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Adam McBride-Smith
"Good and Gone"
Originally hailing from
Oklahoma and now residing in
New York, Adam McBride-Smith
really has produced a classic
little debut release. Having
spent time in various punkcountry
bands and having a
love of Hank Williams, Gillian
Welch and Townes Van Zandt,
has given Adam that edge over
the opposition in the fact that
he can produce something
new and exciting. He spent a
year studying classical guitar
which has really paid off,
lending greater complexity
to his playing. This is shown
perfectly on the short opening
instrumental track Single Room
a great first track that gains
your attention and leaves you
wanting more, a wonderful
little piece. The following cut St
Cecilia’s Street
is a cross between the style of the Levellers and the
Pogues, a real foot taper with
a great hook and harmonies
from Marisa Frantz. His usual
road band of drummer Malachi
DeLorenzo and bassist Paul
Defiglia do a great job of
holding the beat together on
all of the up tempo tracks. On
Have You Changed Your Ways we
also get some fast and furious
fiddle playing from Abe Streep
backing up some great electric
guitar from Adam. I tell you, the
more I play this album, the more
I love it. On I Want To Leave You
the pace changes to a quieter
more reflective mood with
Adam relating a tale of wanting
to end a relationship; he has a
great vocal delivery whether it is
a quiet lament or a shouted cow
punk rocker. Also showcased
once again is his rolling finger
picking guitar playing, very
reminiscent of Bert Jansch,
very good. We even get a jazz
influence on Into The Night
with with sax and trombone courtesy
of Martin Hundley and Ben
Shanley respectively; this album
really does have a great mix of
styles, but held together by one
thread, the great voice and lyrics
from Adam. If Adam were ever
to come over to the UK to play
some shows he would go down
a storm, British audiences would
love his style. I could go on
forever about this album, suffice
to say, don’t take my word for it,
just buy it and enjoy. - Maverick Magazine
Discography
Good and Gone
LP
May 2007
Photos
Bio
Adam McBride-Smith grew up in Oklahoma in a family of Texans. The son of a storyteller and a minister Adam had an early introduction to the stage (and the pulpit) but found his own calling as a guitarist and songwriter. Travel also being something of a family tradition, Adam found his way to New York after college. There he met and became friends with Malachi DeLorenzo and Paul Defiglia (otherwise known as the War Eagles, rhythm section to NY musician Langhorne Slim) who performed on Adam�s first album, Good and Gone. Released independently in 2007, Good and Gone has been called a �classic little debut� (Maverick Magazine) and has won Adam a small but devoted following in New York and across the Atlantic as well. The song �I Want to Leave You,� off Good and Gone was selected as a finalist for the Northeast region in the 2007 Mountain Stage Newsong contest. This song is in many ways typical of Adam�s approach to songwriting: lyrical imagery wrapped around a bluesy melody; guitar work steeped in the country-folk tradition but often taking unexpected harmonic turns. This song also caught the ear of New York jazz pianist Elan Mehler who, in April 2008, recorded a version of it with Adam on vocals for his upcoming album on Brownswood Recordings. Good and Gone also features the standout track �Into the Night,� a story song about a young arrival to New York who is poised between staying in the city and leaving it behind. A universal tale to be sure, but also one with personal overtones: in fall of 2007 Adam left New York for Paris.
Since arriving in Europe, Adam has kept up a busy performance schedule in both France and the UK. He has also been hard at work on a new group of songs. Stylistically, this new material marks a return to the country-folk and blues that Adam grew up with. In many of his new songs it is travel, with its attendant thrills as well as its sense of displacement, which serves as the guiding thematic idea. For a musician who has been on the move a lot recently this is perhaps unsurprising. And although it still remains to be seen where he is headed, this is one musician who is going places�
-Mark Streiber
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