1990 – Real 80s CCM

Rock Power Praise – Volume 1 The Hymns – 1990

Pakaderm Records strikes again. This is sort of a compilation album of artists singing rockified hymns. Now I’ll be straight up here. When rock artists try to interpret a hymn it rarely if ever works for me. Usually this is because the arrangements basically suck. It’s not as easy as people think to take and old Hymn and turn it into a rock song. That aside the Elefante brothers wrote the arrangements for these tracks and they know what they are doing. As a result this is hands down the absolute best collection of rockified hymns that has been produced. What’s even more impressive on this album as that some of the vocalists are actually Maranatha singers who certainly are not known for Rock & Roll. Case in point is Sara Tennison covering A Mighty Fortress Is Our God which she absolutely nails and Mike Hadley’s Amazing Grace. This album is an absolute must listen. Where others have failed the Elefante brothers have succeeded.

Tracklist
1 – The Old Rugged Cross – 4:48
2 – He’ Got The Whole World In His Hands – 4:40
3 – A Mighty Fortress Is Our God – 4:19
4 – We Need Jesus – 4:49
5 – Holy, Holy, Holy – 4:00
6 – Nothing But The Blood Of Jesus – 3:21
7 – Amazing Grace – 4:02
8 – Go, Tell It On A Mountain – 4:27
9 – When We All Get To Heaven – 3:38
10 – I Have Decided (To Follow Jesus) – 4:41

Credits
Arranged By – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Backing Vocals – Barney Dunn (2), Gregg Lancer, Sara Tennison, Terry Stratton
Bass – Ba-Ba
Drums – Artemus Crowe, Jack Mac
Guitar – Rock Lobster, T-Mex
Keyboards – Jack Mac, John Andrew Schreiner, John Elefante
Lead Vocals – Gregg Lancer, Jamie Rowe, John Elefante, Sara Tennison, Scott Springer, Mike Lee, Mike Hadley, Russell Painter
Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Saxophone – Greg Vail

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Pressed By – Disctronics USA

Phil & John – Live – 1990

Whenever you sit down to listen to a Phil & John album you are never really too sure what you are gonna get. Some albums are pop, some are folk, some are humour, and some are worship. To be clear I do like them I just never know what to expect every time I get a new album. Anyway this is a live humour based album and is probably their best work. This is really where these 2 gentleman shined. I of course never got a chance to see them live as I live in Canada but I really wish I could have. If your in a poor mood toss this album on and you’ll find yourself in a much better mood soon.

Tracklist
1 – Oblivious – 2:55
2 – The Boxer – 4:16
3 – Australia Story – 7:14
4 – Homeward Bound – 3:44
5 – Child Of My Time – 5:17
6 – Stay Young – 3:28
7 – Teeth Story – 5:42
8 – The Day The North Left Town – 3:17
9 – Tommy The Tortoise – 5:48
10 – Echoes To Return – 2:40
11 – What Kind Of Love? – 4:13

Credits
Design – James Kessell
Guitar – John Hartley, Phil Baggaley
Mixed By – Neil Costello
Photography – Branka Jukić
Recorded By – Neil Costello
Vocals – John Hartley, Phil Baggaley

Hoi Polloi – Satisfy – 1990

Hoi Polloi was formed in New Zealand by Jenny Gullen, her husband, Andrew Horst, David Ball and Jozsef Fityus. This is their first demo recording and it likely propelled their career in the CCM industry. The Demo is fantastic and very very well produced by Tim Foreman at Airforce Recording Studio in Auckland NZ. The demo led to the band getting an invitation to Cornerstone and a 2 record deal from Reunion Records. All but one of the tracks on this album were rerecorded and released on the bands first album and the one remaining track showed up on their second album. The album has a great alternative sound and one can’t help but make a comparison to Lone Justice but with much less cow influence. The vocals are strong and the instruments are tight. This is probably one of the best produced demo’s I’ve ever heard. Definitely top 10.

Tracklist
1 – Rest Tonite – 3:22
2 – Rain – 4:05
3 – Love Shine Down – 3:14
4 – Satisfy – 4:13
5 – The Other Name – 4:23
6 – Come To Me – 4:09

Credits
Jenny Gullen – Lead vocals, acoustic guitar
David Ball – Lead guitar, rhythm guitar, keyboards
Andrew Horst – Bass, backing vocals, acoustic guitar
Jozsef Fityus – Drums
Jasmine Kemp – Background vocals on “Satisfy”
Dave Henderson – Background vocals on “Satisfy”
Youth Renewal Singers – Background vocals on “Rest Tonight”
Guy Wishart – Acoustic guitar on “Satisfy”
Jeff Tribe – Trumpet
Peter Slainey – Saxophone
Dave Parry – Keyboards on “Love Shine Down”

Chuck Girard – Fire & Light – 1990

Chuck Girard’s Glow In The Dark album was one of the first CCM albums that my friends and I ever bought. We spent hours listening to Anthem and Somethin’ Supernatural. As such I always a special spot for Chuck but I’ll be honest, he lost me in the 80’s as his albums became meh. But this album is different. Though it’s in his usual style I really like this one. Perhaps it’s because Rob Watson was involved with the production but this album is actually a really good album. When I had to classify it into a style I actually chose Light Rock, up one level from Easy Listening where Chuck’s album normally reside. I really liked the drums on this album which were played by Burleigh Drummond of Ambrosia. So if you grew a little tired of Chuck through the 80’s take some time and listen to this one, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Tracklist
1 – Set The Trumpet To Your Mouth – 5:26
2 – Walls Of Praise – 3:58
3 – Follow the Light – 4:11
4 – Blessed In The City – 4:09
5 – Fresh Bread – 3:54
6 – Fill My Cup – 3:44
7 – Lift My Hands – 3:22
8 – O Holy Night – 4:46
9 – Be Enthroned O God – 4:05
10 – Talk To Me – 3:50
11 – Hearts Of Fire – 4:37
12 – Jesus Is Standing Here – 6:08
13 – Enter In – 4:10
14 – Holy, Holy, Holy – 5:09

Credits
Arranged By [Vocal Arrangements] – Bill Batstone, Chuck Girard, John Barbour
Art Direction, Design – Antonio Lozano
Art Direction, Design, Layout – John Schaffer
Backing Vocals – Alisa Girard, Andy Allen, Bill Batstone, Chuck Girard, John Barbour
Bass – Tim Chandler
Drums, Percussion – Burleigh Drummond
Edited By [Mix Down] – Brian Davis, Chuck Girard
Engineer – Brian Davis
Engineer [Assistant] – Andy Allen
Engineer [Drums] – Doug Doyle
Executive-Producer – Lewis McVay
Guitar – Randy Mitchell
Keyboards, Programmed By, Arranged By [String Arrangements] – Rob Watson
Mixed By – Brian Davis, Chuck Girard, Rob Watson
Photography By – Dianne McVay
Producer, Arranged By – Chuck Girard, Rob Watson

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Asaph Records
Copyright © – Asaph Records
Distributed By – Asaph Musik
Distributed By – Asaph AG
Manufactured By – P+O Pallas – 63486

Tamplin And Friends – An Axe To Grind – 1990

This was Ken Tamplin’s first solo album after the first dissolution of Shout. Many argued that it was Tamplin that was the blood of Shout and this album does showcase his excellent guitar work. Now I want to be clear, I am about to criticize this album BUT!!!! I like this album, my critiques are more of what I thought could have been done better. First of all Ken engineered and produced this album and this probably caused a few problems. Secondly I don’t like the production. The mix is very guitar heavy and other instruments seem to have been forgotten about. Thirdly many of the tracks simply weren’t album ready. Yes the guitar tracks are good but the rest of the supporting instruments simply weren’t ready to be recorded. A little more practice and direction was required. Fourthly the album has 4 novelty under 1 minute tracks. In my opinion an album shouldn’t have any more than 1 of these and that may be too many. Finally, and this is nitpicking, the album has several tracks that run together. This was out of style by this time as CD’s were the in thing and CD’s don’t deal with blended track very well. Now that said I like this album, in fact I love 2 tracks enough that they are on my regular rotation, Livin’ For My Lord, and Straight Between The Eyes. Oh and did you know that Ken is Sammy Hagar’s cousin?

Tracklist

1 – Livin’ For My Lord – 4:54
2 – The Continuing Saga Of Screwtape & Wormwood – 0:30
3 – Going All The Way – 4:08
4 – Never Give Up (A Wife’s Tribute) – 5:16
5 – Music Box – 0:58
6 – Not Alone – 3:51
7 – Goin’ Home – 5:27
8 – Bouree In E Minor – 0:44
9 – Straight Between The Eyes – 4:17
10 – I Hear Cryin’ – 4:49
11 – Armageddon 1:03
12 – Holdin’ On/The Chase – 3:44
13 – Take ‘Em Back – 3:22
14 – Believin’ (Is The Hardest Part) – 4:21
15 – All The Things You Are – 7:18

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Bass – Jeff Berlin
Co-producer – Lanny Cordola
Drums – Ken Mary
Engineer – Ken Tamplin, Roger Mielke
Layout – Joe Potter
Lead Guitar – Joe Diorio, Ken Tamplin
Mastered By – John Matousek
Mixed By – Dave Jahnsen
Photography By – Nigel Skeet
Producer – Ken Tamplin
Rhythm Guitar – Joe Diorio, Ken Tamplin

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Intense Records
Copyright (c) – Intense Records
Distributed By – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Recorded At – Micronote Studios
Mixed At – Mixing Lab A
Mastered At – Soundworks West

Michael Gleason – Children Of Choices – 1990

This is Michael’s second album and at this point Michael appears to have finished working with Kerry Livgren. Though he may be best remembered as a member of AD this solo album form him deserves to be remembered also. Unlike his work with AD this album has a late 80’s pop sound but occasionally you can here some influence from his years with Kansas/AD. If you have listened to his first solo album this one is nothing like it. Nothing at all. Interestingly at this time Michael was doing studio work with Steven Curtis Chapman, Wes King, Newsboys, Michael Card, Steve Green, Geoff Moore & The Distance, and many others. I don’t know if that influenced his pop sound on this album but I feel he may have really honed this sound while working with these bands. This is an album that is often overlooked but shouldn’t be because it’s a great album.

Tracklist
1 – Children Of Choices – 4:11
2 – Western World – 4:46
3 – Feeding The Fire – 4:29
4 – One Breath Away – 5:00
5 – Don’t Give In To The Night – 4:16
6 – True To Myself – 4:30
7 – Life On The Line – 4:29
8 – Nature Of The Beast – 4:24
9 – Front Page News – 3:44
10 – Heart Of Stone – 5:07

Credits
Art Direction, Design Concept, Design, Layout – Terry DeGraff
Backing Vocals – Terry Brock
Drums – Scott Meeder
Engineer – Jeff Simmons, Mike Mierau
Guitar, Mixed By, Engineer – Sonny Lallerstedt
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Producer – Dino Elefante
Producer, Backing Vocals, Engineer – John Elefante
Producer, Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Keyboards, Mixed By, Engineer – Michael Gleason

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Pakaderm Records Inc
Copyright © – Pakaderm Records Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Twelve Oaks Studio
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Mixed At – Twelve Oaks Studio
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab

Sardonyx – Rebel of Reason – 1990

Sardonyx was formed in 1988 with the coming together of two metal bands. The original members were Tom Denlinger on Vocals, Rod Feltman Lead Guitars, Michael Anthony Drums, Tim Swarthout Lead Guitar, and Chuck Turner on Bass. In 1990 the guys came together at the home studio of Dave Kurtz of Thresher and would record this simple 4 song Demo. Shortly after the demo was recorded Tim Swarthout left the band and isn’t credited on the demo. The demo was very popular and while it led to recording offers they went on to forge their own path and release future albums privately. This demo is presented in full on both sides of the cassette which I always thought was a nice touch. Given the destructive qualities of playing a cassette these two sided versions would let you enjoy the music twice as long.

Tracklist
1 – Scandal – 4:00
2 – Don’t Chase The Rainbow – 4:38
3 – Bloodshed – 5:21
4 – Rebel Of Reason – 5:44

Credits
Bass – Chuck Turner
Drums – Michael Anthony
Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar – Rod Feltman
Vocals – Tom Denlinger

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Lifeline Studios
Mastered At – Lifeline Studios

Lasse Edin & The Outsiders – Unbounded Land – 1990

I’ll say honestly I’m a little confused how the Edin Adahl gang decided what albums were solo projects and what were group albums. This project includes Lars Edin obviously but also Frank Ådahl and Simon Ådahl and was produced by Bertil Edin. Anyway Lars was the lead on this project and wrote the music for seven of the tracks while Svenerid Dahl wrote the lyrics for those seven tracks. Simon Adahl wrote one track and strangely but pretty cool are two tracks written by Jeff Lynn as performed by ELO. I don’t really know too much about the project other than that but it’s a pretty good album. It has a bit of an early Edin-Ådahl feel and sound though it is produced better than those early projects.

Tracklist
1 – Summer and Lightning – 3:52
2 – Without Love – 2:54
3 – Right on Time – 3:44
4 – Cause I Need You – 3:46
5 – Unbounded Land – 4:02
6 – Bleeding Heart – 3:33
7 – Stepping Out – 3:27
8 – Confusion – 3:19
9 – I’m the One – 3:55
10 – Waste of Time – 2:58

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Slide Guitar – Simon Ådahl
Arranged By – Lasse Edin, Tommy Kaså
Backing Vocals – Frank Ådahl, Lasse Edin, Simon Ådahl
Bass – Tomas Axelsson, Urban Hedin
Design – Carl Åkesson
Drum Programming – Frank Ådahl
Drums – Johan Franzon
Engineer – Bertil Edin
Guitar, Lead Guitar – Tommy Kaså
Keyboards – Frank Ådahl, Jörgen Ingeström
Photography By – Magnus Elgquist
Producer – Bertil Edin, Lasse Edin
Steel Guitar – Per-Olof Larsson

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Cantio Records
Copyright © – Cantio Records
Published By – EMI Songs Scandinavia AB
Published By – Cantio Music
Recorded At – Edin Music Studio
Pressed By – CD Plant MFG
Glass Mastered At – CDM

Charlie Peacock – West Coast Diaries Volume One – 1990

Through the 80’s Charlie spent a lot of time in the studio cutting tracks that wouldn’t get released In 1989 Sparrow decided to release these tracks on series of 3 albums. While lots of artists have songs on the cutting room floor they are not this quality. This is not a bunch of B side junk. These are great tracks and this volume actually includes my favourite track from Charlie, “My Mind Played A Trick On Me”. These tracks were recorded in 86/87 and have that mid eighties sound and feel. This is a must listen to set of albums so start out here with volume 1.

Tracklist
1 – This Is How The Work Gets Done – 3:49
2 – Come On, Come On – 3:15
3 – Hot Night Downtown – 3:23
4 – One Thing – 4:25
5 – Tears Falling Down – 3:01
6 – The Last Hurrah – 3:42
7 – The Way Of Love – 3:45
8 – I Will Listen – 3:02
9 – Hiring A Worker – 3:49
10 – Big Man’s Hat – 4:22
11 – My Mind Played A Trick On Me – 4:40
12 – Only Love Will Hold Fast – 4:56
13 – Whole Lot Different – 7:13

Credits
Bass Guitar – Daryl Anders
Drum Programming – Bruce Spencer, Charlie Peacock
Drums – Bruce Spencer
Engineer [Overdubs] – Steve Griffith
Guitar – Jimmy Abegg
Layout – Wendy McFadden
Mixed By – Charlie Peacock, Daryl Zachman
Painting, Art Direction – Jimmy Abegg
Performer – John Weber
Photography By – Mark Tucker, Patrick Johnson
Producer – Charlie Peacock
Programmed By [Keyboards, Bass] – Charlie Peacock
Recorded By – Charlie Peacock, Daryl Zachman, Steve Griffith
Saxophone – Jon Skinner
Vocals – Annie Stocking, Jan Eric, Jimmy Abegg, Mark Tootle, Vince Ebo
Written-By – Bongo Bob Smith, Bruce Spencer, Charlie Peacock, Jimmy Abegg, John Weber

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – The Sparrow Corporation
Copyright © – The Sparrow Corporation
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Petra – Beyond Belief – 1990

While many feel this was Petra’s best album personally I just think it was their more successful album but there are several I prefer. That said this album had the exact right sound for the time it was released and I do admit it is a great album. To say it was successful is an understatement. Here’s a list of it’s awards;

Won Grammy Award for Best Rock Gospel Album in 1991.
Won Dove Award for Long Form Music Video in 1990.
Won Dove Award for Rock Album in 1991.
Won Dove Award for Rock Recorded Song (“Beyond Belief”) in 1991.
Won Dove Award for Recorded Music Packaging in 1991.

That’s pretty darn good. Interestingly they also received a mini movie using several videos of tracks from the album. We have a copy and will likely release it on our videos channel. Anyway the album is probably one of the best produced albums in the CCM genre ever thanks to the Elefante brothers. I doubt you missed this one back in the day but if you did, give it a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Armed And Dangerous – 4:06
2 – I Am On The Rock – 4:34
3 – Creed – 4:35
4 – Beyond Belief – 5:02
5 – Love – 4:11
6 – Underground – 4:29
7 – Seen And Not Heard – 3:54
8 – Last Daze – 5:01
9 – What’s In A Name – 3:32
10 – Prayer – 4:14

Credits
Art Direction – Buddy Jackson, Buddy Jackson
Bass Guitar – Ronny Cates
Design – B. Middleworth
Drums – Louie Weaver
Engineer – Mike Mireau
Engineer [Assistant] – Jeff Simmons
Keyboards – John Lawry
Keyboards [Additional] – John Andrew Schreiner
Lead Guitar, Arranged By – Bob Hartman
Lead Vocals – John Schlitt
Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
Photography – Mark Tucker
Producer, Engineer, Arranged By – Dino Elefante, John Elefante

Companies, etc.
Published By – Petsong Publishing
Published By – Uncle Pitts Publishing
Copyright © – Petsong Publishing
Copyright © – Uncle Pitts Publishing
Mastered At – Masterdisk
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Recorded At – Pakaderm West Studios
Made By – Player Print & Design
Printed By – Player Print & Design
Mixed At – Pakaderm Studios
Mixed At – Pakaderm West Studios