Daniel Amos – Horrendous Disc Ultra-Deluxe CD Edition

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Album Review: Daniel Amos, “Horrendous Disc Ultra Deluxe Edition” Vinyl Box Set

Horrendous Disc is the third studio album by the American rock band Daniel Amos, released on Solid Rock Records in April 1981, though actually recorded in 1978. (It was the band’s sole release on Larry Norman‘s Solid Rock Records.) All songs written by Terry Taylor except the title track co-written with Jerry Chamberlain and Mark Cook, “Man In The Moon” written by Chamberlain, and “Never Leave You” written by Cook.

The obscurity of Daniel Amos continues to frustrate me, decades after I first caught on to them. They’re one of the most important spiritual rock bands ever, the one that set the template of creativity and poetry for others that followed. Inside of a very small circle, Terry Scott Taylor and his band of musical miscreants are legends. They were among the first to bring a sense of artistry to the Jesus-rock industry, and for pretty much their entire career, that industry had no idea what to do with them.

The record I have been binge-listening to is a case in point. In 1977, DA released Shotgun Angel, a weird record that is half Eagles, half prog-rock. This got them signed to Solid Rock Records, owned by fellow pioneer Larry Norman, and in 1979 they delivered their third album, Horrendous Disc, which found them taking the plunge into full-on rock. The first four DA albums chart a musical evolution so sharp that their early fans still complain about it, and that was only exacerbated by Solid Rock’s decision not to release Horrendous Disc for two years.

That means that in 1981, DA’s third album – a jump away from country-gospel and into ‘70s radio-rock – was issued mere weeks before their fourth, Alarma, which dove straight into ‘80s new wave. What fans they had built up to this point were thrown two curve balls at once, and must have wondered what had happened to the band they had known. There’s a fearlessness to this rapid artistic growth, but even the band wanted to ease their fans in a little bit more than their label allowed them to.

Horrendous Disc is often overlooked in DA’s catalog, and a new, astonishingly wonderful reissue aims to correct that. The result of a very successful Kickstarter campaign, the Horrendous Disc box combines the remastered album with four CDs of bonus material, a beautiful book, some signed postcards, a guitar pick and a pin, collected together in a purposefully garish box. I don’t need most of that stuff, but the five CDs of content are all indispensable and help make the case for Horrendous Disc’s importance.

Start with the album itself, which is splendid. “I Love You #19” starts with a classic ‘70s guitar riff, and it has never sounded bigger or better. This song should be on classic rock radio. It’s just a killer tune, and it sets the tone. Most of the rest of Horrendous Disc has a classic ‘70s sound and feel, from the Zevon-esque “Hound of Heaven” to the Jeff Lynne-style extravaganza of “Man in the Moon.” These songs all tackle their spiritual themes with metaphor and poetry – “On the Line” is about prayer, though you’d never know it just from listening once – and the lyrics demand close reads to tease out their meanings. (This is completely different from the Christian music of today, which beats you over the head with its message.)

The title track that closes the album is something else entirely, a five-minute psychodrama about a broken marriage. It’s a constantly shifting masterpiece, one of the earliest signs that Daniel Amos wasn’t going to be like any other band. (I will cop to hearing metal band Deliverance’s version of this first, but you can’t beat the original, and it sounds better here than I have ever heard it.)

As for the bonus material, well, therein lies a tale. Between 1979 and 1981, Daniel Amos didn’t just sit around waiting for their album to come out. They wrote and recorded a bunch of tunes that were never released until now. The second disc of this set contains what is basically a new Daniel Amos album, slotting in between Horrendous and Alarma, and it’s wonderful. The third disc contains four-track demos of the “ten biggies,” the ten songs intended for the next record that never happened. We also get the requisite plethora of demos and alternate takes, and a full concert from 1979, but it’s this unreleased material that is the true treasure.

And there are two interesting things about it, to me. One is that, while Taylor remains the leader of this band, Jerry Chamberlain proves himself a musical force here. His material stands strong and tall with Taylor’s, and it’s great stuff. The other is that these songs don’t provide a bridge to Alarma at all. You might think you’d be able to hear the new wave influences creeping in, but you can’t. The touchstone remains ELO for all of this material, which is fascinating. Where did the angular guitar slashing of the next record come from? It remains a mystery.

What isn’t a mystery is the enduring legacy of Horrendous Disc. While few people have heard it (or even heard of it), within the spiritual pop realm, it’s an absolute classic. I’m so glad to see it finally get the reissue it deserves. In my world, its importance cannot be overstated. [Andre Salles, Tuesday Morning 3 a.m., August 14, 2018]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/horrendous-disc-deluxe-edition/1424005964)

LP tracklist (Original US release):

Side One
A1. “I Love You #19” – 3.33
A2. “Hound Of Heaven” – 4:06
A3. “(Near Sighted Girl With Approaching) Tidal Wave” – 3:05
A4. “Sky King (Out Across the Sky)” – 4:05

Side Two
B1. “On the Line” – 5:20
B2. “I Believe In You” – 3:45
B3. “Man in the Moon” – 4:00
B4. “Never Leave You” – 3:08
B5. “Horrendous Disc” – 5:20

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and 12-inch vinyl LP by Solid Rock Records. Originally released in the US featuring gatefold jacket. Released in Europe with a different tracklist featuring 8 songs only (“Tidal Wave” and “Man in the Moon” from the US edition were replaced with a new track entitled “After All These Years”). Part of the image featured inside the gatefold jacket of the the US edition was used on the jacket backside of the European edition. Re-issued on CD by Solid Rock Records in 2000. Available at Bandcamp: https://terryscotttaylor.bandcamp.com/album/horrendous-disc-hd-deluxe-disc-1

In July 1980 Word Records’ radio promo man “dangerous Dan” Hickling released a 10-inch Horrendous Disc EP to radio stations, pressed on blue and white swirled vinyl. Side One (33 1/3 RPM) features “I Believe In You,” “Hound of Heaven” and “Horrendous Disc.” Side Two (78 RPM) has the flying saucer sounds, and “On The Line”.

Horrendous Disc (Super Deluxe Edition), Kickstarter-funded and released on CD and vinyl in 2018: * Vinyl Edition Box Set – The 12-inch Horrendous Disc 2LP in gatefold cover, featuring 21 tracks (remastered album on colorful red and green vinyl, with an extra vinyl of bonus tracks entitled Other Marvelous Mysteries), Ten Biggies From Beyond in single sleeve (the 10 Biggies demo tracks on vinyl), The 2018 Swirly EP on 10-inch blue swirl vinyl promo 4-track EP (a near replica of the original 1980 blue and white ep with different tracks), a 7-inch Picture Disc Single (2 songs) – all in a 12×12 box. * CD Edition Box Set – 2CD Horrendous Disc & Other Marvelous Mysteries in gatefold cover (27 tracks), single CD in sleeve – Ten Biggies From Beyond & Other Star Trax From Planet X (19 tracks), single CD in sleeve – Wondrous Cosmic Flashes (22 tracks), single CD in sleeve – Daniel Amos Live in ’79 (16 tracks) all in a 6×6 box. * Print – The Horrendous Book (photos and stories from the Making of Horrendous Disc).

The Horrendous Book – Photos and stories from Daniel Amos and the making of Horrendous Disc. This 2018 full-color and 52 pages book, put together as a companion to the Horrendous Disc Deluxe releases, includes never-before-published photos from DA’s “missing years” (1978-1981) – on tour, in the studio, photo sessions for the album and promo shots, etc. As well featuring the inside scoop on the making of the album including details of early concepts for the album itself, the artwork, songs that never made it to the project and more, as well as new interviews with band members, Randy Stonehill and others that were connected to the story. Note: This is not the same as the booklet that comes with the CD box. Very little material is repeated.