Tag: Russ Taff

This was Russ’s first album after leaving the Imperials and I’m pretty sure it’s success confirmed to him that he had made the right decision by going solo. The lead single “We Will Stand” sat at #1 on the CCM charts for 15 weeks. That’s a pretty respectable first album single. He also won the 1983 Grammy award for Best Male Gospel Performance. As for the album I’m pretty sure Myrrh records pulled out all the stops as the production quality and over all quality of the album is very high. If your a fan of Russ’s albums after this one you might be surprised a bit at how mellow this one is. It is definitely a transition of styles from the Imperials to his more rock style on subsequent albums. We did get a hint of what was to come with “Inside Look” which is actually a pretty darn good Rock track. While this album doesn’t make many “Best of the 80’s” lists I think it probably deserves a spot.

Tracklist
1 – Tell Them – 4:23
2 – Walls Of Glass – 3:57
3 – I Want To Change – 5:05
4 – Pure In Heart – 3:59
5 – We Will Stand – 4:37
6 – Jeremiah – 4:02
7 – Inside Look – 4:01
8 – Just Believe – 4:26
9 – Kathryn’s Song – 4:24
10 – Unto The Lamb – 2:42

Credits
Mike Baird – Drums
Laury Boone Browning – Choir, Background Vocals
Bonnie Bramlett – Background Vocals
Raymond Brown – Songwriter
Harry Browning – Choir
Robbie Buchanan – Songwriter, Synthesizer Bass, Rhodes, Synthesizer
Don Cason – Choir
Lenny Castro – Percussion
Bill Champlin – Background Vocals
Tamara Champlin – Background Vocals
Cynthia Clawson – Choir
Ragan Courtney – Choir
Charlotte Crossley – Background Vocals
Nathan East – Bass
Daniel Garcia – Assistant Engineer
Bill George – Songwriter, Rhodes
Gary Grant – Horns
John Hammond – Drums
Joann Harris – Background Vocals
Susan Pyron Heard – Choir
Jerry Hey – Horn Arrangements, Horns
James Hollihan – Songwriter, Guitar
Richard Hopkins – Bass
Abraham Laboriel – Bass
Michael Landau – Guitar
David Lasley – Background Vocals, Choir
Charlie Loper – Horns
Arnold McCuller – Choir, Background Vocals
Dony McGuire – Background Vocals
Bobby Messano – Choir
James Newton Howard – Songwriter, Piano, Synthesizer
Michael Omartian – Songwriter, Piano, Rhodes, Synthesizer
Stormie Omartian – Songwriter
Jeff Porcaro – Drums
Frank Previte – Choir, Background Vocals
Jack Joseph Puig – Vocal Production, Engineer
Reba Rambo – Background Vocals
Patti Roberts – Songwriter
Doug Sax – Mastered
Bill Schnee – Producer, Engineer
David Schober – Assistant Engineer
Russ Taff – Songwriter, Vocals
Tori Taff – Songwriter, Choir
Keith Thomas – Songwriter
Carmen Twillie – Background Vocals
Marty Walsh – Guitar
Ernie Watts – Horns, Sax Solo
Gary Whitlock – Choir

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Word, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – Bill Schnee Studios
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab
Pressed By – Monarch Record Mfg. Co. – △26106

Is there a better and more passionate male vocalist in the history of Christian music? After several years in Southern Gospel ensembles and a career building tenure with the Imperials, Russ Taff took his throaty and earthy blue-eyed soul voice of gold into a solo realm and, for several years, created some of the finest albums in CCM. Three of those albums make the list here. After two successful pop albums and a thematic and musical shift with a self-titled release, Taff released his fourth solo album to an overwhelming contingent of positive responses. Not as dark or rock driven as the previous release, The Way Home is more Americana and Springsteen influenced. Not “country,” but decidedly less “alternative” and more earthy. yet the Country market embraced the album charting three singles from the album. Christian radio was not as embracing though a few songs did make a dent including the wonderful ballad, “Farther On.” The ballads on the album are incredibly strong with several written by Michael Anderson (who himself will appear later on this list). In fact, an Anderson penned tune remains my personal favorite on the album. “I Need You,” which appeared on Anderson’s A&M debut release is wonderfully redone here. On several occasions Taff points toward a later release entitles “Under Their Influence” in which he covers several classic country and southern gospel classics. The songs included here reflect Taff’s heritage and respect for the legacy of amazing music left behind by some incredible artists. The album closes with “Table in the Wilderness” that is simply a 4 minute masterpiece. It always felt to me that the song would have worked on a latter Alarm album with it’s anthem like qualities. A huge song with a great hook and Taff’s impressive vocals really carry it through. This would be the last album that would make a major impact in the CCM market for Taff though he has continued to record and release album up to the present. He has also continued an on again off again relationship with the Gaither Vocal Band.

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

Tracklist
1 – Winds Of Change – 4:17
2 – It Was Love – 4:26
3 – Farther On – 3:49
4 – The River Unbroken – 4:24
5 – He Came Through – 3:10
6 – I Cry – 4:07
7 – I Need You – 4:36
8 – Go On – 4:22
9 – Ain’t No Grave – 1:19
10 – Guiding Light – 4:13
11 – Take My Hand – 4:35
12 – Table In The Wilderness – 4:15

Credits
Arranged By [Strings] – Don Hart
Art Direction – Buddy Jackson
Bass – Jackie Streets
Coordinator [Cover] – Laurie Fink
Drums – Lynn Williams
Engineer – Tim Crich
Engineer [Additional] – Dan Garcia, David Schober, Lynn Fuston
Engineer [Assistant] – Chris Rich, Clarke Schleicher, Elaine Anderson, Gil Morales, Mac Smith, Shawn McLean
Guitar – James Hollihan Jr., Russ Taff
Keyboards – James Hollihan Jr., Larry Hall
Management – Zach Glickman
Mastered By – Dan Hersch
Melodica – James Hollihan Jr.
Mixed By – Peter Coleman
Photography By [Black And White] – Bonnie Schiffman
Photography By [Front Cover] – Loren Balman
Producer – James Hollihan Jr., Russ Taff

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Recorded At – The Bennett House
Recorded At – Downstage Studio
Recorded At – Gold Mine Studio
Recorded At – Digital Recorders
Recorded At – Hollywood Sound Recorders
Recorded At – Wayne Cook Studios
Mixed At – Mama Jo’s
Mastered At – DigiPrep

Now I will admit that I didn’t listen to this album in the 80’s because I didn’t really like Russ Taff. Boy did I miss a great album because this is a strong pop album with some fantastic hits. The opening tune “Shake” is a great Rock & Roll song and the album also has a very good cover of “I Still Believe” by The Call. I don’t know for sure but this has to be one of Russ Taff’s most successful albums. It spawned 5 singles with “Walk Between The Lines” making it to #1 and even pushing The Call cover “I Still Believe” up to #5 which is quite surprising given that this is a straight out Rock & Roll cut. Dann Huff (White Heart) joins in on guitar on a few tracks and you hear his influence. Mark Williamson (Mark Williamson Band & Lyrix) sings backup on a few tracks as does Charlie Peacock. Great bunch of artists to push this album pretty high on my liked list.

Tracklist
1 – Shake – 4:21
2 – Walk Between The Lines – 5:33
3 – Believe In Love – 5:03
4 – Down In The Lowlands – 5:08
5 – This Love Is Strong – 4:59
6 – I Still Believe – 4:31
7 – Steal Away – 0:43
8 – (Living On The) Edge Of Time – 3:41
9 – Higher – 4:54
10 – Breathe Life Into Me – 4:24
11 – Healing Touch – 4:42

Artists
Harry Browning – Vocals (Background)
Robbie Buchanan – Synthesizer
Lenny Castro – Percussion
Bill Champlin – Vocals (Background)
Tamara Champlin – Vocals (Background)
Nathan East – Bass
Chris Eaton – Composer
Tommy Funderburk – Vocals (Background)
James Hollihan, Jr. – Composer
James Newton Howard – Composer, Synthesizer
Dann Huff – Guitar (Electric)
Paul Jackson, Jr. – Guitar (Electric)
Michael Landau – Composer, Guitar (Electric)
Paul Leim – Drums
Lynn Nichols – Vocals (Background)
Jack Joseph Puig – Producer
Neil Stubenhaus – Bass
Russ Taff – Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals (Background)
Carmen Twitty – Vocals (Background)
Tata Vega – Vocals (Background)
Larry Williams – Saxophone

Credits
Art Direction – Joan Tankersley
Cover, Design [Logo Design] – Joan Tankersley, Patrick Pollei
Crew [Studio Crew] – Bernadette B., Deborah Klein, Leeza Jillian Tender
Design Concept [Cover Concept] – Joan Tankersley, Lynn Nichols
Engineer [Assisted By] – Bart Stevens, Billy Whittington*, Julie Last, Koji, Steve Ford, Wade Jaynes
Executive-Producer – Lynn Nichols
Management – Zach Glickman
Mastered By – Doug Sax
Photography By – Phillip Dixon
Producer [Produced By] – Jack Joseph Puig
Recorded By, Mixed By – Jack Joseph Puig
Technician [Technical Assistants] – Mike Wambsgans, Steve Hazelton

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Manufactured By – A&M Records, Inc.
Distributed By – A&M Records, Inc.
Made By – Digital Audio Disc Corp.
Manufactured By – DADC – DIDX-2775
Recorded At – Shnaze Studio
Recorded At – Ocean Way Recording
Engineered At – The Hop
Engineered At – Studio 55, Los Angeles
Engineered At – Wayne Cook Studios
Engineered At – Mama Jo’s
Mastered At – The Mastering Lab

This is Russ Taff’s second solo album and many consider it to be one of the best Christian albums of the mid 80’s. It received the Dove award for Pop/Contemporary Album of the Year in 1986 and rose to #2 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart. This album was recorded with some of the top Studio musicians of the time including, Dann Huff, Michael Landau, Nathan East, Robbie Buchanan, Tommy Funderburk, and Bill Champlin. One of the top cuts, “I’m Not Alone” was written by Paul Janz of Deliverance fame. All in all a good pop sound album that deserves at least one listen even if the Russ Taff name spooks you.

Tracklist
1 – Vision – 4:09
2 – I’m Not Alone – 4:19
3 – Medals – 4:43
4 – Not Gonna Bow – 4:11
5 – Here I Am – 4:11
6 – I’ve Come This Far – 5:28
7 – Silent Love – 4:45
8 – How Much It Hurts – 4:05
9 – Rock Solid – 4:08
10 – God Only Knows – 4:34

Credits
Backing Vocals – Bill Champlin (tracks: A1, A2, A3, A4, B2, B3), Carmen Twitty (tracks: A3, B1, B4, B5), Harry Browning (tracks: A3), Lynn Nichols (tracks: A3), Russ Taff (tracks: A1 to A4, B4), Tamara Champlin (tracks: A1, A2, A4), Tata Vega (tracks: A3, B1, B4. B5), Tommy Funderburk
Bass – Nathan East (tracks: A1, A3, B1, B4, B5), Neil Stubenhaus (tracks: A2, A4, A5 B2, B3)
Drums – Paul Leim
Electric Guitar – Dann Huff, Michael Landau (tracks: A2 to B5), Paul Jackson, Jr. (tracks: A1, B1)
Keyboards – Robbie Buchanan (tracks: A2, A4, B1, B2, B5)
Percussion – Lenny Castro (tracks: A2 to B5)
Saxophone – Larry Williams (tracks: A2, A4, B5)
Scat – Tata Vega (tracks: B1, B4)
Synthesizer – James Newton Howard (tracks: A1, A2, A4), Rhett Lawrence (tracks: B4), Robbie Buchanan