Looking fairly hippie-esque in their snowy Aspen, Colorado outdoor setting are the Mennonite male/female six-piece known as Hallam Street Band. They’re in top form when the electric guitar leads and organ bring a welcome underground vibe to their fine rural heartland folkrock-to-rock sound, especially on the standout track ‘Recovering The Dream (Children Of Menno)’. Country influences surface on songs like ‘Home’ and ‘From The Village’ where pedal steel and harmonica enter the picture. Some of the most cutting-edge songs are the more acoustic oriented ones, like ‘As I Walk’ or the percussive ‘Spirit Of The Lord Come Down’. Reminds me of some of the better moments of groups like Rebirth. Simple black and white cover photo of their street sign.       (The Archivist by Ken Scott, 4th Edition).

Tracks:

01. Spirit Of The Lord Come Down

02. In The Morning

03. Home

04. Poster Love

05. From The Village

06. Recovering The Dream (Children Of Menno)

07. Pentecost

08. Unity

09. New Day

10. Spirit Of The Lord Come Down

11. As I Walk

12. Stand In The Light

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Better add Lisa Pastille’s album to that ever growing roster of required obscure homemade female folksinger records. Metanoia (Greek for spiritual transformation) is of equal quality to recordings by artists such as Becky Severson, Jean Wahlstrom, Barbara Sipple, Marj Snyder, Pam Mark and the like. Lisa’s songs are gentle expressions with melodies that range from slow and peaceful, to playful and lilting, to sorrowful and melancholy. Led by sensitive lead vocals and self harmony, with delicate musical backing from Lisa’s acoustic guitar. ‘Prayer’ and ‘Matthew 11’ are two of the standouts, both beautiful solemn pieces with tempo changing song structure. Soft ballads (‘Psalm 27’), bright summery strums (‘No Exit’) and graceful finger-picked tunes (‘When I’m Blue’) are all equally effective. Lisa plays a few other instruments as well, including stirring flute accompaniment (‘The Answer’, ‘Hosanna’) and artful tin whistle flourishes (‘Glorious Is Your Name’). Piano joins on a couple songs, including the closing ‘Come’. Femme folk enthusiasts, put this on your list now – you will not be disappointed! She’s from Providence, Rhode Island. (Ken Scott – Archivist)

Tracks:

01. Chant

02. Baby Boy

03. The Answer

04. Psalm 27

05. No Exit

06. Hosanna

07. Glorious Is Your Name

08. Prayer

09. I’m Waithing On You

10. Matthew 11

11. When I’m Blue

12. Come

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The former lead singer of England’s The Peacemakers recorded this excellent solo album shortly after becoming a pilot in North America. Though some of his old band’s beat influences can be found here, How Can I Tell Them is more rooted in a soothing folky ‘60s AM-radio adult-mod pop style, echoing moods such as Scott MacKenzie’s ‘San Francisco’. Justyn’s songs cruise along leisurely with a crisp beat, catchy pop hooks enveloped with delicate string arrangements, accompanied by 12-string or electric guitar and led by his expressive vocal style. All twelve tracks are nice but two of the ballads stand out in particular. ‘The Rain Came Down’ and ‘Behold’ are both incredibly dreamy pieces rich with mellotron-like strings and echoey vocals. The former has a fragile soft-psych feel with phased guitar, while the latter soars with ethereal Moody Blues-ish choral effects. ‘Little Man’ and the ragtime-ish ‘Nothings’ both benefit from fresh banjo accompaniment. ‘Flight 703’ recounts his thrill of piloting out of New York City after being cooped up for two days. And ‘Psalm 8’ receives a welcome re-interpretation from the self-titled Peacemakers lp. Released on a New York label in a gatefold cover with liner notes detailing the circumstances of each song. Justyn’s next album (Down My Road) had more of a smooth orchestrated pop bent.   (The Archivist by Ken Scott, 4th Edition).

Tracks:

01. What’s Going On

02. Flight 703

03. Psalm 23

04. Power

05. The Rain Came Down

06. How Can I Tell Them

07. Little Man

08. Psalm 8

09. Nothings

10. Not Now But Tomorrow

11. Behold

12. God Is Not Dead

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Lots of variety on this excellent custom Florida obscurity. For starters hardrock buffs will definitely salivate over driving cuts like ‘Receive It’, ‘Trips’, and ‘Remember That Name’, all of which register high with loud guitar. ‘Dance Cloud’ is acoustic and carefree with progressive overtones. Some melodic middle-ground rock and a few acoustic ballads fill out the lp. The spacey synthesizer is a nice touch adding that progressive edge here and there. Flute, French horn, and flugelhorn solo passages fit right in. And a most expressive lady passionately belts out the lead vocals. Would have been a perfect candidate for the Tunesmith label – production is certainly up to par. Real striking cover of horse and rider with flaming sword emerging from the clouds. Back cover and label both say “The Salvation Army” – not sure if that’s the album title or label.       (The Archivist by Ken Scott, 4th Edition).

Tracks:

01. Receive It

02. Resist The Devil

03. Any Old Music

04. Psalm 113

05. Washed In The Blood

06. Dance Cloud

07. Letter To The Devil

08. More Much More

09. Trip’s

10. Remember That Name

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Another excellent example of delicate progressive folkrock from five young British folks who share a kindred spirit with UK groups like Presence, Aslan and Sanctus. Gentle captivating mostly acoustic sound with fragile male/female harmonies, flute, soft enchanting organ, electric bass and magical acoustic leads. Top-notch original songwriting with titles like ‘Weep For The City’, ‘Let Me Come In’, ‘On The Road’, ‘How Could I Hate’, ‘Blow On Me’, ‘Joe’ and ‘Murmurings’, moods ranging from lively strummed folk to Parchment-like folkrock to charming melancholy ballads. Also covers of ‘Very Last Day’ and ‘Day Is Done’. For a custom lp in this genre this is outstanding, with virtually no competition in sight from any bands on Dovetail, Myrrh or any other UK Christian label. Comes with a large folded lyric insert. 500 made.     (The Archivist by Ken Scott, 4th Edition).

Tracks:

01. Changes

02. Very Last Day

03. Weep For The City

04. How Long

05. Someone

06. Let Me Come In

07. On The Road

08. How I Could Hate

09. Blow On Me

10. Day Is Done

11. Joe

12 – Murmurings

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One of those typical co-ed Campus Life/Youth For Christ outfits that’s heavy on the pop/easy-listening harmonies, not to mention the Larry Mayfield orchestration.  Every now and then they “rock out” with a cheesy electric lounge “psych” arrangement that may include wah-wah or fuzz guitar, the best examples being Larry Norman’s ‘Forget Your Hexagram’, Bread’s ‘Mother Freedom’ and Skip Prokop’s ‘Step Out On The Sea’.  You still have all those horns and strings to deal with, plus most everything else on the album is maximally smooth and mellow.  Includes a large foldout poster insert.       (The Archivist by Ken Scott, 4th Edition).

My bad, the music and the album description are different, The music I would guess is from a same named album from 1974? As that is the possible year from the album number. This album has one song from Michael Omartian, an Andre Crouch, 3 written by Ron Salisbury, and a Ralph Carmichael. Review by RP.

Tracks:

01. BESIDE THE STILL WATERS

02. DON’T SHINE IT ON

03. QUIET PLACE

04. ONE IN THE LORD

05. LOVE SONG

06. I GAVE MY ALL

07. SATISFIED

08. COME TO JESUS

09. JESUS MADE ME HIGHER

10. LORD IT’S IN YOUR HAND

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Another class act in the homemade soft jangly guy/gal electric folkrock department that you can proudly file next to The Bridge (with whom they share a similar sound). Dreamy acoustic atmospheres are overlaid with flute and recorder, precious ethereal female harmonies and attractive electric guitar leads, including a few friendly fuzz and other effects here and there. Indeed I wouldn’t be surprised to see some listeners classify this as “folk/psych”. Effective shimmering moody presence throughout, whether strummed folkrock tunes, gentle finger picked songs, slow stirring ballads, plugged-in rural-edged tracks or spoken word over guitar. ‘Rejoice God’s Children’, ‘River Jordan’, ‘A Prayer Of David’, ‘John 1:1-14’, ‘Dear Heavenly Father’. Nine original songs in all, plus a cover of Kenn Gulliksen’s ‘Charity’. Three guys and two girls from El Cajon, California, on the same label as fellow Californians Soul Purpose. Excellent cover too – a colored pencil ocean scene with breaking wave and image of Christ in the clouds. I’m touched.     (The Archivist by Ken Scott, 4th Edition).

Tracks:

01. Rejoice God’s Children

02. Christ Through Me

03. River Jordan

04. John 3;16,17

05. A Prayer Of David

06. John 1;1

07. Coming Again

08. Charity

09. Glory To God

10. Dear Heavenly Father

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By the artwork I am assuming this is the band mentioned in the archivist as the back mentions them forming in 1974. This has a nice bluegrass/country twinged feel with a nice mix of originals (5) and some fun secular covers.  They give thanks to Lutheran Youth Encounter for their support.

Tracks:

01. The Fourth Man In The Fire

02. Thank You

03. Fill Up With Jesus

04. Mr Bojangles

05. It’s Not Easy

06. You Got A Friend

07. Brave Apostles 12

08. Whistlin’ With The Wind

09. Ozark Mountain Moon

10. Battle Of New Orleans

11. Lord God Almighty

12. Benediction

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Like Majesty and Uncle John’s Band, Christbearer is one of a few groups headed up by Chris Hughes in the ‘70s. They also happen to be the heaviest of the bunch. Psych enthusiasts will immediately want to take note of ‘Look’ and ‘Into The Light’, both of which rock slowly with some of the loudest droning fuzz guitar on record – enough that Songs And Friends could easily earn a modest “monster” status. On the softer end of the spectrum is ‘Twilight’, a mesmerizing acoustic ballad with dreamy background synthesizer. A number of the remaining songs appeared on the Majesty album in the acoustic duo format but are re-interpreted here as spirited electric pop/folk, some of the best I’ve heard. Light horn accompaniment on a couple of these blends in perfectly. Several folkrock tunes as well – airy and jangly on ‘Fly’, bluegrassy with banjo on ‘Come To The Banquet’. Members include Chris Hughes, Kay Woodard, Jimmy Rea, Jeff White and Lee Carpenter. Great album! Custom press from Durham, North Carolina.   (The Archivist by Ken Scott, 4th Edition).

Tracks:

01. Melancholy Traveler

02. Look

03. Come To The Banquet

04. Fly

05. His Call

06. Songs And Friends

07. Twilight

08. Into The Light

09. Goodbye Song

10. Christbearer

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Basic homemade guitar, upright bass, tambourine and flute moody Catholic folk item from sic Trinitarian Brothers.  I’ve heard this sound many times before – Jack Miffleton (several of his songs are performed here), early Dameans, Songs For The Masses, etc. – yet it’s always welcome, with simple heartfelt vibes shining through.      (The Archivist by Ken Scott, 4th Edition).

Tracks:

01. Psalm 100

02. The Lord Is My Hope

03. Psalm 113

04. Lamentations Of Jeremiah

05. You Brought Us Together

06. Psalm 97

07. Lord Have Mercy

08. Glory To God

09. Sanctus

10. Eucharistic Acclamation

11. Great Amen

12. Lamb Of God

13. Simeon’s Canticle

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