A native New Yorker who now divides his time between Tesuque, New Mexico,and Italy, Jono Manson has long been a master of the high art of low-rent song craft. But never has he cut as close to the bone as on âUnder The Stoneâ. No Depression Magazine

14 MP3 Songs
ROCK: Americana, BLUES: New York Blues



Details:
Jono Manson
Under the Stone

A native New Yorker who now divides his time between Tesuque, New Mexico,and Italy, Jono Manson has long been a master of the high art of low-rent song craft. But never has he cut as close to the bone as on âUnder The Stoneâ, the title track from his latest self-produced CD. As high and lonesome as anything off the O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack, it kicks off with a pitch-perfect invocation â âWorld of trouble/ World of worry/ Carry on / carry onâ â and proceeds to home in on death with unblinking eyes.

Recounting a hardscrabble life in which âa hundred prayers/ A thousand needles/ Wonât stop the pain,â Manson returns repeatedly to a mantra that makes the ultimate case for cremation: âThe spirit wonât visit the bones/ Under the stone.â The song is even more potent in the stripped-down acoustic version included as a bonus track.

Though âUnder The Stoneâ is the albumâs crown jewel, it is studded with other gems as well. âWalking Down Your Streetâ is a back-porch picker that tucks a hard-luck tale inside a happy go-lucky shuffle. âGunhill Roadâ celebrates two late, great bass players: Loup Garouâs Jim Gregory, who co-wrote the shit-kickinâ rocker with Neil Thomas; and Blues Travelerâs Bobby Sheehan, who plays on the track and toured with Manson for many years in High Plains Drifter. Both date back to the old New York bar-band scene, invoked as a raucous last-call anthem in âThe Night Before The Morning Afterâ.
CREE McCREE - NO DEPRESSION MAGAZINE - OCTOBER 2002