All Saved Freak Band - Brainwashed / Sower (Reissue) (1976-80/2000)

The All Saved Freak Band was one of the earliest influences in what has since become a distinct sub-category of Rock and Roll, Contemporary Christian Music. Broadcasting their first recorded songs on WREO radio in Ashtabula County, Ohio in the fall of 1968, ASFB joined Larry Norman and the California group, Agape, as one of the original "pioneers" of Jesus music, birthed in that same year.

Unique in many ways, ASFB was a large, ensemble group of 12 musicians. Predating Birmingham's Electric Light Orchestra' by two years, ASFB was one of the first "rock" bands [It's A Beautiful Day, with violinist David LaFlamme, preceded ASFB in 1967] to use violin and cello as an integral part of rhythmic music. Their song, Seek Him, exemplifies the layering of blues and classical strings that characterized much of their sound. "Garnering acclaim for superior songwriting and instrumentation," ASFB recorded four albums now recognized as classic examples of the earliest "Jesus music." Though courted by RCA and Columbia, ASFB never signed a contract in an effort to maintain control of the band's music and direction - that choice also assuring their esoteric status.