This is the first “industrial” album I have heard in the Christian genre. This was a style of music I listened to heavily in the secular world in the mid 80’s. I was surprised that it took until 1992 for this sound to show up in the Christian genre. I’m not saying this was the first in the genre but I can’t find one earlier than this. The album is actually Caesar Kalinowski, and Mark Robertson who were both in The Stand. Caesar was a pretty popular producer in the CCM scene through the 80’s. Anyway we have here an industrial concept album. The album tells a sci-fi dystopian future story and the tracks tell a great story. It solidly stays in the Christian genre including a couple alter calls. I was able to find several reviews from secular reviewers that loved the album and they said they tolerated the Christian content as it was so good. Personally I think it is pretty good and is easily as good as anything secular I listened to in the mid 80’s.
Tracklist 1 – Babylon USA – 4:11 2 – Die To Myself – 4:03 3 – Love, Pain, Truth, Fire – 4:30 4 – New Way – 4:34 5 – Cybervision – 4:42 6 – Learning To Fly – 3:52 7 – Two Worlds, One Cry – 4:53 8 – In A Mirror Dimly – 3:34 9 – Who Am I? – 5:03 10 – Fear And Trembling – 4:35 11 – Yes, I Am – 4:33 12 – Arise – 3:55
Credits Backing Vocals – Michelle Thompson, Tony Valenziano Backing Vocals, Vocals [Guest] – Beki Hemingway Design, Photography By – Lark Executive-Producer – C.Kalinowski, P. Gavin Morkel Guitar [Additional] – Kurt Bachman Producer, Written-By, Performer, Backing Vocals – D.B. Allen, Frankie Programmed By [Additional] – Luke Mazzeri, Max Hsu Written-By [Co-Written By] Track 7 – Max Hsu
I often hear this album referred to thrash metal but really I think it leans more to dark metal. What makes this band unique is that they had a female vocalist which was quite rare n this genre. For these guys it worked and it worked well. You probably already know that this is not one of my preferred genres. In fact Thrash is one of my most hated but quite frankly there is something different about this album. There are several tracks here that I kind of like. I would like to have heard lead vocalist Gena do some straight up Metal/Hard Rock, I think I would have really liked that.
Tracklist 1 – Shadow Of Death – 3:08 2 – Stone Cold Heart – 3:45 3 – Hound Of Heaven – 4:46 4 – Free – 3:29 5 – Seek Life – 2:54 6 – Time Ran Out – 4:31 7 – Lights – 4:12 8 – Sacrifice Of The Lamb – 5:04 9 – Let Go – 4:07
Credits Bass – Gary Ottosi Drums – Ron McClure Guitar – Jerry Rotz, Steve Metzger Vocals – Gena McClure
This is the fourth album from Adam Again. I have read in about 3 reviews now that this band wasn’t all that successful. Of course we don’t have any access to sales numbers but I heard of these guys in the 90’s after I was done listening to Christian music. Obviously I heard it when I was listening to secular music so obviously it had some recognition there. There’s not too much info on the recording of this album in fact I can’t find anything about how this album came to be. As for the album lyrically it continues to have an R.E.M. feel thinks to Gene Eugene’s vocals but the music has a great 90’s feel. This is one of those albums that falls in the “I didn’t like it” but it is very good category. This was not my style of music but I know a good album when I hear it and this is a great album. Jars Of Clay did an excellent cover of Dig on their 2003 album “Furthermore: From The Studio/From The Stage”.
Tracklist 1 – Deep – 4:15 2 – It Is What It Is (What It Is) – 3:43 3 – Dig – 3:25 4 – Hopeless, Etc. – 4:53 5 – Songwork – 5:28 6 – Worldwide – 2:07 7 – Walk Between The Raindrops – 3:30 8 – Hidden, Hidden – 3:25 9 – River On Fire – 5:46 10 – So Long – 4:19
Credits Art Direction, Design, Photography – Anna Cardenas Bass – Paul Valadez Drums – Jon Knox Executive-Producer [Executive Producers] – Gene Eugene, Ojo Taylor Guitar – Greg Lawless Lyrics By [All Lyrics] – Gene Eugene Mastered By – Brian Gardner Producer [Additional Production] – Greg Lawless, Jon Knox, Paul Valadez, Riki Michele Producer [Produced By], Recorded By – Gene Eugene Vocals – Riki Michele Vocals, Guitar, Electric Piano [Rhodes] – Gene Eugene
Dennis Cameron is back with Drew Baca on lead vocals with Angelica’s third and last studio album. This album definitely has a different vibe than their other ones. Many reviewers say it has a funk feel but I just think it concentrates a lot more on acoustic guitar work. While I’m in the minority I actually think this might be their best work. I actually really liked this album which is rare for me of a Metal album. This album was released in the US and Canada as Angelica but it was released as a Dennis Cameron album in Japan. Considering he did all the work but lead vocals I guess I can see why but I suspect it was more likely due to some oddball legal issue.
Tracklist 1 – Gotta Get Ready – 3:55 2 – Running Wild – 4:40 3 – Second Chance – 5:03 4 – I Can Hardly Wait to See – 4:19 5 – Open Your Mind – 3:48 6 – Don’t Stop – 4:04 7 – Time is All it Takes – 3:37 8 – Carry Me – 3:56
Credits Backing Vocals – Daniel Ysais Guitar [Guitars], Lead Vocals – Dennis Cameron Lead Vocals – Drew Baca Producer – Dennis Cameron Written-By – Dennis Cameron
Modest Attraction Featured Christian Liljegren (Narnia) and Mick Nordstrom (Leviticus) and rose from the ashes of Swedish band Borderline. This album is actually their first 2 Demos put together. These may have been demos but the production is fantastic. Mick Nordström is credited with production and this was one of the first albums he produced and he nailed it. This was only released in Sweden until 2021 when Retroactive Records did a U.S. re-release so you may have missed this one. This is without a doubt one of my favourite Metal albums I’ve reviewed yet. Everyone knows that Metal is not my preferred genre but wow this album is just so good it doesn’t matter. If you like hard rock I think you’ll like this one as its well produced and the guitar is decipherable so give it a listen.
Tracklist 1 – Action – 3:30 2 – King Of Rock ‘N’ Roll – 3:47 3 – Get Ready! – 4:31 4 – Come On! – 4:08 5 – Unfailing Love – 3:25 6 – Be Your Child – 2:40 7 – Love Shot Me Down – 4:08 8 – Calm Before The Storm – 4:47 9 – Shake The World – 3:29 10 – Down On My Knees – 4:11
Credits Arranged By – Modest Attraction Artwork [Album Cover By] – Jonatan Samuelsson Bass, Vocals – Simeon Liljegren Drums, Keyboards [Keys], Vocals – Mick Nordström Engineer [Engineered By] – Mick Nordström, Peter Jingsäter Executive-Producer – Matthew B. Hunt Guitar [All Guitar Parts on Side A Played By] – Stefan Selvander Guitar [All Guitars] – Stephan Mohlin Layout, Design – Scott Waters Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Christian Liljegren Liner Notes – Christian Liljegren Producer [Produced By] – Mick Nordström
This is an interesting project from Randy but not for the music as much as for who was the band. Rob Watson and Tim Chandler from DA are here as well as Rick Elias and drums were handled by long time LA studio musician David Raven. That’s quite the band and you can hear all their influences through the album. This album has in my opinion some of Randy’s best writing though with so many albums that’s kind of a silly thing to say. Strangely the album didn’t have a CCM single but then again while Randy indeed did have CCM singles he had very few considering the volume of his work. The CCM charts never really supported Randy’s work.
Tracklist 1 – Wonderama – 6:20 2 – I Will Follow – 3:00 3 – Barbie Nation – 4:57 4 – Don’t Be Sad – 4:15 5 – Rachel Delevoryas – 3:19 6 – Intermission At The Wonderama – 1:05 7 – Great Big Stupid World – 5:47 8 – Sing In Portuguese – 4:05 9 – Mice & Men – 3:13 10 – The Lost Parade – 4:14 11 – Lantern In The Snow – 4:36 12 – Wonderama Postlude – 0:42
Credits Arranged By [Strings & Horn], Written-By [String & Horn Arrangements Written By], Conductor [String & Horn Arrangements Conducted By] – Rob Watson Art Direction [Art Director] – Roz Artwork, Design – Court Patton, Tom Gulotta Bass – Tim Chandler Drums – David Raven Guitar [Guitars] – Rick Elias Keyboards – Rob Watson Lead Vocals, Guitar [Guitars] – Randy Stonehill Concept By – Court Patton, Terry Taylor, Tom Gulotta Executive-Producer – Mark Maxwell, Ray Ware Mastered By – Steve Hall Photography By – Linda Krikorian, Nic Nacca Producer [Produced By], Directed By – Terry Taylor Recorded By – G. Eugene
I have to admit yet again that I was not a Michael W. Smith in the 80’s. But this album is a fantastic early 80’s keyboard oriented pop album. But that’s actually the problem with this album, It’s a great 80’s album but it came out in 1992. This is an ongoing problem with Michael as he did some really good stuff but he always seemed to be 5 years behind. But the good news is that I didn’t really care for 90’s music so I get to enjoy this album just as it is. As per normal the album was great success on the CCM charts with 2 top 10 singles, “Give It Away” made it to #1 and “I Will Be Here For You” to #2.
Tracklist 1 – Picture Perfect – 4:06 2 – Love One Another – 4:51 3 – I Will Be Here For You – 4:32 4 – Color Blind – 5:37 5 – Somewhere Somehow – 4:17 6 – Cross Of Gold – 4:32 7 – Out Of This World – 4:23 8 – Somebody Love Me – 4:19 9 – Give It Away – 5:04 10 – I Wanna Tell The World – 4:26 11 – Friends – 4:39
Credits Arranged By [Horns] – Chris McDonald, Jerry Hey Arranged By [Strings], Conductor – Ronn Huff Art Direction – Janet Wolsborn Backing Vocals – Angelo & Veronica Choir – Christ Church Choir, Music City Mass Choir Concertmaster, Contractor – Carl Gorodetzky Creative Director – Robin Sloane Directed By – Landy & Joy Gardner, Reverend Lawrence Thomison Executive Producer – Michael Blanton Management – Blanton/Harrell, Inc. Mixed By – Humberto Gatica Mixed By [Assisted] – Alejandro Rodriguez Photography By – Timothy White Producer – Mark Heimermann, Michael W. Smith Recorded By [Horns] – Humberto Gatica Recorded By [Strings] – Brent King Strings – The Nashville String Machine
I figured I would introduce this album by quoting Mylons statement about the album. “FROM 1980 TO 1990 “BROKEN HEART” AND I RELEASED 10 ALBUMS, SOLD A MILLION RECORDS, AND TRAVELLED A MILLION MILES WORLDWIDE LEADING OVER 180.000 IN DECISIONS FOR CHRIST. BUT IN 1991. THE ORIGINAL MINISTRY VISION THAT GOD GAVE US HAD BEEN COMPLETED. AT THAT POINT OUR LIVES HAD BECOME OUT OF BALANCE BECAUSE WE WERE SPENDING MORE TIME MAKING HIM KNOWN THAN KNOWING HIM. SO WE TOOK A YEAR TO SEEK GOD AND COMMIT TO KNOWING HIM ABOVE ALL ELSE FOR THE REST OF OUR LIVES. I NEEDED TO HEAR HIS VOICE CLEARLY AND NEEDED TO RECEIVE MY INSTRUCTIONS. I NEEDED A FRESH VISION AND DIRECTION FROM THE LORD, AND AS I GOT QUIET, GOD MET WITH ME IN AN INCREDIBLE NEW WAY. THE RESULTS OF THAT SABBATICAL ARE THESE 11 SONGS WE CALL FAITH, HOPE AND LOVE. THIS ALBUM IS THE REFLECTION OF THE CHANGES GOD MADE IN ME, MY FAMILY, AND MY BAND BY THE PROMISES AND PROVISIONS IN HIS WORD. THESE SONGS SIMPLY TESTIFY TO GOD’S POWER, LOVE, AND FAITHFULNESS TO US. PRAISE GOD FOR THE VICTORY WE HAVE IN CHRIST JESUS. HE IS LORD! I FEEL LIKE A NEW MAN AND I THANK GOD FOR THIS NEW DIRECTION, NEW FRIENDS. NEW MUSIC, AND HIS FRESH NEW ANOINTING. IT’S GOING TO BE A GREAT YEAR. LOVE, MYLON”
Well there it is, now we know why this album exists. First lets talk about the positives of this album. It had 4 singles on the CCM charts, “Invincible Love” went to #1, “Closer Than A Friend” also made it to #1, “Give Thanks” made it to #6, and “Faithful” made it to #29. That’s actually pretty good. Any album with 2 #1 singles is a huge success. Now the downside. If you look at the album cover that indicates where were headed with this album. It is certainly not the Mylon that we were more accustomed to but instead a pretty AOR oriented album. Strangely it was also the end of his albums until 2003. Mylon however stayed very active. To quote Wikipedia “LeFevre increasingly turned to preaching and teaching as his vocation. He and his wife Christi minister in about 75 churches a year. He has also spoken at motorcycle rallies, NASCAR owner/driver chapel services, NFL and NBA chapel services, and in Russia, Australia, Canada, the Philippines, the Cayman Islands, and Mexico.” Bottom line this is a pretty mellow album for Mylon but if you want to hear a little of the Mylon we all loved check out “Callin’ Down Fire” which is easily the best track on the album.
Tracklist 1 – Invincible Love – 5:05 2 – The Name Of The Lord – 4:12 3 – Holy Is The Lord – 3:37 4 – The Power Of Love – 3:40 5 – Don’t Say It’s Over – 4:10 6 – Give Thanks – 3:58 7 – Closer Than A Friend – 4:59 8 – Humble Yourself – 3:55 9 – Masterpeace – 4:47 10 – Callin’ Down Fire – 4:08 11 – Faithful – 4:59
Credits Bass – Anthony Sallee, Joe Hardy Bass, Vocals – Paul Chapman Creative Director – Toni Thigpen Design, Layout – Jackson Design Drums – Ben Hewitt, Liberty DeVitto Drums, Vocals – Tony Miller Edited By [Digital], Mixed By [Mixing Coordination] – Leland Bennett Engineer – Dave Wagner, Scott Allen Engineer [Additional Engineering] – Sal Oliveri, Skip Benicky Executive-Producer – Jeff Moseley, Stan Moser Guitar – Joe Hardy, Steven Curtis Chapman Guitar, Mandolin, Fiddle – Ricky Skaggs Guitar, Vocals – Scott Allen, Skip Benicky Keyboards, Vocals – Sal Oliveri Liner Notes – Mylon LeFevre Mastered By – Doug Sax Mixed By – Win Kutz Percussion – Carlos Jorge Photography By [Photo Of Mylon LeFevre] – Russ Harrington Producer – Mylon LeFevre, Scott Allen Programmed By [Additional Programming] – Ben Hewitt, Cheryl Rogers, Joe Hardy, Joey Holder, Larry Rust, Rick Crow, Sal Oliveri, Scott Allen Saxophone – Todd Nystrom Vocals – 4Him, Carman, Dez Dickerson, Kenneth Bentley, Larry Rust, Michael English, Michael Gleason, Michael W. Smith, Ricky Skaggs, Steven Curtis Chapman
This is David’s third solo album and he is still mellowing out at this point but not in a bad way. Yes I generally lean towards liking harder Rock album but this is a great album. It’s a solid Pop album that some say is AOR but it leans Pop for me. The album has 3 acoustic tracks which I think are really well done. While they aren’t really my style they are very well done and we can really appreciate David’s vocals on these tracks. Interestingly Aussie Randall Waller stepped in and assisted David with the production on the album.
Tracklist 1 – Find My Way – 4:03 2 – To The Heavens – 4:15 3 – Carousel – 4:14 4 – Silas And Serai – 5:15 5 – In A Box – 4:05 6 – Attitude – 3:56 7 – Calling Out To Me – 4:47 8 – Surrender Absolute – 3:56 9 – Every Little Thing – 4:17 10 – No Long Goodbyes – 4:58
Credits Art Direction, Design – Brian Godawa Co-producer [Production Assistance], Engineer [Assistant] – Randall Waller Engineer – David Zaffiro Executive-Producer, A&R – Matthew Duffy Mastered By – Ron McMaster Photography By – Joe Potter, Mark Wilkins, Susan Waller Producer – David Zaffiro
To say this was a successful album is an understatement as it had 2 #1 hits and 4 #2 hits. Yet it did not get a Grammy or Dove award nomination. Until the end of time I will never ever understand the Christian Music industry. When 60% of an album goes to #2 or #1 it obviously should have been in the running. Furthermore the best track on the album, “Five Smooth Stones”, a duet with Crystal Lewis, wasn’t even released as a single. I am again left speechless by the industry. Anyway, the album has a few tracks where we get to hear that big band sound that Bryan loved and perfected and other than that we have some very solid pop tracks. I feel the album leans a little more to the ballads than his previous ones but it’s not a problem. This is a great album and several tracks are on my regular rotation.
Tracklist 1 – Mercy Me (Love Is My Responsibility) – 3:17 2 – Step By Step – 4:41 3 – Into My Heart – 3:55 4 – You Don’t Leave Me Lonely – 3:59 5 – When It Comes To Love – 5:58 6 – Looks A Lot Like Me – 3:45 7 – Love Takes Time – 3:51 8 – Faithful To You – 5:04 9 – I’ll Not Forget You – 4:27 10 – Five Smooth Stones – 3:31
Credits Arranged By, Keyboards [Arranged By] – Michael Omartian, Peter Wolf, Robbie Buchanan Art Direction – Diana Barnes Backing Vocals – Alexis England, Darrell Brown, David Pack, David Robertson, Diana DeWitt, Gene Miller, Leslie Smith, Suzie Benson, Tom Burns Bass – Neil Stubenhaus Brass – Bill Reichenbach, Dan Higgins, Gary Grant, Jerry Hey Design – Larry Vigon, Rowena Rivera Curtis Drums – John Robinson Engineer – Mike Mierau Engineer [2nd] – Slamm Andrews Engineer [Additional] – Al Phillips, Paul Erickson, Terry Christian Guitar – Glenn Pearce, Paul Jackson Jr. Mastered By – Steve Hall Mixed By – Daren Klein Organ [B-3], Keyboards [Additional] – Alan Pasqua Percussion – Mike Fisher Photography By – Denise Milford Producer – Dan Posthuma
