Tag: Hank Laake

This was our final offering from Hank and it followed very closely with his previous work. The hard Rock style he was known for continued. Over his 3 albums the band didn’t seem to mature but for me this is a positive as I loved their sound and still love it today. Apparently Hank got disillusioned with Tunesmith records so this is the end. Not many artists even lasted 3 albums with Tunesmith so he should be commended for trying to make it work. It is probably a testament to how bad he wanted people to hear his music as it’s doubtful he was getting paid what was coming to him.

Tracklist
1 – Dying to Love You – 5:25
2 – Don’t Give Up – 3:30
3 – Plenty of Time – 3:53
4 – Change Your Life – 3:53
5 – Directions – 3:52
6 – Be a Shining Light – 5:31
7 – A Time for Anger – 4:02
8 – Till We Had Jesus – 4:34
9 – Keep Livin’ – 3:57
10 – Family of God – 4:30

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Joe Burriola
Cover Art – Dave Nadler
Cover Photo – Tom Gaskill
Drums, Lead Vocals – Hank Laake
Engineer – Dennis Dyer, Tom Tucker
Guitar – Dan Brown
Guitar, Vocals – Terry Fitzsimmons
Piano – Melody Dyer
Producer – Hank Laake
Synthesizer – Todd Toulouse, Joseph Dunn, Melody Dyer, Josef Laake

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – Praise Industries Corp.
Record Company – Tunesmith

This 1983 release from The Hanke Laake Band definitely had a Hard rock edge. Though I’ve seen the comparisons to Def Leopard I don’t quite agree. The vocals do get a Def Leopard sound in production, but the music itself is far more rock and roll than heavy metal. Hanke Laake was from Iowa, but he chose to record and release his albums through Tunesmith Records from BC Canada. Hanke Laake was the lead singer and drummer which wasn’t that common. Point of trivia is that Hanke Laake has since converted to Judaism and moved to Israel. He no longer performs music.

Track Listing:
1 – Time To Rock – Written-By – Hank Laake, Terry Fitzsimmons – 4:05
2 – What’s Wrong With Me – Written-By – Hank Laake – 3:45
3 – Sin’s A Losing Game – Written-By – Dan Brown , Hank Laake – 4:12
4 – Life And Death – Written-By – Hank Laake – 3:55
5 – Don’t Walk Away – Written-By – Hank Laake, Terry Fitzsimmons – 4:15
6 – Celebrate – Written-By – Hank Laake – 3:42
7 – We Are Free – Written-By – Dan Brown, Hank Laake – 3:48
8 – I’m In You – Written-By – Hank Laake – 4:42
9 – For Free – Written-By – Hank Laake, Terry Fitzsimmons – 4:25
10 – New Freedom – Written-By – Hank Laake, M. Donner – 3:53

Credits:
Bass – Dean Stokka
Cover – Mason Bros. Studio
Drums – Hank Laake
Guitar – Dan Brown, Terry Fitzsimmons
Lead Vocals – Hank Laake
Photography – Mason Bros. Studio
Producer – Hank Laake, Josef Laake
Vocals – Dean Stokka, Terry Fitzsimmons

This is the one that started it out for The Hank Laake Band though at this point they were playing as Hank Laake. This album had one major fault, the album cover. The picture of Hanke is very very 70’s and at first glance you might be expecting a Randy Matthews like album but this is no Randy Matthews style album. This is a Rock & Roll album and a good one at that. I think most of us only bought this album after hearing his follow up album which had a Rock & Roll cover (one of the best ones in CCM music). I was saddened to learn that Hanke has left the faith and is very disillusioned with the Christian Music Industry. Unfortunately we are hearing this more and more often now.

Tracklist
1 – Questions of the Seeker – 4:12
2 – Check It Out – 3:35
3 – Rock & Roll Away My Stone – 3:31
4 – The Man Behind the Name – 3:40
5 – Tonight’s The Night – 3:57
6 – In the Spirit of the King – 4:06
7 – All I Want is You – 5:11
8 – Return – 4:31
9 – Serve to Lead – 4:37

Credits
Bass – Carl Gauger
Engineer – Rick Condon
Harmonica – Dean Stokka
Harmony Vocals – Dean Stokka (tracks: B3,), Terry Fitzsimmons (2) (tracks: B3, )
Layout – Dave Nadler
Lead Guitar – Brian McVey (tracks: A1,A3, ), Terry Fitzsimmons (2) (tracks: A1,A4,A5,B1,)
Maracas – Diane Stokka
Photography – Brent Larson (3), Sandy Kavanagh
Rhythm Guitar – Terry Fitzsimmons (2) (tracks: A5)
Rhythm Guitar, Electric Guitar, Lead Guitar – Dan Brown (13)
Synthesizer – Joannie Larson (tracks: B4,), Phil Bair (2) (tracks: A1)
Written By, Arranged By, Producer, Drums, Vocals, Harmony Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Lead Vocals – Hank Laake

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – Triad Studios, Des Moines
Published By – Noteworthy Publishing
Record Company – Praise Industries Corp.