Customer Reviews

Smart Kid

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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I caught the Clumsy Lovers last year at a Celtic fest and they blew the house away. I've bought some of their earlier albums and they didn't capture the quirkiness and energy. Smart Kid does. It would be hard for me to have a favorite song since I love the whole album. There's Celtic, bluegrass and Jamaican influences way down but its all Clumsy Lover's music. Fantastic musicianship, great singing and wonderfully crafted songs. When I bought this album a couple of months ago I was listening to it all the time and still play it a lot. By the way, I like this album.

Clumsy Lovers took their game to another level with last year's "After The Flood", when their long-established ability to entertain and mesmerize with musical prowess (and high-energy hijinx) was finally matched by studio aptitude and stellar songwriting. But they've hit another gear altogether with this album. Superior to any of their albums by far, this is a contender for album of the year in any genre.

What makes this so exceptional is that they have melded great singer/songwriter material with the celtic and bluegrass romps they are famous for, without sacrificing either. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but on "Smart Kid" the Clumsy Lovers serve two masters well. Maybe three, if you count the music lovers, who should make like Smart Kids and buy this up in droves.

This CD is so fun! We saw the band, and liked their music. The CD is even better than we expected. We play it over and over and over!

How do you explain this album. How do you explain the Clumsy Lovers. Long a fixture on the Irish Festival circuit, with the release of Smart Kid, the band shows a wide range of musical stylings.

For celtic purists, "Coming Home" and the instrumental "Cock of the North" are for you. I have heard a lot of comparisions to Bare Naked Ladies, based in part the the Claire Dane's reference in "Bobby Banjo", and to a lessor extent "This is Clumsy Love". Bluegrass fans will love "People I Have Been Meaning To Thank." "Coming Home" reminds me of "Already Gone" by the Eagles. Likewise I can see "Don't Worry" comming out of a younger Bruce Springsteen, and "Rockefeller" would be at home on a current song list. Speaking of the boss, if you are a fan of We Shall Overcome, the Seager Sessions, you will love this group. Just when you think the band might get to "pop"centric on "Smart Kid" or "Better Days" Andrea's fiddle and Jason;s banjo pull you back into familiar territory. We do have a new version of "London Bridge" which after appearing on Barnburner, Still Clumsy After All These Years, Live, and the bootleg cocnert from Denver, still manges to find a new sound.

After not getting lead vocal time on After the Flood Andrea gets to shine on "Okay, Alright" one of the funnist songs never to make it on the radio. It almost feels like a follow up to "Single Girl" from Under the Covers, only the trials of the workplace are the scence rather than the pitfalls of marriage.

Fianlly, my favorite. "Not Long For This World" is a lovely ballad by Chris dealing with impending loss. Andrea plays a delicate fiddle to start, envoking a feeling of mourning. Then Trevor's basic guitar cords and smooth vocals tell a story of approaching death and a joy for life. It is a love song too. IF you have ever been with someone you know would be taken form you far to soon, you will relate to this. The bridge between the second and third verse feels like we are in church and the congregation rises lead by the strenght of Gord's drumming. The final verses is the bittersweet moment with loss of life, the promise of something better, and plea that "this one time, let me be right". Jason's banjo and Andrea's fiddle playing lead us out and provide fitting passage as we leave the world of The Smart Kid and move on to the next stage in this exciting band's career.

I was recently introduced to their music through a few free downloads. Needless to say, I fell in love. Good album, fun music, and talent beyond anything you here on the radio today. The Clumsy Lovers are definitely worth a listen.

I've become a big-time Clumsy Lovers fan over the last year & a half or so. My first introduction to their music was live in concert. It was amazing! So good that I've seen them a total of 6 times now (last time was just last week). As good as they are, the recorded music doesn't quite do them justice, but they do just get better with time. I have nothing but praise for this CD.

Great album A must buy for any Clumsy Lovers fan or for anyone that loves fun music