Early Stonehill

I thought that, for my first blog, I would ponder over the earlier music of Randy Stonehill, a "Christian rock" pioneer.
My introduction to Stonehill's music was in the early spring of 1979. My cousin brought me an album to listen to titled "Welcome To Paradise". It is an understatement to say that I liked it very much. It helped to change the way I thought about music with a spiritual bent.
I will focus here on only the first four LP's that Randy recorded...they are the ones that I am most familiar with.


Welcome To Paradise (1976)
This album introduced me to Randy and his music. Unbeknownst to me at the time, it was heavily influenced by the production of Larry Norman. The cuts that stood out to me at the time were "King Of Hearts", "High Card (The Winner)", "Keep Me Runnin' ", "First Prayer", and "Song For Sarah". "Hearts" and "Runnin' " both presented the wonderful sound that you can have by marrying electric and acoustic guitars to each other, and they are ultimate classics in this genre. "Song For Sarah" was always a special favorite for the beautiful falsettos Randy was able to achieve in his vocals. In "Prayer", Randy sang from the viewpoint of someone who had never really known any kind of relationship with a Savior, but was trying to understand the new journey that he had begun. Outstanding lyrics! The harmonies of Larry Norman were all over this album, to it's benefit, along with the creative lead guitar of the late Jon Linn. Rating: 8.7 out of 10

The Sky Is Falling (1980)
Having 4 years in between recordings is not that strange nowadays, but back in the day this was nearly unheard of. Fortunately for me, I had been turned onto "Paradise" in '79, so I didn't wait as long for the follow-up as some other fans. I think this album lacked some of the "heart" of "Paradise", but it is far from disappointing. Stand-out cuts are "Jamey's Got The Blues", "Emily", & "Counterfeit King". This album of Randy's is where I started to realize that he was not going to place himself into a box in order to overtly sing about his salvation and/or his God, but more pointedly sing as a fellow human being on a spiritual journey. Songs like "Venezuela", "Jamey", and "Through The Glass Darkly" reflect his insights into his relationships and speak more of the human condition rather than mentioning Jesus or God. He started to stretch a bit musically on this LP also, exploring a Caribbean sound with "Bad Fruit", although I found myself tiring of the tongue-in-cheekness of "The Great American Cure", more of a novelty song that he had experimented with on "Lung Cancer" from "Paradise". These type of songs seem to rely more on the lyrical content than on "good music", although "Cure" has a great acoustic guitar sound. Rating: 7.6 out of 10


Between The Glory And The Flame (1981)
This album marked Randy's move from the Solid Rock label (Larry Norman's startup label) to Myrrh, and also his involvement with Terry Taylor (of Daniel Amos fame)producing. The title cut reminded me a little bit of the songwriting of Tom Petty with better vocals. "Die Young" seemed to touch upon the staccato guitar-romping that was popular at the time (think Cars), mixed with some mid '60's melodies. "Fifth Avenue Breakdown" utilized definite power chords, much like "Trouble Coming" from "The Sky Is Falling", although with much better lead fills. My favorite from this album is "Find Your Way To Me", a pop tune that shows that Randy doesn't like to repeat himself much in lyrical phrasing or guitar fills within a song structure, much like some Dan Fogelberg tunes. Great falsettos here again. The first side of the LP was much better than the 2nd side, although that means nothing in today's CD world. I admired about 60% of this recording. Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Equator (1982)
When I talked with Randy after a concert in 2002, he told me that this LP was his favorite. When I asked him why, he said that he had had the most enjoyment recording it. His answer kinda surprised me at the time, but now I have had more time to reflect back on that. This was his first album after finding a new love after a painful divorce. He and Sandi were experiencing having a baby daughter, and they remain happily married today. This was also the second recording away from the conflicts within the Solid Rock label and free of the debut pressures of his new label. Evident light-heartedness may be reflected in some of these compositions, e.g., "American Fast Food", "Cosmetic Fixation", "Big Ideas" (In A Shrinking World)", although they return to the satirical format that I don't enjoy as much. "Ideas" shows a foray into utilizing a synth-pop sound, while "Fast Food" has a '50's feel. "Shut De Do" (think Negro/Jamaican traditional) got old real fast, although it still remains a crowd favorite in concert today. To me, the best cuts are his mellower tunes on this outing, namely "Light Of The World", "Even The Best Of Friends" (made me ponder at the time on what was going on between him and Larry), and "Turning Thirty". Rating: 5.7 out of 10