Full disclosure up front Rob is a friend of mine and I am a huge fan of his music so don’t expect a very objective review of this album. Rob turned up the Rock a few notches for this album. It was released on micro label Dark Records who apparently came to an agreement with Rob to use the performer name Rob Castles because everyone was pronouncing it that way anyway. The album itself is excellent though lyrically the JPM count is relatively low for a Christian album. This in my opinion is a good thing. I always wanted Christian artists to write songs that were relevant to youth and Rob did exactly that with this album. He even did a song on the evils of crack cocaine. Imagine that, a song that would be relevant to Christian youth without just saying “trust God”. Youth had to make real life decisions in the 80’s and it would have been nice if more artists had written songs that helped youth beyond the standard “oh just pray”. In my opinion there are several tracks on this album that were radio ready but needless to say secular radio never had any idea who Rob was. In 2019 the album was re-issued by Girder Records and 2 bonus tracks recorded in 86/87 were added and we have included those 2 tracks in our playlist.
Tracklist
1 – Shoot It Straight – 2:49
2 – Safety Zone – 3:17
3 – What’s That Voice – 3:28
4 – Overkill – 2:46
5 – Next Time – 2:40
6 – Living On The Edge – 4:08
7 – Save Yourself For Love – 3:32
8 – Only Lovers – 4:25
9 – Can’t Turn Down – 3:49
10 – Crack – 3:02
Bonus Tracks
11 – Epidemic Of Love – 4:22
12 – Voyagers – 4:49
Credits
Rob Cassels – Keyboards, Harmonica, Guitars, Lead Vocals
Sam Eakins – Guitars, Keyboards, Background Vocals
Mark Ediger – Drums, Percussion, Background Vocals
David Lee – Guitar, Background Vocals
Steve Morse – Producer
Kent Reed – Bass, Background Vocals
Rick Sandidge – Background Vocals
Matt Schwartz – Background Vocals
Steve Hill – Background Vocals
Andy Childress – Background Vocals (“Only Lovers”)
