Randall Kromm has received a stellar review his new album "Rough and Polished Stones from Rootstime in Belgium!
Randall Kromm is an experienced folk singer and songwriter from Boston who rediscovered and reinvented his musical tastes later in life.
In 2011 that reinvention led to the release of his debut album "Water Wheel" and in 2014 a second album followed with "Time Will Not Let Us Stay" which was a mix of folk and bluegrass songs.
Album three "Rough And Polished Stones," is the title of this 11-song record with ten new own compositions and one re-recorded version of the song "Water Wheel", the title track of his first CD.
The musical style used for the songs on this third album varies between folk, gospel, country, and bluegrass which has led to a uniquely varied and pleasant listenable album as a whole. Age-old song themes like love and romance, seen from the perspective of a middle-aged man, are the main subject of several songs on this album.
The songs are also very nicely orchestrated by guitar, violin and keyboard work, with jazz accordionist Joe Barbato in "Why Do We Ask Why," and Billy Novick on penny whistle in the traditional sounding folk song "Down To The Waterfall" and on clarinet in the album title track "Rough And Polished Stones."
Interesting names in the list of musicians present in this recording are those of Grace and Emma Kromm, the two grown-up daughters of Randall Kromm who provide beautiful harmony vocals on a number of songs.
The opening track is "Love In The Middle Ages," a folk-rock tune about how to deal with love and change as one gets older. The "Arms Wide Open" tune almost gospel-like invites the listeners to continue to live with a positive attitude despite all kinds of threats in the current world.
The violin-guided acoustic folk ballad "Desert Stars" (see video) in our opinion one of the most captivating songs on this record. Then there are some nice songs with, among other things, the piano ballad "Friday Morning" on which the daughters sing along harmoniously again and the "Every Wrong Thing" with a caribbean feel. Looking back at fun family moments from the past may be accompanied by a bluegrass song "When We Remember When." There is no lull or boredom when listening to this third album by Randall Kromm.
A well done, very positive recording of songs throughout on this third album of Randall Kromm's "Rough And Polished Stones."
Rootstime - Belgium
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MORE ABOUT RANDALL KROMM
A lifelong musician with a background in musical theater, early music, and the 1980s Boston indy pop scene, Randall Kromm reinvented himself as a folksinger in 2009 and soon realized he'd found his musical home. Playing at coffeehouses, open mikes, and clubs in the greater Boston area, Randall quickly distinguished himself as a songwriter and performer. In the years since, he has performed sold-out shows at Club Passim, New England's premier folk venue, released three CDs, Water Wheel, Holidays and Homecomings, and Time Won't Let Us Stay, and received a multitude of accolades from the music community, including Christine Lavin and Don White.
"Clever songs of love and age from Randall Kromm on "Rough And Polished Stones." Grab your favorite cocktail, sit back, laugh and yeah, sniffle a little!" Joltin' Joe - Radio Nowhere
A prolific songwriter, but also a busy family man, Randall regularly debuts new material through his New Song Video Blog, which features home-spun videos of Randall's songs recorded in and around his home in Winchester, Massachusetts, and in a family vacation home in the small town of Belvidere, Vermont--the inspiration for many of the songs on Time Won't Let Us Stay.
What people are saying
Christine Lavin, a nationally touring folksinger, has hailed Randall's song "Water Wheel" as a "modern classic" and "a new folk standard." Lavin called Kromm out of the audience at a recent show in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to play the song for her fans.
New England performing legend Don White covered the song "Water Wheel" on his 2010 release Winning Streak. White, who has recorded 11 CDs, had never covered another artist's music, but says the song "spoke to me deeply and immediately. My hope is that now lots of people will make the effort to discover the work of this very talented man."
Ellen Schmidt, a musician and producer of folk shows in the Boston area calls Randall "one of the finest songwriters I have heard in the past couple of years. . . Randall can write about the ordinary things that are part of living, family, love, and work and touch his audience every time."
Dan Cloutier, host of the Amazing Things Arts Center open mike and founder of Birch Beer Records, concurs: "Simply put, Randall Kromm is a masterful songwriter. He has the rare ability to look into the life of the common American and see the joys and pains we all have."
Veteran folk performer Tom Smith agrees, saying "Randall’s songs of common life, love, family, hopes, and uncertainty are presented like a conversation with a friend over a dinner table. Intelligent yet fun, relaxed yet musically interesting, introspective yet universal – I find my thoughts returning to his music long after each performance."
More at Randall's website https://www.randallkromm.com/
Rough and Polished Stones now available on iTunes click HERE
Randall's CD Release Concert was held at Club Passim, November 6, 2017. Click HERE for upcoming shows.
WEBSITE click HERE