Tag: Crumbächer

Crumbächer – Tame The Volcano – 1988

I was very excited to listen to this album as I had not heard it before and wow was I surprised. Surprised being a synonym for disappointed in this case. On their/his previous album “Thunder Beach” we had a hint of what was coming but I wasn’t prepared for this album. Quite frankly it’s just another AOR album. Albums like this were a dime a dozen and it is hard to believe this even was Crumbächer. There are only a few tracks where we get to hear the synth genius that made Stephen Crumbächer famous. Instead most the tracks are run of the mill worship tracks. To say I was disappointed is an understatement. Now if I had never heard of Stephen Crumbächer I would likely have said this was a pretty good AOR album. Stephen’s voice is strong and even a little surprisingly good. I don’t think I ever gave him credit for the quality of his vocals. It even had 2 CCM singles with “Rainy Season” making it to #15 and “Waiting For You” to #13. While I was unhappy with the album it is not a bad album. It is quite good in its own right, just not what I expected or wanted.

Tracklist
1 – Once More (With Feeling) – 4:26
2 – Speechless – 3:51
3 – Waiting For You – 3:58
4 – Release Me – 4:27
5 – Reckless Boys & Bad, Bad Girls – 4:55
6 – Tame The Volcano – 4:17
7 – Lava Rock – 2:46
8 – Rainy Season – 3:58
9 – Somebody’s Arms – 3:58
10 – Every Now And Then – 5:06
11 – Once More (For The Band) – 4:24

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Christopher Duke
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Backing Vocals – Christopher Duke, Dawn Wisner-Johnson, Jimmy Wisner, Stephen Crumbächer
Bass – Tim Chandler
Design – Ed McTaggart
Drums – Jimmy Wisner
Electric Guitar – Christopher Duke
Engineer – Dave Jahnsen
Engineer [Second] – Beth Wisner, Eric Kibbe
Illustration – Marilee T. Niehaus
Keyboards – Dawn Wisner-Johnson, Stephen Crumbächer, Tim Heintz
Lead Vocals – Dawn Wisner-Johnson, Stephen Crumbächer
Music By – Christopher Duke (tracks: 4,7,9,10), Stephen Crumbächer (tracks: 1 to 11)
Percussion – Kurt Rasmussen
Photography – R. Michael Seeley
Piano [Acoustic] – Stephen Crumbächer
Producer – Bill Baumgart, Stephen Crumbächer
Saxophone – Eric Marienthal
Words By – Stephen Crumbächer (tracks: 1 to 11)

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – Asylomar

Crumbächer – Incandescent – 1985

Though often assumed to be a German band Crumbacher was actually a U.S. band whose lead singer’s name was Stephen Crumbächer. Incandescent was recorded as a short demo but when Broken Records heard it they requested the band cut a few more songs to make it a full length album. Crumbacher were probably the first synthpop band in the CCM genre. There’s really not much to say about this album, it had a German synthpop sound and was actually quite good for this style of music. Point of trivia is that the album was produced by Ojo Taylor from the band

Tracklist
1 – Understudy – 3:25
2 – Infrared/X-Ray Eyes – 4:16
3 – Glowing In The Dark – 5:12
4 – So Strange – 5:41
5 – It Don’t Matter – 4:45
6 – Jamie – 4:46
7 – Sweet By And By – 3:29
8 – Track You Down – 5:16

Credits
Backing Vocals – Dawn Wisner-Johnson, Jimmy Wisner, Stephen Crumbächer
Design [Cover], Layout – Ed McTaggart
Drums – Jimmy Wisner
Effects [Sepecial Effects Compositing] – Ken Baley
Guitar – Dan Hohulin
Keyboards – Dawn Wisner-Johnson, Stephen Crumbächer
Lead Vocals – Stephen Crumbächer
Mixed By – Chris Taylor
Photography By [Back Cover] – Rich La Salle
Photography By [Front Cover] – Bill Valenzuela
Producer – O-Joe Taylor

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Broken Records – 1985
Copyright (c) – Broken Records – 1985
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Sound Affair
Mixed At – Whitefield Studios

Crumbächer – Escape From The Fallen Planet – 1986

After the success of Crumbächer’s first album they signed a new record deal with Frontline Records. Unfortunately this meant that Ojo Taylor and Derri Daugherty weren’t involved in this album. They self produced this album and did a very good job though I think Ojo would have done a better job. This album continues the synth wave sound with some pop feeling and was a nice follow up to Incandescent. The track “Interstellar Satellite” did single on Christian rock stations. The 2010 “25th Anniversary Edition” CD release featured an A cappella version of “Alma Mater”. It is included in the playlist/tracklist.

Tracklist
1 – Solo Flight – 3:30
2 – Crashlanded (In Another Time Zone) – 4:20
3 – Identical Twins – 5:13
4 – Name Droppers – 3:50
5 – Royal Command Performance – 4:45
6 – Tourist Trap – 4:40
7 – Life Of The Party – 3:56
8 – Alma Mater – 1:39
9 – Graduating Class – 4:40
10 – Interstellar Satellite – 4:58
11 – Alma Mater (A cappella) – 1:43

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Dan Hohulin
Backing Vocals – Dawn Wisner-Johnson, Jimmy Wisner, Stephen Crumbacher
Cover – Kerrie Erickson
Drum Programming [Rhythm Programming] – Jimmy Wisner
Drums – Jimmy Wisner
Electric Guitar – Dan Hohulin
Engineer – Bill Baumgart
Keyboards – Dawn Wisner-Johnson, Stephen Crumbacher
Lead Vocals – Stephen Crumbacher
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Photography – Linda Dillon Baley
Producer – Stephen Crumbacher
Programmed By [Sequence Programming] – Stephen Crumbacher
Written-By – Stephen Crumbacher

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Frontline Records
Copyright (c) – Frontline Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company
Recorded At – Asylomar Studios
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering – 22303
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering – 22304

Crumbächer-Duke ‎- Worlds Away – 1990

When Crumbächer dissolved members Stephen Crumbächer and Christopher Duke went on to record this album and called in David Huff from White Heart to help them out on drums. The album has more guitar than their releases as Crumbächer but Stephen’s signature keyboards are still there though with more piano than usual. As I listened to it I couldn’t help feeling like it was Crumbächer all grown up. The songs are much better both lyrically and musically. That said the album just didn’t hold my interest like the previous Crumbächer albums did but it’s a good album and deserves a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Worlds Away – 4:18
2 – Heavy Rhythm – 4:15
3 – Summer Children – 3:25
4 – The Last Time – 5:07
5 – Desert Lightning – 4:09
6 – Latter Rains – 6:35
7 – Hooks – 4:04
8 – No Kind Of Magic – 4:11
9 – Perfect Crime – 3:00
10 – Tears Of Joy – 4:32
11 – Rock In The Heart Place – 4:20
12 – Over & Over, On & On – 3:50

Credits
Acoustic Guitar – Christopher Duke
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Design – Joe Potter
Drums – David Huff
Electric Guitar – Christopher Duke
Engineer – Eric Kibbe
Keyboards – Stephen Crumbächer
Piano – Stephen Crumbächer
Producer – Christopher Duke, Stephen Crumbächer
Vocals – Stephen Crumbächer

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – Mixing Lab A
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B

Crumbächer – Incandescent – 1985

Though often assumed to be a German band Crumbächer was actually a U.S. band whose lead singer’s name was Stephen Crumbächer.

Incandescent was their first album. I was supposed to be an EP, but upon the record company hearing it, they requested the band cut a few more songs to make it a full length album.

Crumbächer were probably the first synthpop band in the CCM genre. There’s really not much to say about this album, it had a German synthpop sound and was actually quite good for this style of music.

Point of trivia is that the album was produced by Ojo Taylor from the band Undercover.

Track Listing:
1 – Understudy – 3:25
2 – Infrared/X-Ray Eyes – 4:16
3 – Glowing In The Dark – 5:12
4 – So Strange – 5:41
5 – It Don’t Matter – 4:45
6 – Jamie – 4:46
7 – Sweet By And By – 3:29
8 – Track You Down – 5:16

Credits:
Backing Vocals – Dawn Wisner-Johnson, Jimmy Wisner
Drums – Jimmy Wisner
Guitar – Dan Hohulin
Keyboards – Dawn Wisner-Johnson, Stephen Crumbächer
Producer – O-Joe Taylor
Vocals – Stephen Crumbächer