Description

The self-titled debut album by the American 9-piece folk group The Forerunners, released in the UK on Key Records in 1968 as the label’s first effort (catalogue number KL001). (The Forerunners is a Campus Crusade for Christ outfit originally formed in Southern California in 1967.) The album was recorded at CBS Studios in London, England as a MGO (Musical Gospel Outreach) Production. (Featuring four tunes arranged Michael Omartian.)

Today’s generation includes a new breed – the revolutionist. All the world is familiar with their banner of political and social revolution. They cry aggressively for freedom, love and reality. Yet there is another revolutionary voice. A voice shouting freedom for the whole man and daring to give answers to the vital questions. With their message of eternal values, the Forerunners are singing representatives of these new pace-setters around the world. [Note on the front of the LP sleeve]

The phone rang.

Then came the question that thousands of groups ask each year, “How do we go about making a record?” But the voice was warm, friendly and American. Perhaps just worth a look.

At the Kensington, London, house where the Forerunners live, we sat in the corner of a large room and waited for them to begin. They did. We have yet to recover from the shock. How could so much dynamite be packed into such unassuming cartons?

We still can’t get over seeing nine beaming faces; and hearing nine voices pounding out a contemporary folk sound with such vigour and verve that you felt they could sing Three Blind Mice and still cause a riot. We were hooked.

So began the production of this record. Rehearsals, rearrangements, recordings. Never have we enjoyed working with a group more. The smiles never faded, the co-operation never flagged, nothing was too much trouble. The group claim that the person of Jesus Christ has made a revolutionary change for the good, in their lives. Everything they did backed this up.

First impressions are deceptive. At first impact the Forerunners could easily be well trained musical genii. On closer inspection you find nine ordinary Americans, mostly not long out of college. That immaculate sound and flawless presentation is simply the result of dedicated hard work.

And the dedication is not to the music or the popularity. It stems from the fact that they have answers to the uncomfortable questions and they want these answers to be heard.

Southern California was their birth place in July 1967. Now their territory is Europe, where they are currently on an international tour of colleges and universities.

The producers. [Album liner notes featured on the back of the LP sleeve.]

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “You Can Tell The World”
A2. “Times Have Changed”
A3. “As I Was Walking”
A4. “The Way”
A5. “Jordan’s River”
A6. “You Don’t Knock”
A7. “Swing Low”

Side Two
B1. “Sing Allelujah”
B2. “Bethlehem”
B3. “He’s Everything To Me”
B4. “If I Had My Way”
B5. “Pastures Of Plenty”
B6. “Redeemed”

Note: Re-issued by Key Records in the early 1978s.