Horrendous Disc

Infobox Album | Name = Horrendous Disc
Type = Album
Artist = Daniel Amos


Released = April 1981
Recorded = 1978-1980 Whitefield Studios (Santa Ana, California)
Genre = Rock
Length =
Label = Solid Rock Records
Producer = Daniel Amos and Mike Stone
Reviews = *Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:9j0xlfke5cqw link]
Last album = "Shotgun Angel" (1977)
This album = "Horrendous Disc" (1978/1981)
Next album = "¡Alarma!" (1981)

"Horrendous Disc" is the title of an album by the rock band Daniel Amos, that was recorded in 1978 and released in 1981.

DA had almost completely abandoned the country sound of their first record by late 1977 and early 1978, when this album was recorded with legendary rock and roll producer Mike Stone (Journey, Queen, Asia, Kiss, Frank Zappa and others).

The album was dropped by Maranatha! Music after the label decided to quit releasing rock and roll albums and focus on children's releases and the new praise style of gospel music. So the band, now without a record contract, began to shop the project around to various labels like Curb/Warner Brothers. Word bought the tapes from Maranatha! and Larry Norman's Solid Rock Records, home to such artists as Randy Stonehill, Tom Howard, Mark Heard, and others, leased the recordings from Word. Norman had the album mixed and took photos of the band for the album's cover. In July 1979, Norman released a test pressing with a different track listing and slightly different mix. This pressing was distributed to reviewers and extra copies were taken on tour.

Aside from live performances, music from the album, the test pressing, was first heard by the public on the Rock & Religion Radio Show on January 20, 1980. Several tracks were played and the band was interviewed about what they had hoped would be their soon-to-be-released album. For reasons that remain a mystery, the album was shelved by Solid Rock until its long overdue release in April 1981, nearly three years after it had been recorded and just weeks before the band's follow up on Newpax Records, "¡Alarma!", hit record stores.

This album frequently appeared at the top of Christian Music magazine readers polls of the "album that people most wanted to see released on CD," until its eventual reissue on CD in 2000. It was listed at #63 in the book "" (Harvest House Publishers, 2001).

The CD re-release stirred controversy among Daniel Amos fans by the inclusion of two bonus tracks: Tribute recordings that Larry recorded for the "" CD that he decided to include at the end of the "Horrendous Disc" CD. The covers sung by Norman were of his favorite Daniel Amos song – "Hound of Heaven." One recording was a straight-ahead tribute version of the song and the second tribute recording was a version using a very laid–back jazz band. The decision to include these cover tracks on the CD, along with some long, wandering liner notes, bewildered DA fans.

Daniel Amos had approached Larry about putting together a "Deluxe Edition" of "Horrendous Disc" in 2006 with the original Horrendous Disc on the first disc and many bonus tracks on the second disc. That deal fell apart suddenly when Larry first agreed verbally to the deal, and then announced plans for his own CDR reissue with a computer printed cover. DA fans were very disappointed with the cheap and apathetic approach to what they consider a legendary album. That arrangement was nearly resurrected and put in writing once more shortly before Norman's death in March of 2008. Now that Norman is gone, it is unclear what the future of any kind of joint release between Stunt and Solid Rock might be. Stunt hopes at the very least to revisit HD with a collection of rarities and outtakes.

US track listing

Master Cylinder One:

# "I Love You #19" (Taylor)
# "Hound Of Heaven" (Taylor)
# "(Near Sighted Girl With Approaching) Tidal Wave" (Taylor)
# "Sky King (Out Across The Sky)" (Taylor)

Master Cylinder Two:

# "On The Line" (Taylor)
# "I Believe In You" (Taylor)
# "Man In The Moon" (Chamberlain)
# "Never Leave You" (Cook)
# "Horrendous Disc" (Cook-Chamberlain-Taylor)

UK release track list

ide One

# "I Love You #19"
# "Hound Of Heaven"
# "I Believe In You"
# "Sky King (Out Across The Sky)"

ide Two

# "On The Line"
# "Never Leave You"
# "After All These Years" (Taylor)
# "Horrendous Disc".

CD Reissue

# "I Love You #19"
# "Hound Of Heaven"
# "Near Sighted Girl(With Approaching Tidal Wave)"
# "Out Across The Sky(Sky King)"
# "On The Line"
# "I Believe In You"
# "Man In The Moon"
# "Never Leave You"
# "Horrendous Disc"
# "Hound Of Heaven(Performed by Larry Norman)"
# "Hound Of Heaven(Another Version Performed by Larry Norman)"

2007 CDR

# "On The Line (Extended Version)"
# "Out Across The Sky (Sky King)"
# "I Love You #19"
# "Man In The Moon"
# "The Hound Of Heaven"
# "Never Leave You"
# "Near Sighted Girl (With Approaching Tidal Wave)"
# "I Believe In You"
# "Horrendous Disc"
# "Fairy Tale (Previously Unreleased)"
# "After All These Years (Only released on the UK album version)"
# "That Girl Likes To Talk (Yak, Yak, Yak) (Previously Unreleased)"
# "Twilight Love (Previously Unreleased, Except as a Live Version on the album "Our Personal Favorites")"
# "Noelle (Previously Unreleased, Different version on the album "Motor Cycle")"
# "Hello Aloha (Previously Unreleased)"

Canadian Reissue

The Canadian re-issue omits "Never Leave You". However, Word Canada still had labels, sleeves, and jackets from the first pressing so, not wanting to be wasteful, the disc was mastered to appear to have five tracks on side two by visually splitting "Horrendous Disc"

July 1979 test pressing order

*"Flying Saucer sounds"
*"On The Line"
*"Never Leave You"
*"I Believe In You"
*"Tidal Wave"
*"Sky King"
*"I Love You #19" +
*"Man in the Moon
*"Hound of Heaven" +
*"Horrendous Disc"+ "these tracks were re-recorded for the final release"

Personnel

DA's membership had grown to six members, when this album was recorded.

* Terry Scott Taylor: guitars, lead vocals
* Jerry Chamberlain: guitars, vocals, lead vocals on "Man In The Moon" & "Horrendous Disc"
* Marty Dieckmeyer: bass guitar
* Mark Cook: keyboards, vocals, lead vocal on "Never Leave You"
* Ed McTaggart: drums
* Alex MacDougall: drums, percussion

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Palms/4720/ The Puzzle of the Horrendous Disc Recordings]
* [http://www.danielamos.com/articles/rhorrendous.html Collected reviews of Horrendous Disc]
* [http://larrynorman.com Larry Normans Solid Rock Records]