Description
Equator is the sixth studio album by the American singer and songwriter Randy Stonehill, released on Myrrh Records in January 1983, a division of Word. Later also distributed by A&M Records. The album was recorded and mixed by Thom Roy at Whitefield Studios in Santa Ana, California; with Terry Taylor of Daniel Amos fame producing for Rebel Base Productions. All songs written by Randy Stonehill except track A1 co-written with Wayne Berry and track B4 co-written with Gary Morris.
The newest release from rock minstrel Randy Stonehill, ‘Equator’ (Myrrh, MSB-6742), is the most mature and creative venture of his fruitful career. Again with the folks at Rebel Base Productions, Terry Taylor, Tom Howard, and the D.A. boys, Stonehill has brought the crisp, hot delivery and production of ‘Between the Glory and the Flame‘ and the musical diversity of ‘The Sky Is Falling‘ together in a winning combination. We hear his personal reflections, his most serious thoughts on life in our world, and his own quirky sense of humor in a variety of musical styles. ‘Equator’ paints a holistic picture of the Gospel according to Randy Stonehill, the artist, musician, and person.
«Light of the World», a song co-written with Wayne Berry, is an anthem of praise and faithfulness that may be Stonehill’s best chance at ccm radio airplay. «Shut De Do», a Jamacian/Black gospel sing-along, contains some of the finer moments on the album and has Stonehill backed only by a vocal chorus, female soloist Regina Peoples, and some innovative percussion. The three pop-wave numbers, «Big Ideas (in the Shrinking World)», «Cosmetic Fixation», and «American Fast Food», move toward humorous satire with a growing social consciousness and some of the more bizarre musical movements (dueling bagpipes, elf voices, operatic singing, classical strings, ‘50s r’n’r sax and vocals, and a burp that is tastefully done).
«Turning Thirty» and «Even the Best of Friends» are two personally reflective tunes that sound the most like his earliest work. The first expresses peace at starting down the other side of the hill, and the second, with a distant sax solo by Adrian Tapia, laments the loss of close friends. «China», an artfully done progressive move for Stonehill, and the fine rock piece «Hide Them in Your Love» both add to the something special that characterizes ‘Equator’.
This is Stonehill’s finest album and his broadest and most sincere statement: At times one can feel like they are riding an emotional and musical roller coaster as he shifts gears from song to song. The consistently strong production by Terry Taylor add to the continuity, but ups and downs are par for the course in Stonehill territory, as past efforts attest. Jerry Chamberlain, Tim Chandler, and Jim Nicholson bring artful musicality to each of the songs, but it is Randy Stonehill himself and his compositions that make ‘Equator’ a complete delight. [Quincy Smith-Newcomb, CCM, February 1983]
In the ’70s Stonehill had recorded three classic Jesus music albums under the direction of his friend Larry Norman. By the early ’80s that friendship had soured and Stonehill had signed to the Myrrh record label and begun recording a sweep of albums that would mark the ’80s with artistic peaks and troughs. Prior to this ‘Between The Glory And The Flame‘ had been a disappointing start but ‘Equator’ really saw Stonehill kick into life. Working with Daniel Amos frontman Terry Taylor, they let their imaginations run wild creating an unforgettable album released in 1983 and packed with some classy songs. «Light Of The World» sounds like a simple inspirational song designed for radio stations to play and then the fun begins. There are three comic songs where you laugh but Stonehill is hitting home his unease at some of our social foibles. «Big Ideas In A Shrinking World» contrasts the world’s wisdom with God’s. «American Fast Food» attacks the unhealthy eating habits of his countryman and contains the greatest belch in the history of Christian music. The third comic song is «Cosmetic Fixation» which attacks Hollywood’s obsession with the outward appearance. The cod calypso «Shut De Doh» (which, somewhat ironically, has turned out to be Stonehill’s most popular song ever – with dozens of covers) was apparently written on a caffeine fuelled trans-Atlantic plane flight. Elsewhere «Even The Best Of Friends» is an open letter to his former best friend Larry Norman and «Turning Thirty» marks that landmark in his life. Both are good examples of Stonehill’s skill writing ballads. «China» is a dramatic plea for that vast country and «Hide Them In Your Love» is a typical ’80s Stonehill rocker. Ultimately the combination of Randy’s skilful songwriting and Taylor’s imaginative production make this one of the top Christian albums of the ’80s. [Mike Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, May 2007]
By the early 1980s, CCM had gone from a fringe movement within West Coast charismatics to a viable career for musicians based in L.A., Nashville, or elsewhere. The money was always tight, so not much CCM from the early 80s is recorded or mixed as well as its better-funded secular counterparts, so the music had to be carried by lyrical thoughtfulness or personal goodwill, both of which Randy Stonehill was well prepared to deliver. His music had already evolved from his Randy Newman/James Taylor singer-songwriter beginnings to embrace Eagles-style country rock while working with Larry Norman‘s Solid Rock entourage throughout the 1970s, and after a decade toiling in an unpopular field, Stonehill was ready for a radio-friendly career.
Fellow Solid Rock alumnus Terry Scott Taylor had moved from country rock through an ELO/Queen phase straight into New Wave by the early 80s, and ‘Equator’, one of Stonehill’s Taylor-produced albums, shows Cars/Devo influences in full force, especially on the zanier songs. Stonehill’s novelty side always sat uneasily alongside his heartfelt ballads, and ‘Equator’, more than any of his other albums, tests the listener’s willingness to swing from the silly to the poignant in alternating songs. As with most musicians, the novelty tracks («Big Ideas», «American Fast Food», «Cosmetic Fixation») don’t hold up as well thirty years later as the serious ones («China», the apocalyptic «World Without Pain», his signature «Turning Thirty», and so on). The Carribean-infected call/response song «Shut De Do» still sounds great simply because its acapella arrangement leaves no room for dated instrumental choices. Gym Nicholson‘s proto-U2 feedback guitar solo on «China» still sounds terrific too.
Within the broad umbrella of CCM, Stonehill always fell more under “Christian who sings about life” rather than under “Christian who sings about God.” ‘Equator’ tackles obesity, pollution, vanity, aging, and broken relationships, with only an occasional reference to “Him” and “You,” (and on one occasion, a nod to his own phrase “The King of Hearts“) readily parsed by his Christian audience as “God.” At a time when most Christian music dealt in platitudes rather than the challenges of reality, Stonehill’s topic selection (like that of his then-estranged mentor Larry Norman) challenged the church and paved the way for the socially aware likes of Steve Taylor, DC Talk, and Todd Agnew.
Stonehill had better sounding albums before (e.g. ‘Get Me Out of Hollywood‘) and after (e.g. ‘Return to Paradise‘, ‘The Lazarus Heart‘) this one, but ‘Equator’ captures the diversity of Stonehill’s musical and lyrical ambitions better than any other. [R. Berman, 2013]
> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/equator/1576234877)
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Light Of The World” – 4:10
A2. “Big Ideas (In The Shrinking World)” – 4:37
A3. “Shut De Do” – 2:46
A4. “Even The Best Of Friends” – 4:52
A5. “American Fast Food” – 3:19
Side Two
B1. “China” – 5:32
B2. “Cosmetic Fixation” – 4:17
B3. “Turning Thirty” – 3:49
B4. “Hide Them In Your Love” – 3:29
B5. “World Without Pain” – 3:54
Note: Simultaneously released on 8-track tape, cassette, and 12-inch vinyl LP by Myrrh Records. Myrrh also released a four-track 7-inch split EP featuring two tracks from Stonehill’s Equator (“Shot De Do” and “Light of the World”) as well as two tracks from Tom Franzak’s 1983 Myrrh release Walk That Talk (“I Know What Love’s About” and “Walk That Talk”). Available at Bandcamp: https://randystonehill.bandcamp.com/album/equator
A full-page advertisement for Compassion International, an organization supported by Randy Stonehill, was featured in the May 1983 and January 1984 issues of CCM Magazine. “Randy Stonehill speaks about ‘The Ultimate Crime’: Our compassion is shrinking/ It’s the ultimate crime/ ‘Cause we can save the starving millions/ But we can’t seem to find the time. (Lyrics taken from Stonehill’s «Big Ideas in the Shrinking World»).”
Randy Stonehill feat. London Community Gospel Choir (LCGC) – “Shut De Do”, Live at Rock Gospel Show, UK 1985
CREDITS. Produced by Terry Taylor for Rebel Base Productions. Recorded and mixed at White Field Studio. Engineered by Thom Roy. Album cover concept by Terry Taylor and Randy Stonehill. Art Direction by Paul Gross/Paradise Graphics, Ltd. Illustration by Kurt Triffet. Inner Sleeve Photography by Charles Allen. All songs written by Randy Stonehill except track A1 co-written with Wayne Berry and B4 co-written with Gary Morris.
Musicians: Randy Stonehill (Lead Vocals, Acoustic and Electric Guitar), Tom Howard (All Keyboards), Tim Chandler (Bass, Lead Guitar on track B5), Alex MacDougall (Drums, Percussion). Additional Musicians: Doll (MacDougall) Gallienne (Bagpipes, Vibes and Xylophone on track A2), Mark Cook (Additional Keyboards on track A4), Rob Watson (Additional Keyboards on track A4 and B2), Adrian Tapia (Saxophone on track A4 an A5, Flute on track B1), Derald Daugherty (Additional Electric Rhythm Guitar on track A5 and B1), Terry Taylor (Drums on track B1), Ed McTaggart (Drums on track B1), Jim “Nuclear” Nicholson (Lead Guitar on track B1 and track B4), Jerry Chamberlain (Lead Guitar on track B2).
Background Vocals: Randy, Tom, and Jerry Chamberlain (track A1); Lil’ background vocals: Randy and Jerry Chamberlain, alias “Kris Teeny and the Mid-jets”. Man in the Audience: Terry Taylor. Ethel Merman’s Assailant: Jerry Chamberlain (track A2); Randy, Tom and Dori Howard, Jerry Chamberlain, Sharon McCall, Regina Peoples, Shari Larson, Jackie Goushe, Terry Bradford. Female Soloist: Regina Peoples. Handclaps: Randy, Jerry Chamberlain, Sharon McCall, Tim Alderson. (track A3); Randy and Jerry Chamberlain (track A4); Randy, Tom, Jerry Chamberlain, Ed McTaggart, Terry Taylor. Singing Waitresses: Shari Larson, Jackie Goushe, Dori Howard, Sharon McCall. Fast Food Patron: Jerry Chamberlain. Handclaps: Randy, Terry Taylor, Sharon McCall, Jerry Chamberlain (track A5); Randy, Tom, Jerry Chamberlain, Beau MacDougall (track B1); Randy, Tom, Jerry Chamberlain, Janet McTaggart (track B2); Randy (track B3); Randy, Tom, Jerry Chamberlain, Terry Taylor (track B4); Randy, Tom and Dori Howard, Jerry Chamberlain, Sharon McCall, Leslie Phillips, Colleen Routh, Jason Kinsley, Moses Toth, Shannon Berry, Rachel Anderson, and Audrey Floyd. “Star Trek” soprano solo by Janet McTaggart (track B5).
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