Description
Never Turnin’ Back is the sophomore album by the American singer and songwriter Bruce Hibbard, released on Myrrh Records in March 1980, a division of Word. The album was recorded by Jonathan David Brown, Dan Willard, Chris Taylor, Bobby Cotton, and Hadley Hockensmith at Sound Castle Studio and Gold Mine Studio in Los Angeles and at Maranatha! Studios in Costa Mesa, California; with Hockensmith of Koinonia fame producing. Mixed by Jonathan David Brown and Dan Willard at Maranatha Studios. Featuring Bruce Hibbard on acoustic piano, B-3 organ, and synthesizer, Harlan Rogers on Fender Rhodes and B-3, Hadley Hockensmith on guitars and bass, and Keith Edwards on drums (with drummer Bill Maxwell sitting in on a couple of tracks). Background vocals provided by Hibbard, Hockensmith, and Kelly Willard, as well as Bryan Duncan and Randy Thomas of Sweet Comfort Band on “All Of Me”.
Bruce Hibbard began playing in church at the age of 12 and was writing Christian music by his late teens. As his musical talents developed, he began working with other local musicians in Oklahoma City, playing in groups such as Ascension and Sonlight. By his early twenties, Bruce was involved with and traveled extensively with The Amplified Version, The Paul Clark Band and Phil Keaggy and pursued his own personal artistry. Some of Bruce’s early musical friends and mentors were Harlan Rogers, Hadley Hockensmith, Bill Maxwell, Kelly Willard, Jonathan David Brown and Keith Edwards, all of whom resided in Oklahoma City during those days.
The album track “Forgiven” was later covered by First Call on their album God Is Good released on Myrrh Records in 1989. The title cut was included on the sampler album Too Slow to Disco, Volume 2 released in 2015, a mainstream compilation series of late 70s Westcoast Yachtpop.
Save slickly-produced soft rock that would have had no problem standing with the best of Ambrosia, Gino Vanelli and Christopher Cross. Not that any of those artists are my daily bread, but when the tunes are as catchy as they are here then I proudly renounce my cutting-edge standards. Indulge for an irresistibly smooth flashback to late-‘70s early-‘80s pop radio. Produced and co-written by Hadley Hockensmith. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th edition]
If Bruce Hibbard isn’t exactly a household word around your dwelling, it should be. Although he released an album a couple of years ago which received a respectable amount of attention, it suffered from a lack of consistency on a musical level. His songs have been recorded by several major Christian artists including the Imperials. He is therefore known primarily as a songwriter rather than an artist. Never Turning Back will begin to turn the tables on that notion.
Produced with great care and precision by Hadley Hockensmith (who co-wrote all but two of the songs), Never Turning Back effectively overcomes the consistency problem with smooth, tasteful arrangements. Bruce is not a great singer (not to imply in any way that he’s bad), but Hockensmith has packaged the vocals in such a way as to draw out his finest abilities.
Keith Edwards and Bill Maxwell played drums, Hockensmith played guitar and bass on most cuts, while Chuck Fiore played bass on others. Hibbard and Harlan Rogers played keyboards, and (along with Kelly Willard), sang background vocals. One cannot overlook the sax playing of Glen Myerscough, either. [CCM, April 1980]
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Never Turnin’ Back” – 3:12
A2. “Calling” – 4:19
A3. “You’ll Never Let Me Go” – 4:14
A4. “It’s A Shame” – 3:16
A5. “You’re So Good To Me” – 4:30
Side Two
B1. “Forgiven” – 3:02
B2. “Straight And Narrow” – 3:13
B3. “All Of Me” – 3:46
B4. “Love Will Always Make A Way” – 4:12
B5. “We Are All His Children” – 4:36
Note: Simultaneously released on 8-track tape, cassette, and 12-inch vinyl LP by Myrrh Records. Remastered and re-issued on CD by Cool Sound in 2000.
CREDITS. Produced by Hadley Hockensmith. Recorded at Maranatha! Studios, Costa Mesa, CA, at Gold Mine Studio, Los Angeles, CA, and at Sound Castle Studio, Los Angeles, CA. Engineers: Jonathan David Brown, Dan Willard, Chris Taylor, Hadley Hockensmith, and Bobby Cotton. Mixed by Jonathan David Brown and Dan Willard at Maranatha Studios. Tracks Arrangements by Hadley Hockensmith and Bruce Hibbard. Horn and Synthesizer Arrangements by Bruce Hibbard and Hadley Hockensmith. Vocal Arrangements by Bruce Hibbard and Hadley Hockensmith except track A1, A5, and B1. Additional Vocal Arrangements by Kelly Willard. Photography, Handtinting and Special Effects by Scott Lockwood. Production Assistant and Photography by Myron Broussard. Art Direction by Bruce Hibbard. Graphics by Dennis Hill. Executive Producer: Michael Blanton. Music and Words by Bruce Hibbard and Hadley Hockensmith except track A3 and A4 written by Hibbard. Thanks to Daniel Amos for the Omni and to Chris Christian for the studio.
Musicians: Bruce Hibbard (Lead Vocals, Acoustic Piano on track A3 and B3, B-3 Organ on track A3, Synthesizer on track A4, B3, and B5; Fender Rhodes on track B1), Harlan Rogers (Fender Rhodes – tracks: A1, A2, A3, A5, B3, B4, B5; B-3 Organ on track A5 and B2), Glen Myerscough (Saxophone – tracks: A1, B2, B4, B5; Horn on track B4 and B5), Alan Gregory (Horn on track B4 and B5), Hadley Hockensmith (Acoustic Guitar on track A3, Electric Guitar on all tracks, Bass on all tracks except A3 and B5, Synthesizer on track B3), Dean Parks (Guitar Solo on track A2), Chuck Fiore (Bass on track A3 and B5), Bill Maxwell (Drums on track A4 and A5), Keith Edwards (Drums – tracks: A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, B4, B5; Congas on track A1 and B4), Alex MacDougall (Percussion on track A5 and B5). Backing Vocals: Bruce Hibbard (A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, B1, B4), Kelly Willard (A1, A3, A4, A5, B1, B4), Hadley Hockensmith (A2, A3, B3, B4), Judy Cotton (track A3), Bryan Duncan and Randy Thomas (track B3).
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