Hostage is the eight release, and sixth studio album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

, from American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Christian rock

Christian rock

Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...

 band Resurrection Band

Resurrection Band

Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, was a Christian rock band formed in 1972. They were part of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago and most of its members have continued in that community to this day. Known for their blend of blues-rock and hard rock, Resurrection...

 (known at this time as "Rez Band"), released in late 1984.

Recording history

Hostage was a radical departure into keyboard-driven New Wave

New Wave music

New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...

 stylings which dominate the record, and this is due in large part to the fact that bassist and keyboardist Jim Denton took over much of the songwriting. Although the lead-off track, "S.O.S.," was hugely popular on Christian radio, long-time Rez Band fans were extremely divided over the band's new musical direction, especially with strange sonic experiments like "Armageddon

Armageddon

Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...

 Appetite."

At the same time, "Attention" and "Crimes" are typical Rez Band hard rock efforts, which indicated to surprised listeners at the time that the band hadn't completely abandoned the sound for which they had become known. Besides, the lyrical themes of war, inner-city violence (of which the band was intimately familiar) and the spiritual and moral confusion of youth are once again front and center.

Hostage is notable for being the first Rez Band album from which the band recorded a music video

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...

--"Crimes," filmed in the same run-down urban neighborhood in which the Jesus People USA

Jesus People USA

Jesus People USA is a Christian intentional community in Uptown, on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1972, coming out of Jesus People Milwaukee in the Jesus Movement, and is the largest of the few remaining communes from that movement...

 community is located. It received limited airplay on MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

.

Track listing

All songs written by Jim Denton unless otherwise noted

1. "S.O.S." – 4:03
2. "Attention" (Glenn Kaiser, Jon Trott, Roy Montroy, Stu Heiss) – 3:45
3. "Souls for Hire" (Kaiser) – 3:30
4. "Defective Youth" (Denton, John Herrin, Trott, Heiss) – 2:57
5. "Who's Real Anymore" – 4:06
6. "Armageddon Appetite" – 1:26
7. "Beyond the Gun" (Kaiser, Denton) – 4:20
8. "Crimes" (Kaiser, Denton, Herrin, Montroy, Heiss) – 3:38
9. "It's You" (Trott) – 2:02
10. "Tears in the Rain" (Denton, Herrin, Trott, Heiss) – 6:00
11. "Walk Away" (Kaiser, Denton) – 4:50

Personnel

• Glenn Kaiser
  Glenn Kaiser
  Glenn Kaiser is a Chicago-based Christian blues musician, singer-songwriter and pastor. He was the leader of Resurrection Band and is currently the leader of The Glenn Kaiser Band.-Childhood:...
  
   - Lead and background vocals, guitars
• Wendi Kaiser - Lead and background vocals
• Stu Heiss - Lead guitar, keyboards
• Jim Denton - Bass guitar, guitar, keyboards
• John Herrin - Drums
• Steve Eisen - Saxophone
• Tom Cameron - Lead snoring
• Greg Jacques - Door

Production

• Producer - Rez Band
  Resurrection Band
  Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, was a Christian rock band formed in 1972. They were part of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago and most of its members have continued in that community to this day. Known for their blend of blues-rock and hard rock, Resurrection...
  
  
• Engineer - Roger Heiss
• Assistant engineers - Roy Montroy and Greg Jacques
• Mastering - Steve Hall at Future Disc
• Album cover concept and art - Cornerstone Graphics, Janet Cameron and Dick Randall
• Photography - Pat Peterson and Tom Wray