Ever pick up an album that you expected to hate, though you
couldn’t give one good reason why you felt that way? Believe me, in
over a decade of reviewing music, I’ve often grabbed an album from
the Inbox, and said to myself, “Boy, this is gonna be a bad
experience.”
Sometimes, though, my first impressions are terribly wrong. In
the case of Chris Smither and his latest release
Drive You Home Again, my expectations were totally off-base,
and it turned out that I not only liked this country-folk disc, I
loved it.
Smither has two things going for him: the power of being a good
songwriter and the voice of life’s experiences. Put these two
things together, and you can literally see the sparks of magic fly.
Just the title track alone is proof enough of the magic that
Smither possesses in his vocals and acoustic guitar work.
Now, there are some touches I could have lived without, such as
the New Orleans funeral-style horns at the start of “No Love
Today”, which provide 30 seconds that almost ruin one helluva great
song. Fortunately for Smither, these moments are few and far
between.
The backing band that provides structure to these songs
(including Stephen Bruton, who will soon be getting his own turn in
the spotlight on “The Daily Vault”) is a wise and wide collection
of talented musicans, all who seem to click perfectly with
Smither’s style of folk. A track like “Hey Hey Hey” could have
easily been ruined by a backing band who wanted to take a harder
edge to the song in the opening seconds. Fortunately for Smither
(and for us as the listeners), the musicians treat the music with
the respect that is due for it.
For the most part,
Drive You Home Again hits the listener with winner after
winner. From tracks like “Steel Guitar” (which, I’ll admit, has to
grow on you) and “Don’t Make Promises” (
damn, I love this song!) to “Hold On II” and “So Long”,
Smither is in what some would call “the zone”, and the end result
is incredible.
Don’t be scared off by a label like “country-folk”; the fact is,
the music that Smither creates transcends all of these genres, and
is one that can be enjoyed and appreciated by anyone and everyone.
Drive You Home Again is an album that should win Smither a
wider fan base, and should spark a serious interest in his entire
discography. Don’t let
Drive You Home Again pass you in the carpool lane; make sure
you’ve checked this one out for yourself.
