Tanignak Productions Presents:

“The Love and the Mercy” by

This page originally posted in 2000, reformatted in 2020

New comments from Tim, 2020: I just listened to these sound samples as I’m rebuilding the web page, and they are as fresh as the day we recorded them! This album really does have a timeless feel. There’s a depth in the lyrics that blesses me afresh, as though I had nothing to do with this album and was hearing it for the first time. If you are the least susceptible to retro acoustic folk-pop early Jesus People roots country gospel rock, then this album is surely for you!

Tim’s original 2000 comments:

The Stone Table String Band is me and a few of my like-minded musician friends, who seek out meaningful songs both new and old and present them with a fresh, folk-rock twist. Most of the time, the “band” is a recording configuration of my multi-tracked vocals and instrumentals, assisted by Bruce Adams or Kelly Smith on bass, and occasionally joined by my wife Debbie adding vocals.  But from 1999 through 2002, the Stone Table String Band was a real, touring band, with the addition of Mike Mooney, Dave Fortschneider, and our daughter Kirstin. We recorded a new CD, called “The Love and the Mercy.”  

The album has a deliberately retro folkie sound that is purposely timeless, as the sound samples below demonstrate. The sound is an informal blend of 60’s folk-rock, 70’s “Jesus People” influences and contemporary acoustic styles, with roots country and bluegrass elements thrown in when the mood strikes. “It sounds like a bunch of friends singing together in a living room somewhere.”

Most people today do not know what “Folk” is, but they like it when they hear it. The main features of Folk are an informal yet heartfelt delivery, a tendency to take the song and not the singer seriously, and a willingness to go deliberately retro (but never PBS-documentary serious) whenever the song calls for it. The sound available to a group of musicians if the electricity went off is pretty close to the sound I strive for, yet digital recording equipment, editing and signal processing are welcome. The most important thing is the song itself, and the message that moved us to share it with you. We (and our songs) will grow on you. And if you grab a guitar and say, “Hey, I could do THAT!” then we'd consider our mission accomplished. Keep singing! Timothy Smith, 2000

The beautiful Stone Table logo created for this album by Randy Berk, inspired by Narnia.

The Love and the Mercy (2000)

The Stone Table String Band's CD

(And Tanignak Productions’ First Release)

This great album features twelve songs, including six original songs written by the participants. The cover songs include a bluegrass hymn, two versions of songs first sung by the Wilson McKinley (the pioneering Jesus People rock band, and a main feature of this web site), and songs by several of the great recent Contemporary Christian songwriters. Instrumentation ranges from electric bass and acoustic and electric lead guitars to banjo, mandolin and even a homemade string bass made out of a five-gallon oil can (on two numbers).

Throughout, the lead singing is complemented by layered harmonies and homemade percussion (such as pocket change in an old sock). We are truly pleased with the result, which was all recorded in an ordinary (and still functioning) bedroom from June 1999 to January 2000 using digital multi-track recording technology. This blend of state of the art and deliberately retro is what makes the Stone Table String Band so refreshing and unique.

The track titles of The Love and the Mercy (With Sound Samples) are:

He Pulled Me Out of Trouble (J. Hicks) SAMPLE

The Love and the Mercy (T. Smith) SAMPLE

I’m Glad (M. Mooney) SAMPLE

He Is a Friend of Mine (Wilson McKinley / McGuinn)

That’s What Faith Must Be (M. Card)

Everything Is in Your Hands (T. Butler)

He Set Me Free (A. Brumley) SAMPLE

Warmth of His Love (D. Fortschneider) SAMPLE

Lift Me One More Time (Mike Messer) SAMPLE

Grace Will Lead Me Home (Newton / K. Smith) SAMPLE

Sparrow (C. D. Martin / Wilson McKinley) SAMPLE

To See Jesus (M. Mooney) SAMPLE

Participants in The Love and the Mercy CD are:  

Timothy Smith, band producer, engineer, arranger, lead and harmony vocals, percussion effects, acoustic guitars, banjo, mandolin and mop-handle bass, composer of the title track, and lead singer on six of the songs.

Mike Mooney, acoustic lead and rhythm guitars, composer and lead singer of two songs (“I’m Glad” and “To See Jesus”).

Kelly Smith* sings lead vocal on two songs, composer of the new tune on “Grace Will Lead Me Home,” and electric bass on a few of the tracks.

Bruce Adams,* electric bass on most of the tracks.

Dave Fortschneider, chief encourager, composer of “Warmth of His Love,” and high harmony on most of the tracks.

Kirstin Smith (Tim’s daughter) sang lead on “That’s What Faith Must Be” and contributed beautiful harmonies on the title track and “Sparrow.”

Mitch Brandon contributed electric guitar on “He Is a Friend of Mine,” and harmonica on “The Warmth of His Love.”

Dale Longtin did the beautiful flute work on “Everything Is In Your Hands.”

Randy Berk did the fabulous original artwork and logo for us.

*  For those of you keeping up with such things, Kelly Smith is my brother, and was the bassist as we led singing at Camp Woody from 1973-1977, before becoming a guitarist and worship leader in his own right.  He served as worship leader for a church in Anchorage for years.  Bruce Adams served with us in Camp Woody in the 1970’s, and plays bass on all the tracks of the classic “Birthday Music” and “Old Tracks” CD’s available on the CD Music Page. Mike and Dave are Emmaus buddies, and Mike served at Camp Woody in 1998 as lay pastor, counselor, and worship leader.

To order this and other STSB albums (Postage Paid Worldwide) click on the graphic below to return to the CD Music Page:

Tanignak.com is most famous as the web home of the Wilson McKinley Jesus Rock Band. Tanignak Productions has released two albums of this pioneering Jesus Rock band’s classic tracks.  To find sound samples, my article which tells the band’s story, and CD ordering information, click on the band’s logo below.

For more about Jesus Music, Camp Woody, or historical articles of Kodiak Island and village life, including many more historic photos, please follow the links in the photos below.

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