – Thomas Mitchell III
Bass [Fretless] – Mark Lewis (tracks: 8)
Drums, Backing Vocals – Ryan Crampton
Executive-Producer – Contagious
Keyboards – Mark Lewis (tracks: 3), Ryan Crampton (tracks: 8)
Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – Scott Sifton
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Bass – Mark Lewis
Producer – Randy Thomas

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Allies Recording Studio
Mixed At – Allies Recording Studio