Light Maneuvers

Description

Light Maneuvers is the fifth album – and the first major label effort – by the Canadian rock band Servant, released on Myrrh Records in 1984, a division of Word. The album was recorded by Mike Fraser at Little Mountain Sound Studios in Vancouver, Canada; with Bob Rock producing. Mixed by Rock and Fraser. All songs written by band members except tracks A2 and A3 written by Glen Allen Green.

Servant is Sandie Brock and Bob Hardy on vocals, Matthew Spransy on keyboards, Owen Brock and Bruce Wright on rhythm and lead guitar respectivley, Rob Martens on bass, and David Holmes on drums. Percussion provided by Chris Taylor. (Co-vocalist Bob Hardy would leave the band, though releasing a solo album entitled Face the Distance in 1990, produced by Servant bandmate Bruce Wright.)

SERVANT – Maneuvers – PRODUCER: Bob Rock – Myrrh – 7-01-679806-2

Two things have happened to this group: They have moved closer to the commercial world, and the commercial world has moved towards their sound. The result is contemporary rock that is more commercial than their previous releases without compromising their musical menu. This is quality rock for the Rock. [Billboard Magazine, January 19, 1985 (Reviews/Gospel Picks)]

As the books close on 1984, a top contender for most improved band of the year has to be Servant. While some artists mark time and fight change, Servant hasn’t been afraid to explore new horizons. Such an attitude has netted mixed results before, but this time the band’s artistic daring makes ‘Light Maneuvers’ its best album to date.

On its Myrrh Records debut, Servant throws ’70s cliches out of the window and builds a new structure around a contemporary rock framework. Chief architects are producer Bob Rock of Loverboy fame and keyboardist extraordinaire Matt Spransy, who dominates the high-gloss, thoroughly modern sound of ‘Light Maneuvers’.

In the past, the band’s philosophy might have been interpreted as: “The world needs to be saved, and you are personally responsible!” While that conviction probably hasn’t changed on Servant’s part, the method of expressing it takes a more mature tone on ‘Light Maneuvers’. When the band sings about total commitment and surrender to the Lord now, it sounds like a brother’s compassionate plea rather than a drill sergeant’s order.

After five albums, lead singers Sandie Brock and Bob Hardy still don’t seem entirely comfortable in the studio. However, their vocals display more gut feeling and expression than on any previous effort. Bob is especially outstanding in «One at Heart», a beautiful ballad designed to draw Christians together, which may introduce Servant to adult contemporary radio for the first time. In the same vein are «Surrender», «Battlecry» and «We Are the Light», a reminder that “there’s still time to turn the tide.”

Present again is the social and political commentary that Servant is noted for. «Poolside Logic» and «Neighborhood» describe folks whose entire world exists on their TVs or just outside their windows. The pain and suffering brought on by the «War Dance» never reaches their deaf ears.

Lest old-line Servant fans think they’re being ignored, the familiar driving beat of bassist Rob Martens and drummer David Holmes resides beneath the bevy of synthesizers. Bruce Wright’s guitar work plays a somewhat more subdued role than heard on past albums. He can still fire it up, though, as in «Born in the Fire», «Battlecry», and «Courage to Burn».

“Contemporary” is often misapplied in the Christian music genre. But if the word mean’s “of today,” then ‘Light Maneuvers’ is, in fact, truly “of today.” [Bruce Brown, CCM, January 1985]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/light-maneuvers/1767707490)

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “Poolside Logic” – 3:25
A2. “Surrender” – 4:42
A3. “We Are The Light” – 4:30
A4. “One At Heart” – 4:30
A5. “Neighborhood”- 3:55

Side Two
B1. “Born In The Fire” – 3:48
B2. “Battlecry” – 3:53
B3. “Courage To Burn” – 4:27
B4. “Zero Minus One” – 4:15
B5. “War Dance” – 3:56

Note: Simultaneously released on cassette and 12-inch vinyl LP by Myrrh Records. The album track “Surrender” was also released as a “Special Remix for Radio” vinyl single (of length 3:50). Later re-issued on CD.