Help Still Needed, Win All 77 Albums on CD

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.

Note: Just because an album appears on this list doesn't mean I give it a blanket endorsement. Many of the secular albums on this list are mainly there because they wound up being spoofed by ApologetiX.

1780. Ten Point Ten - Ten Point Ten

ApologetiX alum Bill Hubauer has quite a resume. He's currently a member of three notable and critically acclaimed acts: The Neal Morse Band, We Came From Space, and Crack the Sky. Deep in his past, he even played in a later incarnation of '60s pop group The Vogues. He was the prime keyboardist on ApX LPs from 1998-2011 and played on many of our other parodies through 2017. He also produced all five of our LPs from 2008-11 and mastered 15 more from 2012-17. On top of that, he toured with us as keyboardist/guitarist consistently from 2004-08 (after making a couple guest appearances in '99 and 2000), and intermittently from 2009-13. He also recommended Rich Mannion to us as our keyboardist in 2018. So it's hard for me to imagine where ApX would be without Bill's considerable contributions. But before he joined us, Bill was the leader of another Christian band, Ten point Ten, who put out four excellent albums between 1997 and 2003. Bill was their keyboardist, producer, and primary songwriter. He also provided vocals and guitars on many songs. The group's bassist, Scott Gilbert, was active in the Pittsburgh Christian music scene and took an interest in ApX, arranging for us to do a series of concerts with Ten point Ten in 1997-98. That's how I first learned about them and how we met Bill. TpT was much more polished than we were, so I was a little bit intimidated by them but also inspired by their excellence. Bill and Scotto were always very down to earth and kind to us. Ten Point Ten's eponymous first LP came out in 1997, and we got to hear them play songs from it plenty of times in concert. I loved the cover art. Bill wrote all the music and lyrics for five of the songs: "Angela," "Holding Back," "Battle Cry," "Lead Me," and "Bought By the Lamb." Scotto wrote the lyrics for "Boy," "She Said," "Bring Me Home," and "The Freshman." The remaining track was an impressive instrumental, "Tastes Like Chicken." The group's line-up on this album also included superb female vocalist Tara Park and wondrously witty drummer David McKee, who later played all the drums on ApologetiX's Jesus Christ Morningstar CD in 1998 and filled in at a few concerts for us. David played all of the drums on this album except for "Bring Me Home" (Adam Greenawalt). Bill played all the guitars and keyboards, except for electric guitar on "Boy," "Battle Cry," and "Bring Me Home" (John McNeil), and "She Said" (Dan Hunt). Adam and Dan were part of TpT's live line-up by the time we shared the stage with them. Bill sang lead vocals on "Holding Back," "Battle Cry," and "Lead Me." Tara sang lead on "She Said," "Angela," "Bring Me Home," and "The Freshman." Jim Huber, who left the band after this album came out, sang lead on "Boy." The three shared lead on "Bought by the Lamb." While I was writing this entry, I bugged Bill for his thoughts on the group's debut, because I know many artists listen to their early efforts and hear flaws the rest of us don't. Sure enough, he said the following: "I cringe at some of the lyrics, and my singing hadn’t matured yet — there is a huge difference in my singing between the first two albums. To me, it almost sounds like someone else. Musically, I like a few songs: 'Tastes Like Chicken' and 'The Freshman' are kind of cool musically. I really like 'Bought By the Lamb' as well ... There is some cool stuff on there, but overall, I hear it as someone just starting to find their voice and its still early in the process." He's being too hard on himself. Yes, the group did get even better on subsequent projects, but it's a wonderful first effort. I find it hard to pick favorites. The three that I remembered best from our concert days were "Boy" "Holding Back," and "The Freshman," so that speaks well for them. The music on the second half of the album is especially powerful and moving: "Lead Me," "Bring Me Home," "Tastes Like Chicken," "The Freshman," and "Bought by the Lamb." I also really liked the song "Angela" and asked Bill who it was about. He said, "I think (it's hard to remember) that 'Angela' was sort of about how we are God’s hands here and that we should offer love, kindness, and friendship to those around us — from the perspective of the recipient of that friendship and love. It’s a stretch. This was my first attempt and writing lyrics." A very good sign of great things to come, methinks. This album is hard to find these days, but you can listen to it in its entirety HERE.

1781. The Essential Poco - Poco

The Essential Poco came out in 2005. I bought a digital copy in 2022, because I wanted to take a deeper dive into Poco's past. I knew their big hits from 1979, "Crazy Love" (#17 pop, #1 adult contemporary) and "Heart of the Night" (#20 pop, #5 AC), but the band had been around since 1968 and continued on until 2021, when the last active original member, Rusty Young, died of a heart attack at age 75. Poco are probably best known for four things: 1. being pioneers in the country-rock movement; 2. becoming the landing spot for two members of The Buffalo Springfield after that band broke up, Richie Furay and Jim Messina (who found further fame in a duo with Kenny Loggins); 3. supplying The Eagles with both of their bassists, Randy Meisner and Timothy B. Schmit; and 4. notching four Top 40 hits — the two I already mentioned, plus "Call It Love" (#18 pop, #2 AC, #3 mainstream rock in '89) and "Nothin' to Hide" (#39 pop, #10 AC in '90). I also knew that Furay had gone on to become a born-again Christian and a pastor, and I used to go to a Bible study with a girl who'd attended his church. So the stage was set for me to familiarize myself with more of their music. The Essential Poco featured 17 tracks, including the four Top 40 hits and four additional charting singles, "Shoot for the Moon" (#50 pop, #10 AC), "C'mon" (Live) (#69), "You Better Think Twice" (#72), and "Just for Me and You" (#110). I liked all of those tunes. My other favorites were "Pickin' Up The Pieces," "A Good Feelin' To Know," "Here We Go Again," "High and Dry," and "When It All Began." There were also two remakes of Buffalo Springfield songs I already knew, "Kind Woman" (written by Furay) and "Go and Say Goodbye" (written by Stephen Stills). Poco actually had a number of other chart entries not included on this compilation, so I went and bought them digitally, too: "Under the Gun" (#48 pop), "Keep on Tryin'" (#50 pop, #23 AC), "Indian Summer" (#50 pop, #39 AC), "Midnight Rain" (#74 pop, #42 AC), "Days Gone By' (#80 pop, #58 mainstream), "Rose of Cimmaron" (#94 pop), "Legend" (#103 pop) "Ghost Town" (#108 pop), "Sea of Heartbreak" (#109 pop, #35 AC), "What Do People Know" (#24 AC), "The Nature of Love" (#30 mainstream), and "Widowmaker" (#33 mainstream). Of those, the standouts for me were "Rose of Cimmaron," "Legend," "Keep on Tryin'," "Under the Gun" (which I remembered from the radio in 1980), "Indian Summer," "What Do People Know," and "The Nature of Love." To continue my education, in 2024, I read the book Pickin' Up the Pieces: The Heart and Soul of Country Rock Pioneer Richie Furay, which he wrote with Michael Roberts and published in 2006. Although Poco has never even been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Furay, Meisner, and Schmit have all been inducted as members of their other famous bands. More importantly, Poco is mentioned in the fourth line of the first verse of the song "Life Is a Rock (But the Radio Rolled Me)" by Reunion: "Loco-motion, Poco, Passion, Deeper Purple, Satisfaction ..."

1782. The Muppets - Original Walt Disney Records Soundtrack

Lisa and I went to see The Muppets (also starring Jason Segel and Amy Adams) in the theater on December 16, 2011. That was her idea — in fact, she'd seen it once before with our two oldest kids, Janna and Heather, on November 25 — but it turned out to be a great one. We've also watched at home as a family since then. Janna and Heather had already become familiar with The Muppet Show thanks to ApologetiX fan Steve Wiles, who'd sent us the first three seasons on DVD. Lisa had also introduced them to other Muppet films, most notably, Muppet Treasure Island from 1996. Our two youngest, Natalie and T.J., became fans of this movie and its soundtrack years later. It contains a couple well-known pop hits, "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard" by Paul Simon and "We Built This City" by Starship. Those songs made a positive impression on our children, but the real attractions were the five new numbers, "Life's a Happy Song" (by Segel, Adams, and Walter the Muppet), "Pictures in My Head" (by Kermit the Frog and The Muppets), "Me Party" (by Adams and Miss Piggy), "Let's Talk About Me" (by Chris Cooper, featuring Nathan Pacheco), and "Man or Muppet" (by Segel and Walter). My wife and kids particularly liked "Man or Muppet," "Me Party," and "Life's a Happy Song." Those are all great, but don't underestimate the rap number, "Let's Talk About Me"; it's very clever. There were also hilarious Muppetized interpretations of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (by Beaker, Link Hogthrob, Rowlf the Dog, and Sam Eagle), CeeLo Green's "Forget You" (by Camilla and the Chickens), and Pierre Umiliani's "Mahna Mahna" (by Mahna Mahna and the Snowths), plus remakes of "The Muppet Show Theme" and "The Rainbow Connection," from the 1979 film The Muppet Movie. The original version, credited to Kermit but voiced by Jim Henson, the creator of The Muppets, was a surprise Top 40 hit that year (#25 pop, #18 adult contemporary). Believe it or not, that wasn't Jim Henson's first or biggest hit. In 1970, he hit #16 pop and #36 AC as the voice of Sesame Street's Ernie, singing "Rubber Duckie." Kermit's signature song, "(It's Not Easy) Bein' Green" was never released as single but has been recorded by such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Lena Horne, Buddy Rich, Van Morrison, Della Reese, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, Mandy Patinkin, Take 6, Don Henley, and Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers.

1783. The Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions - Elvis Costello and The Attractions
I wrote about Elvis Costello's 1977 debut LP, My Aim Is True, over a thousand entries ago. By the time this album came out in 1985, the artist formerly known as Declan Patrick MacManus had released 10 albums. The Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions featured 18 tracks, including the U.S. charting singles "Everyday I Write the Book" (#36 U.S. pop, #33 U.S. mainstream rock), "The Only Flame in Town" (#56 U.S., #71 U.K.), "Accidents Will Happen" (#101 U.S.), and "Watching the Detectives" (#108 U.S., #15 U.K.). It also contained a number of other cuts that had gotten airplay on U.S. rock stations: "Pump It Up" (#24 U.K.), "Radio, Radio" (#29 U.K.), "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?," "(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," and, of course, "Alison" (believe it or not, that iconic tune never charted on either side of the pond). Other U.K. hits on The Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions were "Oliver's Army" (#2 U.K.), "I Can't Stand Up for Falling Down" (#4 U.K.), "Good Year for the Roses" (#6 U.K.), "I Wanna Be Loved" (#25 U.K.), "Shipbuilding" (#35 U.K.), "Man Out of Time" (#58 U.K.), and "Clubland" (#60 U.K.), plus the non-charting selections "Almost Blue," "Beyond Belief" and "Watch Your Step." The Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions peaked at #115 on the Billboard 200 but still sold a million copies in the States. I bought a used copy in 2007. A similar compilation titled The Man - The Best of Elvis Costello reached #8 on the U.K. albums chart. It only had 18 tracks but included six not on the U.S release: "Pills and Soap" (#16 U.K.), "(I Don't Want to Go To) Chelsea" (#16 U.K.), "High Fidelity" (#30 U.K.), "New Amsterdam" (#36 U.K.), "Green Shirt" (#68 U.K.), and "New Lace Sleeves." Conversely, it didn't have ""(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?,"(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes," "Radio, Radio," "Almost Blue," "Man Out of Time," "Watch Your Step," and "The Only Flame in Town." Costello scored U.S. hits after 1985 that obviously didn't make it onto either collection: "Veronica" (#19 U.S. pop, #10 U.S. mainstream, #1 U.S. alternative, #31 U.K.), "13 Steps Lead Down" (#115 U.S. pop, #6 U.S. alternative, #59 U.K.), "Don't Let Me Be Understood" (#38 U.S. mainstream, #33 U.K.), "The Other Side of Summer" (#40 U.S. mainstream, #1 U.S. alternative, #43 U.K.), and "...This Town" (#41 U.S. mainstream, #4 U.S. alternative, did not chart in the U.K.). His only pre-1985 U.S. chart entry missing from The Best of Elvis Costello and The Attractions was "From a Whisper to a Scream" (#46 U.S. mainstream, did not chart in the U.K.).

1784. Cartography - Ten point Ten

Progressive Christian rock band Ten point Ten didn't put out their second LP until 2000, but I'd heard some of the material on it already when we did concerts with them in 1998. Bill Hubauer says, "I'm sure we were playing a number of these songs live way before the album came out." As great as the group's '97 debut LP was, Cartography was even better. Nevertheless, the opener, "E," and closer, "Exodus," are both built upon "Bring Me Home," from the previous album. I really enjoyed that song in its original form, but "E" and "Exodus" take it to a new level. Merriam-Webster defines cartography as "the science or art of making maps," and this album is all about the directions our lives take. "E" and "Exodus," accentuate that point, as do many of the other tracks (there are 14 in all), most notably "Fuel Me," "Prodigal," "Follow Me," "Waiting," "Back to Where You've Been," and "Long Way Home," which is also woven into "Exodus" along with "Bring Me Home." Bill explains: "'Exodus' was an afterthought and added after everything else was done (which is why it uses a drum machine). I realized that I didn’t really make a statement about the underlying concept of the album, which is our plans (maps) versus God’s plan (map) for our lives. I did the callback to 'Bring Me Home' and combined it with 'Long Way Home.' This remains one of my most favorite things I’ve ever done." Original TpT bassist Scott Gilbert only played on a few tracks: "Prodigal," "Believe," and "The Nazarene." He left halfway through the recording process to help form a new band, 121 Mercy Street. Scotto's successor, Jim Scobel, played on everything else. Original drummer David McKee played on two tracks, "The Nazarene" and "Believe," as Adam Greenawalt, who had played on one number on the debut LP, did the rest. The electric guitars were a mix of Dan Hunt, Bill Hubauer, and Danny Gochnour, who got involved after Dan also left the band. However, Dan did write, play, and sing on one of the most memorable numbers on Cartography, "Nazarene." Bill wrote the music for all the remaining songs, and the lyrics for them, except for "Back to Where You've Been," by female vocalist Tara Park. She may have written the lyrics for "Peace," too, but Bill told me he couldn't remember for sure. Tara sings lead vocals (flawlessly) on those two, plus "Promise of Love," "Long Way Home," and "Exodus." Bill sings lead on "E," "Fuel Me," "Prodigal," "Just Another Day?," and "Waiting." Tara and Bill share lead vocals on "Follow Me," "All Loved" and "Believe," and each usually provides backing vocals and/or harmonies for the selections on which they don't sing lead. Despite all the comings and goings of group members during the recording process, Cartography is an amazingly coherent, consistent concept album. It flows very naturally. The only song that sounds slightly out of place is "The Nazarene," but it's such a great tune that you don't mind. It's very similar to the way the "Sloop John B" wasn't part of Brian Wilson's plan for the quintessential Beach Boys album, Pet Sounds, but the record company insisted it be included, because it was a surefire hit. Thematically, "The Nazarene" doesn't quite fit the song cycle, but the overall sound blends in, because its still the same band. Like Pet Sounds, I think Cartography is a masterpiece; it's written, sung, performed and produced exquisitely. I can't find the album itself on a digital platform (I owned the CD and imported that into iTunes years ago), but I was able to track down "The Nazarene" on YouTube. It's listed under Dan Hunt on his solo project The Road to Kingdom Come, although it's the same version with Ten point Ten that was on Cartography:

1785. Eleven - Ten point Ten

By the time they released their third full-length LP, Eleven, in 2003, Ten point Ten had experienced more line-up changes. The group's chief songwriter and producer, Bill Hubauer, was still manning the helm and provided piano, organ, synthesizer, most of the guitars, and a large share of the lead vocals. In fact, this time around, he even added violin! Bassist Jim Scobel reprised his role from the previous album, Cartography, but the other slots had different occupants than before. As the liner notes state, "Being in an organization like Ten point Ten is like riding on a bus — people get on and off at different stops along the way. We would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have been so generous with their time and talent but who are, at present, not riding the bus with us. Perhaps they will get back on at a later stop!" In a prime example of that, original bassist Scott Gilbert, who had left halfway through the making of Cartography, returned to provide electric guitar on one track, keyboards on another, and backing vocals on a yet another. Two newbies filled out the rest of the roster. One of those was talented songwriter Joey McGee on acoustic guitar and lead vocals. I had met him briefly in early 1995 when he was still a young pup, part of a church youth group led by Rick Servocky, ApologetiX's drummer at the time. Speaking of which, the other new guy in TpT's lineup was the amazing Jimmy Tanner on drums and percussion. He eventually joined ApologetiX in 2005 and has filled that role for us ever since. Bill wrote and sang these songs on Eleven: "Arms of Love," "Cinderella (So the Story Goes)," "To Lead," "When Sarah Sings" (about his young daughter, he also sang on it), "The River," and "Earth and Water." Joey wrote and sang "Higher Ground," "Fly Away," and "Fire and the Wind." The two songwriters collaborated on "Eleven" (sung by Bill) and "Will We Ever" (sung by Joey). When I talked with Bill about TpT's discography recently, he said, "Eleven might be my favorite. I especially love Joey’s song 'The Fire and the Wind.'" I see both of Bill's points; it's an excellent album, and that tune is one of the many highlights. Like The Beatles' classic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP, many of the songs on Eleven segue seamlessly into each other. The title track is directed toward Judas Iscariot from the perspective of the other Apostles. I didn't ask Bill, but I'm sure it wasn't a coincidence that "Earth and Water" is followed by "Fire and Wind." Neither of those songs has the R&B feel you'd expect from Earth, Wind & Fire, but the album's closer does. After a brief space-holder track humorously and accurately called "Eleven Seconds of Nothing," the group returns with "Higher Ground (Give Up the Funk)," a pumped-up remake of a song they performed in a more straightforward fashion earlier on the disc. You can (and should) check out Eleven! It's available on Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.

1786. X-Tract - ApologetiX

The 76th ApologetiX LP came out in late December 2024 and featured parodies of The Beach Boys, The Buggles, The Dave Clark Five, Eagles, George Harrison, The Hues Corporation, Billy Idol, Journey, Kansas, Kiss, Van Halen, and War. Generation X is usually classified as people born between 1965 and 1980. That includes three members of the current ApX line-up. The rest of us are baby boomers, although I just missed the cut for Gen X by six months. All but one of the songs spoofed on this album originally came out between 1965 and 1980 as well, including one from '65 and one from '80. That's part of the reason why we titled this project X-Tract. We think of our parodies as musical Gospel tracts. The kids of Generation X went on to become the MTV Generation, as the Music Television cable channel began broadcasting in '81. The first video played was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles, a song we spoofed to open this album. Generation X was also the band where Billy Idol first found fame, with the hit "Dancing With Myself," which he later remixed and released under his own name. Our parody of that song kicks off the second half of X-Tract. Many people today don’t realize that the X in "X-mas" was not an attempt to take Christ out of Christmas. It actually stands for Chi, the first letter in the Greek word Christós (Χριστός), and the X-mas abbreviation is a church tradition dating back to the 16th century. In fact, “X” was first used to symbolize Christ in the English language as early as 1100. Does that mean we Christians can refer to ourselves as X-Men? Probably not, if Marvel Entertainment has anything to say about it. Nevertheless, the world does seem to regard us as mutants, and we'll continue trying to do our part to save it ... by pointing the rest of humankind to the source of our power, strength, endurance, and, most importantly, salvation. X-celsior!