ASSOCIATED PRESS: Smither is an American original, a product of the musical melting pot, and one of the absolute best singer-songwritersin the world.
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO: [Smither] taps his foot to keep the rhythm, much like the late blues legend John Lee Hooker. His finger-picked guitar lines are sleek, unhurried and insistent. And then there’s the voice –equal parts gravel and molasses, Smither’s singing sounds like a distillation of the folk and blues heroes he grew up listening to in New Orleans.
INDEPENDENT (UK): Chris Smither has been steadily releasing classy albums for decades, honing his craft as a songwriter of thoughtful ruminations on and acute observations about life’s bitter ironies.
GLASGOW HERALD: Smither’s momentum as a rockin’-thumbed guitar picker with an insistent and fully-integrated tapping foot has all the hallmarks of a truly formidable one-man band but he’s equally impressive, perhaps even more so, when singing a slow blues in his beenround- the-block voice to his guitar’s stinging, singing steel string moans.
SYDNEY MORNING HERALD: His ability to take the emotion at the heart of a song, make it transparent and pass it on to the listener is unmatched. Smither’s rich, deep, emotion-charged voice and his exquisite guitar playing imbue these simple thoughts with a profundity forged out of genuine passion.
MONTREAL GAZETTE: With his Southern-drawl, tapping foot in constant motion and fingers pulling fluid blues patterns from his acoustic guitar, Smither is an engaging, sometimes intense singer-songwriter who can convert almost any audience he sits down in front of.
ROLLING STONE: Bathed in the flickering glow of passing headlights and neon bar signs, Smither’s roots are as blue as they come. There is plenty of misty Louisiana and Lightnin’ Hopkins in Smither’s weathered singing and unhurried picking. So fine.
MOJO: The voice, so worn you can see through to its soul, is backed by an intricate and understated, acoustic, country, blues guitar.
MAVERICK: Cast your mind back to the first time you heard Hank Williams, Big Bill Broonzy or JJ Cale and remember how good it felt. Think of the opening encounter with Leon Redbone or Leo Kottke. They say newcomers to Chris Smither’s brand of country blues-tinged southern folk experience those some emotions. It’s true.
WIRED: The masterful combination of pure folk songwriting and intricate guitar blues are tangible signs of the singer-songwriter’s vigorousgenius. A megawatt solo performer.
NEW YORK TIMES: With a weary, well-traveled voice and a serenely intricate finger-picking style, Mr. Smither turns the blues into songs that accept hard-won lessons and try to make peace with fate.
WASHINGTON POST: His songbook is overflowing with rollicking, clever blues-based folk tunes, and he has been a consistently engaging live performer for more than four decades.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: Smither continues to give ample proof that he’s matured into one of roots music’s most passionate, soulful songsmiths and interpreters. He has the perfect husky, country-music voice, and he keeps the tunes clipping with crisp acoustic picking.
BOSTON GLOBE: (Smither) is among the finest acoustic guitarists anywhere in American music (Bonnie Raitt calls him my Eric Clapton), and his songs, while banked in the blues, are as modern as tomorrow’s newspaper.
PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER: The folk-blues troubadour continues to offer a seamless, seductive blend of deep thinking and elemental feel. His existential reflections and keen observations are as free-flowing as his intricate guitar picking and conversational singing.
AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN: Chris Smither is America’s great blues poet, a master acoustic guitarist whose music suggests the power of Son House and a wisdom informed by the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism.
NO DEPRESSION: If you’ve ever caught one of Chris Smither’s live performances, you know it’s hard not to come away knocked out by the amount of music that comes out of one man. His guitar playing is remarkably fluid. His songs are gleaming bits of gold.
ACOUSTIC GUITAR: Chris Smither’s songs seem so casual everyday language drawled over fine blues fingerpicking and the happy tip-tap of his shoes that it’s easy to overlook how artful and deep they are. Smither is now at the peak of his creative powers.
AMERICANA-UK: If experience and ability counted for success and recognition in this screwed up world, Smither would be pedastaled with Clapton, with Knopfler, with Waits – a songwriter/guitarist of the highest order who still has many a damn fine story to tell.