Track Listing

1. Changing Times
2. Easy Rider
3. Stony Road
4. Dancing The Blues Away
5. Burning Feet
6. Mississippi 2
7. Slow Dance
8. When The Good Lord Talked To Jesus
9. Heading For The City
10. So Lonely
11. Someday My Peace Will Come
12. Hustler
13. Diamond

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #84856 in Music
• Released on: 2002-09-20
• Number of discs: 2

Amazon.co.uk Review
You cannot--it may reasonably be argued--sing and feel the blues if you ain't been bruised. Conclusively, Dancing Down The Stony Road--the word "dancing" is almost used ritually in the Chris Rea lexicon, as if to signify a celebration of a struggle won--is the pure, wounded Delta blues record Rea always wanted to make. Lying in a hospital bed in life-and-death limbo while undergoing treatment for cancer, the former AOR blues-pop maestro vowed that if he ever recovered he'd pick-up the slide guitar, for that was the sound--particularly the Mississippi Delta style of Charley Patton--which inspired him to follow his muse and throw away his chances with the family ice cream firm all those years ago.

Like Bob Dylan's Blood On The Tracks, one suspects this record was a cathartic, linen-airing experience for Rea, who, having grown weary of the rock industry's corporate machinations, is more determined than ever to suit himself. His resilience and resistance to his demons is palpable, with the croaked lines "Come on easy rider, give me something for my pain" alluding to requests he made to his nurse for more morphine, while the hardbitten, two-fingered blues salute of "Qualified" proudly shows the world his well-earned scars. Further down the line, the shadows recoil, the curtains open and--hey--it's a brand new morning, the gospel-tinged "Sun Is Rising" is as jubilant and life-affirming as Bill Withers' "Lovely Day", it being impossible not to picture Chris Rea running outside in the crisp morning air and kissing the milkman. And who can blame him? There's plenty here, too, to quench the thirst of insatiable Van Morrison and Leonard Cohen devotees. And judging by the equine whinnying and snake-like slither of his guitar, Rea is a very fine slide player too. --Kevin Maidment

CD Description
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 and songwriter's previous albums have shifted over 30 million units over the last two decades.

Customer Reviews

Chris Rea - give that man a diamond.
I have been a fan of Chris Rea for many years, ever since my son bought me a vinyl copy of 'Tennis'. I became hooked and I have bought very nearly everything Chris Rea has recorded. Not so long ago I was beginning to think that he had lost his special spark of originality. 'Tuned out' I thought.

This week I bought 'Dancing Down the Stoney Road' for my son's birthday, and I couldn't resist playing it myself before I sent it on.
This is a very different Chris Rea. The wonderful gravelly voice and incredible skill with the guitar are still there, but this time, it all comes from his heart. This isn't background music, it grips, it shakes, it moves. The lyrics are important, you must listen to them, they tell you where he is coming from, where he has been. It's a mixture of Delta Blues, Gospel and the inimitable Chris Rea.

I can't tell you which is my favourite track, I shall have to listen to these cd's again and again, and my favourite pieces will no doubt change with my mood. At the moment the slow 'Give that Girl a Diamond' is making me want to cry, it is a beautiful song and it is haunting me, but tomorrow it may well be a more up-beat track. There is no help for it, I shall have to order another copy of this glorious cd for myself.

Thanks for many years of music Mr. Rea, may you have many more.

Make mine a double !!!!
In the little ice cream shop in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough I first met Chris Rea in the early 70's, I had my eyes on his mothers Knickerbocker Glory Ice Creams which were simply the best.

The next time I met him face to face was some 30 years later and he opened a village fair as a thank-you for the surgeon who saved his life. He was frail and gaunt, he had lost much of his excess baggage that followed him on his tours. He mentioned that he was working on a special project and what a project it has become.

Blending Chris' gargle-with-gravel voice, with sweet blues couldn't have resulted in a better album - the best of an illustrious line of fine music from "Fool (if you think it's over)" to "Stony Road". Chris is always at his best when he personalises his music, Stainsby Girls, Steel River, Daytona and Tell me there's a Heaven were, until now, my favourite tracks.

There are three more tracks on this album that I would challenge anyone to beat. The inspired "So Lonely", the haunting "Sun is Rising" and the thought provoking "Got to be Moving on" are without a doubt three of the best-ever Rea tracks.

For those with CD Players the first CD of the pack provides a great video diary of chris, his life and the making of the album, dispite the small size of the video clips (when will record companies produce better quality graphics accompanying CDs) you get a lot for your money and for those who have not heard Chris Rea before it is well worth watching.

This album is a good as it gets and should be a firm favourite for years for dedicated Rea fans and those who, like Chris, idolise Charley Patton and his compatriots.

Chris, if you read this... You mother's Ice Cream is legendary, you should be equally proud of a soulful and classic Delta blues album - Make mine a double!

White Man Sings the Blues
I was put onto this by a radio interview he did with Johnathon Ross, playing some of it live. Forget Road to Hell and all that 80's stuff. This is white man singin' the blues - and he does it REAL well. All his own compositions, and he has used highly respected session musicians to help him get the sound and the mood just right...Memphis/Delta blues - it's all here, in 2002 from an Englishman. Quite excellent; highly recommended.