what they are saying...
If you'd like to read a bit about Steve's work, here are reviews for his CDs. These reviews were published in first-rate music magazines including Bluegrass Now, Dirty Linen, and acousticmusic.com.
Steve Smith and Hard Road - Meet Me by the River (2005)
New Mexico has been called the "land of enchantment" and there is some of this special magic in the music of Steve Smith and Hard Road. The sound is a blend of old-time, bluegrass, gospel and Americana folk, and the heartfelt vocals pour out surrounded by pulsing instrumental work like a flash flood moving down an arroyo. Rocky Road Blues is a Bill Monroe tune that banjo player Wayne Shrubsall strums with a distinctive swing rhythm joined by Steve's mandolin, Bob Hull's lead guitar licks and Elijah Copeland's rock solid bass work. Steve's eloquent mandolin licks punctuate all the tunes. Wayne's clawhammer style playing is top-notch while Elijah also plays bass for several symphony orchestras. Chris Sanders is also a professor at New Mexico State University where she also directs musical productions. Several of Steve's songs are featured on the album, and his Meet Me By the River has Steve's voice blending with Chris' in the tale of the two unconventional lovers. Chris and Steve sing the classic Talk About Sufferin' with the Arco bass and banjo providing a stirring counterpoint. Joan Baez's I'm With You, has a delightful bounce with Chris doing the lead vocals. The instrumental pieces combine banjo, mandolin, guitar and bass with guest Byron Berline's signature fiddle into some rollicking dance music: The Boatman from minstrel days and Steve's own Sheepherder's Stove will set your feet to tapping. The group stays close to their New Mexico base, but if an opportunity arises to see them, by all means see them! B Hough, California Bluegrass Association
STEVE SMITH AND HARD ROAD - MEET ME BY THE RIVER (2005)
The music of Steve Smith and Hard Road has been described as modern/retro string band music." The contents of this latest release do indeed run the gamut from old-time string band music to contemporary bluegrass. The ten selections offer a blending of original material, including Meet Me By The River and Look Not Back, along with standard bluegrass pieces like Rocky Road Blues and Talk About Suffering. Three particular highlights are Chris Sanders' lead vocals on Joan Baez's I'm With You, the Steve Spurgin composition I Owe My Soul, and the band's energetic treatment of the traditional The Boatman. Meet Me By The River is an exciting bit of music that defies being placed into a single musical genre. (Desert Night Music, P.O. Box 7892, Las Cruces, NM 88005, www.desertnight.com.) Bluegrass Unlimited Aug. o7
Steve Smith & Hard Road: Meet Me By the River (2005)
Steve Smith gets polished more every year without losing his edge.
His true grit is diamond dust brilliant in his newest CD Meet Me By the River with his band Hard Road.
The band includes Smith on vocals, mandolin, mandola and guitar; Elijah Copeland, bass and vocals; Bob Hull, guitar; Chris Sanders, vocals; and Wayne Shrubsall, banjo and vocals, with special guest Byron Berline on fiddle.
The collection includes a mix of originals, imaginative covers of contemporary songs and some great arrangements of traditional tunes, like the poignant, emotional, Talk About Sufferin', Yellow Rose, a fiesta for banjo and mandolin and a nostalgic, good time, foot-tapping rendition of The Boatman.
Would you believe a rockin' banjo solo? Hard Road makes it happen on Bill Monroe's Rocky Road Blues.
Steve shares heartfelt vocals with Sanders and dedicates his interpretation of I'm With You by Joan Baez to "my sons, who will soon leave the nest."
Smith gets down on Steve Spurgin's I Owe My Soul, with Berline's fine fiddling driving the message home.
Even in such company, it's Smith's own songs that are the standouts in this impressive collection.
Meet Me By the River is a wail tale with a hooky refrain. Bean's Blues, which Smith describes as a "funky little tune," is a refreshing interlude and opportunity for some nice collaboration of mandolin, bass, guitar, and banjo. The high mountain lonesome strings of Look Not Back seem to segue into a sense of peace in the contemporary, simple but sophisticated rhythms of State of Grace. The album closer, Smith's Sheepherder's Stove is a last opportunity for strings to party on down and strut their impressive stuff.
The CD has a nice flow and style with genre-transcending appeal. It's fine traveling music.
As a vocalist, instrumentalist and songwriter, Smith just keeps getting better all the time. Try to catch him live, if you can. The busy musician performs and tours with several groups and does solo gigs too.
"There is a lot going on this fall with all sorts of performances including solo shows, jazz and different group shows highlighted by a tour of Ireland with the Jim Hurst Band and the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival with Bill Evans. The Steve Smith Jazz Trio will begin to make appearances at the Cattle Baron when schedules permit on Friday and Saturday nights," Smith said.
Hear another side of Smith when the Steve Smith Jazz Trio (Smith on mandolin, Hull on guitar and Copeland on bass) plays today, Saturday and Sept.9 at Cattle Baron.
Distant Lands (1992)
"Steve Smith's first solo recording is an attempt to sketch the same sort of musical landscape. In this case the inspiration is drawn from Smith's New Mexico homeland. Smith, through his guitar and mandolin, paints visions of the deserts of the Southwest. Tunes such as Wind Dance, As the Crow Flies, and Pastel Fantasy all contain images of the openness and beauty of the desert. Smith's music covers a wider area and he also brings in violin, cello, soprano sax, and bass to contrast and support his playing. Many of the tunes reflect his bluegrass background while others have touches of Celtic and new age. Though primarily known for his mandolin work, he's an extremely lyrical guitarist." Jim Lee, Dirty Linen
"When I first moved to the southwest I often heard people commenting on the incredible colors of the desert. I didn't see them, at least not right away. But soon your eye adjust, and the landscspe comes alive with a full palette of subtle, beautiful tones and hues". In Steve Smith's Distant Lands we hear these colors in music born of the desert southwest's simple beguiling beauty. Black crow, ancient cliffs, crumbling adobe, creosote shrub, ocotillo in bloom, purple rainstorm across a pale blue horizon- all familiar images set amidst a landscape of immense breadth and power." Tom Huizinga, NPR'S Performance Today
Other Places, Times & Lives (1996)
"Steve Smith isn't your average bluegrass musician. In fact, he probably objectts to being pigeonholdes as such a thing, since his music covers the wide gamut of the acoustic spectrum. Other Places, Times & Lives reminds me of something Tim O'Brien might do, except that it's stripped down even further than any of O'Brien's albums. Smith has that same sort of adventurous spirit, though, kicking off the CD with a vocal accompanies solely by mandola. Now, that's adventurous!
After the funky drive of Billy the Kid, Steve slides into a swinging version of Anna Mae, accompanied by a small band including O'Brien on fiddle. Next comes an original waltz on which Smith convinces Jim Shearer to play tuba. It works. Then, it's off to the plaintive Richard Thompson vocal, How Will I Be Simple Again?, marking yet another Thompson tune that works well in a bluegrass-ish format (Mark Cosgrove covered another one on his excellent Good Medicine CD). By now, you should be getting an idea of the terrain Steve Smith covers. It's broad, it's deep, it's lofty, and there's a lot of bluegrass covering the slopes.
Instrumentally, no one can hold a candle to Smith. Here he plays mandolin, mandola, mandocello, and guitar and seems equally adept at all. He uses each instrument to its best, using the mandola for fiddle-tune things, and the guitar for a bigger sound. Aficianados of any of these instruments will find some ideas here. Vocally, Smith is good, if not outstanding. He sounds a little like Moondi Klein of Cheapeake with a little higher pitched voice, a voice which is certainly up to the task of covering the material here.
If you're thirsting for hard-core, banjo-driven bluegrass, Other Places, Times & Lives isn't the album for you. But if your tastes are more eclectic and diverse and you like Tim O'Brien and Sam Bush's solo efforts, I think you'll enjoy getting acquainted with Steve Smith." Bluegrass Now, October 1998
"Other Places Times and Lives is a triumph and firmly places Steve Smith amongst the nations best acoustic musicians. This is a recording that should make fans of traditional and contemporary folk music stand up and take notice." David Brower, KRWG FM
"Listening to Other Places Times and Lives, musician and composer Steve Smith's newest release is like leafing through an old family photograph album. Like the faces in a faded album, each tune tells a story. Taken together, these tunes form a musical memoir, a loving homage to this native Virginian's musical roots and traditions and a celebration of his new life in his adopted home in New Mexico." Susan J. Tweit, author
Desert Night (2000)
"Acoustic instrumental music seems to come in at least two strains. One strain emphasizes musicians trading lengthy solos, while the other presents the overall sound of the instruments working together. In the first school you would find musicians such as Tony Rice, David Grisman, and David Grier; in the second, you'd find Robin Bullock and Beppe Gambetta. Generally speaking, the first school relies on musical styles ranging from progressive bluegrass to post-bop jazz, while the second, ranges from old time ensembles to classical. To try to understand a musician from one school by the rules of the other is to misunderstand that musician.
Steve Smith, on his latest recording Desert Night, clearly falls into the second school. The individual songs might be better described as compositions, carefully arranged to produce a total effect. Smith has written, arranged, and performed most of the instrumental work on Desert Night. Many tracks include Smith playing multiple instruments to create a rich acoustic texture.
Smith's compositions are soothing while remaining engaging. On songs like Traveler's Lament/ Mr. Jefferson's Oak and Colorado Farewell, Smith adapts different pacing within the structure, playing with both the mood and coloring of the song. On the latter song Smith weaves a multitude of changes that build and subside seamlessly throughout its seven-minute length. The Café Waltz successfully combines lead melodies on mandolins with cello and bass accompaniment, providing an evocative atmosphere.
The success of all of these songs is in the wonderful arrangements that allow multiple instruments, including guitar, mandolin, mandola, and mandocello to compliment each other with melodies and counter melodies. Several players accompany Smith with a plethora of instruments including cello, shekeree, double bass, and troubador harp. The result is a fullness of sound that creates an acoustic feast (this disc sounds really nice on headphones).
The styles of the music range from the "fake Baroque" of Allemande in E Minor to traditional romps like, Bacon and Bread. On the former, the mandolin plays lead and the mandocello adds a running bass line to create an amazingly harpsichord-like Bach piece. On Bacon and Bread Smith's guitar work resembles Norman Blake's, capturing a blend of old time guitar and mandolin. One song, The Grackle and the Hamster, deviates from the others by including a rollicking guitar lead, showing that Smith could easily trade leads with the best of today's acoustic guitar players.
A discussion of Desert Night would not be complete without mentioning Smith's love of vintage instruments. These include a 1924 F-5 mandolin and a 1912 K-2 mandocello. Like David Grisman in his "Tone Poems" series (where different vintage instruments were used for each track), Smith shows a deep appreciation for these instruments and the sounds they can produce in the right hands. This appreciation is evident throughout Desert Night. It is a carefully constructed album, both enjoyable and engaging." Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., acousticmusic.com, 2000
"Steve Smith entrances listeners with a wave of pick over the strings of an assortment of mandolin-family instruments in this, his third recording of original compositions. Smith also solos on guitar on several tracks, but the mandolin playing is stellar. Although much of the music has an ethereal quality, Smith sets to pickin' on Sway Back Horse/Buzzards on a Fencepost, a pairing or old-time inspired tunes, and the rollicking The Grackle and the Hamster. It's pointless to go on naming favorite tracks. Bacon and Bread or Allemande in E Minor maybe even Crossing Queens Creek might be overlooked. The percussion touches heard throughout are interesting and entirely appropriate without overwhelming the music; on one track, there is a sound like crickets. Smith has created a beautiful musical landscape throughout Desert Night." Dirty Linen, Oct/Nov 2000
"Years ago a fine band named Cloud Valley made it's way across the national festival scene. I still recall a memorable performance at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield, Kansas, home of the National Flatpicking Championships.
Steve Smith, the band's mandolinist (and also a fine guitar player) continued his professional career and has released several fine projects since the demise of Cloud Valley. The latest is his Desert Night CD, a collection of original music that covers a broad range from Celtic to American fiddle music and a few compositions that defy definition.
This recording will rank among the top acoustic mandolin/guitar releases of the year in my opinion. Few mandolinists on the planet can write a body of music this large and of this quality and then have the musicianship to really pull it off. Give a listen to one of his original compositions on our MP3 page.
Desert Night was produced by Tom Espinola and features Tom on a percussion, cello, bass and guitar. Also helping out are Ira Gitlin on bass and Lorraine Duisit on harp. Very highly recommended." Mandolin Café, March 2000
"In Desert Night Steve Smith's master musicianship again combines with a psychic ability to evoke the spirit of persons, places and things in his realm." S. Derrickson Moore, Las Cruces Sun-News
"Desert Night, an album of all-original material composed and performed by Steve Smith, captures the attention of the listener from the first few notes. The music is mostly mandolin instruments although Steve uses many instruments including mandola, mandocello, and a nylon-stringed guitar.
Back up musicians include Tom Espinola (percussion, cello, electric guitar, Guild bass, and synth cello), Ira Gitlin (bass) and Lorraine Duisit (troubadour harp). Of course with this selection of instruments it is no surprise much of this music is heavily rooted in the classical sound. Steve also ventures into other areas including jazz, blues, bluegrass and music with a Celtic or Irish flavor.
One highlight of this project is Allemande in E Minor. This is a light piece with classical melodic lines that just sort of dance along with the finger style mandola while the cello adds smooth and gentle background texture. Another song I found intriguing was The Queen Anne's Revenge, a happy, lilting melody and of of several Celtic sounding songs on the album.
Desert Night, a superb piece of artistry, is a worthwhile addition to most any music library. Steve Smith has an uncommon mastery of the mandolin and other similar instruments and fans of acoustic variety will enjoy this fine CD." Bluegrass Now
Hard Road (2004)
Hard Road, Steve Smith's fourth solo cd is a collection of live studio takes ranging from original instrumental and vocals to traditional works and tunes from John Phillips, Radney Foster, Phil Rosenthal and the Beatles. The eleven vocal and two instrumental tunes are performed on voice, mandolin, guitar, mandola, mandocello, banjo, bass and percussion and are performed in solo, duo, trio and quartet settings as they went to tape. The musicians include Jim Hurst, Missy Raines, Wayne Shrubsall, Jane Horton, Robin Russell, Sally Barnes, George Rhee, Bob Hull, Fred Bugbee and Bruce Johnson.