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Leave the Light On
: :This album's title cut finds the veteran folk-blues troubadour, now in his early 60s, pondering the possibility of living to be 100, thus setting the thematic tone for an uncommonly reflective, meditative set. The ragtime Zen of 'Open Up,' the philosophical 'Seems So Real,' and the rock-bottom despair in his cover of Peter Case's 'Cold Trail Blues' all suggest that the virtuosic fingerpicker and evocatively smoky vocalist has reached a point in his life where he's pondering the biggest issues of mortality, a perspective that informs the complex relationship in 'Father's ...
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Train Home
: :New Orleans-bred folk-bluesman Smither has few peers. As a musician he's expanded the six-strings-and-foot-stomps delivery of John Lee Hooker into an elegant, original style that draws as much on the sweet jazz melodies of gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt as the spidery swing of country bluesman John Hurt. And his writing has a poet's eye for detail, as when he's pondering mortality on the disc's title track. There's also a gentle, sincere quality that comes through the dusty tones of his voice, until he drops it to a mean-eyed growl to capture ...
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Up on the Lowdown
: :New Orleans-bred folk-bluesman Smither has few peers. As a musician he's expanded the six-strings-and-foot-stomps delivery of John Lee Hooker into an elegant, original style that draws as much on the sweet jazz melodies of gypsy guitarist Django Reinhardt as the spidery swing of country bluesman John Hurt. And his writing has a poet's eye for detail, as when he's pondering mortality on the disc's title track. There's also a gentle, sincere quality that comes through the dusty tones of his voice, until he drops it to a mean-eyed growl to capture ...
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Live As I'll Ever Be
:Album Description:Live compilation for the blues revival, guitarist, singer/songwriter, recorded over a period of four years, includes 14 tracks from 8 different shows. Smither's songs have been covered by such artists as Bonnie Raitt. :The accomplished Smither, after 30-odd years of performing and recording, has carved out a distinctive musicality and a close relationship with his audience. This live record makes letter-perfect use of both attributes. A far cry from 1999's excellent but instrumentally diverse Drive You Home Again, this is a spare, intimate recording featuring just guitar and voice. But ...
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Drive You Home Again
: :Bonnie Raitt may call Chris Smither 'my Eric Clapton,' but Smither's importance has less to do with instrumental prowess than with fusing sonic textures and with finely crafted lyrics. Smither's best songs aspire to poetic insights via the blues, evoking troubled, complicated moods through the incessant, slinky groove of his guitar. Working again with session player and producer Stephen Bruton, Smither weds lilting acoustic blues arrangements with more ambitious, spacious sounds--including diverse percussive rhythms, piano, organ, and blues harp. The sonics are at times reminscent of Daniel Lanois's work with Bob ...
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Small Revelations
: :Bonnie Raitt may call Chris Smither 'my Eric Clapton,' but Smither's importance has less to do with instrumental prowess than with fusing sonic textures and with finely crafted lyrics. Smither's best songs aspire to poetic insights via the blues, evoking troubled, complicated moods through the incessant, slinky groove of his guitar. Working again with session player and producer Stephen Bruton, Smither weds lilting acoustic blues arrangements with more ambitious, spacious sounds--including diverse percussive rhythms, piano, organ, and blues harp. The sonics are at times reminscent of Daniel Lanois's work with Bob ...
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It Ain't Easy
: :Bonnie Raitt may call Chris Smither 'my Eric Clapton,' but Smither's importance has less to do with instrumental prowess than with fusing sonic textures and with finely crafted lyrics. Smither's best songs aspire to poetic insights via the blues, evoking troubled, complicated moods through the incessant, slinky groove of his guitar. Working again with session player and producer Stephen Bruton, Smither weds lilting acoustic blues arrangements with more ambitious, spacious sounds--including diverse percussive rhythms, piano, organ, and blues harp. The sonics are at times reminscent of Daniel Lanois's work with Bob ...
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Happier Blue
: :Somewhere between Johnny Cash and Lightnin' Hopkins, you'll find Chris Smither, whose first studio recording in 15 years, originally released in 1993, was re- issued by Tone Cool Records. A fixture on the '60s folk scene, Smither also has several ties to the blues; he's been covered by Bonnie Raitt and John Mayall and is a devotee of Mississippi John Hurt. That's reflected on several tracks on this album, notably the fun, up-tempo 'Already Gone' and the spooky, tension-laden 'The Devil's Real.' Smither's folkier selections are more of an acquired taste, ...
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I'm a Stranger Too!
: :Somewhere between Johnny Cash and Lightnin' Hopkins, you'll find Chris Smither, whose first studio recording in 15 years, originally released in 1993, was re- issued by Tone Cool Records. A fixture on the '60s folk scene, Smither also has several ties to the blues; he's been covered by Bonnie Raitt and John Mayall and is a devotee of Mississippi John Hurt. That's reflected on several tracks on this album, notably the fun, up-tempo 'Already Gone' and the spooky, tension-laden 'The Devil's Real.' Smither's folkier selections are more of an acquired taste, ...
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Don't It Drag On
: :Somewhere between Johnny Cash and Lightnin' Hopkins, you'll find Chris Smither, whose first studio recording in 15 years, originally released in 1993, was re- issued by Tone Cool Records. A fixture on the '60s folk scene, Smither also has several ties to the blues; he's been covered by Bonnie Raitt and John Mayall and is a devotee of Mississippi John Hurt. That's reflected on several tracks on this album, notably the fun, up-tempo 'Already Gone' and the spooky, tension-laden 'The Devil's Real.' Smither's folkier selections are more of an acquired taste, ...
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