STYLE: Rock RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 14640-VTI1778 LABEL: Myrrh MYR1108 FORMAT: 12 inch vinyl Album RRP: £4.99
Reviewed by Mike Rimmer
Freed from his contract with Larry Norman's Solid Rock imprint and newly signed to Myrrh Records, Stonehill embarked on his '80s output with this workmanlike affair which lacked the spark of his previous releases produced by Larry Norman but held signs that the '80s would be a fruitful time. Whilst the album contains a lot of good songs, there isn't much here that you'd call classics. The title is a big jangling cosmic opening quickly forgotten in the new wave sarcastic rush of the very unStonehill "Die Young" where he's backed by Daniel Amos. "Fifth Ave Breakdown" and "Giving It Up For Love" are both turgid rockers whilst "Grandfather's Song" pushes over the edge into too much sentimentality. Other songs like "Find Your Way To Me" and the vaguely psychedelic "Rainbow" fail to really ignite. "Letter To My Family" was a leftover ballad from 'The Sky Is Falling' but it's a sign of the weakness of this album that it sounds like one of the strongest songs here. "Christine" is an interesting one where Stonehill plays the slightly disturbed and sad character of a man in love with a news reader! Hmmm. personal stalker anyone? "Farther One" finishes off things in similar fashion to the title track opener with a song that takes us out into broader, more cosmic visions of our spiritual journeys. This is a good album and at the time it really failed to totally engage me and I can still taste the disappointment listening to these songs. However the '80s would soon see Stonehill hitting his stride again.
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Posted by Don in state of Delaware @ 04:49 on May 20 2010
I have this album in vinyl format, as I have many other
vinyl and cd projects from Randy. The song "Letter to my
Family" was the first song I ever heard by him on ccm radio;
I luved it , and it struck a chord. Another song that
impacted me was his 1983 "Turning 30" from "Equator"lp.
Randy is one of the many pioneers of ccm, I have one of his
earlier lp's "Welcome to Paradise" from 1976:of course it
was produced by the late great Larry Norman. Randy is a
very talented singer and songwriter; all he needs is a song
and his guitar: The song "Letter to my Family" proves it.
GOD Bless! -Don
I have this album in vinyl format, as I have many other vinyl and cd projects from Randy. The song "Letter to my Family" was the first song I ever heard by him on ccm radio; I luved it , and it struck a chord. Another song that impacted me was his 1983 "Turning 30" from "Equator"lp. Randy is one of the many pioneers of ccm, I have one of his earlier lp's "Welcome to Paradise" from 1976:of course it was produced by the late great Larry Norman. Randy is a very talented singer and songwriter; all he needs is a song and his guitar: The song "Letter to my Family" proves it. GOD Bless! -Don