Customer Reviews

Up on the Lowdown

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It has some strong competition, but UP ON THE LOWDOWN is the best of Chris Smither's many fine albums. (In fact, only one of his 1990s releases is subpar -- HAPPIER BLUE, which is overproduced with synthesizers. On the upside it has two great covers -- John Hiatt's "Memphis In the Meantime" and Lowell George's "Rock and Roll Doctor.")

I saw Chris live last fall (2000 -- at USU in Logan, Utah), and it was a great show -- he is a great guitarist, and he is really funny in between songs. I've laughed at some of his songs since the concert after hearing the spin he put on them. His one-man two-foot rhythm section (with a board!) is priceless. But he's not just funny, he has a serious message as well. The lyrics to songs like "I Am the Ride" are Buddhist gems. If you take them to heart they can change your life. "Can't Shake These Blues" is just awesome. Check out not only the Dylan cover here ("What Was It You Wanted," from OH MERCY), but the back cover of HAPPIER BLUE, with Chris sitting on a porch with big sneakers, just like Bob on the back of UNDER THE RED SKY. He's just cracking up.

Smither is one of the most eloquent and intelligent performers on the solo circuit. With only guitar, voice and foot tapping rhythm section he squeezes more emotion and wisdom and world weary irony out of a song than anyone I know. He is a great interpreter but his originals are the best tracks here - Link of Chain, 'Deed I Do, Can't Shake these Blues and the fantastic The Ride. No other contemporary songwriter pens a better, cleverer lyric and very few engage the listener so well. Best seen live but this CD and "Small Revelations" are priceless souvenirs.

Heard Chris Smither live at Downpatrick Folk Club - one of the best live concerts i've ever been to. The man is a genius with lyrics, subtle, sophisticated, clever, funny, honest, and a world weary voice that is perfect for the material. Brilliant guitar picking style. This album is full of classics - the original "Link of Chain", "Deed I Do", "Can't Shake These Blues" and utterly fantastic "I Am The Ride" plus lovely cover of Dylan's "What Was It You Wanted". He creates a wonderful mood (any time of the day). Accept no substitutes!

The above-entitled headline needs some explanation. This is not a takeoff on Prince's various transformations. Over the past year or so I have been reviewing CDs, old and new, of various male folk artists like the artist under review, Chris Smither, who participated in and drove the folk revival of the early 1960's and are still active in that milieu. I have posed a question in these reviews about why these very talented performers never attained the fame of Bob Dylan, the acknowledged "king of the hill" male folk singer from that era. As a "response" to that inquiry I recently received an e-mail from Chris's publicity agent.

Did this "flak" write to convey her thanks for the genuinely positive and heartfelt reviews that I have given Chris's work? No. Did she argue that I had it all wrong and that Chris should really be declared the chief god of the folk pantheon as a good PR agent would? No. Alternatively, did she declare that I could not tell Chris's blue guitar from a blue moon. No. What she inquired about was my use of the`s' word in my reviews. The`s' word being my mistake of putting an`s' at the end of Chris's last name. Well, ho hum. However in this reviewer's household we have virtually every one of Chris's CDs so the rest of the reviews of his work in this space will be burdened by being introduced under the sign of the missing`s'.

But enough of that. To paraphrase a line from one of Chris's lyrics "Let It Go" this `should not concern a man of my stature'. And that is the heart of the matter. With or without the`s' Chris has the goods that make a great folk performer. That is the point behind my including him along with the likes of Dave Van Ronk, Phil Ochs, Tom Paxton and Tom Rush in the first place. This and future CD reviews will also go under the sign of the main points made in earlier reviews as below:

"I do not know if Chris Smither, like his contemporary Bob Dylan, started out wanting to be the "king of the hill" among male folk singers but he certainly had some things going for him. He plays that signature blue guitar for all it is worth on such covers as Jesse Winchester's classic "Talk Memphis" yet can turn it down several notches for a song like " I Am The Ride" and then goes softer on reflective songs like "Can't Shake These Blues". Moreover he is as capable as a songwriter as any of writing of longing, lost love, thoughts of mortality and...being stupid in the world. Witness "Up On The Lowdown" on that last point. Then turn it up a notch with a bittersweet song like, well, "Bittersweet". Yes, Chris had the tools to go out and slay the dragons of the folk world. This is one of Chris Smithers', oops, Smither's five star works. That work may not be well known outside the precincts of the graying folk world, but it should be.

Chris Smither is one of those rare artists who has the talent to be able to turn the most mundane subjects into music that sounds fantastic. People reading this may already be familiar with his uncanny musicianship using the most simple gear but some may not be aware of the sheer beauty of his poetry. This is a terrific album. Do yourself a favour and give it a listen.