Chris Smither is one of the most consistent artists working in americana, having started playing music professionally in 1966 after he saw some pivotal artists playing live and feeling energised to do the same thing. These included Mississippi John Hurt. He released his first album in 1970 I’m A Stranger Too! and this started a magnificent career and to date he has recorded nineteen albums. In 1972 he met and instantly gelled with another new musician Bonnie Raitt after she covered Love Me Like A Man on her second album Give It Up. Maria Muldaur also guested on Smither’s second album Don’t It Drag On.
Smither had some personal difficulties from the early seventies until the early eighties – he’s quoted as saying about this period of his life – “I was basically drunk for 12 years, and somehow I managed to climb out of it; I don’t know why”.
In addition to his phenomenal music catalogue he can also claim to be an Oscar winner as he appeared in 2025 short film The Singers which went on to win Best Live Action Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards.
Can’t Live With It “Small Revelations” 1997
This album was number seven in his recording career and was released by Hightone Records – a magnificent home of superb americana in the nineties. At the helm producing this was the wonderful Stephen Bruton, who does a great job and is aided by a small selection of guest musicians including Chris Maresh on bass, Brannen Temple on drums, Hook Herrera and Mickey Raphael on harmonica, Riley Osbourn on keyboards and Mark Rubin on tuba. The album opens with a cover of Jesse Winchester’s Thanks To You with Smither’s legendary guitar work bringing the song alive and aided by his fellow musicians giving it a shuffle feel. There are two other covers – a suitably gritty version of Robert Johnson’s Dust My Broom with Smither’s vocals becoming suitably raspy and a laid back cover of Walter McGhee’s Sportin’ Life. The second track is beautiful, a gentle tune Slow Surprises, which Emmylou Harris recorded for the soundtrack to The Horse Whisperer.
The best track on the album is Help Me Now, a sprightly toe tapper with a lovely chorus and, as always, exemplary guitar work.
So why is this not quite the classic Smither album? It’s simply that the other songs are okay and not quite the classics we’ve become accustomed to from this master musician. This isn’t a bad album – it’s just not quite as good as some of the masterpieces Smither has in his repertoire.
Can’t Live Without It “Happier Blue” 1993
This album was released in the UK on Demon Records, having licensed it from Flying Fish Records in America. To these ears it was an absolute revelation to hear Smither’s great voice and guitar playing, as well as his vitally important toe tapping as a percussive instrument, augmented by violin (Robin Batteau), saxophone (Bob Gay), fretless 4 and 8 string bass (Mark Egan) and keyboards (Brad Hatfield). This band sound really brought alive a fine selection of superb songs. The production is masterful and was provided by John Nagy.
The album opens with a Smither classic Happier Blue, a superb love song and these extra instruments instantly allow the listener to wallow in the song with even more interest as they add important layers to an already strong song. We then have a masterful cover of John Hiatt’s Memphis In The Meantime with organ and acoustic guitar interplaying beautifully, with hints of saxophone from the get go. The pace of the song is speeded up by Smither for this version and it’s captivating as hell. Next up is a revelation, The Devil’s Real, a Smither original with acoustic guitar jossling with violin, bass and saxophone wonderfully. There’s the sumptuous and beautiful No Reward, another Smither original, with a smooth almost oriental feel to it.
The tempo changes for a cracking blues toe tapper Already Gone (Flatfoot Blues). It’s testament to Smithers mastery of his craft in that he’s equally at home with uptempo ‘rockers’ and sedate laid back tunes. We’re back in gentle mood for another exquisite cover, this time of Rolly Sally’s Killing The Blues. Dexterous guitar playing is at the fore for the cover of Lowell George’s Rock’n’Roll Doctor and it’s three minutes of guitar playing and toe tapping to amazing effect. My personal favourite cut on the album is the sax-led, smooth song Magnolia, an astounding cover of JJ Cale’s song which is faultless. Almost as good is the blues number Honeysuckle Dog, where again the sax is expertly mixed into the production. The album is rounded off with another two Smither originals, Take It All and Time To Spend.
This album was a return to the studio for Smither after a fifteen year hiatus and what an album it is. It earned a National Association of Independent Record Distributors (NAIRD) award for contributions to independent music. It’s been described as “a highly original blend of cool, introspective songwriting and raw blues energy”. It’s that and so much more.
