RICK CUA: Koo'-ah (remastered) CD

• FIRST TIME ON CD!!!!!
• High-Quality Expanded 8 Page Booklet with photos and lyrics
• Jewel Case CD
• Includes LTD Collectors Trading Card #74
• 2022 Girder Records, GR1120
• Originally Release in 1982
• Legends of Rock™ Edition
• Release Date: March 11, 2022
• UPC: 763416070028

ABOUT THE RELEASES

Rick Cua was a force to be reckoned with in the world of contemporary Christian music recording 11 solo albums. An Italian American sporting a cool leather jacket, Cua was the bass player for the successful southern rock band The Outlaws.  Rick Cua's first 4 albums were and still are among the top classic AOR albums to come out of the widely successful Christian Rock scene however the first 3 have never been on CD until NOW.   

Koo'-ah (1982), No Mystery (1983), You're My Road (1985) and Wear Your Colors (1986), have been completely remastered in these officially licensed, limited edition Legends of Rock™ CD pressings with expanded 8 page booklets, collectors trading cards (in 2 of them) and restored original covers.  Rick was also heavily involved in the process and was kind enough to provide insights and reflections on each release.  

Koo'-ah

Just in case you did not know how to pronounce Rick’s last name, he made it incredibly easy on us by entitling his debut album with the phonetics of his family name. Rick was in The Outlaws when Joe English introduced Rick to the workings of the Christian music industry. At that time Joe was riding the CCM charts at number one with his Refuge Records debut. Refuge was a label created for general market artists to share their faith-inspired music. Cua wrote his first Christian song You Can Still Rock & Roll, which caught the attention of Refuge, hence a record contract. Koo-ah, released in 1983, created a solid buzz in the CCM market. The supporting cast of musicians on the album include Joe English, Jimmy Hall and Mike Duke of southern rock band Wet Willie, four band members from The Outlaws, and Robbie Dupree, who made the charts in 1980 with his hit Steal Away. The rollicking You Can Still Rock & Roll reached number one on the Christian music charts. 

Tracks like Fly Me To Heaven, The Rock Was Rolled Away, and Crossfire feature hook-laden guitar, solid drumming, vibrant keys, and female backing vocals, all prime ingredients conducive for Southern-flavored rock. Eternity is a memorable mid-tempo rock ballad with a textured interplay between the key arrangement and the soaring guitars soloing. On Crossfire, there is a lyrical mention of Rosasco’s Roadside Bar which may well be tongue-in-cheek since John Rosasco was Cua’s manager.  

Another steady rocker, I Wanna Be Like You, divvies out some fun guitar lick exchanges between Muscle Schoals player Will McFarlane and Freddie Salem of The Outlaws. There is also that signature drum sound of Joe English. The closing track, Melt My Heart, is a swinging honky-tonk tune with Cua laying down funky bass, Mike Duke of Wet Willie plunkering out bar room piano, and Robbie Dupree wailing on his harmonica.

Koo-ah is a classic well-loved album that showed up at a pivotal time for Christian rockers. –Doug Peterson, Down The Line zine

1. FLY ME TO HEAVEN 3:38
2. SPIRIT 3:53
3. THE ROCK WAS ROLLED AWAY 3:14
4. ETERNITY 407
5. HEAVEN WAS MADE FOR EVERYBODY 3:34
6. YOU CAN STILL ROCK 'N ROLL 3:01
7. CROSSFIRE 3:19
8. JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE 3:56
9. I WANNA BE LIKE YOU 446
10. MELT MY HEART 2:53