Chris Smither Drive You Home Again CD

This is Smither's third album with producer/guitarist Stephen Bruton, who helped put Smither's previously erratic recording career back on track in 1995 with UP ON THE LOWDOWN. Like that album and its follow-up SMALL REVELATIONS, DRIVE YOU HOME is full of Smither's soulful, weathered baritone, virtuosic folk/blues guitar work and penetrating songwriting, all supported by a tight, sympathetic band. No one's better at bemoaning a lack of love than Smither, as shown on "No Love Today" and the ironic "Get a Better One." As always, he's a master of interpretation as well, covering Tim Hardin's "Don't Make Promises" with a slowed-down, piano-driven arrangement, and investing Danny O'Keefe's rocking "Steel Guitar" with his own stylistic flair.

Personnel includes: Chris Smither (vocals, guitar).

Producers include: Stephen Bruton.

Rolling Stone (2/3/00, p.61) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Smither's stoic reflection and foxy wit are bathed in the flickering glow of passing headlights and neon bar signs....So fine..."
Q (6/99, p.112) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...Smither's mix of his New Orleans childhood and his early adulthood in Boston's folk and blues coffee houses has come to the boil in the 90's..."
Dirty Linen (6-7/99, p.57) - "...Smither clearly believes in living an examined life, contemplating his own life, himself, and his sense of self....an excellent, even important, record."
Living Blues (7-8/99, pp.75-6) - "...Smither's fervent lyric vision and impeccable musicianship will please most listeners with an ear for a master craftsman who can meld blues influences to his own heartfelt and deeply personal contemporary folk stylings."