Tag: ¡Alarma! Chronicles

Daniel Amos – ¡Alarma! – 1981

This record was one of the all time best things throughout my teenage years. It was radical, it was catchy, it was rock, it was new wave, it was rebellious, loud, subversive and all that.

This album is so old and so cross-genre it was released on 8-track as well as cassette and vinyl.

Plus it was great art. It was a fold-out album with a fascinating scene presented in the inner part. The front cover and the back cover had images that corresponded. They went together to make a message. It had liner notes that were a story written to go along with the songs on the album.

In 1981 I’m sure I sat and read the whole thing. Then my friend read it and after we talked about it I read it again. And then I read it again.

Now I have this beautiful piece of art and I feel guilty for not taking the time to read the whole thing right now, to complete my experience. But I’ll do that again soon, I promise, I just have a few things to do for work first…

This is Daniel Amos’ second attempt at becoming a New Wave band after releasing 2 legit California style country albums. Those were good but they were not this. Horrendous Disc was recorded years before its release, and so technically came out in the same year as ¡Alarma!

This album changed the band forever by launching them as a completely restyled product. Terry Taylor guided DA all the way through and the New Wave years were cutting edge.

Tracklist
1 – Central Theme – 3:18
2 – ¡Alarma! – 3:21
3 – Big Time/Big Deal – 3:04
4 – Props – 1:58
5 – My Room – 3:25
6 – Faces To The Window – 2:31
7 – Cloak & Dagger – 2:16
8 – Colored By – 2:58
9 – C&D Reprise – 0:43
10 – Through The Speakers – 2:42
11 – Hit Them – 2:28
12 – Baby Game – 2:43
13 – Shedding The Mortal Coil – 1:20
14 – Endless Summer – 2:52
15 – Walls Of Doubt – 3:57
16 – Ghost Of The Heart – 2:36

Credits
Artwork [Airbrushing] – Stephen Nicol Price
Band [Members Of Daniel Amos], Bass Guitar, Keyboards – Marty Dieckmeyer
Band [Members Of Daniel Amos], Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Ed McTaggart
Band [Members Of Daniel Amos], Lead Guitar [Lead Guitars], Backing Vocals – Jerry Chamberlain
Band [Members Of Daniel Amos], Rhythm Guitar [Rhythm Guitars], Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Terry Taylor
Congas – Alex MacDougall (tracks: A5)
Design Concept [Cover Concept] – Daniel Amos
Engineer [Engineered By] – Thom Roy
Engineer [Live Sound], Coordinator [Road Coordination] – Wes Leathers
Graphic Design – Karen Knecht
Lead Vocals [Reluctant Lead Vocal] – Marty Dieckmeyer (tracks: A4)
Marimba – Alex MacDougall (tracks: A2)
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Percussion – Jerry Chamberlain (tracks: A5), Marty Dieckmeyer (tracks: A5)
Photography By [Photography] – Scott Lockwood
Producer [Produced By] – Daniel Amos, Thom Roy
Songwriter [All Songs Written By] – Terry Taylor (tracks: A1 to A6, A8 to B4, B7, B8)
Text By [‘Alarama Chronicles’ Book Text Written By] – Terry Taylor
Vocals [Female Vocal] – Karen Benson (tracks: B8)

Companies, etc.
Produced For – Rebel Base Productions
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Newpax Records
Copyright (c) – Newpax Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – Whitefield Studios
Mixed At – Whitefield Studios
Mastered At – MCA Whitney Recording Studios
Recorded At – Rebel Base Studio
Pressed By – PRC Recording Company, Richmond, IN
Published By – Paragon Music Corp.

Daniel Amos – Vox Humana – 1984

In 1984, Daniel Amos released their first album firmly branded under the name DA. The name Daniel Amos never went away, but with this one they went with the abbreviation in a big way. I even had a “DA” pin that matched the triangles appearing on this album cover.

Oh yeah, pins were a big thing then. All the best punk bands had lots of them out there. It was a measure of one’s cool in some circles.

Vox Humana was originally going to be called “Vox Robotica” before its release. The band had been talking about it during development, but when they got the final work done it sounded far less electronic than what they expected, so the title was changed to Vox Humana.

This is the third record in a trilogy known as “The ¡Alarma! Chronicles.” Each of the three records ended up being on a different label. Tim Chandler joined the band on the second of these as the new bass player, and would stay on for the duration.

Despite a lot of changes, DA kept artistic direction for the trilogy. The albums before and after these three don’t carry the same sound even if they carry equal genius.

Tracklist
1 – Travelog – 4:25
2 – (It’s The Eighties So Where’s Our) Rocket Packs – 3:35
3 – Home Permanant – 3:00
4 – It’s Sick – 2:18
5 – William Blake – 4:30
6 – Dance Stop – 2:43
7 – Live And Let Live – 3:40
8 – When Worlds Collide – 4:20
9 – As The World Turns – 3:47
10 – She’s All Heart – 3:00
11 – The Incredible Shrinking Man – 2:45
12 – Sanctuary – 5:45

Credits
Arranged By – The DA Boys*, T.T.*
Art Direction, Layout, Graphics – Ed McTaggart
Artwork [“Boot” Shadow By] – Gary DeLacy
Artwork [“Foot” Art By] – Phil Yea
Backing Vocals – Rob Watson, Terry Taylor, Tim Chandler
Bass [4 & 12 String] – Tim Chandler
Co-producer – Rob Watson (tracks: A2, A3, A5, B2, B3, B4), Terry Taylor (tracks: A2, A3, A5, B2, B3, B4)
Design Concept [Album Art Concept] – Terry Taylor
Directed By – Terry Taylor
Drums – Ed McTaggart
Engineer – Doug Doyle
Engineer [Second] – Rob Watson
Keyboards – Rob Watson
Keyboards [Occassional] – Terry Taylor
Lead Guitar – Tim Chandler
Lead Vocals – Terry Taylor
Mastered By – John Matouchek*
Percussion – Ed McTaggart, Rob Watson
Photography By [Photographics And Photography] – Ken Baley, Linda Dillion Baley*
Producer – Terry Taylor (tracks: A1, A4, A6, B1, B5, B6)
Rhythm Guitar – Terry Taylor
Synthesizer – Ed McTaggart, Rob Watson, Terry Taylor, Tim Chandler

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Refuge Records
Copyright (c) – Refuge Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.
Mixed At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.
Mastered At – Motown Recording Studios