Tag: 1990

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

Michael Peace – Loud-N-Clear – 1990

After 3 albums Reunion Records decided the time was right to release a live album but unfortunately I can’t find any information on where and when it was required. It’s a great collection of Michael’s most popular tracks and while this is not a genre of music I like I have to admit that I quite enjoyed this album. It’s a lot of fun and Michael is a great performer. It should be noted that Michael was in the process of earning a B.S. degree in Mass Media/Speech Communications from State University of New York at Brockport at the time of this tour. It should also say that Micheal said that God told him “to minister by faith and not charge a fee.” Thus, he only made $1,000-2,500 per concert. Nice to see that.

Tracklist
1 – Ad Lib – 4:11
2 – Rrrock It Right (Let’s Get Busy) – 4:45
3 – J-E-S-U-S – 4:04
4 – Vigilante Of The Rhyme – 4:30
5 – I’ll See You There – 3:30
6 – Solid Rock – 5:22
7 – That’s Right – 4:09
8 – He’s The Baddest – 4:40
9 – Livin’ On The Edge – 7:21
10 – (The New) Solid Rock Crew – 6:27
11 – On The Throne – 2:25
12 – Rock Your World – 4:06

Credits
Art Direction – Buddy Jackson
Cover [Cover Coordination], Production Manager [Production Assistant] – D.L. Rhodes
Design – B. Middleworth
Executive-Producer – Michael Blanton, Terry Hemmings
Mastered By – Glenn Meadows
Mixed By – Chuck Zwicky
Photography By – Mark Tucker
Producer [Production Assistant] – Tedd Tjornhom
Producer, Arranged By – Dez Dickerson
Programmed By – Tedd Tjornhom
Recorded By – Alan Dusel
Technician [Assistant Live Technician] – Ross Wullenweber

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Reunion Records
Copyright © – Reunion Records
Produced For – 3D Productions
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Glass Mastered At – Disctronics H – 112877

The Stand – Heartbreak Town – 1990

I really can’t find too much information on The Stand. This is their introductory album and it was the first release on Wonderland Records which was a short-lived sub-label of Word records. In places the album almost has an British Invasion sound from the early 80’s and yet in other spots has a resemblance to The Rembrandts. The album includes one of the best covers of Amazing Grace in the genre. Even though Mark Robertson was in this band he also put an album in the industrial band Under Midnight. As for the album I loved it. It is easily one of the best albums form this time period and will definitely go into my regular rotation.

Tracklist
1 – Heartbreak Town – 4:50
2 – Everyday – 4:36
3 – Every Dream – 4:25
4 – Reign Of Truth – 3:57
5 – Amazing Grace – 3:22
6 – Eyes Of Love – 3:45
7 – I’m Calling You – 4:19
8 – J146 – 5:55
9 – Heart’s Cry – 3:54
10 – Don’t Look Back – 4:34

Credits
Backing Vocals – Caesar Kalinowski, Christopher Mosher, Dave Palmer, Leah Thomas, Mark Robertson, Michelle Thompson, Tony Valenziano
Bass, Vocals – Mark Robertson
Drums, Vocals [Additional] – Dan Holter
Engineer [Second] – Christopher Mosher
Keyboards, MIDI Controller – Christopher Mosher
Lead Guitar – Paz Vega
Lead Vocals, Guitar [6 String & 9 String], Acoustic Guitar, Drum [Tambo] – Tony Valenziano
Mastered By – Eddie Schryer
Producer – Mark Robertson, Tony Valenziano
Producer, Executive-Producer, Engineer – Caesar Kalinowski

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

Towne Cryer – Towne Cryer – 1990

This is a demo from a band that never did get signed but it appears most metal heads are very well aware of them. They were best known as a thrash metal band but this demo leans far more to just a straight up metal band and not commercial metal, real metal. The quality of the demo is not all that great but I think the mix was pretty good. The problem probably lays in the quality of cassette tape used. You can’t fault bands when this happened as they were paying out of pocket for these things. Anyway this is a strong metal demo and I can’s tell you why they never got record deal. Just another one of those mysteries of early 90’s CCM.

Tracklist
1 – Still I Wait – 4:01
2 – Rock Of Salvation – 4:05
3 – Without You – 4:37
4 – He Is The One – 3:45
5 – The Tempter – 3:28
6 – Right To Kill – 3:03
7 – King Of Broken Hearts – 4:25
8 – Night Of The Thief – 3:03

Credits
Gena McClure – Vocals
Steve Metzger – Guitars
Shawn Cummings – Bass
Ron McClure – Drums

Michael Anderson – Michael Anderson – 1990

This is Michael’s second album and at this point in his career he was still on secular label A&M. He actually was not that vocal about being a Christian until later but famed music critic (at the time record store employee) David Lowman figured it out. You need to read David’s story about Anderson either on our website or his “https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/” Anyway this is Michael’s second album and while I loved his first one I think I love this one even more. It just has that great commercial pop sound that we all heard on the radio. Often I get sick of that pop sound but when it’s done right I just love it and Michael does it right on this album. I think we can attribute part of that great sound to production by Michael Omartian. Point of trivia is that Rob Watson (Daniel Amos) contributed a guitar track to the song “True Love”

Tracklist
1 – True Love – 5:08
2 – Could You Ever Love Me Now – 4:51
3 – The Rose And The Fire – 4:46
4 – Heaven Help The Lonely – 5:35
5 – Heartbeat From Glory (Memorial Day) – 4:41
6 – Raymond Chandler Said – 5:20
7 – Slip Away – 3:55
8 – Flame In The Fire – 4:36
9 – In The Dark Tonight – 4:24
10 – Let It Rain – 6:53

Credits
Art Direction – Chuck Beeson
Backing Vocals – Jeff Rollings (tracks: 1 to 9), Michael Omartian (tracks: 1 to 9), Toni Anderson (4) (tracks: 1 to 9)
Band, Bass – Taras Prodaniuk (tracks: 1 to 9)
Band, Blues Harp [Harp], Horns – Jimmy Z (tracks: 1 to 9)
Band, Drums – Dave Raven* (tracks: 1 to 9)
Band, Guitar – Don Kirkpatrick (tracks: 1 to 9), Randy Mitchell (tracks: 1 to 9)
Band, Guitar, Bass, Vocals – Michael Anderson (5) (tracks: 1 to 9)
Band, Keyboards, Percussion, Other [Lunch] – Michael Omartian (tracks: 1 to 9)
Choir [The Choir] – Alphinette Silas* (tracks: 1 to 9), Jeff Rollings (tracks: 1 to 9), Linda Tavani (tracks: 1 to 9), Michael Omartian (tracks: 1 to 9), Steve Tavani* (tracks: 1 to 9), Toni Anderson (4)
Coordinator [Production Coordinator] – Janet Hinde (tracks: 1 to 9)
Design – Rebecca Keeley
Engineer [Assistant] – Kevin Becka (tracks: 1 to 9), Mick Higgins (tracks: 1 to 9)
Mixed By [Remixed By] – Terry Christian (tracks: 10)
Musician [Additional], Bass – “Memphis” Buck Silvertone* (tracks: 1 to 9)
Musician [Additional], Guitar – Steve Lukather (tracks: 8,)
Musician [Additional], Guitar, Backing Vocals – Dean Chamberlain
Musician [Additional], Guitar, Other [Attitude (For Days)] – John Anderson (3) (tracks: 1 to 9)
Musician [Additional], Keyboards – Rob Watson (tracks: 1)
Musician [Additional], Soloist [Solo] – Michael Landau (tracks: 2)
Musician [Players], Backing Vocals – Toni Anderson (4) (tracks: 10)
Musician [Players], Drums – Dave Raven* (tracks: 10)
Musician [Players], Guitar – Josh Sklair (tracks: 10)
Musician [Players], Guitar, Backing Vocals – Jeff Rollings (tracks: 10)
Musician [Players], Guitar, Bass, Vocals – Michael Anderson (5) (tracks: 10)
Musician [Players], Keyboards – Michael Omartian (tracks: 10)
Musician [Players], Percussion – Ian Wallace (tracks: 10)
Musician [Players], Piano – Ian McLagan (tracks: 10)
Photography By – Aaron Rapoport
Producer – Michael Anderson (5) (tracks: 10), Michael Omartian (tracks: 1 to 9)
Recorded By – Ernie Sheesley (tracks: 10)
Recorded By, Mixed By – Terry Christian (tracks: 1 to 9)

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – A&M Records, Inc.
Copyright © – A&M Records, Inc.
Recorded At – Lighthouse Recorders
Mixed At – Lighthouse Recorders
Recorded At – Sound House, North Hollywood, CA
Recorded At – Homelands Studio
Recorded At – Master Control, Burbank
Recorded At – MCA Recording Studios

Bruce Carroll – The Great Exchange – 1990

I have to say that this is a bit of a confusing album. It has some country tracks, a rock tracks and some AOR tracks. Now normally this would doom an album as changing styles on an album is not good for sales normally. But in this case it just works. This is a great album and I just loved it. Even with the differing styles they are so well done that I don’t care. The album is well produced and the order of the tracks makes the transition from style to style enjoyable. The album had 4 CCM top 10 singles which must make it one of the best CCM albums historically. “Who Will Be Jesus” made it to #1, “The Great Exchange” #2, “Living In The Pages” #5, and “Elm Street” made it to #9. “Average Joe”, my favourite track, also sneaked into the top 40 at #38. Also “Who Will Be Jesus” won The Dove award for “Inspirational recorded song of the year”. Now that’s a successful album.

Tracklist
1 – Living In The Pages – 4:34
2 – Lay It On Down – 2:47
3 – Elm Street – 4:08
4 – Who Will Be Jesus – 3:51
5 – Average Joe – 4:07
6 – The Great Exchange – 3:51
7 – Wake The Dead – 3:05
8 – I Can’t Love Without You – 2:55
9 – Moment Of Truth – 4:47
10 – You Never Know – 3:16

Credits
Bruce Carroll – Vocals
Eddie Bayers – Drums
Michael Black – Background Vocals
Sam Bush – Mandolin, Background Vocals
John Cowan – Bass, Background Vocals
Eric Darken – Percussion, Tambourine
Bela Fleck – Banjo
Pat Flynn – Acoustic Guitar
Kenny Greenberg – Guitars
Buddy Greene – Harmonica
Chris Harris – Background Vocals
David Hungate – Bass
Phil Keaggy – Electric Guitar Solo
Brent King – Mixed
Wayne Kirkpatrick – Background Vocals
Bruce Koblish – String Arranger
Paul Leim – Drums, Percussion
Dwight Liles – Songwriter
Phil Madeira – B-3 Organ
Kenny Malone – Drums
John Mays – Executive Producer
Jerry McPherson – Guitars
Duncan Mullins – Bass
Phil Naish – Keyboards
Nashville String Machine – Strings
Mark O’Connor – Fiddle
Don Potter – Guitars
Chris Rodriguez – Background Vocals
Brent Rowan – Guitars
Bubba Smith – Producer

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Quad Studios
Overdubbed At – Quad Studios
Overdubbed At – Nightingale Studio
Overdubbed At – Stargem Studios
Mixed At – Digital Recorders
Mastered At – Mastermix

Surprise – Reformation – 1990

Reformation is the excellent sophomore studio album by Sydney band Surprise (previously known as Surprise Surprise), released by American record label, Refuge Records. The band was locally managed by David Smallbone who is the father of renowned CCM artist, Rebecca St. James. Out of all the 80s Australian bands I have reviewed so far, this is one of my favourite music finds. In preparing for this review I’ve listened to this album several times, and I still love it. The band’s music style is best described as ‘eclectic’ – ranging from rockabilly (‘Into The Light’), pop, rock, shock rock (‘Jack The Ripper?’), alternative, and even some hard rock/metal. What keeps things interesting is that the band has a male (Alexander MacDonald) and female vocalist (Lisa Parsons). The band are not as direct or in your face when it comes to sharing their Christian faith & worldview as other bands, and yet they share it in creative and sometimes witty/humorous ways. For example, in one of my favourite songs, ‘The Sixty-Six’, when referring to the canon of the Bible, the lyrics are:
I know 66 reasons for all these feelings inside my head.
I’ve seen 39 old ones full of bold ones and what You said.
Be still and know I am God…
I know that 27 speak of heaven, and that You bled.

Another great lyric is: No condemnation in the Him of Hymns, when life ends is when it all begins.

Another highlight are the guest vocals provided by In The Silence’s John Dickson on the track ‘Destroy all Monsters/Carnival Freakout/Onward’ (the ‘Onward’ part of the song is the band’s great remake of the classic hymn ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’).

The 13th track which is a bonus song contains the lyric:
I believe in the canon.
I believe in three-in-one.
I believe in the sixty-six, and the Virgin’s holy Son.

I’m looking forward to giving the band’s debut album, Fish!!!, on Refuge Records another listen.

Contributor – Frank Axel Rasenberger

Tracklist
1 – A-Z – 2:31
2 – Living Is Easy – 3:23
3 – Madder Than Me – 3:58
4 – Destroy All Monsters/Carnival Freakout/Onward – 3:35
5 – Into the Light – 2:32
6 – Jack the Ripper? – 2:29
7 – Slash’n’Burn – 2:41
8 – Voice Inside – 3:15
9 – Victim of Love – 1:50
10 – Look Inside Your Heart – 3:15
11 – The Sixty-Six – 2:15
12 – Come Back Today – 2:58
13 – I Believe (Bonus Track) – 3:03

Credits
Backing Vocals – Allan Dowthwaite, David Welch, Malcolm Kiely
Bass – Malcolm Kiely
Drums – Allan Dowthwaite
Engineer – Dave Simpfendorfer
Guitar – Alexander MacDonald
Keyboards – David Welch
Mixed By – Jeff Todd
Producer – Dave Simpfendorfer, Surprise
Vocals – Alexander MacDonald, Lisa Parsons

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Windwood Studios

Mark Heard – Dry Bones Dance – 1990

Mark Heard started the 90’s by starting his own record company, Fingerprint Records, with Dan Russell and Chuck Long. This was the first album on the label and they started out with a bang. Mark invited several guests for this album and they included Jerry Chamberlain, Sam Phillips, and Michael Been. Many Heard fans believe this is his best album and personally I must concur. I can put this one on repeat. When Mark started recording for his own label he made sure people were getting their moneys worth with his album having 14 tracks. We would only get a few more albums from Mark before his untimely death and I’m glad we got this one.

Tracklist
1 – Rise From The Ruins – 3:02
2 – The Dry Bones Dance – 3:46
3 – House Of Broken Dreams – 4:11
4 – Our Restless Hearts – 3:42
5 – Nobody’s Looking – 3:26
6 – All She Wanted Was Love – 4:19
7 – Strong Hand Of Love – 3:03
8 – How Many Tears – 2:58
9 – Lonely Road – 4:12
10 – Waiting For A Reason – 3:30
11 – Everything Is Alright – 4:24
12 – Awake In The Nightime – 3:29
13 – Mercy Of The Flame – 4:58
14 – Fire – 7:13

Credits
Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar, Vocals, Accordion, Harmonica, Kalimba, Backing Vocals [Assorted] – Mark Heard
Backing Vocals – Jerry Chamberlain, Pam Dwinell, Sam Phillips, Sharon McCall
Chapman Stick – Fergus Marsh
Co-producer [Associate Producer] – Dan Russell
Drums – David Birmingham
Dulcimer [Hammered Dulcimer] – Doug Berch
Engineer [Second Engineer] – Dan Reed, David Miner, Richard Tiegen
Executive-Producer [Executive-At-Large] – Chuck Long
Fiddle, Mandolin – Byron Berline
Graphics [Graphic Art] – Tim Alderson, Tom Goosmann
Mastered By – Dennis Bouch
Other [Occasional Back-Seat Driving], Engineer [Second Engineer] – Tom Willett
Other [Wagonmaster], Engineer [Second Engineer], Photography By – Joel Russell
Producer – Mark Heard
Soloist [Guitar Solo] – Michael Been
Viola – Novi Novog

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Fingerprint Records, Inc
Copyright © – Fingerprint Records, Inc
Copyright © – Ideola Music
Distributed By – Word Ltd.
Made By – Disctronics S
Recorded At – Fingerprint Recorders
Mixed At – Fingerprint Recorders
Recorded At – Plum Studios
Mastered At – Future Disc

The Swoon – Neverland / Ben Son Ben Son Beatrice – 1990

The Swoon started out as a group of four kids who played D&D together. Only one of them had any formal music training but this didn’t stop them from forming a band and playing in a church that was Pastored by one of their fathers. After a few demo’s, name changes, and new members the band played at Cornerstone in 1988. They actually cut a deal with Wonderland records but it never worked out. The band moved to California and recorded this album in Neverland studios. It was produced by Charlie Peacock though there seems to be some debate as to his level of involvement. After the record came out Refuge agreed to help with distribution. This however would be it for the band. It was already 1990 so I’m not surprised that this was their only album as it has a pretty strong 80s feel. Anyway it’s really really good and is one you should definitely give a listen to.

Tracklist
Neverland
1 – Whose Hands Are These? – 4:17
2 – Sweet Ally – 4:38
3 – Gypsy Street Legacy – 4:09
4 – One Day The Passion – 3:45
5 – Speak Soft – 5:57
Ben Son Ben Son Beatrice
6 – I Cried Out – 5:22
7 – Let’s Talk About Love – 3:59
8 – Ben Son, Ben Son Beatrice – 5:13
9 – Square Dance Candle Light – 6:52
10 – Via Dolorosa – 2:35

Credits
Backing Vocals, Bass Guitar – Troy Baartman
Backing Vocals, Keyboards – Jeana Gillispie
Bass Guitar – Daniel Thomas
Composed By [Compositions] – Austin Dacey
Drums – Emmett Dacey
Engineer – Derri Daugherty
Executive Producer – Charles Clark
Executive Producer, Producer – Charlie Peacock
Lead Vocals – Daniel Thomas
Lyrics By – Daniel Thomas
Mixed By, Engineer – Dave Hackbarth, Greg Sotebeer
Music By – The Swoon
Other [Guy Who Does Stuff] – Mark Derby
Photography By [Cover Photo] – David Dobson
Producer, Mixed By, Backing Vocals [Additional] – James
Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards – Austin Dacey

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Refuge Records
Distributed By – Spectra Distribution
Distributed By – Mainroads Music Group