Randy Stonehill - The Sky Is Falling

Published Tuesday 18th October 2011
Randy Stonehill - The Sky Is Falling
Randy Stonehill - The Sky Is Falling

STYLE: Jesus Music
RATING 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 115530-18596
LABEL: Solid Rock SRA2003
FORMAT: 12 inch vinyl Album

Reviewed by Mike Rimmer

Although recorded in the late '70s, this only finally saw the light of day in 1981 in this country and then with an altered track listing and no gatefold sleeve. I was fortunate enough to get the original version with American track listing and sumptuous gatefold packaging (remember that!) including a Q&A interview with Mr Stonehill. I remember hearing him speak at a Greenbelt interview in 1981 where he explained away the delay in release on the vagaries of his producer and record company boss "The Great Blonde Normanski". Whilst not quite as exquisitely created as its predecessor 'Welcome To Paradise', this is pretty close and was worth the wait! It has the usual Larry Norman west coast style production with everything but the kitchen sink thrown in, especially when it comes to the backing vocals. Highlights? There are quite a few! There's the usual Stonehill comedy song and this time it's TV addiction which is featured in "The Great American Cure" which rides rampantly over some pretty strident guitar riffs. Guitar riffs is what you also get on the closing rock out "Trouble Coming" where everything is turned up to 11. Tame by today's standards but pretty much cutting edge rock for the era! I've always had a soft spot for "Venezuela" which the interview sleeve notes says was penned for his best friend Ray Ware who at that point wasn't a Christian. Whether you're examining the song writing, the musicianship, the production or the packaging, everything adds up to make this a classic Christian album.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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Reader Comments

Posted by Don in state of Delaware @ 21:07 on Dec 11 2014

So we travel back 35 years and get an early taste of
Randy's coming of age ccm style. First off, the songs on this ablum do not resonate what one might term "christian music". The album of course, being produced by the late Larry Norman may have had a profound effectiveness on the outcome. In May of
1980 this now collective vinyl piece hits store shelves.
The first song to catch my ear was "Through The Glass Darkly", you can hear Larry on bgvs well. BTW
all songs were brilliantly written by Randy. I did enjoy the relax feel of "Venezuela", the sound of
Randy that I initially became familiar with, especially
on his follow up lp song "Letter To My Family". This
song is nearly 7 minutes in length but worth the hear. The lyrics to side 2 starter "Counterfeit King"
will grab the listener's ears, wtg Randy, I love it!
btw this is another lengthy listen at 5 1/2 minutes.
"Jamey's Got The Blues" is another nice easy listen,
great bgvs for the song. "Emily" is another that
reflects Randy's well known soothing sound; quite a
poignant album song. 7 years later ccm artist Michael
W. Smith would present us with another "Emily" on
his live album. Side 2 closer contains the album title;
Randy's rockin' number, kind'a has Larry Norman
flavor to it. His next lp "Between the Glory and the
Flame" would prove his ccm quality. God Bless, Don



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