Under Midnight – Under Midnight – 1992

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

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

Towne Cryer – Against All Evil – 1992

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

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Nehemiah Records
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Nehemiah Ministries Music
Copyright © – Nehemiah Records

Adam Again – Dig – 1992

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

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Brainstorm Artists International
Copyright © – Brainstorm Artists International
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Mixing Lab A
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Recorded At – Steve McCrum’s House
Mixed At – Pakaderm Studios
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering
Published By – Chenka, Chenka Music
Manufactured By – U.S. Optical Disc

Angelica – Time Is All It Takes – 1992

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

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Intense Records
Copyright © – Intense Records
Published By – Broken Songs
Distributed By – FMG Distribution
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus

Modest Attraction – Get Ready – 1992

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

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – Retroactive Records
Licensed To – Retroactive Records
Recorded At – PLC Recording Studio Hultsfred
Mixed At – PLC Recording Studio Hultsfred
Designed At – NoLifeTilMetal
Manufactured By – The ADS Group – 24379-CD-0085

Randy Stonehill – Wonderama – 1992

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

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Produced For – Stunt Productions
Mastered At – Future Disc
Recorded At – Mixing Lab A
Recorded At – Neverland
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Recorded At – Micronote Studios
Recorded At – McCrummy Music Studio
Recorded At – Jerry and Sharon’s Wax Lips Studio
Mixed At – Mixing Lab A
Published By – Stonehillian Music
Published By – Word Music
Published By – Buon Natalie Music
Published By – Twitchen Vibes Music

Michael W. Smith – Change Your World – 1992

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

Companies, etc.
Licensed Through – General Electric Company, USA
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Reunion Records, Inc.
Copyright © – Reunion Records, Inc.
Manufactured By – BMG Music
Distributed By – BMG Music
Pressed By – JVC

Mylon LeFevre & Friends – Faith, Hope & Love – 1992

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

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Star Song
Copyright © – Star Song
Recorded At – Angel Band Studios
Mixed At – Eagle Mountain Studios
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

David Zaffiro – Surrender Absolute – 1992

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

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Glasshouse
Mixed At – Glasshouse
Mastered At – Tower Mastering
Mastered At – Capitol Studios
Produced For – Zaffiro Productions
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Frontline Records
Copyright © – Frontline Records
Distributed By – FMG Distribution
Copyright © – Broken Songs
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Bryan Duncan – Mercy – 1992

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

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Embassy Studios, Simi Valley, CA
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word Communications Ltd.
Distributed By – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Recorded At – Soundhouse Studios
Recorded At – Bunny Hop Studios
Recorded At – Ocean Studios
Recorded At – Mama Jo’s
Recorded At – Hollywood Sound Recorders
Recorded At – Pack’s Place
Mixed At – Westlake Studios
Mastered At – Future Disc
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus