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| ALL SYSTEMS ARE GO by The Archers (1984) Light Records | LS 5869 |
Producers:
Skip Konte, Tim Archer & Steve Archer
File Under: CCM/Pop
Time Capsule-Worthy Track:
All Systems Are Go
Not long ago, I went down a seemingly endless rabbit hole of Osmond family videos on YouTube. They're all there - the brothers, Donny & Marie, little Jimmy, the whole family. You can watch clips of their U.K. tours and their Saturday morning cartoon...interviews and documentaries...even full episodes of The Dony & Marie Show, The Osmond Family Show, their Vegas and Branson shows, and much more. Which got me to thinking...
Were The Archers our Osmonds?
I think they were. Well, sort of. On a smaller scale, of course. But there really were many similarities. The Osmonds and The Archers were both family groups who pushed boundaries and were genre-benders. They were good looking people with Pepsodent smiles and hair for days. Donny Osmond was a heartthrob for lots of little girls in the early 70s...and Steve Archer had a similar effect on Christian girls back in the day. Janice Archer, like Marie Osmond, started singing with her brothers well after the group was established but managed to attract new fans (and turned the heads of quite a number of teenaged Christian boys). Both groups had television shows. Both groups were known for wholesome living and a somewhat safe and tame approach to rock and roll, causing moms and dads to feel entirely comfortable. And both groups eventually suffered a bit in the PR department for not seeming "hip" enough anymore (music ministry can be just as fickle as the music business). But both families are fondly remembered and appreciated today for the mark they made and the happiness they spread with their music.
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| The Archer Brothers: Steve, Tim and older brother Gary |
The Archers were not street people. They weren't hippies. They were Assemblies of God pastor's kids who received a boost when they came in second nationally in a talent competition sponsored by their denomination.
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| Tim & Steve Archer with their "Teen Talent" trophy |
So they put a group together and started playing youth concerts and church services. They eventually added a female vocalist and adjusted their name from Archer Brothers to simply The Archers.
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| The Archers with Nancye Short, guitarist Billy Masters, and drummer Tim Short |
They landed a record deal with Impact, making them labelmates with the Imperials. Songs like Jesus is the Answer and Little Flowers got them noticed. A slot in front of 250,000 people at Explo '72 really got them noticed.
They came to the attention of Andrae Crouch, Pat Boone, and Ralph Carmichael and ended up signing with Light Records. The initial result was a huge hit titled It Wouldn't Be Enough.
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| L-R: Steve Archer, Ralph Carmichael, Nancye Short, Tim Archer |
The Archers have always had wide appeal, but they were initially considered a "Jesus Music" group and were marketed primarily to teenagers. "A youth music festival is hardly complete without The Archers," Ralph Carmichael gushed. "Kids love them, and they love kids!"
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| The hair, the glasses, the bell bottoms...groovy, baby! |
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| Steve, Janice & Tim |
In 1977, little sister Janice joined her older brothers and The Archers would be a biologically related trio from that point on. They made a monster of a record called Fresh Surrender in 1977, which contained 7 or 8 hit songs. The well-received Stand Up! rounded out the 70s, and it was a decade that had been very good to The Archers. Highlights included gigs at the White House, Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, and the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
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| At the White House |
They picked up in the 80s where they had left off in the 70s. The new decade brought with it a Grammy Award and performances on the Grammy TV broadcast for two years in a row. Not bad for a trio of A/G preacher's kids from northern California. A live album was released in 1980 and Spreadin' Like Wildfire came along in 1981. But it wasn't until about three years later that The Archers would release another full-length LP, due most likely to the fact that Steve Archer had kicked off a solo career/ministry with projects of his own in 1982 and 1983. The next Archers album was titled All Systems Are Go. It would be the last album from the talented siblings until 1991.
I remember playing the title track on the radio. It's a pop-rock anthem about the Second Coming, and it including samples of actual NASA radio communication from a Space Shuttle launch. Outstanding guitar solo by Bob Somma on that one.
Do you read? This is ground control
Departure time is near
And soon, you and I are leaving here
Now approaching the zero hour
The final countdown's on
Look up! Any day now we'll be gone
All systems are go, all systems are go...
Get Ready, Get Right was a funky little number that was also about the return of Christ and featured some close sibling harmony. Both All Systems Are Go and Get Ready Get Right were heavy on electronic drums (Simmons?) demonstrating that The Archers intended to keep pace with current musical trends.
Don't Let It was a synth-drenched rocker with more great Bob Somma guitar work and those electronic drum sounds front and center. "That's my little rock and roll song," said Tim Archer.
The Archers always seemed to understand the value of surrounding themselves with A-list studio musicians. Dating all the way back to 1975's Things We Deeply Feel, they made excellent use of first-call session players such as Leland Sklar, Lee Ritenour, Larry Muhoberac, Jim Keltner, Dave Hungate, Carl Marsh, Gary Lunn, John Patitucci, Keith Edwards, and many others. One reason the Archers' albums often sounded so good in comparison to the albums of some of their peers was the quality of the instrumentation. All Systems Are Go was no exception to that rule.
What's It Gonna Take and Winning Again were typical of the smooth, polished, radio-ready pop for which The Archers were known. These songs were greatly enhanced by John Andrew Schreiner's keyboard work and Albert Wing's saxophone.
Getting back to the Osmonds...Heaven in Your Eyes was a pop ballad sung by Tim and Janice that sounded, musically, just exactly like something Donny & Marie could've recorded. But the subject matter was being an effective Christian witness.
There is a mirror, and it's deep in your eyes
Always reflecting out the love you have inside
When others look at you, what will they find
To mend up their broken hearts
And free their troubled minds?
Let the world see heaven in your eyes
Show them love that they can't deny
Let the world see heaven in your eyes
Heaven in your eyes
While Tim Archer was listed in the credits as executive producer, Tim and his brother Steve shared the producer credit with Skip Konte (who also engineered the album). Konte played keyboards for Blues Image and Three Dog Night. All Systems Are Go was recorded at Front Page Productions in Costa Mesa, California. It was arranged by Herb Jamerson and mastered by Bernie Grundman.
The songs My Hope (a solo MOR ballad by Janice) and the funky Walk Like He Walks express a theme of wanting to be more like Jesus. Tim Archer has been known to say that Walk Like He Walks would've made a great 80s Christian skate night song down at your local roller rink.
The album closes with six and a half minutes of pure delight. Classical orchestration gives way to Tim, Steve and Janice reminding us of James Chapter 1...that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father. And that our Father never tempts us to do wrong. If this song wasn't a huge Christian radio hit, it should've been.
Every good and perfect gift
Comes down from the Father
Let no man say when he is tempted,
"I am tempted, tempted by God"
For God tempts no one
God tempts no one with evil
Now, about that futuristic album cover...we have to talk about the leather outfits. Let's just say that Janice was rocking hers and the guys looked a little embarrassed to even be at the photo shoot. But hey...it was really cool at the time...now, not so much. Craig Incardone took the photos, the supremely talented Kernie Erickson was responsible for the art direction and illustration, and Bob Payne handled the sleeve design.
Oh...and Craig DePhillippi styled the hair. Yes, he was listed in the credits. After all, this was the 1980s.
One more Osmonds comparison: All Systems Are Go helped land The Archers their first TV show. It was also called All Systems Are Go and aired on TBN (the Trinity Broadcasting Network). Sadly, the All Systems Are Go Tour would be the group's final tour with a live band, as Steve Archer's solo career began to take off (no pun intended). But the Archers certainly enjoyed greater longevity than most pioneering Jesus Music groups, recording charting hits in the decades of the 1970s, 80s, and 90s.
They would reunite for one more studio effort together in 1991, a project titled Colors of Your Love, produced by the late, great Jonathan David Brown. True to form, the album yielded a Top 20 hit.
Steve, Janice, and Tim occupy a warm place in the hearts of contemporary Christian music lovers the world over. They continue to minister, singing and/or speaking and sharing a Christ-centered message wherever doors are open. As I write this blog post, many of the group's best records are available for download at www.timarchermusic.com/downloads. Drop by and say hi.
