Samuel Smith Band
Self-Titled
Self-Released
Street: 05.04
Samuel Smith Band = The Rolling Stones + The Replacements
You swore you would never listen to KBER. Samuel Smith Band, Salt Lake Soundcheck favorites, will make you repent your superiority. Recall, if you possibly can, some shit-forsaken rock quartet from the ’70s, with a white soul singer, bottle-neck guitars and Fender Champs cranked up to blues kazoo. Samuel Smith Band delivers these basic goods, combined with enough wit and funk to retain a sure sense of the here and now. Their seven-song album extends just thirty minutes, as did a typical LP in the heroic age of vinyl. Not so long ago, this much music, plus a bottle of Paul Masson, was enough to provide a complete musical experience. Samuel Smith Band––shifting from rock n’ roll to R&B to honky-tonk and back—offers ample evidence that such satisfaction remains possible. The band’s magic lies in their direct approach to playing. Live, they jack straight into their amps––zero intervening bullshit. Their album, produced by Terrance “DH” Halterman, nearly succeeds in capturing the uncapturable, the unpretentious exuberance of a Samuel Smith stage performance. You’re not too cool.