Lost Art of Listening is a studio album by the American singer and songwriter Randy Stonehill, self-released in November 2020. The album was recorded by Mike Pachelli at Fullblast Recordings in Nashville, Tennessee; and was produced by Pachelli with Randy Stonehill. Mixed by Pachelli and Stonehill. Tracks 1, 5 and 13 feature Phil Keaggy. Backing vocals on tracks 3 and 4 provided by Regina McCrary.
The life of Randy Stonehill is a Forrest Gump-like saga, a microcosm of the progression of modern Christian music as a genre and an industry. He worked with Larry Norman in the 1970s, with Amy Grant, Mark Heard, and Phil Keaggy in the 1980s, and with Rick Elias, Christine Dente, and Riki Michele in the 1990s. His lanky figure, Robert Plant mane, impassioned guitar playing, eloquent lyrics, and comedic stage routine set him apart in a crowd of his peers. He switched effortlessly from earnest James Taylor-type crooning to Elvis Costello-style bite or Springsteen-esque grow at the drop of a hat. His career paralleled the breakneck growth of Christian rock from suspicious black sheep to youth group favorite, and he released twelve excellent albums in the first twenty years of his career, covering every style from country-rock to hard rock to New Wave. (Where’s the rap album, Randy?) The next eight albums took another thirty years, cementing a lifetime of achievement unheralded by awards shows.
So how’s the new album? Pretty good for a guy pushing seventy? Sure, but more than that, it’s just plain great. Stonehill makes up for his relative silence with 14 tracks that all deserve a place. As with Johnny Cash’s American Recordings and U2’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, a knowing yet confident awareness of mortality hovers over these recordings. Stonehill’s dexterous fingers and supple voice, both far better preserved than his peers, weave potent tales of friends passed on («Beginning of the Living End») and life with a heavenward gaze («Dance Beyond the Laughing Sky», one of multiple tracks with Phil Keaggy’s instantly recognizable guitar work). Of watching a loved one slip into senility («Where Are You»). Of the lines that come with the mileage of a life on the road («This Old Face»). It’s ground that ought to be covered by more songwriters, and ought to be heeded by more listeners.
Bluesy slide guitar adds an unexpected new flavor to «Thinly Veiled Threat». «She Loves Me» straightforwardly celebrates his wife Leslie, who co-wrote one track. A string quartet joins on «Coyote Moon», a collaboration with longtime friend and Daniel Amos alumnus Terry Scott Taylor. «Billy Frank», which circulated in demo form several years back, pays tribute to evangelist Billy Graham, a central figure of Christianity in the Twentieth Century. In a career often marked by wistful self-reflection, «Leonard Has a Toaster» finds Stonehill at his most thoughtfully vulnerable as he reflects on how his father’s failings recapitulated in his own life, “Passing on like some toxic baton.” Stonehill also goes the extra mile in packaging for a modern release, with a physical release that includes full lyrics and production credits, with a sixteen page photo booklet. More artists should do the same. It’s time for fans of Andrew Peterson and Rich Mullins to get re-acquainted with one of Christian music’s most enduring and articulate voices. [Robert Berman, Worship Musician Magazine, February 2021]
CD tracklist:
01. Mercy in the Shadowland
02. This Old Face
03. Beginning of the Living End
04. Thinly Veiled Threat
05. She Loves Me
06. Coyote Moon
07. Still Not Over You
08. Billy Frank
Father Trilogy:
09. Leonard Has a Toaster
10. Where Are You
11. Goodbye Old Friend
12. Worry About Money
13. Angel of the Highway
14. Dance Beyond the Laughing Sky
Note: Available at Bandcamp: https://randystonehill.bandcamp.com/album/lost-art-of-listening
