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''Dancing Down the Stony Road'' is the seventeenth studio album by British singer-songwriter
Chris Rea
Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues singer and guitarist from Middlesbrough. A "gravel-voiced guitar stalwart" known for his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty five solo albums, two of which t ...
, released in 2002 on his own record label, Jazzee Blue. The album has also been released in Europe by
Edel
Edel is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname:
* Abraham Edel (1908–2007), North American philosopher and ethicist
* Alfred William Edel (c. 1930–2005), American television news presenter
* Apoula Ed ...
under the shorter title ''Stony Road'' with different cover art and only one CD (except Germany), while the original UK is double CD edition with additional tracks.
The album is notable for its change of Rea's previous
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
music style to
Delta blues and
gospel blues
Gospel blues (or holy blues) is a form of blues-based gospel music that has been around since the inception of blues music. It combines evangelistic lyrics with blues instrumentation, often blues guitar accompaniment.
According to musician and ...
.
It reached #14 position in UK album charts,
and was certified Gold by
BPI. A version of ''Dancing Down The Stony Road'' was used in the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
television programme ''
Speed
In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude
Magnitude may refer to:
Mathematics
*Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction
*Magnitude (ma ...
''.
Summary
In 2000 Rea was diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer and in 2001 undergone a risky but life-saving surgical operation (
Whipple procedure
A pancreaticoduodenectomy, also known as a Whipple procedure, is a major surgical operation most often performed to remove cancerous tumours from the head of the pancreas. It is also used for the treatment of pancreatic or duodenal trauma, or chro ...
), which made him be in ill and weak condition. During his several months long stay in hospital he experienced an epiphany as someone brought him
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...
''
Kind of Blue'' which he regularly listened to, inspired him to get a book on modulation, and even later in his life he plays it in the background while painting, which he started during recuperation. It was a hard time for him because accustomed to writing a song every day he could not do it in such condition, and recalls that when found an old
Sister Rosetta Tharpe album in his home he burst into tears.
Rea recalls that he was not afraid of dying although "it did look like the end, but what got me through was the thought of leaving a record that my two teenage daughters could say, "That's what Papa did - not the pop stuff, but the blues music. That's what he was about". And it is. ''Stony Road'' is the one you can pin on my headstone.
In an interview, Rea revealed that "it's not until you become seriously ill and you nearly die and you're at home for six months, that you suddenly stop, to realise that this isn't the way I intended it to be in the beginning. Everything that you've done falls away and start wondering why you went through all that rock business stuff".
Although the record company offered him millions to do a
duets album with music stars,
having promised himself that if he recovered he would be returning to his blues roots, he decided to set up his own independent Jazzee Blue record label to free himself from the pressure of record company expectations.
The album was refused to be released by Rea's previous record company,
East West Records
East West Records (stylized as east''west'') is a record label formed in 1955, distributed and owned by Warner Music Group, headquartered in London, England.
History
Upon its creation in 1955 by Atlantic Records, the label had one hit with t ...
.
He recalls that "If the heads of all the music companies had known about music and about Chris Rea fans, they wouldn't have worried about ''Stony Road''. My regular fans have always known that side of me... I knew they wouldn't have a problem with it. So I made ''Stony Road'' anyway. All the record companies rejected it. I was very pleased when it eventually went gold".
Most of the album is inspired by
Delta blues, and Rea explains that "it's less aggressive than
Chicago blues
Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...
, and the guitar playing has a style I call curling: there are some notes that are not a sharp or a flat, but a bend of emotion. It's a mournful sound, and Delta people sing about deep pain, deep fear, and trying to save one's soul. Chicago players sing about girls and booze. Delta bluesmen were singing to the sky; Chicago bluesmen developed their stage act by singing to people who were drinking. It's a big difference". Particularly inspired by his original influence to take slide guitar,
Charley Patton
Charley Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), also known as Charlie Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of American musi ...
, others are
Son House
Edward James "Son" House Jr. (March 21, 1902His date of birth is a matter of some debate. House alleged that he was middle-aged during World War I and that he was 79 in 1965, which would make his date of birth around 1886. However, all legal re ...
,
Lead Belly,
Blind Lemon Jefferson,
Blind Willie Johnson and
Robert Johnson
Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...
.
Release
The album was released in 2002 by Rea's independent record label, Jazzee Blue. It was released in a regular double CD edition, and deluxe edition (issued in three-fold
Digipak
Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage.
Jewel case
...
),
both with CD 1 enhanced with selected scenes from the accompanying DVD documentary, as well with 24 page lyric booklet.
The album has also been released in Europe by
Edel
Edel is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include:
Surname:
* Abraham Edel (1908–2007), North American philosopher and ethicist
* Alfred William Edel (c. 1930–2005), American television news presenter
* Apoula Ed ...
under the shorter title ''Stony Road'' with different cover art and only one CD, except in Germany where also was released in a limited edition with double CD and enhanced CD 1 with videos "Making Of Stony Road (Shortcut)" and "Dancing Down The Stony Road (Live From The
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...
)".
By Edel Records was released a double DVD ''Stony Road'', including on DVD 1 a 75 minute documentary of the making of the album as well 20 minute concert footage from Cologne and interviews, plus his gallery of paintings, while on DVD 2 a 23 minute concert footage from Chris Rea performance from the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2002.
Reception
The original album in ''
The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...
'' review was described as "raw, honest music - a powerful blues album, and the best record Rea has ever made", in ''
Q'' "that's a testament to the pull of the Delta Blues".
In the ''
Uncut
Uncut may refer to:
* ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship
* ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997
* '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' review was given 3/5 stars, concluding "it's pleasing,
JJ Cale
John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and sound engineer. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Mark Knop ...
kind of fare, but it should never have been a double CD. Even labours of love need editing". Helmut Moritz in a review of ''Stony Road'' one CD edition for
laut.de
laut.de is a German online magazine dealing exclusively with entertainment music, especially pop music, rock music, alternative, metal, hip-hop, jazz and techno. It comprises record reviews, interviews, biographies of important artists, music ...
gave 4/5 stars and that "ingenious songwriter finds incessantly the concise chords that provide the stage for his gloomy life experiences
..has created a unique collection".
Jörn Schlüter for German edition of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' gave it 3/5 stars.
Track listing
All songs written and composed by
Chris Rea
Christopher Anton Rea ( ; born 4 March 1951) is an English rock and blues singer and guitarist from Middlesbrough. A "gravel-voiced guitar stalwart" known for his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty five solo albums, two of which t ...
.
;''Dancing Down the Stony Road'' (2-CD Jazzee Blue edition)
CD1:
# "Easy Rider" - 4:50
# "Stony Road" - 5:32
# "Dancing the Blues Away" - 4:39
# "Catfish Girl" - 3:13
# "Burning Feet" - 5:01
# "Slow Dance" - 4:11
# "Segway" - 2:23
# "Mississippi 2" - 4:41
# "So Lonely" - 3:17
# "Heading for the City" - 6:09
CD2:
# "Ride On" - 4:18
# "When the Good Lord Talked to Jesus" - 4:16
# "Qualified" - 4:55
# "Sun Is Rising" - 6:48
# "Someday My Peace Will Come" - 3:49
# "Got to Be Moving On" - 3:47
# "Ain't Going Down This Way" - 3:14
# "Changing Times" - 3:05
# "The Hustler" - 4:12
# "Give That Girl a Diamond" - 3:54
;''Stony Road'' (1-CD Edel Edition)
# "Changing Times" - 3:05
# "Easy Rider" - 4:50
# "Stony Road" - 5:30
# "Dancing the Blues Away" - 4:38
# "Burning Feet" - 5:01
# "Mississippi 2" - 4:41
# "Slow Dance" - 4:11
# "When the Good Lord Talked to Jesus" - 4:16
# "Heading for the City" - 6:08
# "So Lonely" - 3:19
# "Someday My Peace Will Come" - 3:51
# "The Hustler" - 4:14
# "Diamond" / "Give That Girl A Diamond" - 3:54
;''Stony Road'' (2-CD Edel Edition)
CD1:
# "Changing Times" - 3:05
# "Easy Rider" - 4:50
# "Stony Road" - 5:32
# "Dancing The Blues Away" - 4:39
# "Burning Feet" - 5:01
# "Mississippi 2" - 4:41
# "Slow Dance" - 4:11
# "When The Good Lord Talked To Jesus" - 4:16
# "Heading For The City" - 6:09
# "So Lonely" - 3:17
# "Someday My Peace Will Come" - 3:49
# "The Hustler" - 4:12
# "Give That Girl A Diamond" - 3:54
CD2:
# "Sun Is Rising" - 6:48
# "Got To Be Moving On" - 3:47
# "Ain't Going Down This Way" - 3:14
# "Catfish Girl" - 3:13
# "Ride On" - 4:18
# "Segway" - 2:23
# "Qualified" - 4:55
Personnel
;Album
* Chris Rea – vocals, acoustic piano, organ, guitars, producer, paintings
* Ed Hession –
accordion
* Robert Ahwai – guitars
* Gerry O'Connor –
banjo
* Sylvin Marc – bass
*
Martin Ditcham
Martin Ditcham is an English drummer, percussionist and songwriter.
Ditcham is a prolific session musician, working with artists such as Henry Cow, Status Quo, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Roger Daltrey, Sade, Mary Black, Nik Kershaw, Ch ...
– drums
* Stewart Eales – engineer
* John Kelly – mastering
* Peacock – design
* Olaf Heine – photography
;Video
* Chris Rea – producer
* Andy Wilman – producer
* John Knowles – executive producer
* Robert Payton – director
* Chris Rodmell – film editor
* Aiden Farrell – video editor
* Douglas Dreger – sound mix
* Richard Williams – narrator
* Peacock – design
* Olaf Heine – photography
* Janina Stamps – production manager
Charts and certifications
Charts
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
2002 albums
Blues albums by English artists
Chris Rea albums