Bonepony - Stomp Revival (1995)

I try hard not to post any officially released album without making significant changes to it, because I don't want to be taking away what little royalties musicians are still getting. But every now and then I make exceptions, and this is one. It's my impression this album is out of print in most formats, so hopefully I'll be doing more good than harm by drawing attention to the band's work.

Chances are, you've never heard of Bonepony. They've never had a hit or much radio airplay. I'm not even sure if they're still in existence, since they haven't put out a new studio album since 2006. I heard about them due to word of mouth from friends who I think have great taste in music. They've put out several albums, but in my opinion, their 1995 debut "Stomp Revival" towers above the others. I consider this a "five-star" album, and I'm very sparing in giving any album that rating.

The band's music is hard to describe, because it doesn't easily find in any musical niche. They're a trio, and they don't even have a drummer. Instead, they've employed a "stomp shoe" - an amplifier built into a shoe - in order to create a stomping beat. Rather than describe them further, I'll quote from the allmusic.com review of this album:

"Scott Johnson, Bryan Ward, and Kenny Mims employ mandolins, fiddles, dobros, and dulcimers on their debut album, which would seem to suggest a traditional country or bluegrass sound. But they wield their instruments as aggressively as if they were electric guitars and howl their lyrics as though they were singing punk rock, so the result is a lively hybrid of old timey and new wave."

I think that describes them well. I like their style, but what really impresses me is the quality of the songwriting and the passion of the performances. In a more just musical world, songs like "Sugar on the Pill" and "Poor Boy Blues" would have been all over classic rock radio.

Anyway, if you generally like the type of music I post on this blog, please give this album a try. It's got the general rootsy, acoustic sound I enjoy and post a lot of, yet it's very lively. If I saw these guys in concert, I'd want to get up and dance. So it's a good album to put you in an upbeat mood. If you like this, hopefully you'll be inspired to check out other albums they've made. They also have a couple of live albums that are particularly good, since the band shines in a live setting.

01 Poor Boy Blues (Bonepony)
02 Where the Water's Deep (Bonepony)
03 Blue Blue Blue (Bonepony)
04 P.S.O.B. (Bonepony)
05 Right Time to Love (Bonepony)
06 Soap (Bonepony)
07 Seeds of Peace (Bonepony)
08 Bleeker Street (Bonepony)
09 Shrouded in Blue (Bonepony)
10 Travelin' Stew (Bonepony)
11 Rebecca (Bonepony)
12 Feast of Life (Bonepony)
13 Sugar on the Pill (Bonepony)

https://www.upload.ee/files/15328109/Bnepny_1995_StmpRevivl_atse.zip.html

The album cover art is the exact officially released cover art, with no changes.