1989 – Real 80s CCM

Mark Farner – Rock ‘n Roll Soul Live 1989 – 2023

Mark Farner did something really great for his fans with this one. Somehow he got the rights to the video and audio of his performance at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, California as part of the “Woodstock 20 Years After” festival in 1989. He released a DVD with the full video, a CD with all the tracks, and a very cool coloured vinyl LP with limited tracks. Okay so lets set the background. This was a music festival that unofficially celebrated the 20 year anniversary of Woodstock. While that was strange enough even stranger Grand Funk Railroad never played at Woodstock as they had conflicting tour dates. To be clear this was a secular music festival but Mark didn’t let that get in the way and sang a great mix of his classics and current Christian music. Mark really was a treasure in the industry. He often leveraged his bands early success to minister to people. Mark practised what he preached and I always felt he never got the recognition he deserved for that. Now let’s talk about the album. The original recording of this concert was obviously not intended for an album release but I have to say the mix is pretty good. Mark’s team did a pretty good job in post production because a concert mix is nothing like an album mix. I of course never being satisfied did do some post production work myself so you may notice our copy is slightly more saturated than the original. Hat’s off to Mark for an excellent release and I’ll say this too, he didn’t do a kickstarter so it is likely he didn’t make much of anything off this release. I hope I’m wrong and he made some money but if you listen to it here he’ll get a few pennies from YouTube. Be sure to visit his website if you’re a fan as he is still releasing albums and they are available there including both the vinyl and CD version of this album signed. I doubt Mark will ever read this but hats off to you Mark for an excellent release.

Tracklist
1 – Are You Ready – 4:03
2 – Rock’n Roll Soul – 3:32
3 – Footstompin’ Music – 4:06
4 – Airborne Ranger – 4:39
5 – Judgement Day Blues – 4:45
6 – Some Kind Of Wonderful – 5:27
7 – Paranoid – 10:23
8 – Come To Jesus – 4:01
9 – Mean Mistreater – 4:38
10 – Must Have Been Love – 3:11
11 – Bad Time – 2:46
12 – I’m Your Captain/Closer To Home – 6:34
13 – Heartbreaker – 7:24
14 – Isn’t It Amazing – 5:08
15 – The Loco-motion – 4:27

Credits
Art Direction – Mark Kalmus
Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Lawrence Buckner
Drums, Backing Vocals – Mike Maple
Keyboards, Backing Vocals – Mike Blair
Lead Guitar, Lead Vocals – Mark Farner
Mastered By – Randy Perry
Photography – Fred B. Slinger
Rhythm Guitar, Backing Vocals – Arnie Vilches

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Liberation Hall – Lib – 5164

White Ray – The First Sin – 1989

White Ray was the name for Killed By Cain before they were signed to their first record deal. They had a few demo’s and this is their second one. I don’t really know much about the history of the band but the guys over at Christian Tape Underground say they had connections with Bride and yes you can hear it here. I’ll be honest I far prefer this work to their Killed By Cain work. This has a throaty sound and is close to arena rock in some places. As I always say, this genre of music wasn’t for me but these guys were tight and knew what they were doing. There was so much talent in the Christian Metal genre it still surprises me as I never listened to it in the day. Matthew Hunt over at Retroactive Records released all of the White Ray demo’s on CD in 2019 so this recording is around in the used market. Anyway here’s some raw metal done right.

Images courtesy of – Christian Tape Underground

Tracklist
1 – The First Sin – 5:05
2 – Blood On My Hands – 4:38
3 – Charades Behind the Glass – 5:10
4 – To Die Is To Gain – 4:53

Credits
John Warren – Vocals
Anthony Bowling – Guitar
Steve Curtsinger – Bass
Shaun Hansbrough – Drums

Nia – Carry Me – 1989

Here we go with another European artist I never heard of. This is actually her third album, but she has several more, making her an artist I should have heard of. I have not listened to her first 2 albums yet, but this one is great. It’s a solid female pop album that leans a little more easy listening. No, it’s not a bunch of number one hits, but it is good. Nia is a great singer, and these are some great songs here. I have no idea who wrote them because there are no credits on the album, and information about this album is pretty sparse. This, however, was her last album until 1997, as the industry became difficult for her. She was hit with a plethora of rumours that we will not repeat, but Nia says they were all untrue, but they tarnished her view of the industry. She did overcome this nonsense and released another album in 1997 and several after that.

Tracklist
1 – Christian – 3:58
2 – Seek – 4:02
3 – Don’t Look Down – 3:19
4 – Rumours – 2:45
5 – The Way Ahead – 2:42
6 – Covered – 3:36
7 – Tears That Fall – 2:56
8 – Carry Me – 3:47
9 – Pray For Me – 3:37
10 – We Will Love You – 3:17

Credits
Bass – Tim Harries
Drum Programming – Martin Neil
Drums – Carl McGregor
Guitar – Ian Price
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Nia
Producer, Arranged By – Steve Thompson

Companies, etc.
Licensed To – Mega Production – MPCD 202
Distributed By – Grand Slam Europe

Connie Scott – Forever Young – 1989

This is Connie’s 7th album and probably one of her best. In the Canadian market she was at the top of the female CCM vocalist market. She returned to the studio with Roy Salmond as her producer. At the time of producing this album Roy was working on two other albums so I am assuming the studio was pretty busy. Many of the same studio musicians are on all three albums and I have spoken with someone who was in the studio at the time and said it was a very positive experience. This album is a great pop album that really displayed what Connie was capable of vocally. It’s easily as good if not better than what was being released in the Canadian market at the time. I do have one small criticism of the album though. It features a cover of Dylan’s forever young which was also chosen as the title track and I simply do not like the arrangement. I know Connie had nothing to do with it and I’m pretty sure it was Roy’s idea but it just doesn’t work for me. I may be biased because it is one of my favourite Dylan tracks but I just think the arrangement needed a little more edge. But my opinion has never made a successful album so I’ll leave it to Roy. The album was only released in Canada and Australia so it appears Sparrow records had abandoned Connie at this point. Too bad because I think this album would have done well in the U.S. market.

Tracklist
1 – Wild Horse Running – 4:20
2 – The World’s Last Night – 3:51
3 – Who Do You Give Your Heart To – 4:22
4 – Will You Follow – 3:48
5 – All That He Wants – 5:27
6 – The Longest Road – 4:49
7 – Cover Feelings – 5:16
8 – When Morning Gilds The Skies – 3:04
9 – The Coming Dawn – 4:32
10 – Forever Young – 3:27

Credits
Chris Cooke – Children’s Chorus
Connie Scott – Vocal Arrangement, Vocals, Vocals (Background)
Daryl Bennett – Cymbals, Percussion
Dave Deviller – Guitar, Guitar (12 String Acoustic), Guitar (Rhythm)
Dave Pickell – Piano
Dave Slagter – Mixing
Donny Hackett – Composer
Doug Edwards – Bass
Gary Tole – Engineer, Mixing
Grant Saip – Executive Producer
Gregory Ström – Choir/Chorus
Harris Van Berkel – Guitar
Jim Woodyard – Guitar (12 String Acoustic), Guitar (Acoustic)
Ken “Hiwatt” Marshall – Assistant Engineer
Larry Mah – Assistant Engineer
Mark Gersmehl – Composer
Michael Hart – Dobro, Dulcimer
Miles Hill – Bass
Nancy Yeasting – Art Direction, Design
Nichole Taylor – Children’s Chorus
Peter Wisstoff – Choir/Chorus, Composer, Vocals (Background)
Phil Robertson – Cymbals, Drums
Roy Salmond – Arranger, Choir/Chorus, Composer, Drum Programming, Guitar (Acoustic), Keyboard Programming, Producer, Programming, Vocal Arrangement, Vocals (Background)
Sherie René Scott – Choir/Chorus
Tom Baker – Mastering
Tom Howard – Piano, String Arrangements, String Conductor, Strings

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Image 7 Records Inc
Manufactured By – Image 7 Records Inc
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Image 7 Records Inc
Copyright © – Image 7 Records Inc

Sparks – Sparks – 1989

After leaving Bash ‘n The Code Greg and Rebecca Sparks toured and recorded with Russ Taff and then in 1989 they went into the studio and recorded this fantastic pop rock album. This is another one of those albums that didn’t get the recognition it deserved. I was trying to pic my favourite track but it’s pretty tough. I guess I’ll have to go with U Tell Me but really there’s several tracks here that appeal to me. I absolutely love I Need Your Love and I think I’ve heard it before I heard this album. Did someone cover this because I know I have heard it before but I also know I have never heard this album before a few weeks ago. Anyway give this one a listen it’s a great album.

Tracklist
1 – Rock Your World – 3:34
2 – U Tell Me – 4:11
3 – I Need Your Love – 5:09
4 – One Small Voice – 3:39
5 – Angels Of Mercy – 4:09
6 – Rest – 3:10
7 – (Through) Hell And High H2O – 3:35
8 – Jesus Is Merciful – 0:18
9 – Somebody’s Reaching – 4:25
10 – Day Like Today – 3:41
11 – High Tower – 5:54

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Reunion Records
Copyright © – Reunion Records
Record Company – Word Records Limited
Record Company – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Made By – Discovery Systems

Special Division – Bonds Of Trust – 1989

I have literally no idea how this album ended up in our collection but if you sent it to us a heartfelt thank you is in order. This is another band/album no one ever heard and everyone should have. The band is a collection of relatively unknown artists with the exception of Glenn Teeple who was the keyboard player for Elim Hall. The band was out of rural Ontario Canada as was Elim Hall and like I said even though I’m Canadian I never heard of them. The album has a similar fell as Elim Hall but updated for 1989. The exception is a straight up Rock & Roll cover of Dylan’s Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door which has the Darrell Mansfield Band as guests. You can easily hear Darrell’s harmonica and background vocals. It was obviously not recorded at the same time and place as the rest of the album as it has entirely different engineering. I would love to hear the story of how this track came to be. Anyway the album is fantastic and will easily land in my top 100 of all time. So if you like synth pop/rock with a new wave feel with excellent vocals this is a much listen.

Tracklist
1 – Bonds Of Trust – 2:43
2 – Take My Hand – 3:43
3 – Free Her Lord – 4:21
4 – Let It Go – 4:19
5 – Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door – 5:02
6 – Maybe Somehow – 4:30
7 – I Wanna See You Momma – 3:28
8 – Keep Searching – 3:51
9 – Angel – 3:10
10 – If I Had Wings – 4:24

Credits
Bass, Backing Vocals – Jeff Mann
Drums, Backing Vocals – Chris Mcintosh
Guitar, Backing Vocals – Jm English
Keyboards – Glen Teeple
Lead Vocals, Guitar, Harmonica – Mark Hussey
Producer – Fred Gage, Peter K. Hopper
Guest On Track 5 – Darrell Mansfield Band

The Reign – Back From Euphoria – 1989

The Reign were/are a Christian rock band from Southern California in the late 80’s/early 90’s. They only had this one album but it was a real cult favourite. I had not heard this one as obviously it didn’t make it’s way to Canada but I wish I had. This is a great Rock Pop album that had a perfect sound for 1989. The album did get picked up for distribution by Image Records and the CD got the cover we have here. The Cassette had a much simpler and quite frankly better cover. The band recently recorded a new album which was inspired/encouraged by drummer Doug Lada’s granddaughter. It’s really good too, what a great bunch of talented musicians. If you only have time for one track I’m telling you that you need to hear “Looking For You (On Christmas Day)”, though really you should be listening to the whole album. You simply can not go wrong with Darrell Mansfield playing harp on a few tracks and Riki Michelle singing backing vocals on two tracks. I was really impressed with the production quality of this self recorded piece and then I saw that it was produced by Gene Eugene. Suddenly it all makes sense. Anyway the band is till at it and you can check out some of their work on their YouTube channel listed below.

https://www.youtube.com/@TheReign-Official

Tracklist
1 – In Another Room – 3:29
2 – Cold Desert Wind – 3:52
3 – Looking For You (On Christmas Day) – 3:48
4 – Running Out Of Time – 3:27
5 – Trouble On My Mind – 3:19
6 – Weakness – 4:38
7 – Love Survive – 3:53
8 – Don’t Let It Take You Down – 4:56
9 – Dancer – 3:01

Credits
Harold Bloemendaal, Jr – Lead Vocals, guitars, Backing Vocals
Greg Kemble – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Travis Sheets – Synth, Hammond B-3, Backing Vocals
Curtis Holtzen – Bass, percussion, Backing Vocals
Doug Lada (Dug Dorr) – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals
Darrell Mansfield – Harmonica (Track 2, 5)
Gene Eugene – Producer, Acoustic Guitar (Track 9)
Riki Michelle – Backing vocals (Track 4, 8)

Companies, etc.
Marketed By – Image Records

The Alarm – Change – 1989

This was the fourth studio album from The Alarm and the band/label continued their Russian roulette approach to producers. Tony Visconti was chosen as the producer/engineer for this one and quite frankly wasn’t the best choice. He completely failed to capture the feel of The Alarm and instead produced a commercial sounding album that made the band sound like anything else that came out in 1989. This is not to say that the album isn’t good, in fact the songs are great, it’s the arrangements/mix that sucked. So many great songs and if you see any of them live they are fantastic but for whatever reason the label thought the band needed a mainstream sound. The Alarm were not a mainstream band, they were a band of Christians with an edge that Rock and Roll needed, especially in 1989. Some interesting trivial about the album is that it was released on vinyl even though the vinyl version had to eliminate 2 tracks because the album was 2 long. There was a version of the album released in the U.K. that had the extra 2 tracks on a 7 inch insert. If I still collected vinyl I’d love to have that version. The album’s first single, “Sold Me Down the River” is a fantastic track and if you ever hear it live you realize how good a track it really is. It reached #13 on the UK charts, #75 in the US charts and in Canada it reached # 19 so I remember it very well. My personal belief is if this had been mixed properly it would have been a top 10 hit but the label knew better than me, or at least they think they did. Anyway I urge you to listen to the album as it really is very good and I absolutely love it. BUT, if it had been produced properly it would have been huge in my opinion.

Tracklist
1 – Sold Me Down The River – 5:25
2 – The Rock – 4:39
3 – Devolution Workin’ Man Blues – 4:11
4 – Love Don’t Come Easy – 4:08
5 – Hardland – 4:09
6 – Change II – 2:52
7 – No Frontiers – 3:53
8 – Scarlet – 4:17
9 – Where A Town Once Stood – 3:48
10 – Black Sun – 4:30
11 – Prison Without Prison Bars – 3:48
12 – How The Mighty Fall – 4:19
13 – Rivers To Cross – 3:42
14 – A New South Wales – 4:46

Credits
Arranged By – The Alarm
Bass – Eddie MacDonald
Drums – Nigel Buckle
Guitar – Dave Sharp
Keyboards – Mark Taylor
Management – Barry Dickins, Elliot Roberts
Producer, Engineer – Tony Visconti
Vocals – Mike Peters

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Cinram
Record Company – I.R.S. Records
Distributed By – MCA Records
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – International Record Syndicate, Inc.

Triumph – Cry Freedom – 1989

This is the second album from U.K. band Triumph. There is not much info out there on these guys or perhaps their is but due to their choice of names it’s impossible to find. The album was produced by Norman Barratt and because of this I couldn’t wait to listen to it. This is an excellent album. It leans new wave with hints of progressive rock think The Cult light perhaps. The unfortunate part of this 80’s CCM project is that I have to listen to many many albums that just aren’t my style or preferred genre so I get pretty excited when I find a new to me album that I like. This is one of those albums. I’m a little unclear if this album was released in North America but I don’t think it was. Feel free to correct me though.

Tracklist
1 – Run With The Wind – 3:51
2 – Son Of Man – 3:50
3 – I Am Waiting – 4:17
4 – It Is Finished – 5:09
5 – Paid On The Nail – 5:36
6 – Cry Freedom – 4:36
7 – Never Trust A Stranger – 3:21
8 – Take My Life – 4:52
9 – Liberty – 4:00
10 – I Will Rise – 5:25

Credits
Jim Ritchie – Lead vocals, bass, percussion
Gordon Cowan – Keyboards, backing vocals
George McConnachie – Drums, percussion
Murray McEwen – Guitars
Andi Tooth – Drums, percussion
Nia – Background Vocals
Norman Barratt – Producer
Ted Blakeway – Producer

Paul Clark – Awakening From The Western Dream – 1989

Paul Clark was one of the most prolific CCM artists of the 1970’s through the 90’s. Strangely he only ever had 3 CCM singles which is absolutely absurd considering the quantity and quality of his work. I think this is my favourite album from him yet. I haven’t listened to then all yet but this one really is my kind of music. Many artists in the CCM industry get more mellow as they go along but not Paul. This is his 10th album and it is a solid pop effort with a great 80’s sound. On the mellow end “As Long As I’m Still Breathing” should have easily singled on the CCM charts especially in 1989. Somehow I missed Paul in the 80’s but I sure like him now.

Tracklist
1 – More Heat Than Light – 5:54
2 – Everywhere I Turn – 3:04
3 – You Can’t Accuse Me – 2:53
4 – I Can Feel Your Heartbeat – 3:02
5 – Marianna – 3:11
6 – So They Say – 4:04
7 – 1NA100 – 3:37
8 – Foxhole Confession – 3:36
9 – Don’t Let Go Of My Heart – 3:36
10 – As Long As I’m Still Breathing – 3:03

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Paul Clark
Backing Vocals – Baby Lee, Donald Brown, Don Harris, Paul Clark
Bass – Don Harris
Drum Programming – Paul Clark, Rod Lincoln
Drums – Rod Lincoln
Graphics – Network Graphics, Inc
Guest [Guest Appearance] – Pat Mastelotto, Steve Farris, Steve George
Guitar – Don Harris, Paul Clark, Kevin Rogers
Keyboards – Don Harris, Paul Clark
Lead Vocals – Paul Clark
Mixed By [Mixdown], Engineer – Bill Schnee
Percussion, Programmed By – Paul Clark
Photography – Paul Clark, Jessica Clark
Producer – Paul Clark
Programmed By – Don Harris
Recorded By, Engineer – Craige Lindesay, Dan Garcia, Gary West, Paul Clark

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – Seed Records
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Seed Records
Copyright © – Seed Music
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Seed Music
Published By – Minstrel’s Voyage Publishing Co.
Recorded At – Ground One Studio, Leawood, Kansas, Bill Schnee Studios, Sound Factory
Mixed At – Bill Schnee Studios
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Glass Mastered At – Denon Digital Industries