VARIOUS ARTISTS
''LINK OF CHAIN: A SONGWRITERS TRIBUTE TO CHRIS SMITHER''
SEPTEMBER 30 2014
59:26
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1 - DAVE ALVIN - Link Of Chain 3:54
2 - LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III - A Place In Line 3:13
3 - MARY GAUTHIER - I Feel The Same 4:15
4 - JOSH RITTER - Rosalie 4:08
5 - PAUL CEBAR - No Love Today 4:46
6 - EILEN JEWELL - Can't Shake These Blues 4:03 (Chris Smither, Steve Tilson)
7 - JORMA KAUKONEN - Leave The Light On 3:34
8 - AOIFE O'DONOVAN & STEP´HANIE COLEMAN - Small Revelations 3:38
9 - TIM O'BRIEN - Origin Of Species 2:54
10 - BONNIE RAITT - Love Me Like A Man (Live) 4:32
11 - PETER MULVEY - Time To Spend 3:03
12 - MARK ERELLI & JEFFREY FOUCAULT - Song For Susan 4:36
13 - HEATHER MALONEY - Call Yourself 3:40
14 - PETER CASE - Caveman 4:37
15 - PATTY LARKIN - Train Home 4:26
Tracks By Chris Smither, Except 6
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Dave Alvin/Guitar (Acoustic)
Reggie Bordeaux/Drums, Sampling, Tambourine
Mike Bub/Bass
David Carpenter/Bass
Peter Case/Guitar, Vocals
Paul Cebar/Guitar, Vocals
Stephanie Coleman/Fiddle
Billy Conway/Drums
The Crumbling Beauties
Mark Erelli/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Jeffrey Foucault/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Mike Fredrickson/Bass
Mary Gauthier/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
David Goodrich/Guitar (Baritone), Guitar (Electric), Piano
Don Heffington/Drums
Zachariah Hickman/Bass, Vocals
Jim Hoke/Clarinet
James "Hutch" Hutchinson/Bass
Jason Beek/Drums
Bob Jennings/Sax (Baritone)
Eilen Jewell/Vocals
Josh Kaufman/Guitar, Vocals
Jorma Kaukonen/Guitar, Vocals
Paul Kochanski/Bass (Upright)
Viktor Krauss/Bass
Patty Larkin/Bass, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), National Steel Guitar, Octave Mandolin, Vocals
Ken Maiuri/Bass
Heather Maloney/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Jerry Miller/Guitar (Electric)
Peter Mulvey/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Tim O'Brien/Banjo, Cello, Vocals
J.J. O'Connell/Drums
Aoife O'Donovan/Banjo, Guitar, Piano, Vocals
Danny Ott/Guitar (Electric)
Bonnie Raitt/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Josh Ritter/Guitar, Vocals
Randy Sabien/Violin
John Sciascia/Bass (Upright)
Jason Smith/Drums
Chris Smither/Guitar (Electric)
Guthrie Trapp/Guitar (Electric)
Loudon Wainwright III/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Lynn Williams/Drums
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REVIEW/AMG
Mark Deming
Chris Smither has quietly been a force in the American folk and blues scene since the mid-'60s, when he began making a name for himself on the Massachusetts coffeehouse scene after leaving his hometown of New Orleans. While Smither is a gifted guitarist, he's made his greatest impact as a songwriter, penning literate but unpretentious tunes dealing with love, life, and the nature of the universe with unforced wit and wisdom. Smither's best-known tune is "Love You Like a Man," which has been a staple of Bonnie Raitt's live shows for years, but Raitt is hardly the only well-known and respected artist who is a Chris Smither fan, and Link of Chain: A Songwriters Tribute to Chris Smither features Raitt and 14 other artists interpreting their favorite selections from his songbook. The old saying has it that a man can be judged by the company he keeps, and in this case, folks who don't know Smither's work ought to imagine he must be quite a guy, with Dave Alvin, Peter Case, Patty Larkin, Mary Gauthier, Josh Ritter, Jorma Kaukonen, and Tim O'Brien all on board and delivering his material with genuine enthusiasm and a keen eye toward his lyrics and his melodies. Given the diversity of the artist roster, it should come as no surprise that Link of Chain features a wealth of different styles and shows Smither's work can work effectively in many different ways -- the slow, lean blues of Raitt's live take of "Love Me Like a Man," the playful swing of O'Brien's "Origin of Species," the revved-up country boogie of Peter Mulvey's "Time to Spend," the intimate acoustic space of Case's "Caveman," and the slightly ragged joy of Wainwright's "Place in Line." The performers here, all of whom are songwriters in their own right, bring out the best in these songs, and Link of Chain is a tribute album that does a splendid job of showing what makes the artist in question special; if you've never checked out Chris Smither, Link of Chain will show you just what a master songwriter can do, and anyone with a taste for contemporary folk and singer/songwriters will find a lot to enjoy.
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TO THE TOP
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''LINK OF CHAIN: A SONGWRITERS TRIBUTE TO CHRIS SMITHER''
SEPTEMBER 30 2014
59:26
**********
1 - DAVE ALVIN - Link Of Chain 3:54
2 - LOUDON WAINWRIGHT III - A Place In Line 3:13
3 - MARY GAUTHIER - I Feel The Same 4:15
4 - JOSH RITTER - Rosalie 4:08
5 - PAUL CEBAR - No Love Today 4:46
6 - EILEN JEWELL - Can't Shake These Blues 4:03 (Chris Smither, Steve Tilson)
7 - JORMA KAUKONEN - Leave The Light On 3:34
8 - AOIFE O'DONOVAN & STEP´HANIE COLEMAN - Small Revelations 3:38
9 - TIM O'BRIEN - Origin Of Species 2:54
10 - BONNIE RAITT - Love Me Like A Man (Live) 4:32
11 - PETER MULVEY - Time To Spend 3:03
12 - MARK ERELLI & JEFFREY FOUCAULT - Song For Susan 4:36
13 - HEATHER MALONEY - Call Yourself 3:40
14 - PETER CASE - Caveman 4:37
15 - PATTY LARKIN - Train Home 4:26
Tracks By Chris Smither, Except 6
**********
Dave Alvin/Guitar (Acoustic)
Reggie Bordeaux/Drums, Sampling, Tambourine
Mike Bub/Bass
David Carpenter/Bass
Peter Case/Guitar, Vocals
Paul Cebar/Guitar, Vocals
Stephanie Coleman/Fiddle
Billy Conway/Drums
The Crumbling Beauties
Mark Erelli/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Jeffrey Foucault/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Mike Fredrickson/Bass
Mary Gauthier/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
David Goodrich/Guitar (Baritone), Guitar (Electric), Piano
Don Heffington/Drums
Zachariah Hickman/Bass, Vocals
Jim Hoke/Clarinet
James "Hutch" Hutchinson/Bass
Jason Beek/Drums
Bob Jennings/Sax (Baritone)
Eilen Jewell/Vocals
Josh Kaufman/Guitar, Vocals
Jorma Kaukonen/Guitar, Vocals
Paul Kochanski/Bass (Upright)
Viktor Krauss/Bass
Patty Larkin/Bass, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), National Steel Guitar, Octave Mandolin, Vocals
Ken Maiuri/Bass
Heather Maloney/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Jerry Miller/Guitar (Electric)
Peter Mulvey/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Tim O'Brien/Banjo, Cello, Vocals
J.J. O'Connell/Drums
Aoife O'Donovan/Banjo, Guitar, Piano, Vocals
Danny Ott/Guitar (Electric)
Bonnie Raitt/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Josh Ritter/Guitar, Vocals
Randy Sabien/Violin
John Sciascia/Bass (Upright)
Jason Smith/Drums
Chris Smither/Guitar (Electric)
Guthrie Trapp/Guitar (Electric)
Loudon Wainwright III/Guitar (Acoustic), Vocals
Lynn Williams/Drums
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Mark Deming
Chris Smither has quietly been a force in the American folk and blues scene since the mid-'60s, when he began making a name for himself on the Massachusetts coffeehouse scene after leaving his hometown of New Orleans. While Smither is a gifted guitarist, he's made his greatest impact as a songwriter, penning literate but unpretentious tunes dealing with love, life, and the nature of the universe with unforced wit and wisdom. Smither's best-known tune is "Love You Like a Man," which has been a staple of Bonnie Raitt's live shows for years, but Raitt is hardly the only well-known and respected artist who is a Chris Smither fan, and Link of Chain: A Songwriters Tribute to Chris Smither features Raitt and 14 other artists interpreting their favorite selections from his songbook. The old saying has it that a man can be judged by the company he keeps, and in this case, folks who don't know Smither's work ought to imagine he must be quite a guy, with Dave Alvin, Peter Case, Patty Larkin, Mary Gauthier, Josh Ritter, Jorma Kaukonen, and Tim O'Brien all on board and delivering his material with genuine enthusiasm and a keen eye toward his lyrics and his melodies. Given the diversity of the artist roster, it should come as no surprise that Link of Chain features a wealth of different styles and shows Smither's work can work effectively in many different ways -- the slow, lean blues of Raitt's live take of "Love Me Like a Man," the playful swing of O'Brien's "Origin of Species," the revved-up country boogie of Peter Mulvey's "Time to Spend," the intimate acoustic space of Case's "Caveman," and the slightly ragged joy of Wainwright's "Place in Line." The performers here, all of whom are songwriters in their own right, bring out the best in these songs, and Link of Chain is a tribute album that does a splendid job of showing what makes the artist in question special; if you've never checked out Chris Smither, Link of Chain will show you just what a master songwriter can do, and anyone with a taste for contemporary folk and singer/songwriters will find a lot to enjoy.
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TO THE TOP
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