Randy Stonehill

It took someone like Dave Perkins to give Randy Stonehill's music "the passion it deserves," to quote an earlier album. This one comes back with a vengeance, and not only musically. All the photography on this record shows Stonehill in various stages of musical indulgence with his guitar -- and it is quite refreshing to see him this way. From the opening strains of "The Wild Frontier" and on through the record, the music is loud, the singing passionate, the energy high, and the mood vibrant. Stonehill is cutting loose and it has been a long time coming. There is an occasional country-rock influence. The cover of "Get Together" on side two is nice. One annoying track is "Here Come the Big Guitars"; it's important for its free-spirited message, but lyrically it's very trite -- a forgivable offense. Otherwise, a welcome return for Stonehill. ~ Mark W. B. Allender, Rovi