Zep & Styx, New CD Due Tuesday, Drummer News

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.

1738. Jekyll & Hyde - Petra

Pioneering Christian rock band Petra saved one of their best for last. Their 20th and (thus far) final studio LP probably rocks harder than anything else they've ever done. You know, as far as band names go, Petra isn't that far off from Pantera, and the guitars on this album aren't, either, believe it or not. Released on August 19, 2003, Jekyll & Hyde was produced by Newsboys bureau chief Peter Furler, but all of the songs were still written by perpetual Petra head honcho and guitarist Bob Hartman. They represent some of his strongest lyrics (and that's really saying something, because he's always been a great wordsmith) and lead singer John Schlitt delivered them with authority, as if they were his own. Hartman and Schlitt were the last two members of Petra still standing at the time, but both turned in some of their most powerful performances. Hartman's guitar never sounded more muscular, and Schlitt's voice was soaring, clear, and flawless. ApX bassist Keith "Holy Driver" Haynie used to play this CD he was behind the wheel of the band van. Two songs immediately struck me at the time. The first was the title track, which could have come off as cliched but didn't, thanks to piledriver licks and lyrics like this: "Sometimes I feel like Jekyll and Hyde — Two men are fighting a war inside — One gives, one takes, I have to decide — Sometimes I feel like Jekyll and Hyde — I need somebody to rescue me when personalities clash — I know which person I want to be — with no defiance, just God-reliance." The second was "Perfect World," with this perfect second verse: "Some still worship Mother Nature in her glory — They do a good thing when they stand up for her right — But Mother Nature has a Father in the heavens — And His creation went astray but never left His sight." Unlike most previous Petra projects, there were no power ballads. The only one that came remotely close was "Till Everything I Do," but even that was more like mid-tempo rock-edged pop (along the lines of Matchbox Twenty), although it was still a beautiful tune. In addition to Furler, who also played drums and sang backing vocals throughout the Jekyll & Hyde LP, two other Newsboys made significant contributions — Phil Joel on bass and backing vocals and Jeff Frankenstein on programming. I forgot that fact until I heard the fourth track, "Woulda, Shoulda, Coulda." which had a Newsboys "Step Up to the Microphone" undercurrent in the choruses. Another cut, "Life As We Know It," started a little like the Newsboys' "Breakfast" at the beginning but reminded me more of DC Talk by the end, as did "I Will Follow." However, with Schlitt up front, singing songs penned by Hartman, there's no doubt at any time on this album, that it's Petra ... albeit on steroids, perhaps. Technically, it wasn't the band's final studio LP; Jekyll & Hyde en Español came out the following year.

1739. 20th Century Masters: The Millenium Collection - The Best of Donnie Iris - Donnie Iris

I think ApX bassist Keith Haynie and I discovered (and immediately purchased) this 2001 compilation at a Best Buy in York PA or a year or two after it came out. It's kind of funny that we had to travel 250 miles to find an album by an artist who is from Keith's hometown of Ellwood City PA. ApX guitarist Tom Milnes lives there, too, and the iconic Iris even released an album called Ellwood City in 2006. The man is a local legend in Pittsburgh, still performing into his early 80s, and I may be the only current member of ApologetiX who has never met him in person. As a matter of fact, both Keith and Tom have seen Donnie at a local church at different times over the years. From what I've been told, Donnie's mother was a very devout Christian. Keith was about to perform a Christmas song with his wife, Krista, once when he discovered Donnie was in the congregation for that particular service. Keith's shy enough as it is, and that didn't help matters. Our keyboardist, Rich Mannion, talked with Donnie briefly as recently as January 2025 at one of Rich's gigs with another band. 20th Century Masters: The Millenium Collection - The Best of Donnie Iris featured 11 selections — and I can't think of any better ones — from his first four solo LPs, Back on the Streets (1980), King Cool('81), The High and the Mighty, ('82) and Fortune 410 ('83), all distributed by MCA Records. Iris had previous been with The Jaggerz (and briefly with Wild Cherry but after they made "Play That Funky Music"), and he wrote, sang, and played guitar on their million-selling 1970 single, "The Rapper" (#2 Billboard, #2 Cash Box, #1 Record World), which came out on the Kama Sutra record label. In fact, the final track on this disc is a live version of that tune. The other tracks are presented in chronological order of the albums on which they appeared: "Ah! Leah!" (#29 pop, #19 mainstream rock), "I Can't Hear You" (#47 mainstream), "Agnes," "Sweet Merilee" (#80 pop, #31 mainstream), "Love Is Like a Rock" (#37 pop, #9 mainstream, and later covered by world-famous British rockers Slade), "That's the Way Love Ought to Be," "My Girl" (#25 pop), "Tough World" (#57 pop, #26 mainstream), "This Time It Must Be Love," "Do You Compute?" (#64 pop, #20 mainstream), and "She's So European." Iris had two other charting songs, but they didn't make the cut: "The High and the Mighty" (#39 mainstream) from the album of the same name and "Injured in the Game of Love" (#91), from his '85 LP No Muss .. No Fuss, which wasn't on the MCA label. However, I wouldn't have included them at the expense of the non-charting "Agnes," "That's The Way Love Ought to Be," "This Time It Must Be Love," or "She's so European." Those tunes were very popular in our area and with me. In fact, "Agnes" and "That's the Way Love Ought to Be," are two of my favorites, along with "Ah! Leah!," "I Can't Hear You," "Love Is Like a Rock," "Sweet Merilee," and "Do You Compute?"

1740. Greatest Hits - DeGarmo and Key

Here's another album I picked up via trade with Tony from A to Z Music at a Christian music festival. I'd heard (and read) about DeGarmo and Key over the years, but I didn't listen to a lot of contemporary Christian music on the radio (we only had a limited amount on our local Christian stations, which mainly aired preaching and/or teaching programs and talk shows), so I bought Greatest Hits to familiarize myself with their music. Eddie DeGarmo and Dana Key both grew up in Whitehaven TN — the same section of Memphis TN where Elvis' home, Graceland, is located — and met each other in first grade. Each had a famous forefather — DeGarmo's was Davy Crockett and Key's was Francis Scott Key. Both became born-again Christians as seniors in high school in 1972. They put out their first album as DeGarmo and Key in 1978, producing a total of 12 studio LPs through 1994, not counting live, solo, and compilation projects. Key played guitar and sang most of the lead vocals while DeGarmo played keyboards and primarily sang backing vocals. From what I have been able to determine, the duo had 17 Top 10 hits on the Christian contemporary hit radio (CHR) charts. Released in 1994, Greatest Hits featured 15 tracks, although only a few of them were hits on the CHR charts: "Every Moment" (#1 CHR for six weeks), "Destined To Win" (#2 CHR), "If God Is For Us" (#5 CHR), and "All The Losers Win" (#28). They're certainly catchy, and I really like the lyrics for "All the Losers Win." Here are some sample lines "You say winners don't need a crutch — Only losers could believe in such — You don't need God, you don't need anything — You face life alone and take what the future will bring — Here's to all the losers who lose all guilt and sin — Here's to life in Jesus, where all of the losers win." I don't have access to all the Christian rock charts, and I'm not sure when they were first implemented, so I wouldn't be surprised if a number of the harder-edged selections on this collection were (or would've been) successful there. For example, I know "Boycott Hell" was very popular, because even I'd heard of it, and I know "Six, Six, Six" became the first video from a Christian record label to make it into regular rotation on MTV. Meanwhile, a tune like "Out of the Danger Zone" would have been way too intense for the CHR charts when it came out in '87. All of the songs on Greatest Hits were written by DeGarmo and Key except for a remake of "Are You Ready," which had been a #14 pop hit for Pacific Gas & Electric in 1970. One of the other cuts, "Jericho," sounds a lot like Steely Dan, including the instrumentation and the backing vocals. While I was relistening to Greatest Hitsin preparation for writing this entry, my son told me the song "Ultimate Ruler" was "groovy," and added that he didn't mean that in a disparaging sense. I also really like the beautiful song "Mary" (about Mary Magdalene) and the acoustic medley of their songs "Long Distance Runner," "Rock Solid," and "Six, Six, Six." Although D&K disbanded in '95, they reunited for a couple concerts in the late 2000s, including an appearance at the famous Cornerstone Festival in Bushnell IL in 2008 (ApologetiX played there on my birthday in 2005). Sadly, Key died in 2010 from a ruptured blood clot. At the time, he was pastoring a small church in Tennessee. He was only 56. DeGarmo's grand niece, Diana DeGarmo, was a finalist on season three of American Idol. In fact, she finished second to Fantasia Barrino. I know that from personal experience, because that was the first of two seasons my wife persuaded me to watch.

1741. Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits - Carly Simon

Carly Simon was one of three female singer-songwriters — the other two were Carole King and Joni Mitchell — I heard a lot of as a kid, thanks to two of my older sisters, Kris and Gayle. I would eventually become a fan of each of those artists, and I eagerly read the book Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon — and the Journey of a Generation by Sheila Weller not too long after it came out in 2009. Of the three, Carly was the one whose music appealed to me the earliest. From 1971-87, she had a dozen Top 40 hits. Ten of those reached the Top 20, and all of those were included on Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits: "You're So Vain" (#1 pop, #1 adult contemporary), "Nobody Does It Better" (#2 pop, #1 AC), "Mockingbird" with James Taylor (#5 pop, #10 AC), "You Belong To Me" (#6 pop, #4 AC), "That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" (#10 pop, #6 AC), "Jesse" (#11 pop, #8 AC), "Anticipation" (#13 pop #3 AC), "Haven't Got Time For The Pain" (#14 pop, #2 AC), "The Right Thing To Do" (#17 pop, #4 AC), and "Coming Around Again" (#18 pop, #5 AC). The only two not on this album were "Attitude Dancing" (#21 pop, #18 AC) featuring Carole King on backing vocals and "Devoted to You" with James Taylor (#36 pop, #2 AC). That's pretty impressive, but she was even more successful on the adult contemporary charts, where she had 28 Top 40 entries between 1971 and 2006, 16 of which reached the AC Top 10. They wouldn't all fit on this 2004 collection but, in addition to the ones I already listed, these made the cut: "Let The River Run" (#49 pop, #11 AC), "Legend In Your Own Time" (#50 pop, #11 AC), "All I Want Is You" (#54 pop, #7 AC), "Give Me All Night" (#61 pop, #5 AC), "Better Not Tell Her" (#4 AC), "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of" (#8 AC), and "Love Of My Life (#16 AC). That left room for three non-charting cuts, but they're all really great: "Like A River," Touched By The Sun," and "Amity" (with Carly's daughter, Sally Taylor). ApologetiX spoofed "You're so Vain" in 2014.

1742. Audio Adrenaline - Audio Adrenaline

Although I was a fan of Audio Adrenaline and already owned most of their albums, it took quite a while before I finally got around to their eponymous 1992 debut LP. I don't know why I had such low expectations, because I already knew and liked two of the songs on it — "My God" (#5 Christian metal), which I'd first heard on a late-night Christian rock show in '92, and "PDA" which a friend introduced me to with a mix tape in '93. "My God" reminds me a bit of Beastie Boys stuff from their Licensed to Ill era. Anyway, I've read that Audio A. themselves are not big fans of this album (I feel the same way about early ApologetiX stuff), but I was very pleasantly surprised by the contents. All 11 tracks were instantly likable and repeatedly listenable. Although I didn't know it at the time, two of them were Top 20 hits on the Contemporary Christian Hit Radio chart: "Who Do You Love" (#13 CHR) and "Audio World" (#16 CHR). They're among my favorites, along with "One Step Hyper," "What You Need," "The Most Excellent Way," and "Life." Even this early in their career, the band were already coming up with very clever and funny lyrics. Here are a couple examples: "It's not who you are; it's who you know — it's not where you've been; it's where you go — it's not how you look; it's how you see — it's not what you want: it's what you need" (from the song "What You Need"). "Life ... too much to do and too much strife — Life ... your girlfriend left ya and it cuts like a knife — Life ... 70 years and a nagging wife — Life ... you look in the mirror and it's Barney Fife!" (from the song "Life"). I like the song rap tune "DC-10", too, but I vastly prefer their 1999 skattin' swing remake.

1743. Until My Heart Caves In - Audio Adrenaline
Audio Adrenaline's eighth non-compilation studio LP was their final one with co-founding frontman Mark Stuart, who would soon retire from that role due to severe vocal problems. He was suffering from a rare, chronic, neurological disorder called spasmodic dysphonia, which causes involuntary spasms in the muscles of the larynx or voice box (the same condition afflicting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.). As a singer myself, I can only imagine how nightmarish that was for poor Mark. He'd always had a rough edge to his voice, but it had become increasingly pronounced. Released on August 30, 2005, Until My Heart Caves In did a decent job of making the best of the situation. Guitarist/keyboardist Tyler Burkum had begun singing some lead vocals on the group's previous two albums, Lift and Worldwide. He sang a lot more on this one (over half of the songs), and when he did, it seems to me that he may have added a little gruffness (either deliberately or subconsciously) to make his voice sound more like Mark's had in the band's earlier years. Now, I could be wrong on that, but my point is that there generally wasn't a jarring transition from singer to singer from track to track or even in the midst of songs. If you weren't paying attention, you might not notice ... kind of like the way Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton trade off vocal lines in the song "Sunshine of Your Love." There were times when it was obviously Mark but other instances when I'd have to think about it and venture a guess. I bought a copy soon after Until My Heart Caves In came out, so I'm partially responsible for its peak position of #122 on the Billboard 200. It also won the Grammy award for Rock Gospel Album of the Year; I had nothing to do with that. The opening track, "Clap Your Hands," grabbed me immediately, and I soon added it to a playlist of Audio A. songs we used as house music before ApologetiX concerts. Other selections that left an immediately impression included "King" (#17 Contemporary Christian Hit Radio), "Undefeated" (#19 Christian rock), and the title track. There's also a remake of "(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher," a two-time Top 10 smash for Jackie Wilson (#6 in 1967) and Rita Coolidge (#2 in '77). Audio A. had covered secular hits before — "Free Ride" by Edgar Winter Group (#14 in '73) and "Let My Love Open the Door" by Pete Townshend (#9 in '80). In fact, their version of "Free Ride" had become a successful single (#9 CHR, #2 Rock). Other strong cuts on Until My Heart Caves In included "Starting Over" and "Losing Control," both of which take on additional meaning (whether intentional or not) when you think about Mark's condition. In the summer of 2023, I read his 2019 book Losing My Voice to Find It: How a Rock Star Discovered His Greatest Purpose. I enjoyed it so much that I've since purchased copies for at least three other friends. It's more than just an autobiography ... he also chronicles the rise of Audio Adrenaline and the decline of his voice. There are lots of funny band stories; candid, painful, and touching personal moments; and inspirational testimonies of God ultimately causing all things to work together for good (Romans 8:28).

1744. Adios: The Greatest Hits - Audio Adrenaline

What a great name for Audio Adrenaline's final album ... at least with their classic line-up. Released on April 1, 2006, Adios: The Greatest Hits featured 15 of Audio A.'s most popular songs plus a couple nice new ones, fittingly titled "Goodbye" (#29 Contemporary Christian Hit Radio) and "Blaze of Glory" (originally done by Welsh alternative band The Alarm). Each primarily featured Tyler Burkum on lead vocals, with additional lead vocals by Mark Stuart, more so on "Blaze of Glory." Those two were inserted in the midst of an otherwise chronological track listing from the group's second through eighth LPs: "Big House" (#1 CHR), "We're A Band" (#3 Christian Rock), "Never Gonna Be As Big As Jesus" (#3 CHR), "Chevette" (#5 CHR, #1 Rock), "Some Kind Of Zombie" (#1 Rock), "Get Down" (#1 CHR, #7 Rock), "Hands And Feet" (#1 CHR, #6 Rock, #7 Christian adult contemporary), "Mighty Good Leader" (#14 Rock), "Ocean Floor" (#2 CHR), "Beautiful" (#1 CHR), "Leaving 99" (#1 CHR, #3 AC), "Pierced" (#14 AC), "Miracle" (#9 CHR), "King" (#17 CHR, #18 AC), "Starting Over." Audio A. had many other hits, including additional CHR #1s (like "Can't Take God Away," "Walk on Water," and "People Like Me") and Christian rock #1s (like "Righteous Rocker #3," "Secret," "I'm Not the King," "Blitz," and "Lonely Man") that they would be better served by a two-disc set like those in Sony BMG's The Essential series. In 2014, they did get a volume in the 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection series. That's pretty cool for a Christian band, and it featured a mere 10 tunes. After Adios: The Greatest Hits, Audio Adrenaline would put out a live LP, Live From Hawaii: The Farewell Concert (2007), which was also the last project featuring vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist Tyler Burkum and drummer Ben Cissell. That was followed by two more studio LPs. The first, Kings & Queens (2012), featured former DC Talk singer Kevin Max on lead vocals, and was the final album with the group's last remaining original member, bassist Will McGinniss. The second, The Sound of The Saints (2015), featured an entirely new line-up, led by Adam Agee, former lead vocalist of the Christian rock band Stellar Kart.