1990 – Real 80s CCM

Deliverance – Weapons Of Our Warfare – 1990

For their second album Deliverance turned up the thrash to 10. Upon reading reviews of this album it seems like this album is loved by the people who love this genre. A few even said this may be the best Christian trash album ever. Obviously I can’t really comment on this as I don’t like thrash and to me it all sounds the same. I did find the track “23” quite interesting as it makes a reference to Psalm 23. I just can’t get used to thrash metal making a reference to a Psalm. Anyway while I may not care for the album I can tell that it is a good album judging from the reviews. It’s history of re-releases, 2008, 2014, and twice in 2017 is a further testament to it’s popularity. So if you’re a metal head with a love of thrash this obviously is the album for you.

Tracklist
1 – Supplication – 1:48
2 – This Present Darkness – 2:47
3 – Weapons Of Our Warfare – 4:25
4 – Solitude – 6:05
5 – Flesh And Blood – 7:27
6 – Bought By Blood – 3:17
7 – 23 – 5:49
8 – Slay The Wicked – 4:03
9 – Greetings Of Death – 2:49
10 – If We Faint Not – 4:25

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Band [Deliverance Is], Bass – Brian Khairullah
Band [Deliverance Is], Drums – Chris Hyde
Band [Deliverance Is], Lead Guitar, Rhythm Guitar, Acoustic Guitar – George Ochoa
Band [Deliverance Is], Vocals [All Vocals], Rhythm Guitar, Lead Guitar – Jimmy P. Brown II
Co-producer [Co-produced By] – Jimmy P. Brown II
Design Concept [Cover Concept By] – Jimmy P. Brown II
Engineer [2nd Engineer] – Brian “Missing” Person
Engineer, Producer [Production Assistant] – Eric “Homefilth” Kibbe
Illustration [Cover Illustration By] – Joe Yakovetic
Layout – Joe Potter
Mixed By – Bill Metoyer
Photography By – Douglas Cloutier
Producer [Produced By] – George Ochoa

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Intense Records
Copyright (c) – Intense Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Published By – Broken Songs
Published By – Carlotta Publishing
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Please follow and like us:

Adam Again – Homeboys – 1990

When a band with only five studio releases is able to have four placed on a list like this, it says something about the band that is beyond impressive. And the thing is, I am not a huge Adam Again fan stylistically, but utterly recognize the Gene Eugene Andrusco and crew created some of the most impressive music ever recorded over that very short five album career. And I don’t just mean the most impressive music ever recorded in CCM…but anywhere! The title track kicks off things with such an unforgettable groove and some impressive and memorable lyrics. Eugene’s is master storyteller here and anyone who remembers their youth and childhood will find something here to reflect upon. The loss of friendship and innocence is difficult and real. Obviously raised with a love for blues, R&B and cool funk/soul, Eugene was able to capture those grooves and place them firmly into the heart of alternative music. Often compared vocally to Michael Stipe and, in the early days, musically to The Talking Heads, on Homeboys there is more jazz, funk and heavier rock influences than either of those comparisons. Very few bands with the above comparisons and influences would be able to create a song like “Hide Away.” Mellow without ever being soft there is something more Van Morrison like here and it is utterly brilliant with a perfectly included violin accompaniment. The vocal passion in the album’s closer, No Regrets, again points to why this band was so amazing. Eugene and then wife, Riki Michelle, join forces here to bring the message home. The most auto-biographical record for Eugene, Homeboys is a classic along with two more that will follow.

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

Tracklist
1 – Homeboys – 3:41
2 – The Fine Line – 4:32
3 – Hide Away – 2:51
4 – Bad News On The Radio – 3:52
5 – Inner City Blues – 5:44
6 – Dance Around In Circles – 2:39
7 – This Band Is Our House – 5:56
8 – Save Me – 4:11
9 – Occam’s Razor – 3:35
10 – No Regrets – 5:24

Credits
Art Direction, Layout, Photography By – Bruce Heavin
Assemblage [Assembled By] – Dave Collins
Bass – Paul Valadex
Drums – Jon Knox
Engineer [Additional] – Greg Lawless, Ojo Taylor, Paul Valadez, Super C
Keyboards – James Werning
Lead Guitar – Greg Lawless
Mixed By – G. Eugene
Mixed By [With] – Greg Lawless (tracks: 1, 2, 5 to 10), Jeff Simmons (tracks: 3, 4), Paul Valadez (tracks: 1, 2, 5 to 10)
Producer [Produced By] – Gene Eugene
Recorded By – G. Eugene
Saxophone – Dan Michaels
Vocals – Riki Michele
Vocals, Guitar, Electric Piano [Rhodes], Organ [B-3] – G. Eugene
Voice [Preaching] – Rev. Howard Finster, Man Of Visions

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Brainstorm Artists International
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – The Mixing Lab
Recorded At – Neverland
Recorded At – Winetree Recording
Recorded At – Pakaderm West Studios
Mixed At – The Mixing Lab
Mixed At – Pakaderm Studios
Engineered At – Icehouse, Upland, CA
Engineered At – A&M Studios
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering
Published By – Chenka, Chenka Music
Published By – Jobete Music
Manufactured By – JVC

Please follow and like us:

Holy Soldier – Holy Soldier – 1990

Holy soldier formed in the 80’s by bassist Andy Robbins and guitarist Jamie Cramer and they quickly gained popularity in their hometown of Los Angeles. They commonly played secular outlets but maintained an evangelical message. In 1988 they released a demo and it was very popular in both secular and Christian circles. They were subsequently signed to some sort of deal between Word (Myrrh) and A&M Records. I’m not sure but I think they may have been the first Metal band sign by Word but admittedly I could be wrong. The album did really well in Christian circles and actually had some moderate success with secular audiences. The album achieved two Dove Awards in the hard rock song and album of the year categories. Point of trivia of the album is that is was produced by Bloodgood guitarist David Zaffiro and he did a great job. The album has a polished commercial sound and was as good as anything published at the time in the secular Metal genre.

Tracklist
1 – Stranger – 3:25
2 – See No Evil – 5:28
3 – The Pain Inside Of Me – 6:35
4 – Cry Out For Love – 3:28
5 – Tear Down The Walls – 3:58
6 – When The Reign Comes Down – 5:17
7 – Lies – 4:58
8 – Eyes Of Innocence – 3:55
9 – Love Me – 4:15
10 – We Are Young, We Are Strong – 5:15

Credits
A&R [A&R Direction] – Mark Maxwell
Art Direction – Laurie M. Fink
Art Direction, Design – F2 Design
Backing Vocals – Andy, Jamie, Michael, Steven, Terry
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Charles Meserole, Donna Rood, Donny Russell, Evelyn Watson, Marc Anthony, Michael Plissner, Sherie Hopper, Vanessa Beckrum
Band, Bass – Andy Robbins
Band, Drums – Terry “The Animal” Russel
Band, Guitar [Guitars] – Jamie Cramer, Michael Cutting
Band, Lead Vocals – Steven Patrick
Bass [Bass Overdubs] – Jerry Watts (tracks: 3)
Coordinator [Artwork Coordination] – Roz
Edited By [Digital Editing By] – Daniel Hersch
Effects [Keyboard Effects] – Charles Meserole
Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Bobby Salcedo, Dave Hackbarth
Engineer [Drun Track Engineer] – John Hanlon
Engineer [Overdub Engineer] – Charles Meserole
Engineer [Second Engineer] – Brian Herbert, Chuck Rodriguez, Jeff Piergeorge
Management [Managed By] – Daryn Hinton
Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
Mixed By – Joe Chiccarelli
Photography By [CD Portrait Photos (b/w)] – Aaron Rapoport
Photography By [Front Cover Photograph] – John Scarpati
Photography By [Live Photograph of Steven Patrick] – Perry Cooper
Photography By [Live Photographs] – Nigel Skeet
Producer [Produced By] – David Zaffiro
Technician [Drums By] – Ross Garfield

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Produced For – Zaffiro Productions
Published By – Most Triumphant Music
Published By – Dayspring
Published By – Barkloid Music
Published By – Word Music
Recorded At – Wayne Cook Studios
Recorded At – Neverland Studios
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Mixed At – Master Control, Burbank
Edited At – DigiPrep
Mastered At – Masterdisk

Please follow and like us:

Eternal Ryte – World Requiem – 1990

This is Eternal Ryte’s one and only on label album. They were yet another band out of the late 80’s California metal scene. They are known for doing the circuit of Secular bars that was considered trendy for Christian Metal bands at the end of the 80’s. As for the album it’s a pretty good metal album but is a little over produced in my opinion but you can still hear the skills of the band. Bobby Smith’s guitar stands out to me and also I found the writing to be a step up from most metal bands of the era. Unfortunately when Pure Metal was sold to Star Song Eternal Ryte is one of the bands that was released so we have to enjoy this album as other than their demo’s it is all we would get. Unfortunately the album is a little difficult to come by these days so it demands a bit of a premium.

Tracklist
1 – Tightrope Dancer – 3:53
2 – Requiem – 4:37
3 – Someone To Love – 4:42
4 – Say Hello – 4:20
5 – The Killer – 4:48
6 – Surrender – 3:07
7 – On The Line – 4:02
8 – You And Me – 3:42
9 – The King – 5:02
10 – No More Lies 5:15

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Fred Gustafsson
Percussion – Scott “Smash!” Earnest
Written-By, Guitar – Bobby Smith (27)
Written-By, Lead Vocals – Phil St. Vincent

Please follow and like us:

Mastedon – Lofcaudio – 1990

Brothers Dino and John Elefante returned with the other members of Mastedon to give us their second album in 1990. It was released on their own brand new label, Pakaderm Records. I’m a little unclear on their fascination with the elephant species but it’s kind of cute. The album actually has 4 lead vocalists, Dave Amato, Tom Bowes, John Elefante, and Dean Longacre. I don’t think I’ve seen 4 lead vocalists on an album before. As for the album it is somewhere in between metal and rock but I think it leans more metal so I’m categorizing it that way. You can actually hear Dino and John’s Kansas influence on a few tracks which is a nice bit of throwback.

Tracklist
1 – Holiest One – 4:50
2 – Life On The Line – 4:25
3 – Run To The Water – 4:30
4 – When It All Comes Down – 4:30
5 – Taken Down Below – 4:33
6 – Stampede – 2:27
7 – Living For You – 4:16
8 – Thief In The Night – 2:47
9 – People Of This Time – 4:54
10 – It Is Done – 3:43

Credits
Arranged By – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Backing Vocals – Bob Carlisle, Dave Amato, John Elefante
Bass – Dino Elefante, John Pierce
Cover, Design, Illustration, Layout – Robert Fischer
Drums – David Raven, Mac Jack, Phil Rowland
Engineer – John Elefante, Mike Mireau
Engineer [Additional] – Jeff Simmons
Guitar – Dave Amato, Dino Elefante, Michael Thompson, Steph Burns, Tony Palacios
Keyboards – John Andrew Schreiner, John Elefante
Mastered By – Bob Ludwig
Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Vocals – Dave Amato, Dean Longacre, John Elefante, Tom Bowes

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Mastered At – Masterdisk
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios

Please follow and like us:

Angelica – Walkin’ In Faith – 1990

The second album from Angelica was very well received. Surfing around the Internet I found many glowing reviews. When I listened to the album I found it to be excellent. This album was easily as good as anything on the radio in the late 80’s. The lineup for this album did change up a bit with vocals now handled by Jerome Mazza. Quite frankly he nailed this album, actually the whole band did. The production is excellent which kind of surprised me as it was produced by band member Dennis Cameron. In my opinion when bands self produce their album it has a good chance of being a disaster but occasionally an album proves me wrong and this is one of those albums. Cameron produced, mixed, played guitar, played drums, and provided background vocals. This is quite the workload. Anyway this is a great Metal album with a couple tunes that lean more Hard Rock. Not my preferred style of music I admit but I quite liked this album.

1 – Walkin’ In Faith – 4:42
2 – Hold On – 4:28
3 – All I Can Do – 4:50
4 – Soul Search – 4:13
5 – Time And Time Again – 4:14
6 – Sing And Shout – 4:25
7 – Set Me Free – 4:35
8 – Not Too Late – 5:20
9 – Bring Into Being – 4:41
10 – Harvest – 3:24

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals – Robert Pallen
Co-producer – Daryl Wicker
Engineer – Daryl Wicker
Guitar, Drum Programming, Backing Vocals – Dennis Cameron
Illustration [Cover] – Jeff Foster
Keyboards – Daryl Wicker (tracks: A2 to A4, B1 to B5), Dennis Cameron (tracks: A1, A5)
Layout – Joe Potter
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Jerome Mazza
Mastered By – John Matousek
Mixed By – Daryl Wicker, Dennis Cameron, Scott Seehower
Producer – Dennis Cameron
Written-By, Composed By, Arranged By – Dennis Cameron

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Intense Records
Copyright (c) – Intense Records
Distributed By – Word (UK) Ltd.
Recorded At – GCC Production House
Mastered At – Soundworks West

Please follow and like us:

Tamplin & 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. First of all I don’t like the production. The mix is very guitar heavy and other instruments seem to have been forgotten about. Secondly 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 practise and direction was required. Thirdly 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 – 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

Please follow and like us:

Kaiser Mansfield – Trimmed and Burnin’ – 1990

Without a doubt this is the best Christian blues album of all time. We all knew Mansfield’s blues abilities but I for one was impressed with Kaiser’s abilities. Kaiser’s voice is absolutely perfect for blues. Most of the album is cover tunes from Rev. Gary Davis, Blind Willie Johnson, Rev. Gary Davis, and James B. Vaughan. Kaiser however did write 6 tracks for the album and they fit in perfectly. If one knew nothing about the blues you would have a difficult if not impossible pick out the Kaiser written tunes. The album is an acoustic effort only featuring Guitar, Dobro, Harp, and Standing Bass. This album should be required listening for any Christian rock fan.

Tracklist
1 – Great Change Since I’ve Been Born – 3:12
2 – Keep Your Lamp Trimmed And Burnin’ – 2:53
3 – Shaky Ground – 4:22
4 – Nobody’s Fault But Mine – 3:08
5 – Go Tell Pharaoh – 1:53
6 – You Got To Move – 2:18
7 – In The Light Of The Morningstar – 2:45
8 – Celestial Shore – 4:50
9 – Jesus Is Comin’ Soon – 3:20
10 – God Don’t Never Change – 2:35
11 – What You Did – 5:11
12 – I Belong To The Band – 3:10
13 – You Got To Die – 4:41
14 – Cornerstone – 1:33
15 – We Shall See The King – 3:58

Credits
Design [Cover Design] – Cornerstone Graphics, Janet Cameron
Dobro, Guitar – Rob Glickman
Engineer – Ed Bialach, Roger Heiss, Roy Montroy
Mixed By – Roger Heiss
Photography By – Mike Tabor, Terry Wheeler
Vocals, Guitar, Dobro, Dulcimer, Blues Harp [Very Little Harp] – Glenn Kaiser
Vocals, Handclaps [Clapped, Stomped], Blues Harp [Blew Serious Harp] – Darrell Mansfield

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Grrr Records
Copyright (c) – Grrr Records
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Pressed By – Disctronics USA – 112929
Published By – Grrr Music
Published By – EMI Robbins Catalog Inc.
Published By – Chandos Music Inc.
Published By – Tradition Music

Please follow and like us:

Idle Cure – 2nd Avenue – 1990

The 3rd studio album from Idle Cure continued their arena rock sound that was so successful for them. Producer Bill Baumgart returns with Mark, Pete, and Steve for another successful album. I was doing a but of research on this album and I found some spirited conversations discussing whether not not this was their best album. Like I say they didn’t always agree but I think generally Idle Cure fans do consider this their best album. Now keeping in mind I did not hear any of their music until just the last few years I think their debut was the best. If I had to pick a favourite track for this album there’s no doubt for me that it’s “Talk It Out”.

Tracklist
1 – Pray – 4:38
2 – It’s No Fun Anymore – 4:01
3 – Human Solution – 4:58
4 – Picture Of Love – 3:49
5 – Contend For The Faith – 4:07
6 – Talk It Out – 4:28
7 – Don’t Turn Away – 4:04
8 – If You Mean It – 3:30
9 – Dead Or Alive – 3:58
10 – Ordinary Man – 4:07

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Drums – Clark Edmond
Engineer, Mixed By – Dave Jahnsen
Guitar, Vocals – Mark Ambrose
Keyboards, Vocals – Pete Lomakin
Layout – Joe Potter
Lead Vocals – Steve Shannon
Photography By – Scott Lockwood
Producer [Production Assistant] – Beth Wisner
Producer, Engineer – Bill Baumgart

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Frontline Records
Copyright (c) – Frontline Records
Recorded At – The Mixing Lab
Mixed At – The Mixing Lab
Recorded At – Jedi Masters
Mixed At – Jedi Masters

Please follow and like us:

Present History – Present History – 1990

This is actually a bit of a mystifying project. Present History is Darlene Zschech and Peter Beveridge. It is on an independent label which I am guessing was Peters personal label as this was the only release it ever had. It was recorded and released in Australia in 1990. It was released on LP and CD but it’s the CD that is so interesting. There is an original release with 10 tracks. Then there is a release with 2 bonus tracks. Then there is a release with the bonus tracks and 3 hidden tracks (this is that version). It was also released in Germany, Japan, Spain, and Europe. Peter had a CCM career before this album and Darlene had a CCM career after this album. The bonus and hidden tracks consist of remixes and or extended versions. Kind of surprising as we were pretty well done with the fascination of extended versions by 1990. Anyway it’s a solid pop album and I quite like it. Love the Roll Over Beethoven track. Contributing artists were David Evans and Randall Waller (Avion).

Tracklist
1 – Always – 3:30
2 – Freedom – 3:19
3 – City Streets – 4:20
4 – Roll Over Beethoven – 3:28
5 – Open Your Eyes – 4:53
6 – Only Ones – 4:02
7 – Don’t Wanna Say Goodbye /Luke’s Song) – 5:01
8 – Dreams – 5:12
9 – Counterfeit City – 3:55
10 – No Doubt – 3:44
Bonus Tracks
11 – Freedom (Extended Mix) – 5:18
12 – Always (The Soul – History Mix) – 6:14
Hidden Tracks
13 – Always (Club – History Mix) – 5:03
14 – Always (Extended Mix) – 5:23
15 – Roll Over Beethoven (Extended Mix) – 5:30

Credits
Engineer – Guy Gray
Lead Vocals – Darlene Zschech
Producer – Peter Beveridge
Backing vocals – David Evans, Randall Waller

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Nightlight Music Pty Ltd.
Copyright (c) – Nightlight Music Pty Ltd.
Recorded At – EMI Studios 301
Recorded At – Rhinoceros Studios
Recorded At – Rich Studios
Recorded At – Nightlight Studios
Mixed At – Arco Studios
Mastered At – EMI Studios 301
Glass Mastered At – Disctronics USA – 113252

Please follow and like us: