Grant Maloy Smith – Mississippi: American Stories
This is an ambitious set by Grant Maloy Smith – vinyl, CD, digital audio & a magnificent heavy 75-page color/perfect bound coffee table book (optional). This is his 3rd in a series of American Stories albums. The first Dust Bowl & then Appalachia. This new effort features 16 tracks, almost as long as the river itself on Mississippi: American Stories (Drops Aug 23/Cabin & Suburban Cowboy Records/61:44).
Grant didn’t leave any stone unturned & despite having good lyrics & catchy melodies he has what many big productions usually lack: momentum. In 1985 the late country legend Roger Miller made a similar attempt with his successful Broadway show “Big River” that had his marvelous song “River In the Rain.” It had momentum.
The LP produced by Grant features a guest spot by folk legend & Grammy winner Janis Ian who was quoted saying Grant “sits on that ground between Willie Nelson & George Jones.” How true. Janis plays guitar & piano on Grant’s tender cover of the Janis Ian/Deanna Carter song “Memphis.” The LP is peppered with poignant songs, historical asides & some barn burners.
Mr. Smith isn’t a retro country singer despite embracing old traditional C&W fashions. He’s not hokey, hokum, or twangy with silly songs. This guy can rock out like George Strait (“Heartland”) because Grant’s an ambitious, creative & wholly original entity in this genre. He mixes the gumbo generously with country, blues & folk. Even the arrangements (like the Roy Agee stylings of “All I Gotta Do”) are applied with ingenuity, punch & grandeur seldom heard in pop country today.
Many poignant songs keep the LP’s showcase well-balanced. “Mother Mother” & the finale “The River Runs For Everyone” are among the most touching. This isn’t so much a concept LP as a contemporary diary accounting for one man’s feelings about what he’s seen & witnessed. He tries to understand the country he was born into. There’s no anger or bitterness. Listeners are allowed to take a peek into his well-articulated feelings. Sometimes music expresses things the history books can’t. That’s where Grant Maloy Smith works. He does a damn good job of it. Always has.
The only person missing who would’ve dived in head first to help is the late banjo player & steamboat pilot John Hartford. He would’ve respected this.
Highlights – “All I Gotta Do,” “Headstrong Waters,” “Memphis,” “River of Ages,” “Vicksburg Town,” “End of the Line,” “If the River Keeps Rising,” “Mother Mother,” “You Don’t Love Me Anymore,” “When the Devil Comes” & “The River Runs For Everyone.”
Musicians – Jeff Taylor (accordion/pennywhistle), Mike Johnson (pedal steel), Matt Combs (fiddle/cello/mandola), Rob Ickes (dobro), Scott Vestal (banjo), Roy Agee (trombone), Marc Franklin (trumpet), Evan Cobb (sax), Carrie McDowell (vocals) & Kim Fleming (bgv).
Color image with Janis courtesy of Grant’s Facebook. Portraits courtesy of Grant. CD @ Amazon & Apple Music + https://www.grant-maloy-smith.com/product-page/mississippi-american-stories-book & https://grantmaloysmith.bandcamp.com/album/mississippi-american-stories
Enjoy our previous coverage here:REVIEW: Grant Maloy Smith “Appalachia – American Stories“