Dancing Down the Stony Road [Limited Edition, Import]

Chris Rea | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 12, 2002)
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Limited Edition, Import
• Label: Import [Generic]
• ASIN: B00006IQI2
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #381,087 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Easy Rider

2. Stony Road

3. Dancing The Blues Away

4. Catfish Girl

5. Burning Feet

6. Slow Dance

7. Segway

8. Mississippi

9. So Lonely

10. Heading For The City

11. Ride On

12. When The Good Lord Talked To Jesus

13. Qualified

14. Sun Is Rising

15. Someday My Peace Will Come

16. Got To Be Moving On

17. Aint Going Down This Way

18. Changing Times

19. The Hustler

20. Give That Girl A Diamond

Editorial Reviews

Full title - Dancing Down The Stony Road. First album from Rea since 2000 following serious illness. 'Dancing Down The Stony Road' is a blues album released on his own Jazzy Blue label. The Middlesbrough-born guitarist & songwriter's previous albums have --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars File Under Blues, November 15, 2002

By 

eurocrank (Ketchikan, Alaska) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dancing Down the Stony Road (Audio CD)

Chris Rea is a big star in Europe but practically unknown in the U.S., which is perhaps why his appearance on Elton John's "Duets" album surprised no one over 'there' but everyone over 'here.' Most of his albums are suave 'n' roots, like a Bryan Ferry version of Dire Straits, except that Rea has a gravelly voice (not unlike Waylon Jennings) and plays lots of bottleneck slide guitar (a la Muddy Waters and Blind Willie Johnson). There's been a progression in his songwriting and performing, in my opinion, from his most contemporary-radio material (1979-1984) to his mature, memorable material (1985 on). The watershed album is "Shamrock Diaries" (1985), in which he connected with (maybe even established) his roots in rock, blues, and soul.

"Dancing Down the Stony Road" is a remarkable record by most standards, perhaps even those of classic blues. These are songs of pain, performed with a great deal of expression -- true blue blues. He voices the agony and the love of life and music he experienced while recovering from a potentially terminal illness. It's his first blues album (and deserves W.C. Handy Awards for every "crossover" category), but it sounds like he's been playing blues all his life.

Rea dedicates this album to Charley Patton, Blind Willie Johnson, and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Rea's always had a knack for interesting, strong rhythms, so Patton might not come as a surprise, and his slide playing has obvious ties to Johnson's death meditations, but it's great to hear the songs influenced by Tharpe's fierce gospel drive. I'd like to think these artists would be proud to see their names associated with this album.

Rea has written songs suggesting bewilderment and sorrow before (cf. 'Nothing to Fear' or 'Gone Fishing'), but nothing so direct as these songs, in my opinion. I cried when I first heard 'Easy Rider'--the pain in the lyrics, the voice, and especially the slide guitar solo. I wasn't prepared for it, and I'm still startled by every song on the album. Perhaps the lyrics sometimes try a little too hard, making leaps I can't quite follow (i.e., looking for sugar to take away the gray). But they do convey an intensely personal experience, much like Van Morrison's lyrics do.

It's also a great album with which to consider his other albums, just like "Astral Weeks" and "Moondance" for Van's recordings. If all Rea's roads lead to "Dancing," they're not one-way streets, and I can go back and check them out. I realize that I love "King of the Beach" (one of the great summer albums of all time) and "God's Great Banana Skin" because their hearts beat to the blues you hear in "Dancing Down the Stony Road." Other albums don't, however, like "The Road to Hell, Part 2," which seems like a cynical statement about techno-rock.

Probably the most comparable recent album is Dylan's "Time Out Of Mind." Both owe their life to near-death experiences and the blues. I like these albums about the same. I wish Rea the same success . . .

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant album by CR!!!, March 20, 2003

By 

Ramamurthy Rajan (Greenwood Village, CO United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dancing Down the Stony Road (Audio CD)

I sometimes wonder why Chris Rea doesn't tour the US!! His music is so Bluesy and soulful that it captures the soul of the delta. yet he is more popular in Europe than here. This is a much awaited album from him. CR certainly doesn't disappoint you. I bought the import version..so what if I had to fork out some extra cash there. But every song is worth more than that. The testimony to his music is that couple of my colleague's who have never heard his name before loved his music. This tells me that there is certainly a market in the US for his music. This is blues at best and CR does it in his own style. His guitaring, voice, the lyrics they all just seem to fall in place. I would say strong buy.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars He only gets better as he gets older! Highly Recommended, May 4, 2003

By 

Amrit Tiwana "www.bus.iastate.edu/tiwana" (Decatur, Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dancing Down the Stony Road (Audio CD)

This is one of the best Rea albums across his entire career. I was beginning to think that he had faded away after producing nothing new in years. The first time I heard this, I was not too sure. But five days later, I think this guy's getting better just when you thought he couldn't be any better. It's the kind of reaction i had when I first hear Pink Floyd...it grows on you. This album is like Mark Knofpler's move over the years...only in the reverse direction. Highly recommended even though this is a darn expensive set! You won't regret it.