KITCHENER — The voices of inmates at Grand Valley Institution for Women will be heard around the world through a groundbreaking new album released online. It’s the first album written and recorded at a federal women’s prison in Canada, and available for anyone to listen for free. “I hope that the music first of all moves them on its own …
“There’s a lot about this record that reminds me of Van Morrison, the deep spirituality and the fluid jazz notes being the foremost. Brown has a range of talents… He’s a fearless artist.”
“An album best heard in the late hours, preferably with a broken heart or a sense of ennui, PACEM is an excellent collection of songs on which to ponder.”
“The songs are big and bold, unafraid, unashamed to flaunt their heritage… This is the work of a veteran who still has things to say.”
“Pacem is about hope, grief and love, but first and foremost it is about friendship and the obvious joy of playing together.”
“…Toronto’s Stephen Stanley certainly sounds like the type of guy you’d like to hang out with — his is an engaging brand of rock for grown-ups, awash with E Street flourishes and head-bobbing harmonies. “
“Roots rock band have to mean it or things will apart pretty damn quickly. But when it’s done right, it can be great and heartfelt. Canadian quartet The Stephen Stanley Band are pushing all the right buttons on their new album Jimmy & the Moon…”
“The song ‘Love, The World’ is about a number of things to me, and the meaning keeps shifting since writing it. What is constant is compassion. It is a bit of a mystery, but it feels like compassion is loaded with light and dark, which is why it feels risky; especially since there is no other way through… I have …
“Back in the early ‘90s, Lowest Of The Low seemed far ahead of their time in terms of adding true song craftsmanship to a post-punk template. Now with Jimmy & The Moon, the Stephen Stanley Band fully embodies that approach, while adding to the legacy of his past accomplishments.”
“Keeper of the Flame is a delicate, thoughtful shuffler led by piano and Brown’s sincere vocals that focuses on following your inner light.”
“The other half is the album’s musical sophistication and songwriting scope. The power of Jimmy & The Moon lies in the fact that while it’s imbued in Canadiana, it doesn’t allow itself to be limited by it. The musicianship is grand and superior… Warm, pure nationalistic sincerity with worldly swagger. Albums like this one make me proud to be Canadian.”
“Stanley and producer Brown have created some adventurous and jangly spins of rock/pop and folk energy that shine the spotlight on Stanley’s formidable songwriting, vocal, and guitar-playing skills.”
“…the album quickly captured my heart. Pacem warms you on cold winter days with music that feels like a warm fire. It is also music that overflows with feeling and talent.” (via Google Translate)
“Reminding me a bit of The Rainmakers Flirting With the Universe, The Stephen Stanley Band’s Jimmy & The Moon is a blast of Americana that mixes just enough rock to keep listeners invigorated without detraction. They are a terrific band…”
“As one of Canada’s consummate musicians over the past three decades, Hugh Christopher Brown (better known to many as Chris Brown through his partnership with vocalist Kate Fenner and their former band Bourbon Tabernacle Choir) has always tapped into the spiritual healing power of song…It’s the kind of soul music few artists outside of, say, Van Morrison, ever attempt…”
“Hugh Christopher “Chris” Brown has a tendency to find music — actually, he would say that it finds him — in the most unexpected places: while at a funeral, sitting in a Toronto lawyer’s kitchen, or even from behind bars.”
“Next to Me” from The Stephen Stanley Band’s new record ‘Jimmy & The Moon’ produced by Hugh Christopher Brown. Featuring Hadley McCall Thackston.
“From the beginning, I wanted this video to be black and white, it completely was the tone of the song for me. So, set on the beaches and roads of Wolfe Island, featuring Hadley McCall Thackston’s haunting performance, this was exactly as it was meant to be.”
“This is Brown’s first proper solo recording in years, and to make it he drew extensively from the community he’s cultivated on Wolfe Island, where he moved from New York City in the last decade… It’s the most musically diverse collection Brown has ever put out, and it’s a welcome return from a songwriter who has a lot to give.” …
“Pacem is one of those albums that works on the listener from the inside out. The more I listen, the more I am astonished by its depth and intricacy. The album begins with a Chant of St. Ignatius extolling the divinity of all things and ends with a lyrical, plaintive folk song. Between these two pieces are masterfully constructed songs, …
