Joe English – Real 80s CCM

Compassion All Star Band – 1 By 1 Live! – 1989

The Compassion All Star Band was a collection of great CCM artists recorded live at 1989’s Creation Festival. The album was a fund raiser for the charity organization Compassion International and though recorded in June the album includes a few “Christmas” songs as the album was scheduled as a Christmas release. The band was Phil Keaggy, Randy Stonehill, Margaret Becker, Rick Cua, Joe English, Mike Mead and John Andrew Schriner. I had read about this album but honestly hadn’t listened to it when it was released. That’s too bad because I really enjoyed it. It’s not a musical wonder by any stretch as I’m guessing there wasn’t much rehearsal BUT that’s what makes projects like this so great. The unpolished sound gives the tracks more meaning and you can really get a feel for what was a fantastic performance. Strangely the crescendo track “Who Will Save The Children” had to actually be recorded in studio as the concert was rained out. These types of compilation albums are my favourites and it’s too bad CCM music didn’t have more of them.

Tracklist
1 – Randy Stonehill – Defender – 3:022
2 – Rick Cua – You Can’t Stand Too Tall – 4:07
3 – Margaret Becker – Sacred Fire – 7:06
4 – John Andrew Schreiner – Silent Night – 4:54
5 – Randy Stonehill – Christmas Must Be Tonight – 3:58
6 – Margaret Becker – Find Me – 3:31
7 – Joe English – Yield To The Spirit – 4:18
8 – Phil Keaggy & Randy Stonehill – Ain’t Got No – 3:35
9 – Randy Stonehill – Crossroads – 6:12
10 – Randy Stonehill – Rap – 5:11
11 – Randy Stonehill & Phil Keaggy – Who Will Save The Children – 5:04

Credits
Bass, Vocals – Rick Cua
Co-producer [Production Assistance] – John Andrew Schreiner
Crew [Stage Assistance] – Bill Goings
Design [Cover Design] – Kugizaki Design, Inc.
Directed By [Musical Director] – Lynn Nichols
Drums, Percussion – Mike Mead
Drums, Percussion, Vocals – Joe English
Engineer – Gary Heddon
Engineer [Additional] – Jim Kaiser
Engineer [Live Monitor Engineer] – Jody Nachtigal
Engineer [Live Sound Engineer] – Mike Nachtigal
Executive-Producer – Devlin Donaldson
Guitar, Vocals – Margaret Becker, Phil Keaggy, Randy Stonehill
Keyboards, Vocals – John Andrew Schreiner
Photography By [Cover Photos] – Russ Harrington
Photography By [Inside Photos] – Keith Baum
Producer – Gary Heddon

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Compassion International
Copyright © – Compassion International
Distributed By – Sparrow/Star Song Distribution
Distributed By – Sparrow/Star Song Distribution
Published By – Stonehillian Music
Published By – Word Music, Inc.
Published By – Undone Tunes
Published By – Screen Gems-EMI Music Inc.
Published By – MCA Music
Published By – His Eyes Music
Published By – John Andrew Schreiner Music
Published By – Medicine Hat Music
Published By – Norman J. Clayton Publishing Co.
Glass Mastered at – Nimbus, Virginia

The English Band – What You Need – 1985

The best of all of Joe English’s contribution to the world of CCM was also his last. There was band name from The Joe English Band to just The English band and a decidedly much more contemporary sound than the previous albums that seemed dated, even by the standard of the day, despite having some wonderful songs and killer production attached to them. Joe English entered the Christian Music world with a bang with name recognition high as the drummer for the band Wings of Paul McCartney fame. After producing a few pop albums in a distinctly 70’s feel there was clear need for a change. That change came in the form of a new label, new musical direction as well as the previously mentioned band name change. More “modern” sounds with heavier guitars, bigger and glossier production, electronic drums (a thankfully short lived music experiment in the world of music) and more contemporary musical arrangements made the album a pretty big hit with several Top 10 radio hits. His back up band were an amazing group of musicians that also recorded a solo record of their own under the name Forerunner with former Petra member John Lawry handling the vocals. What You Need, The Master, Yield to the Spirit and Children of the Light are all stand outs. It may be difficult for some to listen to the album now is it was clearly impacted by the sound of the day and does not translate as well as other album. But for the time the album was a standard. The musical direction also impacted groups like the Imperials. English would return to do a solo album a few years later that did not make a dent. He then simply disappeared and was unable to continue drumming due to some physical ailments regarding his ankles. He has also recently been seen filming a video for a questionable and controversial Church in the south where he denounces his years in CCM as a fraud, claiming to have never been a Christian during those days.

Contributor David Lowman – https://ccms500bestalbums.wordpress.com/

Tracklist
1 – What You Need – 3:33
2 – The Master – 3:38
3 – Take the Cross – 4:05
4 – The First Stone – 3:10
5 – Easy Street – 3:13
6 – I Will Follow You – 3:51
7 – Yield to the Spirit – 3:52
8 – The Joy of the Lord – 4:12
9 – Children of the Light – 3:29
10 – Through the Veil – 2:22

Credits
Kim Boyce – Background Vocals
Paul Brannon – Songwriter, Bass, Guitar
Steve Camp – Songwriter
George Cocchini – Producer, Songwriter, Guitars, Bass
Rick Crawford – Songwriter
James Isaac Elliott – Songwriter
Joe English – Producer, Songwriter, Drums, Vocals
Glen Allen Green – Songwriter, Background Vocals
Monroe Jones – Songwriter
Chris McCollum – Songwriter
Paul Mills – Songwriter, Keyboards, Synclavier
Justin Peters – Songwriter
Brian Tankersley – Producer, Engineer, Mixed, Background Vocals
Becky Thurman – Songwriter
Geoff Thurman – Songwriter
David Zycheck – Background Vocals

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – GMB
Distributed By – Nye Toner / Teovision
Distributed By – Finngospel
Distributed By – Sephora Diffusion
Distributed By – Emmaul
Distributed By – GMI Records
Distributed By – Filadelfia Forlag
Distributed By – La Sorgente Music
Distributed By – Master Music
Distributed By – Grace Music
Distributed By – Master-Vision-S.A.
Distributed By – Leon Music A.B.
Distributed By – Kir Music
Distributed By – Word (Uk) Ltd.
Distributed By – Pila Music
Engineered At – Rivendell Recorders
Mixed At – Rivendell Recorders

Joe English – Lights In The World – 1980

Imagine our surprise in 1980 when an album from Joe English showed up in the racks of our Christian book store. I recognized Joe’s name from Wings (though I did not really listened to them) but I had not heard anything of him doing Christian music. I remember we couldn’t buy it quick enough and rushed back to the stereo room to listen to it. The album really wasn’t quite as Rock & Roll as we thought it would be but we liked it and one or two tracks definitely made it onto mixed tapes for the car. To me the album has a bit of a jazz feel to it and coincidentally in 1980 Joe was also playing with a jazz fusion band called Sea Level. Joe went on to give us many more albums using the moniker The Joe English Band. Point of trivia is that both Russ Taff and Bonnie Bramlett provided backing vocals for the album.

Tracklist
1 – To Love Is To Live – 3:49
2 – Shine On – 3:48
3 – Dyin’ – 3:44
4 – Is There Not One Good Man – 3:49
5 – Midnight Angel Choir – 3:38
6 – Get Ready – 3:10
7 – Is The King Your Friend – 3:30
8 – The Lord Never Leaves – 3:48
9 – Praise Him – 3:17
10 – Keep In Touch – 1:57

Credits
Lead Vocals – Joe English
Backing Vocals – Russell Taff, Bonnie Bramlett
Bass – Larry Paxton
Drums – Joe English
Guitar – George Cocchini
Keyboards – John Rosasco
Percussion – Terry McMillan
Synthesizer [Micro-Moog] – Alan Steinberger
Synthesizer [Prophet 5] – Shane Keister
Arranged By – John Rosasco,Shelly Kurland ,Greg Nelson
Art Direction – Bob McConnell
Design [Cover Design] – Stan Evenson
Engineer – Scott Hendricks
Executive-Producer – Ray Nenow
Producer – Greg Nelson

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Refuge Records
Copyright (c) – Refuge Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – Glaser Sound Studios, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee
Produced For – Primacy Productions

Joe English Band – Live – 1984

In my opinion this was Joe’s best album as these are the most upbeat version of these songs in his catalog. This album was recorded through the UK from at least 6 different concerts. I actually saw this tour in Canada and I remember it being much more Rock & Roll than this. I suspect that Myrrh records actually hunted out the most mellow version of these song as they could. This brings me to my criticism of this album. I don’t know about everyone else but I like Live albums so I can hear the banter between songs. This album does not include any of that. It was produced like a regular album but with live recordings. This is not what a live album is supposed to be like in my opinion. You in no way feel the concert experience from this album. So let’s be clear, this is not really a Live album by my definition.

Tracklist
1 – To Love Is To Live – 5:08
2 – Midnight Angel Choir – 4:41
3 – Dyin’ – 3:41
4 – Rio Samba – 9:24
5 – Power Of Prayer – 4:24
6 – Let Me Praise You Again – 4:38
7 – Learn To Celebrate – 4:14
8 – Get Ready – 7:05

Credits
Bass Guitar – Tim Smith
Executive Producer – Ray Nenow
Guitar, Backing Vocals – George Cocchini, Paul Brannon
Keyboards – John Lawry
Vocals, Drums, Producer – Joe English

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Distributed By – A&M Records Of Canada Limited

Notes
Mobile unit by Manor, London, England and Tape 1, London, England
Recorded at Colson Hall, Bristol, England; Ulster Hall, Belfast, Ireland; Wembley Arena, Wembley, England
Mixed at Great Circle Sound, Nashville, TN and Sound Emporium, Nashville, TN

Joe English – Press On – 1983

This album from Joe follows in the footsteps of his previous albums. There really isn’t anything of interest on this album as it’s just more of Joe. This is not a derogatory comment but let’s face it Joe’s sound didn’t change much and it wasn’t exactly captivating after awhile. That said this is a good AOR album as that’s what Joe did well, in fact better than most. The album spawned one single “Stop” which peaked at #18.

Tracklist
1 – Stop – 3:30
2 – Echoes Of The Spirit – 3:10
3 – Royal Priesthood – 3:59
4 – The Harvest – 3:47
5 – Press On – 3:52
6 – Power Of Prayer – 3:55
7 – All My Heart – 3:29
8 – Let Me Praise You Again – 3:37
9 – Roll Of Life – 3:29
10 – To Know The Heart Of Jesus – 3:18

Credits
Arranged By [Horn And String Arrangements] – Tim Smith
Arranged By [Track Arrangements] – The Joe English Band
Artwork By [Art Direction/design] – Bill Brunt
Backing Vocals – Joe English, Tommy Funderburk
Bass – Tim Smith
Choir – Brenda Nenow, Christy Betts, Dayle English, Debbie Halverson, Grammy Grandall, James Isaac Elliott, John Lawry, Phil Elliott, Tim Smith, Tom Douglas
Engineer [Tracks And Overdub Engineering] – Joe Wilson
Engineer [Vocal Overdub Engineering] – Jim Baird
Executive Producer – Ray Nenow
Guitar – George Cocchini, Paul Brannon
Keyboards – John Lawry
Mastered By – Glenn Meadows
Mixed By – Scott Hendricks
Photography – Mark Tucker
Producer [Assistance] – The Joe English Band
Producer, Drums, Lead Vocals – Joe English
Saxophone [Alto & Tenor] – Doug Moffet
Saxophone [Tenor & Baritone] – Sam Levine
Trumpet – Jay Cobble, John Harbaugh

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Published By – Raybren Music
Published By – Joe English Music
Published By – Quietlane Music
Published By – Snellsong Music
Published By – Rainy Roley Music

Steve Camp – Fire and Ice – 1984

This 1984 release from Steve gave us more of what we expected from him. His pop sound continued on this album with some excellent light guitar riffs. The album single “Love’s Not A Feeling” made it to #4 on the CCM chart and staying on the chart for 30 weeks. “Living In Laodicea” also charted but only made it to #13. There were lots of guest appearances on this album including, Gary Lunn and Dann Huff from White Heart, Joe English as well as Carol and Rob Frazier.

Tracklist
1 – Upon This Rock – 3:37
2 – It Is Good – 3:37
3 – Love’s Not A Feeling – 4:17
4 – Heart Of Stone – 4:10
5 – Living In Laodicea – 4:04
6 – Squeeze – 4:57
7 – Fire And Ice – 2:55
8 – Light Your Candle – 3:48
9 – What Would The Devil Say – 2:59
10 – Where Are The Heroes – 4:52

Credits
Arranged By – John Rosasco, Steve Camp
Art Direction – Stan Evenson Design
Backing Vocals – Carol Frazier, Charity McCrary, Diane Thiel, Howard McCrary, Joane Anderson, Joe English, Kevin Thiel, Linda McCrary, Rob Frazier, Steve Camp
Bass – Gary Lunn, John Patitucci
Cover [Coordination] – B. Charlyne Hinesley
Design [Lyric Sheet] – John Taylor, Marlene Bergmann
Drums – Joe English, Keith Edwards
Engineer – Wally Grant
Engineer [Additional] – Brent Maher, Greg Butler, Hank Neuberger, Mike Ross, Steve Wyer
Guitar – Dann Huff, Marty Walsh
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Percussion – Alex MacDougal
Photography By – Craig Barnes
Producer – John Rosasco, Steve Camp
Programmed By [Synthesizer] – Rhett Lawrence
Saxophone – Brandon Fields

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Hearn Records Fund II, Ltd.
Published By – Birdwing Music
Published By – Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company Inc.
Published By – High Pinnacle Music
Published By – Priority Music, Inc.
Published By – Word Music, Inc.
Engineered At – Weddington Studios
Mastered At – Future Disc

Joe English – Held Accountable – 1982

This was the second album from Joe and he turned it up a bit for this one. There’s a couple good tunes with likeable guitar riffs courtesy of George Cocchini. One of the things that stands out to me is that Joe credited 13 songwriters including himself. That’s an awful lot of writers for a 10 album song but I have read that Joe loved to work with lots of people so maybe that’s the reason. Outside of a couple tracks this album falls right in with West Coast AOR style of the time. The single First Love reached #9 on the charts hanging around for 21 weeks.

Tracklist
1 – Best Things – 3:09
2 – We Live When We Die – 3:15
3 – My Strength Is In The Lord – 4:55
4 – First Love – 3:53
5 – Voice Of Triumph – 3:48
6 – Wake Up – 3:53
7 – Learn To Celebrate – 2:40
8 – Where You Gonna Run – 3:29
9 – Thief In The Night – 4:28
10 – The Best Is Yet To Come – 3:42

Credits
Songwriter, Guitar – Paul Brannon
Songwriter – Jay C. Coble, Jr.
Guitar – George Cocchini
Songwriter – Tom Douglas
Songwriter – James Isaac Elliott
Producer, Songwriter, Drums, Vocals – Joe English
Songwriter – Linda Lang
Keyboards – John Lawry
Songwriter – Fred Lewis
Songwriter – Will McFarlane
Executive Producer, Songwriter – Ray Nenow
Songwriter – Don Rogers
Songwriter – Scott Roley
Songwriter – Roddy Smith
Producer, Songwriter – John Rosasco
Songwriter, Bass – Tim Smith

Joe English – Back To Basics:English 101 – 1987

This was Joe’s final album though he was involved in the Compassion All Star Band ‎– One By One Live! album project in 1988. This was probably one of Joe’s better albums and it definitely had a more upbeat feel of any of his albums yet. Unfortunately it was not all that well received and as such Joe hung up his drumsticks after this one.

Tracklist
1 – Take Me Back – 3:57
2 – Truth And Lies – 3:40
3 – Remember – 3:55
4 – Too Much – 3:36
5 – Hot Fire – 3:32
6 – The Secrets Of The Kingdom – 4:05
7 – Stop Looking Over Love – 4:08
8 – Behold The Glory – 3:25
9 – This Must Be Love – 3:36
10 – How Sweet It Is – 3:13

Credits
Charles Bass Vocal Arranger, Background Vocals
Kathleen Bass Background Vocals
Martin Bass Background Vocals
Billy Blum Drum Machine Programming
Tony Camillo Arrangements
Jo Clayton Background Vocals
George Cocchini Guitar
Dennis Davilio Bass
Lamont Dozier Songwriter
Dave Eastman Songwriter
Sean Gallant Mixed
Tommy Greer Songwriter
Dean Harrington Songwriter
Brian Holland Songwriter
Eddie Holland Songwriter
James Holloway Songwriter
Steve Lang Keyboard Programming
Glen Marchese Engineer
Richard Marchese Trumpets
Chris McCollum Songwriter
Jerry Mokar Saxophone
Ray Nenow Executive Producer
Chuck Nichols Background Vocals
Doug Oberkircher Mixed
Joey Powers Producer
Darice Price Background Vocals
Joe Noro Savage Keyboard Programming
George Small Keyboards
Jeff Toone Engineer
Mark Tuomenoksa Sampled Saxophone
Howie Weinberg Mastered

Vox Dei – Quitate la Máscara – 1990

Vox Dei is one of the top Spanish Christian bands of all time and this was their first release in 1990. Of course I can’t understand most of it however I find the music to be well done and while a little raw, typical for a first album, they are very talented musicians. The album has 3 Spanish covers of English CCM songs.

Joe English – Power of Prayer – “El Poder de la Oracion”

Resurrection Band – Lovin’ You – “Siempre Te Amare”

Darrell Mansfield – Bible Study (La Droga No Es Solucion – Drugs are Not the Solution)

The Darrell Mansfield cover apparently has the lyrics reworked into a anti drug song.

If you only listen to one Spanish Christian album this should probably be the one.

Tracklist
1 – Quitate la Máscara – (Take off the Mask)
2 – Libre de Egipto – (Free of Egypt)
3 – Amor Verdadero – (True Love)
4 – Salmo 23 – (Psalm 23)
5 – Gloria Al Señor – (Glory to the Lord)
6 – El Poder de la Oracion – (The Power of Prayer)
7 – La Droga No Es Solucion – (Drugs are Not the Solution)
8 – Salmo 150 – (Psalm 150)
9 – Vivo Está – (Live)
10 – Siempre Te Amare – (Lovin’ You)

Various – Front Row – 1984

This is a 1984 Refuge Records sampler

Included on this sampler;

Rick Cua – “Changed” from his album No Mystery
Edin-Adahl – “Wake Up” from their album Alibi
Bonnie Bramlett – “White Dove” from her album Step By Step
Per-Erik Hallin – “You Put Another Song In My Heart” from his album Better Late Than Never
Will McFarlane – “That’s How I Know You Called Me” from his album A Colony Of Heaven
Tom Douglas – “Jesus Never Sleeps” which was not released on an album
Forerunner – “Faith Walk” from their album (a.k.a)
Jerusalem – “Time” which was released as a bonus track on the CD release of Can’t Stop Us Now
Lifesavors – “Break In My Head” from their album Dream Life
Bryn Haworth – “Never Give Up On Love” from his album Pass It On
Joe English – “Anthem” from his album The Best Is Yet To Come

Tracklist
1 – Rick Cua – Changed – 3:50
2 – Edin-Adahl – Wake Up – 4:14
3 – Bonnie Bramlett – White Dove – 3:31
4 – Per-Erik Hallin – You Put Another Song In My Heart – 4:13
5 – Will McFarlane – That’s How I Know You Called Me – 3:21
6 – Tom Douglas – Jesus Never Sleeps – 4:10
7 – Forerunner – Faith Walk – 4:04
8 – Jerusalem – Time – 5:50
9 – Lifesavors – Break In My Head – 2:33
10 – Bryn Haworth – Never Give Up On Love – 3:35
11 – Joe English – Anthem – 3:20