Jacob's Trouble, Scott Blackwell, The Choir & More
Of floating discs and spiral staircases
Hi Pal,
Welcome to this edition of Retro Corner, a newsletter where we explore Christian alternative sounds from the ‘70s to the ‘90s.
Stick around for the updated playlist at the end. Also, you can check out the albums on all platforms using the embedded links on the titles.
As always, I continue to be awed by the number of rare gems that this era had to offer. Here’s our collection for this edition.
Knock, Breathe, Shine by Jacob's Trouble (1990) — Jangle Pop, Pop Rock
This 1980s band kicked off their career with a mix of covers by The Beatles, The Monkees and a few original songs. It wasn’t until their second album, Knock, Breathe, Shine that they distinguished themselves as a Christian group.
Consisting of members Jerry Davison (drums, lead vocals), Mark Blackburn (guitar, lead vocals), and Steve Atwell (bass); the band collaborated with veteran producer Terry Taylor (of Daniel Amos) to create a Contemporary Christian Music album with deep artistic and creative influences.
After this album, the band would go on to release two more albums before finally going their separate ways.
Diamonds and Rain by The Choir (1986) — Indie Rock, Pop Rock
The Choir is one of the most influential Christian Alternative rock bands of the past four decades and they were bound to make this list at some point. They have gone through their own fair share of member changes but at the time of this release, the band consisted of Steve Hindalong, Derald Daugherty, Tim Chandler and "Buckeye" Dan Michaels.
Anyone who follows this band closely will tell you that this album is probably not the best representation of their work, and its general reception was not particularly great. I believe this is partly because of the production influences of Charlie Peacock, who helped make an album that deviated from their signature melancholic sound.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Still Small Voice to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.