Terry Scott Taylor – A Briefing For The Ascent – 1987

If you like footsteps you’ll love this album. I ride Terry pretty hard for his conceptual album ideas because a lot of the time it just comes off as silly to me but in this case it really worked on this album. I feel he thought through his idea and didn’t silly it up and because of it this is probably my favourite solo album from Terry. One of the odder tracks on the album is “Long, Long, Long” which is actually a cover of a Beatles song. I didn’t like the original so I kind of struggle with this track but I will say for the record that I believe Terry’s version is much better than the original. That said the song fits where it is on this album. At one time artists and producers really thought about the order of tracks on their albums and this album is an example of a perfectly structured album.

Tracklist
1 – A Briefing For The Ascent – 4:34
2 – Somewhere To Elsewhere – 2:02
3 – Beyond The Wall Of Sleep – 3:13
4 – The Wood Between The Worlds – 3:49
5 – Changeless – 4:02
6 – My Love, My Love – 4:18
7 – Wars Of The Heart – 0:45
8 – Capture Me – 4:08
9 – Where Dreams Come True – 2:59
10 – Long, Long, Long – 3:38
11 – Prelude – 1:26
12 – Going Home – 2:08

Credits
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Backing Vocals – Crystal Lewis, Jerry Chamberlain, Montebello First Baptist Church Choir, Rob Watson, Terry Taylor, Tom Howard
Bass – Tim Chandler
Concept By [Conceived By], Directed By – Terry Taylor
Design Concept [Album Cover Concept] – Ed McTaggart, Terry Taylor
Drum Programming – Ed McTaggart, Ed McTaggart, Terry Taylor
Drums – Ed McTaggart, Steve Hindalong
Engineer – Dave Hackbarth
Graphics [Photographics] – Ken Baley
Guitar – Greg Flesch, Terry Taylor
Keyboards, Synthesizer – Greg Flesch, Terry Taylor
Mastered By [Digitally Remastered] – Doug Doyle
Mastered By [Originally Mastered] – John Matousek
Mixed By – Doug Doyle, Terry Taylor
Mixed By [With] – Greg Flesch
Orchestrated By [Orchestrations Constructed By], Arranged By [Orchestrations Arranged By] – Greg Flesch, Terry Taylor
Percussion – Alex MacDougall, Greg Flesch
Photography By – Bob Rowe
Producer [Produced By] – Greg Flesch, Terry Taylor
Synth [Treatments] – Greg Flesch, Terry Taylor
Vocals – Terry Taylor

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Frontline Records
Copyright © – Frontline Records
Record Company – Frontline Music Group
Distributed By – FMG Distribution
Recorded At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.
Mastered At – Hitsville
Remastered At – Digital Brothers
Glass Mastered at – Nimbus, Virginia
Published By – Broken Songs

Megamouth 2 – The Great Skateboard Adventure – 1988

This is the second of 2 children’s albums done by Terry Taylor and Greg Flesch. This one is centered on a skateboarding theme with a story line of competing in said sport. Apparently this idea didn’t get much traction but I commend them for trying. This project didn’t age very well but it may have been cool in the 80’s if I was 10 years old.

Tracklist
1 – Megamouth Theme – 3:12
2 – You’re One In A Million – 4:24
3 – We’re Bad, That’s Good, and We’re Ugly (Viper’s Theme) – 5:22
4 – Quantized (Be a Good Sport) – 4:03
5 – Practice Makes Gnarly (Spinner’s Song) – 5:47
6 – Viper’s Theme Part 2 (Megamouth’s Answer) – 7:03
7 – Ready, Steady, Go – 8:00
8 – Tubin’ It – 1:21
9 – Getting Vertical (By Trustin’ The Lord) – 22:35

Credits
Art Direction, Layout – Ed McTaggart
Cover – John Dickenson
Engineer, Recorded By, Mixed By – Doug Doyle
Illustration – June Valentine
Mastered By – John Matousek
Producer, Arranged By, Recorded By, Mixed By, Instruments, Written-By, Concept By – Greg Flesch
Producer, Arranged By, Recorded By, Mixed By, Written-By, Concept By, Voice Actor – Terry Taylor
Vocals – Amy Watson, Lisa Grimaud*, Nancy Hanson, Nancy Marquez
Voice Actor, Vocals – Dan Rupple, Dennis Bowen, Diane Meador-Pemelton, Scott Rummell

Companies, etc.
Recorded At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.
Mixed At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.

Dr. Edward Daniel Taylor – The Miracle Faith Telethon – 1990

I really don’t know where to start with this “album”. I imagine that when I was 16 if you gave me a week of studio time and some musicians I would have thought this was a great idea. Unfortunately at 16 I knew nothing about the music industry. Now to be fair Terry Taylor was well versed in how the industry worked but I really don’t know what he was thinking for this album. The bulk of the album is a satirical look at faith based telethons that were popular in the 80’s. I don’t know if this was funny in the 90’s but it didn’t age well and it’s not funny to me now. That said other than that this album has some real gems. There are some new tracks, some remixes, and just some cool stuff. If I had control of this project the Telethon idea would have been it’s own release (that no one would have bought) and all the rest of the tracks (except Pretentious Poetry Readings) would have been their own release. Yes I know I’m being hard on this album but to be clear other than the attempts at humour this album has some great stuff and deserves to be listened to.

Tracklist
1 – The Pool (1990 Version) – 3:38
2 – Riders In The Sky – 4:26
3 – I’m On Your Team – 2:24
4 – The Miracle Faith Prickly Heat Telethon Of Love – 1:49
5 – Hide The Beer, The Pastor’s Here (Party Version) – 3:15
6 – Young Peoples Ethnic Ministry – 0:55
7 – Don’t Hate Yourself/Pulpit Masters (Extended Undanceable Remix) – 1:40
8 – Fruit O’ Ministry – 1:35
9 – Sprinkler Head – 2:57
10 – That Large Family We Always Wanted – 0:30
11 – Untitled (Lost Eddies Instrumental) – 2:15
12 – All Things To All Men – 0:51
13 – Big Guns 1990 – 2:58
14 – Little Dumbo – 1:48
15 – What A World, What A World (‘Mellow’ Version) – 3:50
16 – Beyond The Wall Of Sleep – 3:09
17 – Changeless – 3:28
18 – A Briefing For The Ascent – 3:54
19 – Only One – 3:12
20 – The Unattainable Earth (Remix) – 3:42
21 – Catch That Angel (Remix) – 4:15
22 – Sudden Heaven (Remix) – 3:20
23 – Soon! – 4:34
24 – Pretentious Poetry Readings – 3:15

Credits
Accordion – G. Eugene (tracks: 21)
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Autoharp – G. Eugene (tracks: 21)
Backing Vocals – Crystal Lewis, Jerry Chamberlain, Kenny Samuels, Mike Knott, Riki Michele, Rob Watson, Sharon Croghan, Sharon McCall, Terry Taylor, Tim Chandler, Tom Howard
Bass – Tim Chandler
Cover – T. Taylor
Directed By – Terry Taylor
Drums – Dave Raven* (tracks: 5, 11, 21), Ed McTaggart, Steve Hindalong (tracks: 16 to 18)
Engineer – G. (Oooops!) Eugene
Guitar – Greg Flesch, Terry Taylor, Tim Chandler (tracks: 1, 5)
Guitar [Backing] – Jerry Chamberlain (tracks: 2)
Guitar [Wah Wah] – G. Eugene (tracks: 7)
Illustration – Amy L. Wasserman
Keyboards – Greg Flesch (tracks: 13, 15 to 18), Rob Watson (tracks: 15,19,22,23)
Layout – Joe Potter
Lead Guitar – Ed McTaggart (tracks: 9), Jerry Chamberlain (tracks: 3)
Lead Vocals – Jerry Chamberlain (tracks: 7)
Liner Notes – Brian Quincy
Mixed By – Gene, Terry
Organ – G. Eugene (tracks: 4)
Percussion – Alex MacDougall (tracks: 16 to 19), Ed McTaggart
Producer – Terry Taylor
Recorded By – Gene, Terry
Rhythm Guitar – Jerry Chamberlain (tracks: 3)
Vocals – Terry Taylor

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Alarma Records
Copyright (c) – Alarma Records
Record Company – Frontline Music Group
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – Mixing Lab B
Mixed At – Mixing Lab A
Recorded At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.
Glass Mastered At – Nimbus, Virginia

Terry Scott Taylor – Knowledge & Innocence – 1986

One would never expect an album about death to be so beautiful and uplifting. Born out of the ashed of the death of his grandfather and miscarriage of his first child, Knowledge and Innocence is the prettiest and sweetest album in Terry Scott Taylor’s lengthy and fabled career. Delayed for what seems like an eternity, when the album finally came out in 1986, the album did what was probably expected; TST’s rabid fan base ate it up and the majority of CCM and Christian radio never noticed it’s passing. Oddly enough, it remains possibly the most commercial and accessible album in Taylor’s repertoire. Lush, beautiful, stunning, haunting and completely unforgettable. The only negative is the computerized and electronic instrumentation, especially the drums. This though possibly adds to the other-worldly feel of the project. That’s a plus since the album focuses so much on “the other world.” Dancing on Light and Song of Innocence should have been radio favorites. The latter features a duet with long time friend randy Stonehill. Oddly enough, considering the long term friendship and partnership between these two men over the years, this was the first time they sang a duet together. Taylor’s love for his grandfather is prevalent here and on other recording. But here we see a glimpse of the softer, loving father side of Taylor as he addresses the loss of a child before birth. Songs like Light Princess delve into the heart of an artist unlike others. There is a wonderful tension between loss and the future reunion awaiting those who are left that creates a beautiful and faithful listening experience.

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

Tracklist
1 – Dancing On Light – 4:54
2 – (Out Of) The Wild Wood – 5:43
3 – Here He Comes, Second Time – 3:06
4 – Waiting – 3:08
5 – Picture Of You – 3:56
6 – Song Of Innocence – 3:48
7 – The Old Time Gospel Camp Meeting Hour – 0:37
8 – The Riders Of The Western Skies (Medley) – 3:15
9 – Picture Of “U” (Reprise) – 1:43
10 – Ever After – 3:32
11 – Home Movies – 1:17
12 – One More Time – 3:41
13 – Baby’s Heartbeat (6 Months) – 0:15
14 – Light Princess – 3:59
15 – (Inner Cut) Waiting (Reprise) – 1:14

Credits
Arranged By [All Arrangements] – Rob, Terry
Arranged By [Gospel Medley Adaption & Vocal Arrangements By] – Rob
Arranged By [String Arrangements] – Rob Watson (tracks: 11, 13)
Art Direction, Layout – Ed McTaggart
Backing Vocals – Beau MacDougal, Bob Bennett (3), Chuck Girard, Jay Truax, Jerry Chamberlain, Rob Watson, Terry Taylor, Tom Howard, Tom Coomes
Bass Guitar – Tim Chandler (tracks: 7)
Design Concept [Cover & Inner Sleeve Art Concepts] – Terry
Drums – Ed McTaggart (tracks: 2), Terl Bryant (tracks: 9)
Electric Guitar – Greg Flesch (tracks: 4, 7), Tim Chandler (tracks: 4)
Engineer [Engineered By] – Doug Doyle
Guitar – Lenny Wagonmaster (tracks: 1)
Guitar [Nylon String] – Greg Flesch (tracks: 5, 14)
Illustration – Jon Fraze
Illustration [Lyric Illustrations] – Connie Watson
Keyboards, Synthesizer [Synthesizers], Guitar [Guitars], Backing Vocals [B.G.V.’s], Bass, Percussion – Rob Watson
Lead Vocals [Duet], Acoustic Guitar – Randy Stonehill (tracks: 6)
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Arranged By [Reprise & Incidental Arrangements] – Terry Scott Taylor
Mastered By – John Matousek
Percussion – Alex MacDougal (tracks: 5), Terl Bryant (tracks: 1, 4, 7)
Photography By – Doug Doyle
Producer [Produced By] – Rob Watson, Terry Taylor
Remastered By [Digital Re-mastering By] – Doug Doyle
Written-By [All Songs Written By] – Terry Taylor (tracks: 3 to 14)

Companies, etc.
Copyright (c) – Refuge Records
Record Company – Alternative Music Group
Produced For – R.B. Productions
Recorded At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.
Mastered At – Motown Recording Studios
Remastered At – Digital Brothers
Designed At – Stunt Productions
Published By – Snellsongs
Pressed By – Disc Manufacturing, Inc., Huntsville – 30177

D.O.X. – D.O.X. – 1986

D.O.X. appears to be another project of the boys from D.A. Rob Watson, Terry Taylor, and Tim Chandler were involved in this album in some way. Most the songs were written by Mark de la Bretonne the lead vocalist but Terry Taylor penned 2 of the tracks. The album has a bit of a Idle Cure sound at times and at other times i am hearing a more pop oriented version of Daniel Amos. The band were all individuals with little or no relationship to Daniel Amos but the boys form D.A. were obviously deeply involved with the project with all 3 listed as backing vocals and Terry Taylor being the producer. This is a pretty good album that was perfect for the time it came out. The vinyl is very hard to come by now so if you own it keep it safe.

Tracklist
1 – The Hungering Dark/Light Ship – 4:47
2 – Aim For The Heart – 4:30
3 – Lighthouse – 4:00
4 – Zero To None – 3:38
5 – Feel The Fire – 3:30
6 – Lonely Without You – 3:15
7 – (In My) Dream Of Heaven – 3:18
8 – Guiding My Way – 5:03
9 – Morningstar – 4:20

Credits
Arranged By – Terry Taylor
Art Direction – Ed McTaggart
Backing Vocals – Rob Watson, Terry Taylor, Tim Chandler
Bass Guitar – Jeff Foster
Drums – Robert Foster
Engineer – Doug Doyle
Keyboards – Rob Watson
Layout – Ed McTaggart
Lead Guitar – Rick Lane (7)
Painting – Jeff Foster
Percussion – Robert Foster
Piano – Mark de la Bretonne
Producer – Terry Scott Taylor*
Rhythm Guitar – Rick Lane (7)
Saxophone – Alan Palmer
Vocals – Mark de la Bretonne

Companies, etc.
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.

Daniel Amos – ¡Alarma! – 1981

This record was one of the all time best things throughout my teenage years. It was radical, it was catchy, it was rock, it was new wave, it was rebellious, loud, subversive and all that.

This album is so old and so cross-genre it was released on 8-track as well as cassette and vinyl.

Plus it was great art. It was a fold-out album with a fascinating scene presented in the inner part. The front cover and the back cover had images that corresponded. They went together to make a message. It had liner notes that were a story written to go along with the songs on the album.

In 1981 I’m sure I sat and read the whole thing. Then my friend read it and after we talked about it I read it again. And then I read it again.

Now I have this beautiful piece of art and I feel guilty for not taking the time to read the whole thing right now, to complete my experience. But I’ll do that again soon, I promise, I just have a few things to do for work first…

This is Daniel Amos’ second attempt at becoming a New Wave band after releasing 2 legit California style country albums. Those were good but they were not this. Horrendous Disc was recorded years before its release, and so technically came out in the same year as ¡Alarma!

This album changed the band forever by launching them as a completely restyled product. Terry Taylor guided DA all the way through and the New Wave years were cutting edge.

Tracklist
1 – Central Theme – 3:18
2 – ¡Alarma! – 3:21
3 – Big Time/Big Deal – 3:04
4 – Props – 1:58
5 – My Room – 3:25
6 – Faces To The Window – 2:31
7 – Cloak & Dagger – 2:16
8 – Colored By – 2:58
9 – C&D Reprise – 0:43
10 – Through The Speakers – 2:42
11 – Hit Them – 2:28
12 – Baby Game – 2:43
13 – Shedding The Mortal Coil – 1:20
14 – Endless Summer – 2:52
15 – Walls Of Doubt – 3:57
16 – Ghost Of The Heart – 2:36

Credits
Artwork [Airbrushing] – Stephen Nicol Price
Band [Members Of Daniel Amos], Bass Guitar, Keyboards – Marty Dieckmeyer
Band [Members Of Daniel Amos], Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals – Ed McTaggart
Band [Members Of Daniel Amos], Lead Guitar [Lead Guitars], Backing Vocals – Jerry Chamberlain
Band [Members Of Daniel Amos], Rhythm Guitar [Rhythm Guitars], Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Terry Taylor
Congas – Alex MacDougall (tracks: A5)
Design Concept [Cover Concept] – Daniel Amos
Engineer [Engineered By] – Thom Roy
Engineer [Live Sound], Coordinator [Road Coordination] – Wes Leathers
Graphic Design – Karen Knecht
Lead Vocals [Reluctant Lead Vocal] – Marty Dieckmeyer (tracks: A4)
Marimba – Alex MacDougall (tracks: A2)
Mastered By – Steve Hall
Percussion – Jerry Chamberlain (tracks: A5), Marty Dieckmeyer (tracks: A5)
Photography By [Photography] – Scott Lockwood
Producer [Produced By] – Daniel Amos, Thom Roy
Songwriter [All Songs Written By] – Terry Taylor (tracks: A1 to A6, A8 to B4, B7, B8)
Text By [‘Alarama Chronicles’ Book Text Written By] – Terry Taylor
Vocals [Female Vocal] – Karen Benson (tracks: B8)

Companies, etc.
Produced For – Rebel Base Productions
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Newpax Records
Copyright (c) – Newpax Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – Whitefield Studios
Mixed At – Whitefield Studios
Mastered At – MCA Whitney Recording Studios
Recorded At – Rebel Base Studio
Pressed By – PRC Recording Company, Richmond, IN
Published By – Paragon Music Corp.

Daniel Amos – Vox Humana – 1984

In 1984, Daniel Amos released their first album firmly branded under the name DA. The name Daniel Amos never went away, but with this one they went with the abbreviation in a big way. I even had a “DA” pin that matched the triangles appearing on this album cover.

Oh yeah, pins were a big thing then. All the best punk bands had lots of them out there. It was a measure of one’s cool in some circles.

Vox Humana was originally going to be called “Vox Robotica” before its release. The band had been talking about it during development, but when they got the final work done it sounded far less electronic than what they expected, so the title was changed to Vox Humana.

This is the third record in a trilogy known as “The ¡Alarma! Chronicles.” Each of the three records ended up being on a different label. Tim Chandler joined the band on the second of these as the new bass player, and would stay on for the duration.

Despite a lot of changes, DA kept artistic direction for the trilogy. The albums before and after these three don’t carry the same sound even if they carry equal genius.

Tracklist
1 – Travelog – 4:25
2 – (It’s The Eighties So Where’s Our) Rocket Packs – 3:35
3 – Home Permanant – 3:00
4 – It’s Sick – 2:18
5 – William Blake – 4:30
6 – Dance Stop – 2:43
7 – Live And Let Live – 3:40
8 – When Worlds Collide – 4:20
9 – As The World Turns – 3:47
10 – She’s All Heart – 3:00
11 – The Incredible Shrinking Man – 2:45
12 – Sanctuary – 5:45

Credits
Arranged By – The DA Boys*, T.T.*
Art Direction, Layout, Graphics – Ed McTaggart
Artwork [“Boot” Shadow By] – Gary DeLacy
Artwork [“Foot” Art By] – Phil Yea
Backing Vocals – Rob Watson, Terry Taylor, Tim Chandler
Bass [4 & 12 String] – Tim Chandler
Co-producer – Rob Watson (tracks: A2, A3, A5, B2, B3, B4), Terry Taylor (tracks: A2, A3, A5, B2, B3, B4)
Design Concept [Album Art Concept] – Terry Taylor
Directed By – Terry Taylor
Drums – Ed McTaggart
Engineer – Doug Doyle
Engineer [Second] – Rob Watson
Keyboards – Rob Watson
Keyboards [Occassional] – Terry Taylor
Lead Guitar – Tim Chandler
Lead Vocals – Terry Taylor
Mastered By – John Matouchek*
Percussion – Ed McTaggart, Rob Watson
Photography By [Photographics And Photography] – Ken Baley, Linda Dillion Baley*
Producer – Terry Taylor (tracks: A1, A4, A6, B1, B5, B6)
Rhythm Guitar – Terry Taylor
Synthesizer – Ed McTaggart, Rob Watson, Terry Taylor, Tim Chandler

Companies, etc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Refuge Records
Copyright (c) – Refuge Records
Distributed By – The Benson Company, Inc.
Recorded At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.
Mixed At – 3-D Studios, Costa Mesa CA.
Mastered At – Motown Recording Studios

Randy Stonehill – Between The Glory and The Flame – 1981

This follow-up to 1980’s The Sky Is Falling was a much more refined studio approach. Randy recruited a lot of top CCM artists to help out.
Producer Terry Taylor (of Daniel Amos) recruited his entire band to play on the album along with, Tom Howard, another Larry Norman and Solid Rock Records protege.

The result is a tight band performing Randy’s songs in the studio, giving a much more polished sound than we were used to getting from him up to this point.

The song “Die Young” is an example of Randy’s cynical but honest approach, calling out the typical Western lifestyle centered around short term thinking. His combination of humour and truth-telling was present throughout his career.

“Christine” is one of Randy’s reaches out to a lonely and desperate person. It has a significant parallel to the song Christmas at Denny’s, which we get many years later on the Return To Paradise album.

This album established Randy’s ability to move beyond performing as a singer-songwriter.

Tracklist
1 – The Glory And The Flame – 3:10
2 – Die Young – 3:15
3 – Fifth Avenue Breakdown – 2:50
4 – Granfather’s Song – 3:24
5 – Find Your Way To Me – 3:42
6 – Christine – 3:29
7 – Rainbow – 3:49
8 – Givin’ It Up For Love – 4:13
9 – Letter To My Family – 4:58
10 – Farther On – 2:56

Companies, etc.
Record Company – Word, Inc.
Phonographic Copyright (p) – Word, Inc.
Copyright (c) – Word, Inc.
Produced For – Rebel Base Productions
Recorded At – Whitefield Studios
Mixed At – Whitefield Studios
Published By – Prime Cut Publishing
Published By – CanaanLand Music
Published By – Tong Songs Music
Published By – Joyful Road Music

Credits
Guitars, Background Vocals – Jerry Chamberlain
Bass – Marty Dieckmeyer
Background Vocals, Songwriter, Synthesizer String Arranger, Piano, Harmonium, Acoustic Guitar – Tom Howard
Percussion – Alex MacDougall
Drums, Percussion – Ed McTaggart
Engineer – Thom Roy
Producer, Songwriter, Guitars, Percussion, Vocals – Randy Stonehill
Producer, Slide Guitar – Terry Scott Taylor

Various – Surely, Goodness and Misery – 1992

This 1992 sampler is full of great 80’s stuff.

First of all there are 4 Scratch Band songs. Scratch Band is an early version of the 77’s. One of these songs features Steve Scott and another Sharon McCall. It’s nice to hear where it started for the 77’s.

There are 3 cuts from Gloryhouse who were an early incarnation of Robert Vaughn and The Shadows. More really good tunes the best being The Promise in my opinion.

There is one more tune from Body and Soul (Rob Watson) bringing the total to 3 I have found to date.

There is also an alternate extended remix of Someone New from the 77’s which might be the best version I’ve heard.

Finally there are 6 songs from Daniel Amos mostly recorded between 1978 and 1980.

Here are the notes with more detail from the album description;

1, 2 & 7 – The Scratch Band (2) was the first incarnation of The 77s. Track 1 was issued originally as the b-side to the vinyl 45 of Jesus released in 1990 (as part of the 7&7is box set). This live recording dates to 1981. Tracks 2 and 7 are Steve Scott songs recorded live in 1980. Much of their sets in those days consisted of Scott’s songs. These two were also recorded for Steve’s unreleased “Moving Pictures” album in 1980.

3 – This is a very rare alternate extended remix of Someone New from 1984’s All Fall Down. Differs from the 12″ single extended version (Someone New).

4 to 6 – Gloryhouse is an earlier incarnation of Robert Vaughn and The Shadows (5). Track 4 is the first version of the song that appeared on Love And War (and performed on American Bandstand). Track 5 dates to 1985 and Track 6 is from around the same time. This live version (from 1986) is from a problematic video mix (Anthony Daluz’s guitar disappears at times).

8 to 12 & 15 – 1978 through 1980 were Daniel Amos’s lost years. During the delay of Horrendous Disc, they recorded almost twenty new songs as demos to shop to mainstream labels. Some of them were recorded with very high quality on 24-tracks and others were ping-ponged on 4-track. These songs are a sampling from that period. Track 8 was a concert favorite and appears on many bootleg tapes from ’79-’80. Tracks 9 and 10 were recorded in 1981 and feature a young Ojo Taylor on keyboard! Track 11 is a Mark Cook (2) song which was recorded for “Horrendous Disc” but was later replaced by “Hound of Heaven.” Track 12 was a 4-track demo for ¡Alarma! (The Alarma Chronicles Vol.1) which was later recorded by Wild Blue Yonder (2) and even later wound up on the The Miracle Faith Telethon with Terry’s vocals. Track 15, one of Terry’s favorites from the period showcases the pop sensibilities that defined Daniel Amos during that period.

13 – Sharon McCall was the original lead vocalist for the Scratch Band. This is a demo she recorded with the band right before she left the group in 1979. Michael Roe plays guitar and Jimmy Abegg plays bass. Sharon married Jerry Chamberlain in 1980, so she provides an interesting link between the Sacramento/Exit gang and the Orange County/Daniel Amos crowd.

14 – Rob Watson’s own group in the mid 80’s was called Body And Soul and recorded an album’s worth of material which unfortunately never surfaced, except for a rare 45 from 1984 (Something’s Going On Here / The Graylands).

Track Listing:
1 – Scratch Band – Unsatisfied – 5:54
2 – Scratch Band With Steve Scott – Wild Boys – 6:02
3 – 77’s – Someone New (Alternate Extended Remix) – 5:54
4 – Gloryhouse – Justice – 5:42
5 – Gloryhouse – The Promise – 5:14
6 – Gloryhouse – The Beauty Of Innocence – 5:08
7 – Scratch Band – Thief Song – 6:04
8 – Daniel Amos – So Certain – 3:56
9 – Daniel Amos – Little Things – 4:29
10 – Daniel Amos – Off My Mind – 4:14
11 – Daniel Amos – Fairy Tale – 4:05
12 – Daniel Amos – Only One – 3:48
13 – Sharon McCall With Scratch Band – When The Victims Control – 6:37
14 – Body And Soul – Locked Away – 3:59
15 – Daniel Amos – Laissez-Faire – 3:39

Credits:
Compilation Producer [For Alternative Records] – Randy Layton
Design, Layout – Patton Brothers Design
Executive-Producer – Randy Layton, Tom Gulotta
Mastered By – Doug Doyle

Daniel Amos – (self-titled) – 1976

The first album from Daniel Amos might surprise you if you’re an 80’s fan of the band as they actually started as a Country band in the 70’s. While Jesus music was still in full swing at the time of this release this album it doesn’t really have that it feel. It actually sounds and feels like a Country album of the time period. Interesting note is that the band actually auditioned for this album as “Jubal’s Last Band”. The name was very close to Darrell Mansfield’s band “Jubal”. Both bands agreed to a name change with Darrell’s band becoming Gentle Faith and Jubal’s Last Band becoming the Daniel Amos we all know now.

Track Listing:
1 – Jesus Is Jehovah To Me – 3:18
2 – The Bible – 4:20
3 – Abidin’ – 3:24
4 – William – 2:52
5 – Prelude: Servant’s Prayer – 0:47
6 – Don’t Light Your Own Fire – 4:28
7 – Losers & Winners – 3:52
8 – Walking On The Water – 4:38
9 – Ridin’ Along – 2:10
10 – Dusty Road – 3:25
11 – Love In A Yielded Heart – 2:34
12 – Skeptics’ Song – 2:22

Credits:
Acoustic Guitar [6 & 12 String], Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Terry Taylor
Acoustic Guitar [6 String], Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Steve Baxter
Bass Guitar – Marty Dieckmeyer
Design, Illustration – Dale G. Waters
Engineer, Mixed By – Jonathan David Brown
Lead Guitar [Electric], Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Jerry Chamberlain
Mastered By – Bernie Grundman
Producer, Mixed By – Al Perkins
Remix [Engineer] – Billy Taylor