We here at Night Beat HQ aren't above shamelessly stealing another blog post and making it our own. Just Ideas, mind you, not actual plagiarism. In this case Loudwire published 25 Essential 80's Rock +Metal Albums to Pass on to Your Children and it got me to think, there has got to be just as many essential albums in the CCM world. Loudwire didn't do a simple 1-25, they broke things down into categories which may or may not correspond to the CCM world as some of the genres may not have existed in the 80's, as CCM is always a few years behind the times.
- ArkAngel, Warrior (1980) Is it Rock? Is it Pop?, is it Celtic? Is it Alternative? The Greatest Musical Decade ever kicked off with an album that defied genres. Kemper Crabb, recording
under the name of ArkAngel, used an impressive 40 instruments, of which he played 30 by
himself. Those of us who were blessed enough to discover this progressive feat of genius knew
that it signaled something new was on the horizon. It was the dawn of a new era, and this album was the "Morning Anthem". Like most works of genius, the CCM Industry was not ready for it and it is a collectors item going for around $300 on the internet, and that's for a reissue, not the original. - Randy Stonehill, Between The Glory and The Flame (1981) The most down to earth of the Big 3 of CCM (Stonehill, Phil Keaggy and Keith Green). Unlike the Godhead, this "trinity' is not 3 and 1 at the same time, but there is a Number One above this trinity. More on that later in this article. Anyway, songs which tell a story which we can all relate to, combined with songs which exhibit a certain satire or peculiar sense of humor have made fans bestow upon him the title of Uncle Randy. This album, number Five of now twenty seven. It really does say something when your backing band is also Daniel Amos. For a taste of Randy's mind, try the Songs Christine, about a TV Newscaster Crush, or the satirical Die Young.
- Phil Keaggy, Town to Town (1981) The undisputed GOAT when it comes to guitarists. Because of his being in the CCM world, most music fans are unaware that Phil Keaggy not only belongs in the company of Eric Clapton or Carlos Santana, but may be better than both of them. Of
course, those of us who have heard and seen Phil in person know it's not may be, but is better. There is a song about a violin and an old violinist called The Touch of the Masters Hand. For guitarists, Keaggy is the Master Musician. 46 Studio Albums, 7 live Albums, 6 compilation Albums, and 9 tribute albums. The full discography is at Wikipedia here. Of those 46 Studio Albums, 25 of them are instrumental. - Larry Norman, Something New Under The Son (1981) Considering Larry's first Christian Album was 1969's Upon This Rock, Larry Norman could be considered the father of the Jesus Music Era, CCM and just about everything else. Due to his prolific career as a musician, producer, and label executive, there probably isn't a person in Christian Music today who hasn't been touched by the life of Larry Norman, despite that life being tragically cut short by illness at the age of 60. Something New Under The Son is some of the best straight up blues rock you've come across, and even if you never "Watch what you're doing" you can "let the tape keep rolling".
- Kansas, Vinyl Confessions (1982) The second album by Kansas after Kerry Livgren's conversion to Christianity and the first "Christian Kansas Album" as Livgren, Bass Player Dave Hope, and new Lead Singer John Elefante were Christians. The Christian Era of Kansas would end with Drastic Measures, after which Livgren, Hope and Elefante left the band to careers in the CCM industry. My college radio station wore out the opening track "Play The Game Tonight", though it was the closing track, the nearly seven minute "Crossfire" that so offended Steve Walsh that he had to quit as lead vocalist, to be replaced by John Elefante.
- Barnabas, Approaching Light Speed (1983) Of the three rock bands which could get the label of female fronted, Barnabas is the only true winner as Nancy Jo Mann was the only lead singer of Barnabas, while both Sandie Brock and Wendy Kaiser shared lead vocalist duties with their husbands in Servant and Resurrection Band respectively. Barnabas was among the bands in the running for first Heavy Metal Band, but due the habit of Christian Music Record Labels to tone down the product, Barnabas sound usually came across as merely Rock, as opposed to how they may have sounded live.
- Petra, Not Of This World (1983) Larry Norman may be the Father of Christian Rock, but Petra is the Father of the Christian Rock Band, and is the industry's most influential. Seen as the sequel to More Power To Ya (1982), the album was the hardest rock sound in the bands history to date and
propelled them into headliner status, where previously they were the opening act. "Bema Seat", "Blinded Eyes" and "Pied Piper" are the hardest Rocking songs on the album, but ballads like the title cut are where Petra's artistry really shines, and should not be missed. - Daniel Amos (DA), Vox Humana (1984) When they weren't serving as Randy Stonehill's Backing Band the members of Daniel Amos were forging their own place in the CCM, going from a Country Rock sound which was typical of a lot of Jesus Music/70's CCM acts and beginning their first musical transformation into a New Wave Band, a style they pulled off more successfully than Servant. The third album in their Alarma Chronicles, their sound was established whether they wondered where were their rocket packs, or comparing being in love to a time when worlds collide, Terry Scott Taylor and company serve their rock up with a quirky sense of humor.
- Sweet Comfort Band, Cutting Edge (1982) Sweet Comfort Band, known simply as SCB to their fans, was a Jazz/Fusion Band out of Riverside California, and one of the leading groups coming
out of the Jesus Music Era. While the era was know for more of a folk music/adult contemporary sound, SCB was able to stand out and attract an audience willing to stick with them as they successfully transitioned out of Jazz and into an Album Oriented Rock style reminiscent of Styx or Kansas. Cutting Edge is the stronger of the two albums (1984's Perfect Timing being the other) that closed out the bands career. The album kicks off with the rocking Runnin' to win and closes with the hard rocking Armed and Ready, which is the source of the album title, In between is a rock journey that mixes the loud with the softer tunes such as Haven't seen You but they never take their foot of the gas as they craft a tale which is only completed with Perfect Timing, after which the band took an extended hiatus. - Steve Taylor, Meltdown (1984) In the Middle Ages the Court Jester was the only person in the Kings Court who was able to convey unpopular or bad news to the king without paying for it with their life. Steve Taylor was that Jester. Following up his debut EP I Want To Be A Clone
(1983) Meltdown sets its sights on Influencers (Meltdown), Media Bias (Meat The Press), Racism (We Don't Need No Colour Code) the fragility of Childhood Idols (Hero) and even Infanticide (Baby Doe). And in 40 years the album has aged very well. - Servant, Swimming In A Human Ocean (1985) A Member of the Big Three from the Jesus Music Era (Servant, Petra and Fireworks) and one of only two Jesus Music Era bands to embrace a communal lifestyle, the other being Resurrection Band. (The Two Communities were at one point established by the same people, so there is another connection). The band pioneered the use of smoke machines, flash-pots, and laser light shows to showcase their message, which brought them more criticism from the established church than the typical rock band. Songs like Power, the Dance, and Harder to Finish allowed co-lead Sandie Brock to let out her inner Rock Chick as they finally found their signature sound. Unfortunately it was their last album.
- AD, Art of the State (1985) Kerry Livgren's conversion to Christianity started a mini-revival at Kansas, with at one time 4 of 6 members of the band having been Christian. Amid strife and lineup changes, Kerry Livgren, Dave Hope, Warren Ham, and Michael Gleason decided to part ways with Kansas on amicable terms (Livgren and Hope have returned to Kansas on occasion to
contribute music) and formed AD, which has obvious similarities with Kansas, but took extra care not to sound to much like their former band. The bloodlines helped the new band sound professional right from the start, though with this second album things fully gelled. Unfortunately, due to issues between CBS Records and Livgren, they disbanded after this album, although they released one additional album, entitled Reconstructions (1986) though there was not a tour to support it. A final album of previously unreleased music was released as Prime Mover in 1988 with Livgren playing all instruments and Warren Ham did all vocals. The State of The Art production known as Art Of The State is musical perfection, and picking We Are The Men, The Fury, and Progress as the hits was as easy as picking a diamond out of a field full of diamonds. - The Call, Reconciled (1986) What makes Christian Music? During the Jesus Music Era it was fairly simple. The songs were basic praise choruses or hymnlike in nature, just set to a somewhat contemporary beat. As the CCM era began with the Decade of the 80's, the question became a bit murkier. As the industry moved away from worship music and started writing about the human
experience the question arose, was a Christian Band a band that said Jesus every other word, or did the members of the band simply had to profess Christianity. The Call was among the first bands to answer the latter, paving the way for bands like U2, Creed, Evanescence and others. "I Still Believe" cried Michael Been, and the Christians who listened to the album knew what he meant. Everyone else simply rocked to the tunes. - The Choir, Diamonds and Rain (1986) As Christian Music moved from the Movement to the Industry, new styles of music were needed to fill the need. Leading the way was Atmospheric Alternative Band The Choir, which was born out of the music scene at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa, California pastored by Rev. Chuck Smith. The Choir was one of many, including
Crumbacher, Undercover, Altar Boys as well as Jesus Music Bands LoveSong and Daniel Amos. Derri Daugherty and Steve Hindalong sang of things that resonated in the day to day Christian experience instead of what became known as "Jesus, Jesus, Whoa, Whoa, Whoa", although the band did write "God of Wonders", one of the most popular worship songs of the early 21st Century. The Peppy "Fear only you" may have been the industry favorite, but I was always partial to "Black Cloud" - Stryper, To Hell With The Devil (1986) The album which started CCM's heavy metal era. though Stryper would not be CCM's first Heavy Metal Band (that honor would go to either Resurrection Band or Barnabas depending on who you ask), and this would actually be Stryper's third album,
this is the album that put heavy metal on the map. DJ's at Christian College Radio Stations would play the title cut simply because speaking those five words would cause a stodgy Dean's head to explode, and that would be worth the purchase price. The original album cover of bare chested long haired angels casting the devil into the pit caused a minor uproar in the Christian Music World until the band agreed to Change it to a solid black album with the Stryper logo over a Pyramid. The albums most popular song was not the title cut or any other of the screaming anthems, but the soft ballad Honestly which for a time supplanted MWS Friends as the alumni singalong song. - Altar Boys, Gut Level Music (1986) As Christian Music began to splinter into genres sometimes the genres began to splinter as well, such is the most simple form of life, cellular mitosis. One of those splinters was in Punk Rock. One of the new "cells" was a Thrash and Speed Metal inspired
Punk Rock which was embodied by One Bad Pig. The other side was a California Pop Rock Punk which was defined by the Altar Boys. Gut Level Music was their third album during their supernova existence of 5 studio albums in 6 years. In an unlikely link to the Jesus Music Era, the band was signed to Alarma Records, which was established by Daniel Amos. Gut Level Music was about breaking the Word down to the people on the street, not talking about religion, but talking about God. - DeGarmo and Key, Streetlight (1986) Memphis Childhood friends Eddie DeGarmo and Dana Key grew up in the shadow of Graceland, so it was no surprise that as Christian Rock emerged from the Jesus Music Era into the CCM Era That the DeGarmo and Key Band (shortened to DeGarmo & Key and Popularly and Professionally abbreviated to simply D&K) found itself among the elites. Originally sporting a Blues Rock sound changing times led to a Keyboard
Heavy Arena Rock. Streetlight was the bands eighth album and finished the transformation from a hard synthpop to full rock. Nowhere was that more evident than with their hit song Addey which appeared on 1978's debut album This Time Thru as a simple acoustic guitar driven ballad, and it was redone as a synth rock anthem. Soldier of Fortune, however was the hard rocker that pulled no punches, and was a fan favorite.
- Bloodgood, Bloodgood (1986) Stryper may be the King of Metal, but there are plenty of royal princes. Chief among them was Bloodgood, named for founding member and Bassist Michael
Bloodgood. Les Carlsen led the band in a Straight ahead metal style reminiscent of Queensryche or Judas Priest. Produced by Rock Legend Darryl Mansfield, the self titled debut managed to avoid any freshman jitters, emerging as a polished work right out of the gate. "Accept the Lamb" and "Awake" are among the standout tracks.
- Jerusalem, Dancing on the Head of the Serpent (1987) When the average person is asked to name a Swedish Band, the answer begins and ends with ABBA, a 1970's Disco Band. The mind never goes to anything louder, certainly not as loud as Heavy Metal. And yet two Christian Metal bands were at the forefront of Christian Metal in the 80's as well as Synthpop/Synthrock band Edin-Adahl which was still a bit harder than ABBA. The two metal bands were Jerusalem, from Gothenburg, and Leviticus, from Skovde 150 miles away to the Northeast. Of the two Jerusalem, led by Ulf Christiansson, was the more prolific, releasing 10 studio albums, 8 of them in English as well as Swedish. The early albums were toned down by the industry, so you would think they're just a pop band, but beginning with this album the limits were taken off. Never mind the artwork. That alone sent the churchy Christian into a tizzy. Unashamed in their evangelism, they loudly proclaim their aim to "plunder hell, and populate Heaven", and if the reports are to believed the band followed Jesus instructions to cast out demons during their concerts. A great slap to the reputation of it being "the devil's music".
- Mylon LeFevre and Broken Heart, Crack The Sky (1987) The Son of Southern Gospel Music legends The LeFevre's Mylon was destined for a different track once his song Without Him was purchased by none other than Elvis Presley. After a few missteps Mylon Formed Broken Heart, which released 9 albums, beginning in 1982 with Brand New Start and finishing in 1990 with Crank it Up. They were, in one sense, the perfect band to frame the decade.
- Whitecross, Whitecross (1987) Heavy Metal being on the Fringes of the CCM Industry, it fell to smaller independent labels to spread the word. While that made it harder to accomplish widespread distribution, it also allowed an album to be created free of industry interference, with the result that many metal albums weren't as toned down for the masses and the difference
between live and album were minimal. Whitecross, formed by Vocalist Scott Wenzel and Guitarist Extraordinaire Rex Carroll, the band was known for crystal clear vocals combined with guitar stylings that would make Phil Keaggy proud if he played metal. - U2, The Joshua Tree (1987) A Tale of Two Bands, or the Prince and The Pauper. Two bands signed to the same label primed to hit the big time with their latest release. U2 got the first release
and sucked all the air out of the room, so to speak with singles such as with or with out you and I still haven't found what I'm looking for, forcing the 77's to play second fiddle. - The 77s, The 77s (1987) The Pauper in our Tale of Two Bands. Michael Roe and his bandmates had two albums to their credit on their label Exit and were primed for Mainstream Success with a simultaneous release on Island Records. The Island bump was minimal so their chance of crossover stardom was dashed. However hits such as "Do It For Love and "The Lust, The Flesh,
The Eyes and The Pride of Life" did propel the band, at least in the CCM world, into the Greatest Rock Band of All Time. - Saint, Too Late For Living (1988) Christian Death Metal on the surface would seem to be a contradiction, as Christianity is concerned with life, and that more abundantly. However when the
themes of your music tend to be hell, the end times, evil and the life beyond, well maybe Death Metal doesn't begin to cover it. Too late for Living, the title cut, addresses the topic of Sudden and Unexpected death, and the importance of being prepared for the unexpected and the instrumental "Returning" is worthy of any aspiring guitar hero. 
REZ, Silence Screams (1988) Last but certainly not least on this Rawklist is REZ, or more officially Resurrection Band. They say in a marriage that Opposites Attract and nowhere is that more evident than REZ. Glenn Kaiser is a Blues Rocker and his wife Wendi is the Headbanger, and they split the songs, giving a great balance to most albums, though they do vary in intensity from time to time. Silence Screams Rocks right off the gate, as both Silence Screams (Glenn) and You Got Me Rockin' are cranked to 11 though they do slow things down for ballads like Someone Sleeps, though I doubt you'll be sleeping through it.
I think this list does a good job as being a Christian Alternative to the Mainstream list. I hope you will check out and enjoy them all, and pass them along with the others to your kids. Maybe I'm just a glutton for punishment, but doing this has made me consider doing another one for the 90's, because that is when things really started to blow up. If you want to hear the list, I've created an Essential 80's Spotify Playlist which includes most of the artists on the list, plus a number of others worthy of a spin. Until next time, I am Awaiting Your Reply.
