By Shanda Block/entertainment editor
Time Stands Still makes the 11th album since 1972 for Chris Smither.
With the voice of an earlier Stevie Ray Vaughn, he brings a catchy soul sound to the audience’s ears. Smither’s main genre is blues and folk narratives, which explains this album well as it seems to be focused on life lessons for all ages.
The song “Don’t Call Me Stranger,” best on the album, calls for rebellion. “If you listen to your mama, you will never have no fun.”
“How could I be nowhere if I’m here today” sets the tone for “I Don’t Know.” In it, Smither asks several rhetorical questions. It also offers a few life facts such as “if you’re just polite, they’ll usually go away.”
As with most great blues artists, Smither doesn’t sing about the dark side of life, but rather quite the opposite. Like John Hammond and a few others, Smither’s career began in the 1960s. Therefore, he’s been one of the longtime blues singers, guitarists and songwriters.
He is best known for the two great songs “I Feel the Same” and “Love You Like a Man.” As a young boy, Smither was a fan of the ukulele, which has helped shape his unique guitar skills even today.
At 17, he was introduced to blues and found himself wanting to master blues skills on guitar.
Throughout his music career, this Nashville artist continues to present his audience with songs from the old days.
Time Stands Still is an album to be cherished in this age of constantly evolving music because Smither keeps the long-living era of blues alive.
