Rick Shea Smoke Tree Road
Rick Shea’s recently released album Smoke Tree Road is a warm, unhurried, and deeply human collection that showcases his strengths as a songwriter, guitarist, and storyteller. Released on Tres Pescadores Records, the album moves with a gentle confidence across twelve tracks that blend Americana, folk, and Mexican‑influenced styles. Shea’s vocals feel lived‑in and sincere, and the production throughout is intimate without being sparse, giving the songs room to breathe while keeping the focus on the emotional core of the writing. It’s a record shaped by experience, reflection, and a quiet assurance that never needs to raise its voice to be heard.
The album opens with “A Week in Winnemucca,” a reflective narrative piece that sets the tone for the record’s easy‑going atmosphere. While the vocal delivery here is slightly understated, Shea’s presence strengthens immediately on “Guardian Angel,” a tender autobiographical song tracing his journey from youthful chaos to the grounded life he built with his wife Susie and their family. Shea’s ability to inhabit story songs remains one of his great strengths, and Smoke Tree Road leans into that gift with confidence.
The record includes a handful of well‑chosen covers. His reading of “Long Black Veil” is respectful and restrained, while “Midnight Shift” brings a blues‑bar‑room swagger that contrasts nicely with the album’s gentler moments. “Maria,” written by Shea’s mother‑in‑law and sung in Spanish alongside Celia Chavez, is one of the album’s emotional high points with fiddle by Eleanor Whitmore.
Another highlight is “El Diablo Manda,” whose Spanish‑inflected instrumentation gives the song a buoyant lift and rhythmic vitality. Shea notes that the lyrics respond to “the madness we are all living through, especially for those who are taking the brunt of all this, all so a few people who have so much can have a little more.” The track’s sincerity and cultural grounding make it stand out.
Shea moves between Americana and Mexican‑rooted styles with ease, never losing his artistic centre. The interplay between nylon‑string guitar, accordion, percussion, and background vocals creates a lively, textured soundscape that adds welcome contrast to the album’s more contemplative pieces.
If there is a minor criticism, it lies in the occasional use of saxophone, which—while tastefully played—feels slightly out of place within the otherwise cohesive sonic palette. This is particularly noticeable when set against the beautifully handled solos on tracks like “An Irishman’s a Labourer at Heart.” Still, this is a small quibble in an album that is otherwise thoughtfully arranged and consistently engaging.
Ultimately, Smoke Tree Road is a Sunday‑morning kind of record: warm, melodic, and inviting. Shea’s vocals, the ensemble’s subtle musicianship, and the album’s unforced production create a listening experience that rewards attention without demanding it. It is a testament not only to Shea’s songwriting but to the many musicians, engineers, and collaborators whose contributions are woven throughout.
Get your copy here: https://www.rickshea.com/
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Video Premiere: Rick Shea “Texas Lawyer”
Musicians on the album are Rick Shea on acoustic guitar, electric guitar, nylon string guitar, banjo, high strung guitar, vocals, and background vocals; Tony Gilkyson on acoustic guitar; Chad Watson on bass; Shawn Nourse on drums; Eleanor Whitmore on fiddle and bass fiddle; Jeff Turmes on bass, baritone and tenor saxophones; Dale Daniel on drums; Danny McGough on Wurlitzer piano; Skip Edwards on Hammond B3; Celia Chavez on vocals and background vocals; Tony Zamora on guitarrón; Cougar Estrada on cajon, maracas, drums and percussion; Christina Ortega on transcription and translation; Roberto Rodriguez III on accordion; James Cruce on shaker and drums; David Jackson on bass; Doug Livingston on pedal steel; and birds, dogs and kids from the internet.
The album was produced by Rick Shea, and mixed and mastered by Paul du Gre.