Grace - On the Road to Damascus (1980)

Another shining collection of original songs in the same acoustic folkrock style. Upbeat tunes (‘Run For Jesus’), some with a light bluesy shuffle (‘The Pessimist’ with electric guitar, ‘Lean Upon My Jesus’, ‘He Is Real’), balanced with stirring acoustic ballads (‘Always’, ‘Have You Ever Been Alone’, ‘All I Really Need Is You’). If The Pat Terry Group had included a girl in their line-up and stuck to simple unplugged arrangements, they might have sounded something close to this. Nice natural flow to the music, carried along primarily by acoustic guitars, electric bass and drums, embellished with lead guitar, with no keyboards, strings or horns. Other selections: ‘The Moment I Believed’, ‘Love, Peace And Joy’, ‘Andrew’ and the title track. 500 made. (Ken Scott - Archivist)

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David Horn & Rodney Alexander - Walk These Streets (1974)

Another scrumptious serving in the same dreamy acoustic folk/soft-rock format. The title track with its weeping steel guitar lead is one of the prettiest songs you’ll ever hear. The same can be said for ‘Can You Hear My Savior Call?’ and ‘Who Is This Man?’, effectively backed with harpsichord and organ respectively. Moog synthesizer also makes an appearance. ‘I Turn To Jesus’ and ‘Psalm 151’ provide simple acoustic melodies, while the country angle returns for ‘Somethin’ Good Is Happenin’ To Me’ and ‘Tune Me Now’. These guys really connect with me. (Ken Scott - Archivist)

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Dennis Ryder - Let Me Take You to the Kingdom (1973)

This album’s one of the better acoustic sets to come out of the States. Combining classical guitar with layered vocals and double acoustic leads, the effect is often mysterious and moody. There’s a lot of classical influence here - parts made me think I was listening to Christopher Parkening. A pair of recorders join in at a couple parts recalling the intro to ‘Stairway To Heaven’. ‘The Worship Song’ is nothing more than a pipe organ, guitar, and Ryder’s mildly twangy vocals. Light electric organ here and there - ‘Make It Right’ sounds a bit like Dylan’s ‘Lay Lady Lay’. The original cover has a beautiful intricate illustration of Dennis walking beside a stream with Christ in the background. The photo of Dennis on the back was later enlarged and placed on the front for the Windy Distribution pressing. See also Scripture Songs. (Ken Scott - Archivist)

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The Guitar Ensemble - Have Faith (1970?)

While the record fairy seems to have distributed an ample supply of You-N-You albums across the country, known copies of their other recording Have Faith seem to be almost non-existent. An equally good lp with the same mix of organ, bass, drums and percussion behind the acoustic guitars. Similar to You-N-You in a lot of ways (you can definitely tell right away it’s them), but different in others (minimal female vocals, not quite as “dreamy”, sometimes pushing more toward folk-rock than folk). A couple songs appear on both lps: the title track and ‘This Is A Man’ (a much slower version). Includes covers of ‘Into Your Hands’, ‘Hear, O Lord’ and ‘Joy Is Like The Rain’, all rendered with the group’s characteristic strum. The vibrant ‘Let There Be Thunder’ has some excellent Latin action going down. Includes three instrumentals: ‘Dock Of The Bay’, ‘Today’, and a rather unique version of ‘Greensleeves’ with nice psychy organ backing and flamenco-style picking. (Ken Scott - Archivist)

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