Guardian – Nunca Te Dire Adios – 1995

Apparently Jamie Rowe and some of the rest of the band were fluent in Spanish and decided to release a few albums in Spanish for the Mexican and South American market. One of the things I have learnt through this project is that CCM music was huge in South America. In fact Brazil has the 3rd most listeners on our YouTube channel followed by Mexico placing them above The U.K. and Australia. Most of these tracks are actually just Spanish covers of previous tracks but the went back into the studio to re-cut the music. I really like Spanish music and was delighted to discover these Spanish Guardian releases. The quality is fantastic and these tracks do not come off as just a new language cover.

Tracklist
1 – Que El Mundo De Su Gloria Llene – 5:02
2 – Todos Vamos Ja – 4:52
3 – Te Veo en el Cielo – 4:39
4 – El Capitán – 4:21
5 – ¿Sabes Que Es El Amor? – 4:51
6 – Nunca Te Diré Adiós – 4:54
7 – Toma Tu Cruz – 4:49
8 – Uno Para el Otro – 4:03
9 – Como el Sol – 5:24
10 – Creo en Ti – 5:10

Guardian – Swing Swang Swung – 1994

To say this album was not well received would be an understatement. Guardian had garnered a strong following of their Metal/Hard Rock sound. I really don’t understand what either the band or the Elefante brothers were thinking. I feel sorry for their fans thinking they were buying a hard rock album and they got this instead. Now it should be said the band were successful with this sound and had many more albums with what I assume were new fans of the band. Personally I don’t mind when a band evolves but in this case they changed not evolved. As for the album it’s actually pretty good as the band avoided the grunge sound that was becoming popular but instead went with a pop sound. As I was never a fan of either of the bands styles I can enjoy both sounds equally but wow, it really was a slap in the face to their hard rock roots.

Tracklist
1 – The Way Home Back – 4:31
2 – Endless Summer – 4:32
3 – C’mon Everyone – 4:48
4 – Like The Sun – 5:19
5 – Rich Man Over The Line – 4:03
6 – Your Love – 4:47
7 – Don’t Say That It’s Over – 4:47
8 – See You In Heaven – 4:39
9 – Let The Whole World – 5:02
10 – Preacher And The Bear – 3:15
11 – Still On My Mind – 3:45
12 – Why Don’t We – 1:28

Credits
A&R – Mark Maxwell
Arranged By, Directed By – Tom Howard
Art Direction, Design – Diana Barnes
Band [Guardian Is], Bass, Vocals – David Bach
Band [Guardian Is], Drums, Vocals – Karl Ney
Band [Guardian Is], Guitar, Vocals – Tony Palacios
Band [Guardian Is], Lead Vocals – Jamie Rowe
Bass [Additional], Guitar [Additional Nashville Guitar] – J.R. McNeely
Clarinet – Matt Davich
Design – David Bach
Drums [Additional] – Jon Knox
Drums [Additional], Mellotron, Keyboards [Assorted Digital Claviers] – John Elefante
Engineer, Mixed By – J.R. McNeely
Management – Marc Whitmore
Mastered By – Ken Love
Photography By – Michael Wilson
Piano – Michael W. Smith
Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Strings – The Nashville String Machine
Trombone – Bill Huber
Trumpet – David Balph

Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Myrrh
Copyright © – Myrrh
Engineered At – The Snack Bar
Mixed At – Sound Kitchen
Mastered At – Mastermix
Distributed By – Nelson/Word
Distributed By – Nelson/Word, UK
Manufactured By – JVC
Published By – Dayspring Music
Published By – Straggletoons Music

Various – Portrait Of A Spirit – 1991

This is a rather odd sampler from Pakaderm Records. I’m not entirely sure but I think the point of this sampler was to hear these artists doing sort of an acoustic track. This is a little weird because there are a few artists here that usually only do this style of music so like I say I’m a little confused at what the Elefante brothers were trying to achieve here. I’m even further confused as most of the tracks seem to be newly written and the recordings are only with the performer as the vocalist and the album appears to utilize a studio band. I honestly don’t think most of the artists understood what was going on either because most of the tracks just don’t work in my opinion. There are 3 tracks that in my opinion did get it. The 2 tracks form Richie Furay are absolutely excellent and include an appearance form Darrell Mansfield on harmonica. The other track that “got it” is the one from Guardian where they absolutely nail the vocals. Anyway it is what it is and I’d suggest a listen even if it’s just for the 3 tracks I mentioned.

Tracklist
1 – David Robertson – The House Of The Lord – 3:17
2 – Richie Furay – Man Of Many Sorrows – 4:23
3 – Brighton – Taking Back The Land (Jericho) – 4:20
4 – Sara Tennison – What Did I Ever Do – 4:57
5 – X-Sinner – Shelter Me – 3:12
6 – Mark Pogue – Thou Shalt Love – 3:49
7 – Richie Furay – Song Of The Lamb – 3:06
8 – Guardian – Take Up Your Cross – 4:50
9 – Halo – Real Life Conversation – 3:47
10 – The Heard – We Need Jesus – 5:05

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Terry DeGraff
Backing Vocals [Additional] – Doug Beiden, Sara Tennison
Bass – W.C. Jr
Cover – David Del Sesto, Terry DeGraff
Engineer – Dino Elefante, Doug Beiden, J.R. McNeely, John Elefante
Guitar [Additional] – Rock Lobster, Tex Mex
Keyboards, Drums – Mack Jack
Mandolin, Violin – Matt Brislawn
Mastered By – Chris
Mixed By – Dino Elefante, Doug Beiden, John Elefante
Percussion – “Chi Chi” Allison
Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Word, Inc.
Copyright © – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Made By – JVC
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering

Guardian – The Yellow And Black Attack Is Back – 1998

This is a rather odd release. in 1998 Guardian released their own version of the Stryper original cassette “The Yellow And Black Attack” EP from 1984. Not one or two tracks but the entire 6 song EP. Also strangely it’s not their interpretation of the songs but almost exact copies. It was a private release which I imagine was the only option considering they directly covered someone else’s album. Even the CD visuals are all inspired by Stryper. I really don’t have much else to tell you about the album. The covers are excellent and well if you’re either a Guardian or Stryper fan this one is a must listen.

Tracklist
1 – Loud N Clear – 3:42
2 – From Wrong To Right – 4:00
3 – You Know What To Do – 4:54
4 – Co’Mon Rock – 3:49
5 – You Won’t Be Lonely – 3:51
6 – Loving You – 4:22

Credits
Design [Original Design] – Kewi Dee
Liner Notes – Brett Christensen
Mastered By – Damon Riley
Mixed By – Russ Long, Tony Palacios
Producer [Produced By] – Guardian, Tony Palacios
Recorded By – Tony Palacios

Companies, etc.
Copyright © – M8 Distribution
Recorded At – G-Man Studios
Mixed At – The Carport
Mastered At – F2 Supersonic
Designed At – Moustafa Graphics
Designed At – www.whydigi.com
Published By – Amgine Music
Published By – Bug Music

Guardian – Miracle Mile – 1993

This is Guardian’s 3rd studio album and apparently most of their fans think this is their best album. Personally I don’t listen to them enough to make that judgment but I can say that this is indeed a very good album. It has a 90 Rock sound that isn’t ugly grungy but instead a Rock sound that hearken
back to the 80’s but is solidly in the 90’s. The band had settled into the lineup they would best become known for and the guys had it all together for this trip to the Elefante studios in Los Alamitos California. The Elefante brothers also produced the album and it’s probably some of their best work. Interestingly Tom Howard came into the studio to arrange the strings and contributed some strings. Seems kind of strange to see Tom involved with an album like this but great musicians go wherever they are needed.

Tracklist
1 – Dr. Jones & The Kings Of Rhythm – 5:13
2 – Shoeshine Johnny – 4:16
3 – Long Way Home – 4:31
4 – I Found Love – 5:24
5 – Sweet Mystery – 3:58
6 – Let It Roll – 4:11
7 – Mr. Do Wrong – 5:05
8 – Curiosity Killed The Cat – 4:28
9 – Sister Wisdom – 4:12
10 – The Captain – 4:19
11 – You & I – 4:06
12 – Do You Know What Love Is – 7:27
13 – Untitled – 2:07

Credits
Arranged By, Directed By [Strings] – Tom Howard
Art Direction, Design – David Bach
Artwork By [Art Production] – Joe Potter
Drums, Vocals – Karl Ney
Guitar, Vocals – Tony Palacios
Lead Vocals – Jamie Rowe
Bass, Vocals – David Bach
Engineer – Dino Elefante, Doug Beiden, J.R. McNeely, John Elefante
Management – The Whitmore Company
Mastered By – Chris Bellman
Mixed By – Dino Elefante
Mixed By [Assisted] – Doug Beiden
Mixed By [Extra Special Thanks To The Master Of Sonic Illusion…] – Gil Griffith
Accordion – Glen Hirami
Backing Vocals – Brandon Starr, Jameeca LaFleur, JoJo Beiden, Olivia McClurkin
Bass – J.R. McNeely
Drums – Jamie Wollam
Horns – The Fabulous Martin Brothers
Percussion – Ian Sabreti
Piano, Organ – John Elefante
Strings – The Orange County Wire Choir
Photography By – Neil Zlozower
Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Pakaderm Records
Copyright © – Pakaderm Records
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word Communications Ltd.
Distributed By – Word (UK) Ltd.
Produced At – Pakaderm Studios
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Mastered At – Bernie Grundman Mastering
Published By – Dayspring Music
Published By – Straggletoons Music

Larry Howard ‎– Larry Howard’s Cornerstone Blues Jam – 1992

Larry Howard was joined on stage by several other performers at the Cornerstone Festival in 1992 for this fantastic blues session. The album is actually credited to Larry but really this is a various artists album. The last 6 tracks are credited as “Tribute To Mahalia Jackson”. If your a fan of the blues this is a must listen to. I had not heard this one before we recently received it and it was an excellent addition to our collection.

Tracklist
1 – Larry Howard – Good News Blues – 3:38
2 – Larry Howard – Love Will Make You Change Your Ways – 3:35
3 – Margaret Becker – Lean On Me – 4:19
4 – Larry Howard and Darrell Mansfield – Evangelistic Blues – 5:02
5 – Larry Howard & Glenn Kaiser & Darrell Mansfield – Presence Of The Lord – 4:36
6 – Guardian – Take Up Your Cross – 4:59
7 – Mark Farner – Judgement Day Blues – 4:55
8 – Larry Howard – Trouble No More – 3:49
9 – Eddie DeGarmo & Larry Howard – Here Am I – 3:49
10 – Mark Farner & Margaret Becker – Some Kind Of Wonderful – 4:42
11 – Jessy Dixon – Operator – 5:32
12 – Elsa Harris – If We Ever Needed The Lord Before, We Sure Do Need Him Now – 2:13
13 – Jessy Dixon & Elsa Harris – Keep Your Hand On The Plow – 2:39
14 – Margaret Becker – Walk Over God’s Heaven – 1:56
15 – Mark Farner – Search Me Lord – 3:13
16 – Elsa Harris & Vernessa Mitchell – Precious Lord – 4:22
17 – Larry Howard – Nobody But You – 4:19

Credits
A&R [A&R Manager] – Lisa Stutts
Backing Vocals – Clare Ford, Phyllis Duncan
Bass Guitar – Slim Powell
Design – Franke Design Co.
Drums – Willie Smith
Engineer – Malcolm Harper, Roger Heiss
Engineer [Dyaxis Engineer] – Pat Scholes
Engineer [Live Engineer], Technician [Technical Advisor] – Doug Jones
Engineer [Monitor Engineer] – Chris Michaelessi
Engineer [Sound Production] – Phil Zeo & Zeo Brothers
Engineer [System Engineer] – Tom Wilson
Guitar – Roscoe Meek
Illustration [Cover Illustration] – Susan DeGarmo
Keyboards – Lester Snell
Mixed By – Greg Morrow
Mixed By [Assistant] – Dave Perkins, Russ Weaver
Other [Custom Tailoring] – Jane Cowan
Other [Light Contractor] – Tone Zone
Producer, Executive-Producer – Eddie DeGarmo
Saxophone – Mark Townsend
Stage Manager – Denny Keitzman
Technician [Crew Chief & Stage Technician] – Tony Capacchione
Technician [Larry’s Guitar Tech] – Tory Torstenson

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – The ForeFront Communications Group, Inc.
Copyright (c) – The ForeFront Communications Group, Inc.
Distributed By – Star Song Communications
Recorded At – Cornerstone Festival

Guardian – Fire And Love – 1990

This is the second album from Guardian. There were a few personnel changes with Jamie Rowe coming in on vocals and Karl Ney on drums. Jamie Rowe had been with Tempest and was a great fit with Guardian. Though this album is often called a metal album I disagree. To me it’s more Hard Rock but I admit does have a few metal “moments”. Often it’s compared to Bon Jovi but again I don’t really agree. It really does have it’s own sound but I more often hear Def Leopard than Bon Jovi. Further enhancing this album is the fact that John & Dino Elefante were involved in the project with John helping with Songwriting and Keyboards. Both brothers engineered and produced the album. There was a music video produced for “Power Of Love” but no one seems to know if MTV ever played it. Guardian definitely turned it up a notch for this album and it definitely deserves a listen.

Tracklist
1 – Power Of Love – 4:33
2 – Send A Message – 4:00
3 – Time Stands Still – 4:26
4 – Forever And A Day – 5:11
5 – Takin’ On The World – 3:52
6 – Fire And Love – 3:25
7 – Turnaround – 4:18
8 – Time And Time Again – 4:52
9 – The Rain – 5:31
10 – Never Say Goodbye – 5:06

Credits
Accordion – Glen Hirami
Art Direction, Design – Terry DeGraff
Backing Vocals – Max Alpha, Dino, Jamie, John, Tony
Bass – David Bach
Cover [Consultant] – Sandra Ney
Drums – David Raven, Karl Ney
Engineer – Dino Elefante, Jeff Simmons, John Elefante, Mike Mierau
Guitar – Tony Palacios
Keyboards – John Elefante
Lead Vocals – Jamie Rowe
Mixed By – Dino Elefante, Mike Mierau
Mixed By [Assisted By] – Gil Griffith
Pedal Steel Guitar – Ron Eglit
Photography By – Jeff Jones
Producer – Dino Elefante, John Elefante
Vocals – David Bach, Karl Ney, Tony Palacios

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Pakaderm Records
Copyright (c) – Pakaderm Records
Manufactured By – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – Word, Inc.
Pressed By – Denon Digital Industries
Recorded At – Pakaderm Studios
Mastered At – Precision Mastering

Guardian – First Watch – 1989

This was the first studio album from Guardian though they did have a demo using the name Fusion and another using the name Gardian. They inked the deal for this album in 1985 with Enigma Records but the wheels of production and release moved very slowly. The album was to be produced by Oz Fox from Stryper and he wasn’t immediately available. Recording did finish in 1988 but then for some reason it didn’t get released until 1989. Quite frankly Enigma really screwed this one up. By the time this album came out they should have been on their follow up album and another tour but the screw ups over at Enigma cost themselves and the band a lot of success and the resulting money. To top this all off Enigma did a short run of the album making it difficult for people to get their hands on. This was a great metal album and if it had been properly promoted, pressed, and distributed it might have been one of the biggest Christian Metal releases. I’m not even going to bother telling you about the album, give it a listen, I know you will be impressed. Another annoying thing Enigma did was to put 2 extra tracks on the CD release. This idea wasn’t’ unique to Enigma, lots of others did it but it was a dumb idea.

Tracklist
1 – I’ll Never Leave You – 4:32
2 – Mystery Man – 4:07
3 – Livin’ For The Promise – 4:09
4 – Miracle – 4:56
5 – Saints Battalion – 3:47
6 – Kingdom Of Rock – 3:25
7 – The Good Life – 4:41
8 – One Of A Kind – 3:33
9 – World Without Love – 3:56
10 – Rock In Victory – 3:50
—CD Bonus Tracks—
11 – Hyperdrive – 4:17
12 – Marching On – 3:55

Credits
Art Direction, Design – Dean Van Eimeren
Backing Vocals [Additional Backing Vocals] – Oz Fox
Bass – David Bach (2)
Drums – Rikk Hart
Engineer [Assistent Engineer] – Allen Isaacs, Gene Eugene, Jeff Simmons
Engineer [Assistent Engineer], Coordinator [Studio Coordination] – Dave Hackbarth, Dino Elefante
Engineer, Mixed By – Dan Nebenzal
Keyboards – Brent Jeffers
Lead Guitar – Tony Palacios
Lead Vocals, Guitar – Paul Cawley
Mastered By – Eddy Schreyer
Mixed By, Engineer [Assistent Engineer] – Mike Mierau
Photography By – Steve Cooper
Producer, Mixed By – Oz Fox
Vocals – David Bach, Tony Palacios

Companies, etc.
Record Company – The Benson Company, Inc.
Made By – Discovery Systems