Sons of Thunder

Till The Whole World Knows Zondervan 196?
Man this thing is old old old. And that $1.98 pre-printed price on the front cover is certainly beyond my remembrance. Debated for several minutes before finally plunking down my dollar, thinking that the Zondervan label couldn't possibly have done anything remotely interesting. Surprise - it's cool stuff! The conservative gospel music moguls of the day must have been taking a nap when this thing slipped through the cracks. 'I Don't Know Why' starts things off with a '96 Tears' organ riff right before the 60's girl group sound chimes in. And that 60's gals meets twangy electric beat with groovy go-go organ sound keeps up throughout the whole lp. For a refreshing switch it's the three womenfolk at the forefront of the lineup, donning bass and guitar and sitting behind the keys, while their two male cohorts pick up drums and additional guitar. They even take a stab at psychedelia in 'New Wine'. Missing instrumental solo breaks, but hey, can't have everything. Only later did I realize it's the same group as the one below - at least a couple members carried on anyhow from this their college days. But soundwise the two albums are as different as night and day. KS

Day Follows Night Bronte 1972
The title cut of-this soulful Maryland band's custom lp left me wondering if in fact Johnny Mathis had spent some time fronting for Santana. Diverse set here. Sons of Thunder sounds like a true garage band on the femme folky 'Might Hard Road' or rockers like 'Sweet Song of Salvation'. Others like the title cut and 'I Heard The Voice' bring in the Mathis guy for a loungy percussive Latin vibe. Some mellow ballads: 'Friendship Song' has a nice artsy piano solo. 'Long Long Ago' backs the female lead with only acoustic guitar. Couple good loud riffs in here, too. Good organ. A little something for everyone. KS

Live At Virginia Beach (Bronte; 197?)

Rock Gospel (Bronte; 197?)
Both of these are live; the Virginia Beach record has covers of Mighty Clouds Of Joy, Killing Me Softly, and In My Life. The Rock Gospel record has covers of I Can See Clearly Now and Andrae Crouch's I'm Gonna Keep On Singin' (which becomes I'm Gonna Keep On Signin' And Singin' for this particular concert, which seems to have been a deaf ministry outreach).