GRAHAM STONE MUSIC
Until the Day
★★★★★
I can't remember the last time I was so bowled over a by a
debut release. Graham Stone Music is the performing nom de guerre of Graham
McCune Stoll, a young man who hails from Virginia and dispenses insights
and wisdom like an old sage. Until the Day is one of those rare
albums where you listen to a track and exclaim, "Man, that's one helluva
song," and the next one makes you repeat yourself. And the one after that,
and….
Stoll's husky baritone immediately puts one in mind of Ari
Heist, but Stoll's songs come from the road, not the urban canyons of New York
City. "Flowers of Montana" is a gorgeous song. Stool is named for
Gram Parsons, who would have been proud to have penned lines like But the flowers in Montana all are bloomin'/And the river
by the mountain/is clear and cold/And the flower on my arm will stay forever/
I’m not a young man, but I’ve never felt so old. If it doesn't look like much
on the page, listen to the song and ask yourself how a guy barely 30 can write
such a line and sing it with such wizened grace. Next, take Stoll's folk
persona, add some buzzy electric, head for the open Big Sky lands, and check
out "Canyonlands." Pack some sweet country and hop a "Midnight Train" bound for Boston, once the lost rambling is over. Lace the song with
thoughts of a woman somewhere along the line. If "Strong
Constitution" is to be believed, Stoll likes his women strong and
independent. The heroine of this folk country tale shows no fear: She's got
a strong constitution/steel in her spine/A spirit more precious than jewels/
She's got a strong constitution/She's made up her mind/She won't take no shit
from a fool. "Kathleen Jean" is a sweeter Virginia "queen,"
but she too knows what she believes.
Stoll's
songs move us in many ways. "Free and Homeward" places us in the
middle of John Brown's Raid and recounts events from the perspective of a
doomed slave. It's dark and tragic and builds to a loud growly moment, yet
offers final redemption: …I am free/and I am home. "On the
Run" is a rocker with boot kicking grit; "Richmond City Blues"
also rocks, but in the vein of songs that get the honky tonkers off their
stools and onto the dance floor. "Until the Day" touches things
deeply human—livin' alone with all my fears and I defy you to remain
stoic during "Meaningless," a dying rich man's gift and dispensation to a
young servant.
What
a record! Buy it. You'll have a hard time moving it down your playlist.
Rob Weir
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