Reviewed by Tony May

Essence of Stonehill. The sheer beauty of the man's best acoustic songs, collected from albums dated 81-92. Two new songs "I Thirst For You" and "Charlie The Weatherman", plus an acoustic version of "Hope Of Glory" are more gems to squeeze into the already crowded cluster. This is art, a rare ability to express profound, deeply felt realities by using simple words beautifully constructed and set to rich melodies. Take a song like "Rachel Delevoryas" from the great 'Wonderama' album, with its Beatle-like delicate touch and moving storyline. Or you hear "Sing In Portuguese" and think that, if these New Country guys are so smart how come they haven't snapped it up? I'd love to hear Nanci Griffith tackle it, though I doubt she could do a better job than Randy. On and on it goes, "Starlings", "Letter To My Family", "Turning Thirty", all so sensitively sculptured and polished. "Christmas At Denny's" another cracker he wrote with Mark Heard, one of the few in the same class as a brilliant singer/songwriter. Sheer genius. Apparently the term 'fan' comes from 'fanatic' (no extra charge), so I'm a happy Stonehill fanatic. So will you be if you know what's good for you.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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