Time Stands Still

Chris's latest record, the next best thing to live!
I saw Chris in Atlanta on October 17th, 2009, at Eddie's Attic -- great show! Amazingly it had been 10 years since I last caught him live in Logan, Utah. I bought this CD, TIME STANDS STILL, at the show. I haven't been able to review it until now because while the live show was still fresh in my mind the recordings were just not as good, not as vivid, not as funny. Fortunately, with the passage of time I now associate my memories of the live show with these recordings instead of in contrast to the recordings. So with a little distance I can now say, yes, this is another excellent Chris Smither album! If you are not familiar with Smither, he is a superb songwriter and a fantastic acoustic blues guitarist. Like Bob Dylan, he has a great expressive voice that you wouldn't expect to hear at the opera or on Top 40 radio. The opener is "Don't Call Me Stranger," which was hilarious live, a guy quite crudely trying to get a girl into bed with lines like "I ain't evil, I'm just bad," and "come on baby, feel that infection, I'm your cure." Smither is credited with vocals, acoustic guitar and feet, and if you've seen him live you understand that he is his own rhythm section, tapping his feet on a board. (On the record, we also have David on electric guitar and Zak on percussion -- I believe David is producer David Goodrich, but Zak remains last name-less.) Next up is the quite serious song for Chris's wife, the title track. It is quite beautiful and moving and brought a hush to Eddie's Attic. The third song was my favorite live, "Surprise, Surprise." You get perhaps 1/3 or 1/2 a sense of how funny this one is live, a commentary on tough economic times and more, with lines like "the trickle down will float you up, surprise, surprise, it ain't so" and an appeal to God, "I promise I will bow down to your will, you waited for an answer, surprise, surprise, you waitin' still." "I Don't Know" was written for Chris's little daughter, and his timing with the repeated refrain had the room in the palm of his hand, laughing with delight. "Call Yourself" is a serious number calling for some introspection. The moving "Old Man Down" was written for Chris's father who recently died. "I Told You So" rocks out like a rowdy Richard Thompson number, making full use of the electric guitar on record. "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" is the Dylan cover for this record, and a fine one it is. Two more covers are included, the classic "Miner's Blues" by Frank Hutchison and Mark Knopfler's "Madame Geneva's," with a Celtic feel, as well as another original "Someone Like Me," an unrequited love song. For anyone checking out Chris's music I recommend his 2000 release Live As I'll Ever Be as his best recording, live from 1999 (see my review). I would recommend Up on the Lowdown from 1995 as his best studio release (see my review). He followed that with another outstanding set in 1997, Small Revelations. TIME STANDS STILL is his second release on Signature Records, after Leave the Light On in 2006. Chris remains on the road and I couldn't be happier to know that he already has another Atlanta appearance on his schedule for Fall 2010!

Great songwriting love the gravel in voice
Smithers is new to me, thought I had heard all the old guys who could not sing like birds. His songwriting is methodical, concise, and has a rhythm of prose in it, like a good book. His song "I don't know" is a masterpiece. Way to go Chris!

Another fine blues / folk release from Smither
No one has firmly planted his stamp on modern acoustic folk/blues like Chris Smither. With 13 albums to his credit, Smither has been generating his brand of earthy acoustic blues for some 39+ years. Time Stands Still is a typical blend of Smither's blues/folk, grounded by his excellent (if not restrained) guitar work and his trademark singing voice. Songs shift and shuffle - blues tunes to the core, but delivered in a folk format - voice and guitar in front - light percussion/bass supporting. Smither sticks to his acoustic blues format - it's what he does best, and he does it better than anyone I know of. GENRES: Acoustic Blues. BUY IF YOU LIKE: Keb' Mo'. MUST HEAR TRACKS: "Time Stands Still," "I Don't Know," "Call Yourself."

Worth a Million Bucks
I've been following Chris since his days on the Poppy label. I missed him when alcohol took over his life. I welcomed him back when he started recording again. I saw Chris a few years back when 40 Acres brought him to Chapel Hill. He signed a CD for my wife. We both loved watching him, just Chris & his guitar. My wife's moved on to the great song in the sky, but I'm still spinning Chris' discs. "Old Man Down" is a sad & powerful lament about the passing of a parent, "It's light, but it's way too heavy now." I frequently still spin Emmylou Harris' recording of Chris' song "Slow Surprise" on The Horse Whisperer: Songs From and Inspired by the Motion Picture. From "Slow Surprise" to "Surprise Surprise" on this disc, it is one of my favorites with David Goodrich's electric guitar giving the song punch, "It's the coil of common problems. Don't bet the farm on getting them unwound; by the time you get them straightened out, surprise, surprise, you underground." "I Told You So" grabs me with Goodrich's electric guitar again and Chris' vocal snarling like Tony Joe White's cousin, "It's worth a million bucks & you could give me half; It's the way we live as though we'll never die, live like it's nothin' but an alibi." Chris' version of Bob Dylan's "It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry" is surprisingly effective. I usually don't care for it when interpreters slow down the tempo from an original, but here Chris' vocals are so gentle that it moves the song in a different direction, "Don't my gal look fine, mama, coming after me?". "Time Stands Still" has its share of diamonds to make this an excellent CD. Enjoy!

Pure Smither
If you like Smither you will love this album. He comes out of New Orleans and you can feel that...like the mud of the Mississippi...weighing heavy on every song...his parents were professors at Tulane...so you glimpse the refelction of a rare, reflected intellectual perspective in there too...this is deeply felt material...a funereal tune about burying his dad...a bright calypso song about trying to explain the world to his three year old daughter...all good...he's at his peak here...the guitar technique is, as always, superlative...maybe a bit less exhuberant that in earlier stuff but absolutely perfect...the vocals feel like they're hard wired directly to your soul...less vocal range...more god damn burn...if you folow he does...you know he covers Dylan better than anyone...if you like that...there is a treat for you here...try it out...really...it's pure Smither.