Crowd shot masthead ApologetiX Logo Keith Haynie plays bassBill Hubauer plays lead guitarJ. Jackson sings leadJimmy Vegas Tanner plays drums
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03.18.24Get Multiple Downloads for One Donation
03.18.24USBs Include New Single & Next CD
03.18.24How to Donate Online or by Mail
03.18.24Over 1650 Tracks for $100
03.16.24Influential Albums: 1402-1408
03.16.24New CD Slightly Delayed, BOGO Continues
03.16.24How to Get the ApX Library, USBs, Multiple Downloads
03.16.24This Week's Bible-Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
03.16.24Easter Season Playlist 2024
03.12.24This Week's News Bulletin
03.09.24Influential Albums: 1395-1401
03.09.24This Week's Bible-Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
03.09.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
03.05.24This Week's News Bulletin
03.03.24New Single: '74 Solo Smashes
03.01.24A Serious Problem We're Trying to Address
02.29.24All About Our Next CD
02.29.24Influential Albums: 1388-1394
02.29.24This Week's Bible-Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.29.24Clues for 2024 Single #5
02.25.24This Week's News Bulletin
02.22.24Get Ready for Our Next CD
02.22.24Influential Albums: 1381-1387
02.22.24This Week's Bible Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.22.24Wayne Is Retiring, What's Next for Him and Us?
02.22.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
02.19.24This Week's News Bulletin
02.19.24New Single: Billy & The Beach
02.16.24Influential Albums: 1374-1380
02.16.24This Week's Bible Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.16.24Remembering ApX Friend Paul "Doc" Nigh (1956-2024)
02.16.24Clues for 2024 Single #4
02.10.24Influential Albums: 1367-1373
02.10.24Fans Making Plans to Attend Our Big Show September 1
02.10.24This Week's Bible Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.10.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
02.06.24This Week's News Bulletin
02.06.24New Single: '74 & '83
02.03.24ApX Lead Singer/Lyricist Shares His Testimony 36 Years Later
02.03.24Influential Albums: 1360-1366
02.03.24This Week's Bible Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
02.03.24Latest CD Added to iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, Etc.
02.02.24Clues for 2024 Single #3
01.29.24This Week's News Bulletin
01.26.24Influential Albums: 1353-1359
01.26.24How to Get the ApX Library, USBs, Multiple Downloads
01.26.24This Week's Bible-Reading and Rock Thru the Bible
01.26.24Flashback: J.'s Vision for ApologetiX in 2014
01.26.24J.'s Vision for ApologetiX in 2024
01.26.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
01.24.24Checking in With ApX Alum Drummer Fred Behanna
01.22.24This Week's News Bulletin
01.22.24New Single: '70s #1 Hits That Remade '60s Top 10 Hits
01.19.24Influential Albums: 1346-1352
01.19.24Encouraging Message from Longtime Fan in Oklahoma
01.19.24This Week's Bible-Reading & Rock Thru the Bible
01.15.24This Week's News Bulletin
01.12.24Influential Albums: 1339-1346
01.12.24The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
01.12.24Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
01.12.24New Testament Reading Started Wednesday
01.11.24New Worship Songs Available from ApX Alum Bill Rieger
01.08.24New Single: '81 & '83
01.08.24New CD BOGO Ends Sunday
01.08.24New USB Thumb Drives on the Way
01.05.24Clues for 2024 Single #1
01.05.24Influential Albums: 1332-1338
01.05.24Have You Heard About the Other Music City Miracle?
01.05.24This Week's Bible Reading & Rock Thru the Bible
12.29.23Influential Albums: 1325-1331
12.29.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
12.28.232023: A Record-Breaking Record-Making Year
12.28.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
12.26.23This Week's News Bulletin
12.26.23New Single: 1974 & 2008
12.23.23Influential Albums: 1318-1324
12.23.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
12.23.23ApologetiX Updated Christmas Playlist
12.18.23This Week's News Bulletin
12.18.23New Samson CD Mailed to Fans, New Orders Sent as They Come In
12.16.23Influential Albums: 1311-1317
12.16.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
12.16.23New Story
12.16.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
12.11.23This Week's News Bulletin
12.11.23New Single: '83 & '84
12.11.23ApX Apparel: Order by Tuesday with Express Shipping
12.07.23New ApX Apparel and More: Order Soon for Christmas
12.07.23Influential Albums: 1304-1310
12.07.23Just Reword CD Added to iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, Etc.
12.07.23Clues for 2023 Single #25
12.04.23This Week's News Bulletin
12.02.23Influential Albums: 1297-1303
12.02.23This Week's Bible Reading & Rock Thru the Bible
12.02.23The Stories Behind the Songs on This Single
12.02.23New Shirts & Other ApX Merch Coming Soon
12.02.23Rock Thru the Bible with ApX This Week
11.28.23This Week's News Bulletin
11.28.23New Christmas Single: All '80s
11.24.23Influential Albums: 1290-1296

Influential Albums: 989-995
Thu., Jan. 26. 2023 8:20pm EST

J. Jackson, lead singer and lyricist for ApologetiX here again.

Here are the latest entries in the "albums that influenced me" series I started writing in May 2020:

989. Legacy - Michael Card
Back when we were growing up, Dave Rhodes was always good for finding cool new music. Michael Card had been releasing albums since 1981, so he wasn't exactly new, but I hadn't heard his stuff before Dave gave me a homemade cassette of his '83 LP, Legacy, Card's second album overall. I was particularly taken with the songs "Love Crucified Arose (An Overview)," "Dragonslayer (The Lamb Triumphant)," and "Abba Father (Gal.4:1-7; Rom. 8:14-17)." It was plain to see (and hear) from the lyrics that Michael Card was obviously a thinking man and a Bible scholar. As a matter of fact, he's written or co-written more than 20 books. Legacy also featured Card's version of "El Shaddai," a song he wrote that Amy Grant made famous after releasing it on her 1982 LP, Age to Age, which became the first CCM album by a solo artist to sell half a million copies and the first CCM album to sell a million. We performed "El Shaddai" in our Oremus singing chorale when I was a senior in college. In 2001, it was named one of the "Songs of the Century" by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

990. Can't Buy a Miracle - Randy Stonehill
This is another store-bought cassette my friend Dana owned that he gave to me to keep. Released in 1988, Can't Buy a Miracle was Sir Stonehill's 10th LP (if you don't count Get Me Out of Hollywood, which was recorded in 1973 but wasn't released until 1999). The title track opens with some pretty amusing lyrics: "Come to Jesus with a buck in you hand — like He's a fire-insurance plan. He doesn't need anything you've got — He's only looking for a willing heart." There were only nine tracks, and my favorite was "Brighter Day." While Can't Buy a Miracle never became one of my "go to" albums, I still played it a bit. Aside from the two tunes I already mentioned, the songs I remember most are "Don't Break Down," "Coming Back Soon," and "O How the Mighty Have Fallen." Two other catchy numbers are "It's Now" and "Awfully Loud World," although the lyrics for both are rather serious, so Randy might balk at the thought of them being referred to as "catchy numbers."

991. Do I Stand Alone? - Mike Stand
As a guy who's been singing in rock bands for over 40 years, I've known a lot of mic stands in my life ... but this one was different. This Mike Stand was the songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist for Christian punk band The Altar Boys. A few of the folks in our Friday-night group were fans, and that's how I wound up getting exposed to Do I Stand Alone?, Stand's first solo LP, which came out in 1988. It reminded me more of Springsteen than the Clash ... with maybe a touch of The Alarm. Whatever it was, I liked it a lot. My favorite songs were "To Give All Is Everything" and the title track. Other noteworthy tracks included "Dear God," "The Way I Want to Be," "Freedom's Worth Fighting For," "Simple Truth," and the Lennon-esque "What's Goin' On?"

992. Between Heaven 'n Hell - REZ
Released in 1985, Between Heaven 'n Hell was the album where The Resurrection Band shortened their name to REZ. I got a homemade cassette copy from my friend Dana, but I think my old college housemate and roommate Lance had The Resurrection Band's 1981 LP Mommy Don't Love Daddy Anymore when we were at IUP. Back then, I had no interest in such things, and the group name and album title didn't appeal to me. I never would have guessed what legitimate rockers they were. Formed in 1972, the group called it quits in 2000 but reunited for a couple appearances at festivals in 2008 and 2010. A career-spanning anthology released in 2008 prompted Christianity Today magazine to say the collection "provides a convincing argument that husband-and-wife team Glenn and Wendi Kaiser and company formed the most influential band in Christian music history." The first two tracks on Heaven 'n Hell were standouts: "The Main Event" (with Wendi on lead vocals) and "Love Comes Down" (with Glenn on lead vocals). Other memorable tracks for me included "Zuid Afrikan," "Walk On," "Talk to Me," and "Shadows." However, the whole album is strong lyrically and musically. To any rock fan who lived through the '80s, there would be no doubt as to what decade this album came from, but it doesn't sound outdated ... aside from the final track, "2000," and then only because it's not the futuristic thing it was meant to be in 1985.

993. Something New Under the Son - Larry Norman
Released in 1981, Something New Under the Son was actually recorded in 1977. It had a great title and a blues-rock feel. My two favorite songs were the closing tracks on sides one and two: "Watch What You're Doing" and the autobiographical, Stones-esque "Let the Tape Keep Rolling." These four tracks are also easy to appreciate: "Hard Luck Bad News," "Born to Be Unlucky," "Nightmare #97," and "Put Your Life Into His Hands." I first heard "Watch What You're Doing" used in the intro of a Christian documentary on rock and roll and liked it immediately. Even though I was already a Larry Norman fan by then, I had no idea he was the one singing it. Now I recognize it as one of his best songs and performances.

994. I'm in Touch - Simon Ådahl
I don't think I ever had a copy of this entire album, but it came out in 1985, and my friend Dana had at least a couple of its songs — "(You're an) Unknown Identity" and "Shadows" — on one of his homemade cassettes, which I borrowed and dutifully copied. I liked those two tunes a lot, so I got a friend to convert my recordings of them to mp3 for me in 2007. Doing a little detective work, I was able to discover that Simon Ådahl and his brother Frank (who also appears on this album, as does another brother, Dan) were members of the band Edin-Ådahl, along with another set of brothers, Bertil and Lasse Edin. I'm pretty sure Dana had stuff by them, too, but I never got around to listening to it. The songs I heard by Simon reminded me a little bit of ABBA, so I wasn't totally surprised to discover he and his family were from Sweden. I couldn't find the album on iTunes, but I did find it on YouTube, if you'd like to listen. My jams were the first two tracks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EvmDPgVAqE&list=PLPcTOx34g9XSFFLWOFhn2prsgqrmuEV88

995. ¡Alarma! - Daniel Amos
I know I'm going to disappoint Daniel Amos fans here, but this is another one where I only got a partial recording second-hand from Dana. But I repeatedly played the two songs I did have (the first two on the album): "Central Theme" and "¡Alarma!" I'm also familiar with a song later on the track list, "Walls of Doubt," because another band I'll get to later did a cover version I really like. Yes, I realize Daniel Amos was an incredibly influential, innovative, and ingenious group, and I know it's criminal that I don't have their legendary albums Shotgun Angel (1977) and Horrendous Disc (1981) on my list. It wasn't that I never got into them, it's that I didn't get to them. At least not yet. And that's a shame, because I know I'd probably like them. I do like "(It's the Eighties, So Where's Our) Rocket Packs" from their 1984 LP, Vox Humana. Daniel Amos vocalist/guitarist Terry Scott Taylor, even produced a couple projects by one of my favorite Christian groups. Moreover, he wrote and sang another song I love, "Driving in England," by the Daniel Amos spinoff group, The Swirling Eddies, under the pseudonym Camarillo Eddy. So many albums, so little time.