Description
Get Me Out of Hollywood is the sophomore album by the American singer and songwriter Randy Stonehill. It was recorded for the British mainstream label Philips Records in 1973, though shelved by the record company and never commercially released. This folk/west-coast pop recording was finally made available on CD by Solid Rock Records in 2000.
Get Me Out Of Hollywood was recorded during March and April 1973 by Bill Price with Gareth Edwards at AIR Studios in London, England; and was produced by Jon Miller, Rod Edwards, and Roger Hand for Triumvirate Production. (During the 1970s this team did produce the first two albums of Larry Norman’s 70s-trilogy, Only Visiting This Planet and So Long Ago The Garden, as well as numerous classic albums by British CCM artists like Malcolm & Alwyn, Adrian Snell, Garth Hewitt, and Nutshell, as well as the sole album by the Alwyn Wall Band.) Strings arranged by Del Newman (who the same year also did arrange strings on the Elton John classic Goodbye Yellow Brick Road). Brass arranged by Roger Ball of The Average White Band. Featuring “Puppet Strings” and “Jamey’s Blues”, two songs later re-recorded by Stonehill on Welcome to Paradise (1976) and The Sky Is Falling (1980), respectively. The album also features the song “Vegetables” which ended up being included in the Lonesome Stone musical performed by The Sheep over in England as a part of Jim Palosaari’s wandering Jesus People group.
Born Twice might be rare, but Get Me Out Of Hollywood is virtually non-existent. Recorded in England at a major studio for a major label, the album was pressed but never released. Whether the copies are lost in some London warehouse or were melted in some tax write-off furnace has been the subject of much speculation over the years. A few stray copies, however, apparently leaked out before fiasco (the infamous “Randy’s mom’s copy”), and there’s been at least one fluke copy that turned up in England a few years ago (lucky bum). The album exists today mainly in against-all-hope want lists, along with numerous nth-generation cassette dubs, probably all from the same original. From a 1987 interview in The Cutting Edge magazine Randy thought there may have been 500 or so pressed. Although he apparently didn’t care much for the end results, I personally find the album right up there with his Solid Rock works. «Jamie’s Got The Blues» would later appear on The Sky Is Falling, «Puppet Strings» on Welcome To Paradise. The closing noveltytune «Vegetables» would soon be recorded by The Sheep on the Lonesome Stone project. Side two is mostly acoustic oriented, including some moving string arrangements on «Strange Youth» and the beautiful ballad «East Coast Lady» (the former in grand Stonehillian splendor includes a reference to picking his nose). Other selections include «Back To California», «Lonely Mary», «Strangest Feelings», «One Man’s Blues» and the Spanish-flavored title track. Cover has him posing with that same superman shirt, denim jacket and patched jeans used on one of the Welcome To Paradise shots. In early 2000 this album was finally released on CD courtesy of Solid Rock’s Historical Archive series. The sound is clean, the original artwork is reproduced, and the booklet is fat with numerous photographs, lyrics and liner notes (here stating that only ten copies of the original were pressed!). There’s even a bonus track – a delicate acoustic ballad entitled «Blind Minstrel». At any rate, fans can finally hear this LP the way it was meant to be heard. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th Edition]
This album was actually recorded way back in 1973 in AIR studios with the same production team and many of the session players behind Larry Norman’s acclaimed ‘Only Visiting This Planet‘ and ‘So Long Ago The Garden‘ albums. This collection was never released for public consumption in the US, until now. These 11 songs showcase Randy’s vocal talents and delightful acoustic guitar playing in a set put together with the intention of securing a secular breakthrough for Stonehill. A Christian worldview is largely absent from the proceedings which are peppered instead with lovers’ tales, wandering minstrels down on their luck and wistful memories of lost youth and innocence. Enjoyable performances from the main man are wonderfully augmented with tasteful strings and sassy horns courtesy of the Average White Band’s Roger Ball. Two songs («Puppet Strings» and «Jamey’s Blues») re-emerged on Randy’s subsequent Solid Rock albums, and these gems are joined by a number of other fine compositions such as the instantly likeable «Back To California», a heartfelt «One Man’s Blues» and the light hearted novelty number «Vegetables». An extensive 24 page booklet penned by Larry Norman accompanies this CD which will, no doubt, be enjoyed by Stonehill’s loyal legion of fans. [Dougie Adam, Cross Rhythms, February 2001]
LP tracklist:
Side One
A1. “Get Me Out Of Hollywood” – 2:52
A2. “Back To California” – 3:54
A3. “Lately Mary” – 2:06
A4. “Jamey’s Blues” – 3:36
A5. “Puppet Strings” – 4:26
Side Two
B1. “Strange Youth” – 3:45
B2. “Strangest Feeling” – 2:56
B3. “East Coast Lady” – 3:09
B4. “One Man’s Blues” – 2:53
B5. “Vegetables” – 2:45
Note: Solid Rock Records’ CD version features a bonus track: “Blind Minstrel” 3:24 (with Gordon Giltrap on guitar). Available at Bandcamp: https://randystonehill.bandcamp.com/album/get-me-out-of-hollywood
CREDITS. Produced by Jon Miller, Rod Edwards, and Roger Hand. Engineered by Bill Price. Assistant Engineer: Gareth Edwards. Strings arranged by Del Newman. Brass arranged by Roger Ball. Photography by Larry Norman. All songs written by Randy Stonehill.
Musicians: Randy Stonehill (Vocals, Acoustic Guitar), Rod Edwards (Keyboards, Synthesizer), Bob Wilson (Electric Guitar), B.J. Cole (Pedal Steel Guitar), Bruce Lynch (Bass), Chris Karan (Drums), Clem Cattini (Drums on track A2 and A5), Ray Cooper (Percussion), Tony Carr (Percussion on track A2). Backing Vocals: Edwards Hand (Rod Edwards and Roger Hand).
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