Customer Reviews

Live As I'll Ever Be

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Chris Smither live is amazing. Just one guy with an acoustic guitar, apparently. But the way he plays that guitar! Over many years he has honed a truly accomplished folk-blues style that has more density than many bands I've heard. Plus, you notice that board under his feet? He pounds out a rhythm with both feet, adding drums! Of course his songwriting is up there with the best, and his singing is intense and affecting. And funny? He had the crowd cracking up between songs just about every time when I heard/saw him at Utah State in Logan last fall.

This album is the next best thing to Smither live. It also brings together a great sample of his recent work, pointing the listener to his series of Nineties Hightone albums (my favorite is UP ON THE LOWDOWN -- see my review -- and HAPPIER BLUE is marred by synthesizers). What do you miss from his live show? The stories, for one. You get one, just a taste, the story of the New Orleans produce man. You also miss some of his great covers -- Lowell George's "Rock and Roll Doctor," and John Hiatt's "Memphis in the Meantime."

So check out this awesome live album, and go see/hear him live the next time he's within 100 miles of you!

You really haven't heard Chris Smither until you've heard him live. He's simply an amazing artist, and one of the best solo acts performing today. The best way to describe his music is it pretty much straddles the fence between folk and blues. All done with acoustic guitars and his two tapping feet he uses as a rhythm section. Believe me when I say, this is all this guy needs. He is a full sounding one man band. Some of my favorite songs off this album are the bluesy "LINK OF CHAIN" and "CAN'T SHAKE THESE BLUES", along with "UP ON THE LOWDOWN", and one of his best songs "I AM THE RIDE". All these songs come from his studio album "UP ON THE LOWDOWN", which I'm partial to because he had a cd release party for this album the night he came through Oklahoma City back in 1995. I got to hear all these songs for the first time in a live setting, which made it that much more special. There was a lot of electricity in the air that night, and that was a concert I will not soon forget. Smither came through the city again in 1996 for the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial Concert. Although it was a sad ocassion, when Chris Smither came on that big stage with just him and his guitar, he played the most inspirational set of any of the big name acts that appeared that night. And it made everybody who walked out of the Civic Center Music Hall that night, feeling a little bit better about everything. Everyone should get to see Chris Smither live at least once in their lives. In the meantime, I highly recommend getting this new "live" cd. This guy is a great songwriter, and there isn't a bad tune on here. And it's the next best thing to seeing him live.

I first heard Chris Smither in concert in Boston's Symphony Hall in '73 when he opened for Doc Watson. Brash and talented and shaking his long blond hair with rock star panache. I think Bonnie Raitt had just recorded Chris' "Love You Like A Man". Been a fan ever since, have all the old LPs.

I saw Chris 2 years ago in a small venue in South Carolina. The long blond hair has turned dark, and the cockiness has given way to quiet confidence.The audience was small, but it didn't faze him, and I heard one of the best shows of my life. He comes across as being humble and appreciative of his fans. The writing wears the badge of life's experiences, good and bad. It's lean, tough, wry, and descriptive. He is an awesome talent in his guitar playing, writing, and singing. My favorite cuts are "No Love Today", and "Small Revelations". The latter has the lyric "Hearing is letting it happen, but to listen's a work of will/Beware of cheap imitations/ Thankful for small revelations". I'm a songwriter - and I would kill for a line like that.

There is not a bad song on the CD, and it's worth the price just to hear Chris do the intro to "No Love Today". I spend a lot of time in my car, and "Live As I'll Ever Be" has been in rotation for at least 8 months. You just don't get tired of it. If I could just figure out how he's playing Small Revelations....

I've been a fan of Chris Smither since his 1972 "Don't It Drag On" LP. When he blasted "Statesboro Blues" and "Friend of the Devil," it was like having an old friend I never met in my living room. I went back and picked up his "I'm A Stranger Too" from 1970, then he disappeared as a recording artist until 1984 with "It Ain't Easy." These were albums to which I continually returned. If I understand correctly, he was battling his own personal devils with alcoholism. Then he returned in 1991 with his live CD "Another Way to Find You" that covered his recordings to that point. Throughout the 90's he consistently put out excellent CDs, followed recently by the classic "Train Home" that came out this year. "Live As I'll Ever Be" was my #1 CD for the year 2000 on my "Class of 2000" list here on Amazon, but I never reviewed it. I also had never seen Chris live, until last Friday night in Chapel Hill. Chris is the quintessential live performer.

What comes across so amazingly live is the great humor in his songs. When he sings, "Seems so dumb to get so excited," on "Can't Shake These Blues," it's not that it's a comedy song, but just that you get the humor of his great spirit. His facial expressions contort to often express a humble self-effacing guy with wry wit. On Friday he related singing at prison where the inmates were a little wary of him at first. Then after a couple of songs "they figured I just hadn't been caught yet."

This disc is a great representation of his live show. All of the songs on this disc are so strong that it's hard to pick highlights. "Hold On" is a great opener. When he did "The Devil's Real," he said his friends showed up at his concert worried that he'd gotten religion. He assured then he hadn't; and they all left. His closer in Chapel Hill was "Link of Chain" which is a great song with his great penchant for lyrical twists, "Fly me like a kiteline smilin' like a goldmine, I don't need to be right." "No Love Today" with its intro about the vegetable man makes you think this will be a funny song about a street seller until the song hits its great pathos, "I could not love to save myself from lonesome desperation, everything I thought was love was worthless imitation." "Cave Man" boasts a gorgeous melody about the supreme loneliness. Chris' guitar on "Small Revelations" is about as expressive as a guitarist gets balanced by his wistful vocals, "Passion is feeling in motion, compassion is standing still." When Chris adopts a song like Robert Johnson's "Dust My Broom," he encompasses it so completely that it's hard to tell that it from his self-penned pieces. There is also a great universality and worldly wisdom that comes through in Chris' songs like, "I'm not the passenger, I am the ride." One of my favorites is "Up On the Lowdown" with its insistent beat and they great rise in melody when Chris sings "That's what's so surprising."

Chris' set "Live As I'll Ever Be" is a great recording of a man in his element. His guitar is so distinctive that just like I can recognize James Taylor's or George Harrison's guitar as individual as their vocals, so too is Chris' guitar unique. I thought this was the best recording of 2000. Enjoy!

My wife introduced me to Chris Smither via his studio albums a number of years ago, but it wasn't until 2001 that I got to see him live. I was absolutely blown away! Although I disagree with the reviewer who doesn't like his studio albums, the live experience is definitely better. A man, a mike, his blue guitar, and his tapping feet - that's all you need!

As someone who grew up on rock rather than blues it really struck me how much better a musician Chris Smither is than anyone else I have seen live (which includes Rush, Primus, and AC/DC as well as Moxy Fruvous, Eddie From Ohio, and Janis Ian - all of whom I like!) He is very charismatic, but what I found most amazing is that while playing these incredible licks he totally ignores his guitar, as opposed to the stereotypical rock guitarist who looks like he is examining the grain on the neck of his guitar during a solo. It's as if C.S. is just twiddling his thumbs, so much is the guitar a part of him.

Do yourself two favors: buy this album, then go see him in person (or vice versa!)

I first heard Chris at a Jazzfest (the real one in New Orleans) years ago when it rained so hard I was the only person sitting in front of the stage. Since then I have grown to realize that his lyrics are poetry and good enough to read by themselves. His music is fantastic and could be listened to as instrumental pieces. Put them together and they take you to a place where you can observe life from the same Zen-aware, humorously ironic perch that Chris sees it. He is one of the best to come along, ever.

Chris Smither never misses during a live performance and this album comes as close to the actual experience as one can get. His ability as a musician is best displayed in front of an audience, and this piece of work captures the energy and flawless performances he has become famous for. I only wish more of his annecdotes had been included. Nevertheless, he brings a new dimension to many songs already presented on other albums which, when incorporated with their produced counterparts, allows a full appreceation of this man's immense talent.

Also, if you ever wondered what a merlitone was, this is your album.

I have seen Chris Smither perform live twice. This is as close to the real experience as you can get. Everything the other reviewers have said is absolutely true. He is a unique performer, the pure exhilaration is incredible. Don't miss this chance to hear a master!

A newcomer to Smither's music, I'm also a total convert. He's won over this mostly classical listener with his highly musical, soulful, intelligently written songs. Live as I'll Ever Be and several other Smithers CDs sit proudly on my shelf next to Beethoven's piano sonatas and English choral music. If you want to try out just one disc, I recommend this one. It's by far the best he's done.

Great fingerpicking, blues guitar. Intelligent, witty lyrics. Just buy it. You won't be disappointed.