Matt Smith — Being Human (6 String Ranch 2020, CD) 

Matt Smith — Parlor (6 String Ranch 2020, CD) 

by Peter Thelen, Published 2020-10-27 

A new name to me before this year, apparently Matt Smith has been producing recordings since at least 1988 and maybe even longer. Currently based in Austin, Texas, he is the co-owner of 6-String Ranch and he has produced and engineered over one hundred commercially released albums, television commercials and film soundtracks. As a session player, he has played a number of different instruments for artists in New York and Austin, and is proficient on a wide range of instruments including acoustic, electric and baritone guitars, dobro, bass, banjo, mandolin, sitar, mohan vina, ukulele, steel guitar, saz, cumbus, charango and tiple, and was a senior music instructor for the National Guitar Workshop, leading classes across the USA, England, and Germany. He has hundreds of songwriting, recording, and live credits, and has toured all around the US and dozens of other countries, and since moving from New York to Austin in 2009, he has been a member of several bands, including The Monstas, Matt Smith’s World, The Hot Nut Riveters, and Chop Shop. This is a lengthy introduction which I wouldn’t have bothered with for any artist that was better known as a recording artist, but apparently Smith understands that too, and has used 2020 as a way of rectifying that, by releasing no less than eight albums at once – two new studio albums (both reviewed below), two live albums, and a four-disc archival series that collects selected recordings going from 1988 all the way up to the present. The live albums and archival stuff will be reviewed in the near future; it really wouldn’t make sense to try and pack all of that into a single review and do them justice. 

With a lot to say lyrically, Being Human is Smith’s calling card among all the new recordings, illustrating his capabilities and understanding across a number of genres (probably as many as there are songs on the disc), it was several years in the making and features songs that reflect issues of the human condition, love, death, and other timely (and timeless) issues. Smith uses a number of different collaborators here, including four different keyboardists, three bassists, six drummers, and four backing vocalists, all track depending, as well as sharing the songwriting credits on five of the eight album tracks. One of the strongest cuts here is the opener, “Sanctuary,” which deals with the subject of immigration and the rejection by those people who already occupy the land, which one could easily interpret to mean the current wave of refugees from south of the United States border, but could just as easily apply to the resistance to Europeans by the Native Americans centuries ago, or even the rejection of certain Europeans in more recent centuries. The song has a nice groove with some great guitar flash, with Smith handling the lead vocals superbly. Some of the cuts here are outright rockers, like the smoker “I Got the Girl” that might have been right at home on some early Greg Kihn album, and the more intense and slower paced “Down in the Hole.” The thoughtful “How We Got to Here” is reminiscent of some of Gordon Lightfoot’s work in his early years, with multiple layers of acoustic and electric guitar applied tastefully. Marking a more soulful approach is the title track, beautiful steel guitars and backing singers making it all the better, even though the subject (cruelty and selfishness) seems a little dark at times. “Everybody Wants to Do the Don’t” is masterfully executed funk, complete with electronic glitches and strong backing singers, while the reassuring “God Is Watching over You” might make non-believers cringe, Smith does a powerful job on the vocals and offers what is probably the most straight-ahead track on the album. 

No two releases could be any more different, as Parlor is a magical collection of thirteen beautiful acoustic guitar instrumentals, recorded entirely on an 1890s Thompson and Odell parlor guitar that was handed down to Smith through four generations of his family. The entire album concept is one man and one guitar, without any overdubs, all of the cuts save one written by Smith (the sole exception being Neil Young’s “After the Gold Rush”). Without any vocals to get in the way of the music itself, the thirteen pieces effortlessly imbue a sense of peace and well being in the listener, each track representing a collection of ideas informed by folk, blues, Americana, and much more, condensed into one to three minute vignettes. Smith shows his sincerest chops without showing off, a powerful exercise in emotion and control, as well as majestic compositions. Listeners might be occasionally reminded of some of the best instrumental acoustic guitar work by the likes of Jorma Kaukonen, Peter Lang, Leo Kottke, or Carl Weingarten. The listener can just relax and float downstream with this completely immersive collection of tunes.

Matt Smith – ‘Being Human,’ ‘Live at Saxon Pub,’ ‘Parlor,’ ‘Chop Shop Live!’ + ‘Vol. 1-4’ (2020) 

November 20, 2020 by Bill Golembeski

Austin’s Matt Smith (he of 6 String Ranch Recording Studio fame) is a well-kept secret as a guitar slinging, songwriting, and man of rock ‘n’ roll colors who, for 30-odd years, has churned out music with street cred to burn. 

And, finally! One of my suspected and hidden mysteries has been proven to be real! Sure, the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot are still just conjecture and a few phony photos. And crop circles? Well, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley fessed up to that. But truly, I have always secretly hoped that somewhere (and yeah, probably in Texas!) there could be found a bar in which the pizza oozed with the hottest cheese that cradled the greatest spiced sausage, the beer was brewed with the sweetest nectar, and the house band carved a blues-soul-rock ‘n’ roll groove that makes gravestones dance –and then order that oozing and super-spiced sausage pizza. 

Now, it should be noted that Matt Smith’s eight albums arrived in the mail. Yeah, I am a self-confessed wallflower, but these are the perks of being a reviewer. All these CDs sort of make 1971’s lavish four-album Chicago Live at Carnegie look like a single disc with a limited-time-only bonus EP record added to hype the Christmas sales. This is a lot of music. 

But in fairness, wow! Smith’s muse is all over the spectrum—rock, soul, (sort of) jazz, acoustic tunes, acoustic guitar instrumental stuff, gospel, and (one) bit of weird dance-floor beats. And in fairness (again!) it’s important to say the one common denominator through all of this musical flux is Smith’s incredible guitar playing, which can float like Mohammad Ali’s “butterfly” and then spit out a fractured-razor beam toward the monolith on Jupiter that gave jet fuel to the gist of the rather convoluted plot in 2001: A Space Odyssey. 

This is certainly true for the Chop Shop Live! at Strange Brew. Smith sizzles all over the barroom dance floor. This is urgent rock ‘n’ roll that oozes pizza and sweet nectar beer. A close second (almost) favorite is Live at the Saxon Pub, credited to Matt Smith’s World, which conjures a jazzy vibe with sax, keyboards and ethnic percussion — with superb guitar riding like a drunken pony express through New York Saturday night jook joints. 

For more of an overview, there’s Matt Smith 1988-2020 Vol. 1-4, which serves as a greatest-hits collection from various albums. Volume 3 gets soulful with a cover of “Rainy Night in Georgia,” and “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Crying,” but there’s the wonderfully weird (sort of) metaphysical tune, “Jesus in Mexico.” And, there are moments when Smith echoes the blues-folk sound of Canada’s national treasure, Colin Linden. That’s a big complement. 

“Shine Your Light on Me” gets a dramatic Bruce Springsteen-arena treatment. “Dance on the Blue Ball” is tough like an Aerosmith tune, and then morphs into the country picking of “Lickety Pick.” As said, these songs run the road map of America. Just off the ramp from the truck-stop is an amped-up (really decent) big power ballad, “Reason to Believe.” And then “House on Fire” gets a big electric blues-psych treatment, ala Robin Trower and his big-riff Bridge of Sighs / “Day of the Eagle” period. That’s another big complement. 

Now, the flagship release is Matt’s new studio album, Being Human, which has a really cool gatefold cover, in contrast to the simplistic photo of Matt with guitar that houses Matt Smith 1988-2020 Vol. 1-4. (The Live at the Saxon Pub and Chop Shop Live! sport pretty nice pop-art images.) Being Human jumps with juke-box joy over genres a plenty. So, a bit of caution. There is no sustained flavor over the grooves. 

Now, there are few compadres who can match the lyrical and melodic skills of Elvis Costello, but imagine an album filled with cuts from Get Happy, Trust, North, Almost Blue, and some of those collaborative albums like The River in Reverse (with Allen Toussaint!). That’s the vibe with Being Human. The tunes run the gamut of the folky protest of “Sanctuary,” the pop-rock of the title track, the tough (and obvious) punk of “I Got the Girl,” the confessional hard rock of “Down in the Hole,” and the acoustic pathos of “How Did We Get Here.” This is all pretty great stuff. 

But then, to quote the great Canterbury prog band Caravan, “Surprise, Surprise!” As “Everybody Wanna Do the Don’t” suddenly injects electric dance-floor beats with a Sly and the Family Stone funk that bumps into the B-52’s “Dance This Mess Around,” while Matt Smith’s guitar snarls and strangles its way through the tune with a Robert Fripp twist. This one certainly resets the pulse rate of the album. My friend Kilda Defnut remarked, after hearing the song: “Well, we’re not in a Kansas folk club anymore.” 

Two other tunes are genre specific: “God Is Watching Over You” is mega-Bible church sing-a-long. Now, this isn’t my usual cup of Sunday morning coffee but it is well done, and does, with the organ and stinging guitar, have a self-important (but always lovable) Gary Brooker and Procol Harum vibe. And “I’d Do Anything for You” delves into bluesy late-night vocal jazz with a sleepy cigarette and vodka-tonic piano breathed breath. This is eclectic stuff. 

And by the way, Matt Smith is the musical director of Phoenix Academy Austin — the residential drug and rehab faculty for youths aged 13—22. As my friend Kilda also says, “rock music always cares about the kids.” This music does just that: it cares about kids. 

And then, the final album Parlor is an all-acoustic album of quiet beauty. Smith plays a guitar gifted from his great-grandfather who bought the instrument “in the 1890s.” Matt writes in his notes: “One man, one guitar, one take — it’s as real as it can be.” Well, yeah, ‘nuff said. 

Matt Smith is a bit of an off-the-beaten path, Tom Robbins “roadside attraction.” But he’s a true American soul, because he’s all over the place. Remember what (the great) Walt Whitman said, “I too am not tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.” 

Yeah, ultimately, this lump of albums is one very big and very weird rock ‘n’ roll “yawp” that bumps and grinds but also whispers with acoustic sounds. These grooves get soulful, but they still pray with commercial biblical salvation. Then the oddball curve is thrown, and ultimately, Matt Smith plays music that oozes with the hottest cheese and those spiced sausages that simply desire to mix on the dance floor, in a salty place which will always require a Texas bar-room beer rock ‘n’ roll chaser.

Matt Smith — Being Human (6 String Ranch Records) 

When the history books are written, the year 2020 will be a year to remember and, unfortunately, not all for the right reasons. That sense of challenge and the human drive to triumph over tragedy is tastefully captured and brought to life by singer / songwriter Matt Smith on his 2020 album Being Human.

Brought to the attention of mwe3.com way back in 2011 thanks to the release of Matt Smith’s World, Matt’s musical expertise has truly grown and matured while in recent years, he has gone into music production and studio recording with his world acclaimed recording studio 6 String Ranch, based in beautiful Austin, Texas.

Another fitting example of ‘you can’t get too much of a good thing’, in a good way, Matt has upped the ante with a musical release schedule that will amaze music fans far and wide.

With eight new songs, and clocking in at 33 minutes, Being Human may be the flagship release and his new for 2020 studio album, yet this year Matt has in fact released 8 new albums at the same time, including Being Human, Parlor (a solo acoustic instrumental album recorded on an 1890’s Thompson & Odell parlor guitar), Chop Shop – Live At Strange Brew (featuring Matt with Ed Freidland (bass) and Bryan Austin (drums), Matt Smith’s World – Live At The Saxon Pub (featuring Matt with Ernie Durawa (drums), David Webb (keys,vocals), Joe Morales (sax, flute, vocals), Aaron Lack (steel pan, percussion, vocals) and Mark Epstein (bass), as well as Matt Smith 1988-2020 Vol. 1-4 (a four CD collection curated from his 10 previous albums that have been released since the start of Matt’s solo career. In addition to the 8 CDs listed above, 11 of Matt Smith’s albums are also digitally re-released for the first time in 2020.

As good as this news is for Matt Smith fans worldwide, he explains that another reason for such a major undertaking of his new music and catalog overhaul, is his hope that it will shine a light on 6 String Ranch, his multi-faceted recording studio, catering to songwriters and recording artists, both new and seasoned. Having worked as an inspiration to artists and songwriters, providing songwriting mentorships, instructional lessons, in person and over the internet though his 6 String Ranch YouTube channel, Matt is also giving back to his community with the Austin at-risk youth home, Phoenix Academy, which also features its own recording studio, where the residents can compose and record music under Matt’s guidance.

Perhaps this is a case of too much of a good thing, but at the very least fans of catchy pop-rock songs and smart songwriting are advised to check out Being Human, while fans of instrumental acoustic guitar playing in the spirit of Americana masters like Leo Kottke and Stefan Grossman are recommended to listen to Parlor. With his 8 new CDs and 11 newly released digital albums of his vast back catalog, Austin’s vital rock guitar tastemaker, Matt Smith takes his place among America’s leading 21st century recording artists. 

MATT SMITH’S WORLD – Live At The Saxon Pub  - Let It Rock (6 String Ranch 2011 / 2020) 

New York to Texas and all points in between: American musician struts his heady stuff before the public. 

There are many strings to this artist’s talents – the Austin-based polymath is a clinician, producer, instructor and an all-round good guy – but he needs only six to set all this respect-laden luggage aside and let it loose in front of an audience. That’s how it was back in 2011, the year the guitarist’s group were promoting their then-fresh album “Matt Smith’s World” and presenting previously unheard tunes, alongside choice favorites, to the locals. How did they manage to be eating instead of savoring his pieces remains unknown, and the menu of that day has long been forgotten, yet the sounds got preserved for posterity and are as fresh now. 

From the first sax lick of “Struggle On” which defies its own title by pitching easiness into the night to the last mandolin-laced note of “Hot Club Of Brooklyn” which relocates the concert’s humid atmosphere to folksy fields and then to a honky-tonk, there’s a soulful ground for the ensemble to roam with a melodious roar. But whereas Matt’s rivetingly strong voice and his colleagues’ vocal harmonies seem to take center stage for the most part, it’s instrumental detail that’s the most arresting aspect of the show, as David Webb’s ivories, Aaron Lack’s steel drum and Smith’s own strum pepper up the flow and peak once “Jazzhaus” is spread out for everyone to marvel at the collective’s telepathic interplay. 

The sextet’s constant shift through styles helps the listener to keep the focus firm while shuffling their feet to the infectious Latin-rock jive of “Walk The Talk” and sway to the velveteen “Dance With Me” – so electrifyingly elegant, especially when it gains speed and climaxes with a percussive fest – or at least tap their toes to the lightweight funk of “Simple Song” before Joe Morales’ brass soars and passes this free flight to the others. Still, if the reading of Stephen Stills’ “Love The One You’re With” that provides them with ample space to delve into a fusion-ravaged raga and gives Mark Epstein’s bass a chance to bulge, is a tad drawn-out, the vaudevillian stroll of “Junkie For Your Love” will compensate for any length of a number whose Brechtian urbanism feels irresistible. 

Finally dusted off, this performance captures Matt Smith in his element – with music flowing like spirits.

Being Human is the flagship release of eight newly published albums by New Yorker Matt Smith on his Austin, Texas-based www.6stringranch.com record label. The other seven albums include four compilations which deliver a selection of numbers recorded over a period of 32 years from 1988 to earlier this year. The three other albums are Chop Shop—Live at StrangeBrew, Matt Smith’s World—Live at the Saxon Pub, and Parlor, a delightful bluesy acoustic instrumental melange. The flagship album, which was four years in the making, combines Matt’s excellent vocals and richly talented guitar playing and an international band of musicians. It features eight original songs that explore a broad range of human issues with a high degree of realism and honesty. The album opens with a medium-paced ballad “Sanctuary,” which sympathizes with the plight of refugees. The title track then reflects on the key difficulties which confront the human spirit, and “Everybody Wanna Do the Don’t” provides a funky discussion of our obsession with doing our own thing. “I Got the Girl” is an upbeat rocker with some nifty guitar work. “How We Got to Here” philosophizes on the difficult balance between self-achievement and collective responsibility. The heavier-beating “Down in the Hole” then recognizes our temptation to hide when life is difficult. “God is Watching Over You” offers hope and salvation through divine love before the album is brought to a close by another gentle ballad in the shape of “I’d Do Anything for You,” splendidly embellished by a suitably lyrical guitar solo.Being Human exemplifies Matt Smith’s song-writing prowess, which blends his positive attitude with a fine use of words. That essential talent is significantly enhanced by his well-toned vocals and impressive guitar playing to present a very pleasing musical effect, which delivers a most enjoyable experience.

Lionel Ross, Blues in Britain

Matt Smith "Parlor"

Garth Thomas - The Hollywood Digest

Matt Smith’s Parlor LP, one of eight new complete albums he’s dropping in the month of September, starts off with the Django Reinhardt-reminiscent “29th St Rag” and immediately sets an upbeat tone for most every colorfully virtuostic string melody we’ll hear in the next dozen tracks. “First Love” takes the tempo down for a bit only to turn us over to the gushing fretwork of a lush and self-explanatory “Blue as Blue Can Be,” and while there’s a bit of contrast between the way these two tracks were stylized, they fit in amongst the other songs on Parlor as well as “29th St Rag,” the hesitantly blushing “Spring in My Step” and cerebral “Daydreams” do. Smith constructs an LP defined by its diversity here, and for my money as a guitar aficionado, it couldn’t be any better-appointed than it is. 

“Blues in the Parlor” takes us back into the gaze of a swaggering – but wholly reflective – tone we first made contact with in “Blue as Blue Can Be,” but in this case, the delivery is a lot more subtle than it is abrasive and moderately aggressive. “After the Goldrush” slows things down to their most balladic and folk-oriented in tone, imparting a melody about ninety-seconds into its playing time that actually brought tears to my eyes the first time I listened to this album all the way through. There’s an innocence to his play here that could never have been articulated in lyrics, and through the texture of the music we’re afforded an opportunity to understand an artist’s emotion in a fashion ill-afforded to those who follow mainstream pop exclusively. 

A deceptively-titled track in “Slacker” stacks the strings on top of us for a half-drunken stagger that feels a little more like a rebirth than it does a second act segue into the boldly aching bruiser “Dressing for Church” and its dark, mysterious cousin in “Traveling Man.” It’s amazing how much Matt Smith is able to communicate to us in this album through nothing other than his fretwork and the almost nonexistent reverb that cradles every melody it yields. One could assume a singer would have probably got in his way had he hired one on for this project, and in all honesty, I’m happy he decided to go the route he did here instead. 

“Desert Meditation” might be the most exotic song on the latter half of Parlor, but it doesn’t dwarf the presence of a rollicking “Isla Mujeres” at all – I actually think they go together as well as roast beef and potatoes for the kind of mood Smith was trying to create towards the conclusion of the tracklist. A one-minute epilogue in “That’s All Folks!” gives us a fleeting farewell performance from Matt Smith before ushering the audience back into the silence through which it came rolling twelve songs ago, and when it’s over, there’s more a feeling of catharsis than there is a desire to go back and study what we’ve just heard. In short, if anyone ever said virtuosic records had to be case studies for hardcore music junkies exclusively, they clearly couldn’t have foreseen Matt Smith coming to prominence with an album like this one. 

Garth Thomas

“Live at the Saxon Pub” by Guitarist Matt Smith 

September 22, 2020 by Jodi Marxbury 

Rolling out of the shadows with a fiery guitar-driven groove that only gets hotter as we press on, “Simple Song” is anything but, and it’s a fair taste of what listeners should expect to find around every turn in the new album Live at the Saxon Pub from Matt Smith. Billed as Matt Smith’s World, Smith and his collaborators shred through ten solid jams in this live LP that live up to the Austin setting in which they were conceived and then some, and whether you’re familiar with his work or not, melody-lovers are almost certain to walk away just as satisfied as any diehard fan will be. 

 The beat takes center stage in “Love the One You’re With,” “Hot Club of Brooklyn” and “Six Degrees of Separation,” and while it’s not the only element of note in the big picture here, the percussive component tends to set the foundation for the majority of climactic moments in Live at the Saxon Pub. It adds a ton of color to the backend of tracks like “Dance with Me” while stirring around in the darkness for “What Wil I Do Without You,” its presence always affecting the greater narrative at hand in some fashion or another. 

Bold melodies are never far away in Live at the Saxon Pub; in all honesty, I think “Struggle On,” “Jazzhaus” and “Junkie for Your Love” sound all the more larger than life because of the venue in which they’re being presented to us. All of this content has a very natural, unforced feel to it, exploiting both the chemistry of the band and the undisputed connection the players have with the audience. The entire record aches with Austin energy, which is still a pretty desirable attribute in alternative music these days. 

As compositionally contrasting as “Love the One You’re With,” “Walk the Talk” and “Struggle On” might be on paper, there’s a continuity to this tracklist that I was immediately taken with the first time I sat down to hear this record. Everything sounds born of a mighty jam session to begin with, and thus, all the more organic in spirit when it’s being played to us in an environment it was never meant to leave in the first place. We might be living in so-called isolation times, but an album like this has a fantastic way of bringing the chills of a live club show into a pair of headphones.

A terrific encapsulation of Austin vitality and compelling American songcraft of the more classic variety, Live at the Saxon Pub is a must-listen if you’re into smart indie rock with a dirty country soul. Matt Smith’s World start a blaze that comes close to burning out of a control in a couple of spots here, but if you’ve ever heard anything this singer/songwriter has recorded prior to his most recent release, you should be expecting plenty of attitude. The bottom line? This is a quality LP no matter how you look at it.

Matt Smith -“Live at the Saxon Pub” (LP) 

Colin Jordan 

In a menacing, bluesy lurch it takes Matt Smith’s World approximately seventeen seconds to tell us everything we need to know about their new album Live at the Saxon Pub in “Jazzhaus,” one of my favorite excerpts from the ten-song tracklist. From the experimental fuzz of “Jazzhaus” to the overwhelming blues beat of “What Will I Do Without You” and colorful “Love the One You’re With,” Smith leads his collective into battle with the mundane sounds of a jaded mainstream and emerges sounding more Austin than a lot of his contemporaries have in years (in a good way, mind you). Mixing blues with jazz, classic rock overdrive and a trademark smoky vocal that is his and his alone, the gives us the live album that 2020 desperately needed. 

 “Struggle On” gets the tracklist going with a hedonistic harmony between the sax and keys that references some of Smith’s old school influences, but much like the swaggering “Six Degrees of Separation,” the band’s performance never allows for even a second of audio here to sound even remotely throwback-ish. As much as this is the namesake’s show and spotlight to own, he never has an issue turning some of the attention over to the drums or individual melodic components if it means maximizing the emotion behind a specific lyric. You could accuse him of being a little rebellious against the pop music model as it stands in 2020, but in my book, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that at all. 

 The guitar-centric material in Live at the Saxon Pub was definitely the most memorable for me, with “Simple Song” in particular standing out as a wonderful example of Smith’s skills as a player in addition to his vocal abilities. “Junkie for Your Love” and “Hot Club of Brooklyn” are too eclectic to draw our attention towards specific elements within the mix — which, I might add, is one of the cleaner I’ve heard in a rock crossover record this year — but I wouldn’t say anything here sounds cluttered or unfocused. Even at its most chaotic, there’s a sense of self-control guiding every composition in this tracklist, which is a lot more than I can say for some of the similarly-structured content making a splash on the mainstream side of the dial this year. 

Whether it’s the raw melodic crunch of “Walk the Talk” or extended band freak-outs like “Dance with Me,” you’re not likely to listen to Live at the Saxon Pub in its entirety without reacting to something in its ten amazingly accessible songs. Live albums can be particularly difficult to record, especially if you’re trying to maintain the natural energy of a show while still delivering something polished and palatable to your core audience, and on this occasion I think it was really smart of Matt Smith’s World to go with more of a stripped-down, hands-off approach to the production style. This is as close to the real thing as it gets, and for my money, it’s an unmissable treat this fall. 

musicoff.com-Matt Smith Releases 8 New Albums!

If nowadays it takes courage and resourcefulness to release a new album, just think what it means to release 8 all together! 

Who is Matt Smith? Quite a name that will sound new to many of you, except perhaps a niche. Some Italians may already know him because Smith had the opportunity to share the stage in Milan with our Four Tiles, Cesareo's quartet and our great friend Stefano "Sebo" Xott 

Matt Smith is many things: a musician, a teacher (National Guitar Workshop), a music producer and author, for over 30 years. It is one of the main demonstrators for brands such as Ovation, Takamine, Tech 21, etc. 

As a musician, he already has a dozen albums under his belt which, for the occasion (as if there weren't enough meat on the fire!) Are all about to be reissued. He has written hundreds of songs and produced over 100 records as well as commercials and soundtracks. 

Let's not talk about his session-man activity in the studio, since his talent works on the following instruments, take note: acoustic, electric and baritone guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, dobro, sitar, Mohan vina, steel guitar, ukulele, saz, cumbus, charango, tiple. 

So it's easy to understand why so many albums are coming, being an artist with explosive creativity. 

They will all be published by 6 String Ranch Records, below we give you a brief description of them hoping that you will find the time to listen to them, one at a time, with the due calm and attention as good music deserves. 

Being Human 

The most important album of all these recordings - it took 4 years to make and contains songs that reflect the problems related to the human condition. The songs deal with very broad themes, love, death and spirituality, along with current topics such as immigration, narcissism and addiction. Smith is supported on the album by a cast of stellar international musicians. 

Parlor 

It's a guitar-only instrumental album recorded entirely using an 1890 Thompson and Odell parlor guitar that has been passed down through 4 generations in the Smith family! "One Man - one guitar - one take" was the concept of this album which features both composed and improvised parts. 

Chop Shop - Live at Strange Brew 

It was recorded at the legendary club south of Austin during one of the Sunday afternoon shows the band was resident in. The Chop Shop was Matt Smith's trio in which songs were used as a platform to express the creativity and improvisation of the musicians. The elements are Smith, Ed Friedland on bass and Bryan Austin on drums. 

Matt Smith's World - Live at the Saxon Pub 

It includes Matt Smith, along with Austin pros Ernie Durawa (drums), David Webb (keyboards and vocals), Joe Morales (sax, flute and vocals), Aaron Lack (steel pan, percussion and vocals) and Mark Epstein (bass). The album was recorded by Richard Vannoy during the band's weekly performance at the iconic venue. 

Volumes 1-4 by Matt Smith 1988-2020 

  Complete the 8 albums made. The collection is made up of tracks from 10 albums previously released since Matt Smith's solo career began. 

Vol. 1- Upstate NY: 1988-1994 

Vol. 2 - NYC: 1994-2005 

Vol. 3 - NYC / Austin: 2005-2011 

Vol. 4 - Austin: 2011-2020

As a musician, teacher, producer and author, Smith has dedicated himself to the art and craft of making music for over 30 years.

He was a senior music instructor for the National Guitar Workshop, leading workshops in Connecticut, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Austin, Nashville, Florida, Seattle, Oakland, the United Kingdom and Germany.

It’s not only difficult to find someone with Smith’s breadth of experience, but equally rare to find someone who shares his knowledge so generously with colleagues.

Too Much Love

September 22, 2020 

Music, News, Reviews 

“Being Human” LP by Matt Smith 

In his cerebral 2020 LP Being Human, singer and songwriter Matt Smith explores the depth of his songwriting in a way he never has before; freely and without any consideration for aesthetical parameters. There’s no underlying pop component tying songs like “How We Got to Here,” “Down in the Hole,” “Everybody Do the Don’t” and “I Got the Girl” together – there’s only the unrelenting passion of Smith and his backing band, who collectively put more wallop into even the softest of songs here to make every moment in Being Human feel real, unfiltered and untouched by synthetic elements. 

 On shuffle, this record has a striking fluidity that really took me by surprise the first time I listened to it. For as varying as the styles are from “I’d Do Anything for You” to the title cut and “Sanctuary,” the cohesiveness of the energy behind every song is impossible to ignore. You can tell that Smith took some serious time selecting which tracks he wanted to include here, as even when they’re playing in a completely different order than originally presented, they feel like chapters of a discord-filled story being told by the singer in the eye of the storm. 

The vocal is balanced with some sterling bass work in “Everybody Do the Don’t” and simple “God is Watching Over You,” and when breaking down the tracklist as a whole, there’s no getting around the obvious priorities Matt Smith has as a recording artist. Creating a sonic equilibrium is clearly of upmost importance to him, because much like the other seven new albums he’s releasing this September, there’s rarely a song in which specific instruments take the lead role over any of the others. Everything here is very powerful, and essential to our understanding and fully appreciating the mood of the music in Being Human. 

I love the texture the strings emit in the title track, “Down in the Hole” and “I Got the Girl,” and while the guitar parts in these tracks are tonally communicative, they never play as overly brawny or made to fill in negative space created by the bare bones mixing style. There’s nothing worse than an overthought – and over complicated – eclectic pop effort, but much to my delight, Matt Smith is going out of his way to give us an album in Being Human that doesn’t ask anything out of us in exchange for a relaxing yet stimulating listen for thirty-three solid minutes. 

 Matt Smith has made some really interesting work inside of the studio since first surfacing in the underground Austin scene back in the 1980s, and from my perspective, what he’s developed for fans and critics the same in Being Human is absolutely among his most mature work so far. A veteran of his status doesn’t have to do anything to effect the narrative in their scene, but for this player, it seems as though slowing down has never been on the table. Listeners are winners for it, and this LP is just the latest treat to be adored. 

John McCall

Expose Online- Matt Smith's World — Live at the Saxon Pub 

(6 String Ranch no#, 2020, CD / DL) 

Matt Smith's Chop Shop — Live at Strange Brew 

(6 String Ranch no#, 2020, CD / DL) 

by Peter Thelen, Published 2020-11-20 

A few weeks back when I reviewed Matt Smith’s two new studio releases Parlor and Being Human.,I mentioned that those were only two of eight concurrent albums all released on the same day. Now come the two live albums, featuring two bands he regularly gigs with in the Austin, Texas area, and those two groups couldn’t be more different, though equally excellent. Matt Smith’s Chop Shop Live at Strange Brew is a trio of Smith (guitar, vocals, lap steel, mandolin, and all of the original songwriting), bassist Ed Freidland, and drummer Bryan Austin. The venue, Strange Brew, is in South Austin, where the band held a weekly Sunday afternoon residency. Since there are no recording dates provided, one is left to assume that the ten recordings are not all from the same date, especially given that the first song, a surf instrumental titled “Tough Guy / Tsurfin the Tsunami,” is actually the last song of a set, after which Smith announces that the band will be back the following week. With a band name like Chop Shop one can bet there are some serious chops going down here. The second number is a vocal tune, “Trust Yourself,” some parts of which bear resemblance to ZZ Top’s “Cheap Sunglasses,” though every player in the group gets their moment in the spotlight, and what an amazing bass solo by Freidland! On the slow bluesy number “Shades of Grey,” Smith shreds the fretboard numerous times along the song’s seven and a half minute duration. There are some great cover tunes here as well, one of the best being the old James Brown tune “I Feel Good,” offered at a slower tempo; Smith and company truly make the song their own. The same could be said for the late Tony Joe White’s “Rainy Night in Georgia” and the nearly ten minute version of Stephen Stills number “Love the One You’re With” with an extended solo section where Freidland and Smith both turn in some bristling power. The Smith original instrumental “Too Much / Smell My Mandolin” is a bombastic eruption of blistering solo work that freely quotes “Day Tripper” before it moves out into a jazzier realm with a great solo spot by Austin, followed by Smith’s electric mandolin number. End to end, the ten tracks here represent a superb live set by this outstanding trio. 

Matt Smith’s World is a six-piece band that features an entirely different set of players, where everyone sings except the drummer, and Live at the Saxon Pub was recorded during the band’s weekly residency there. Their sound is a bit more straightforward pop-rock and a barrel of fun to boot. The group is Smith on guitars, mandolin, and vocals, keyboardist / singer David Webb, drummer Ernie Durawa, Joe Morales on saxes, flute and vocals, Mark Epstein on bass and vocals (with whom Smith shares a couple of the songwriting credits), and Aaron Lick on steel pan, percussion, and vocals. The saxes and steel drums add a lot of flavor to their sound, and there are plenty of great solo spots for both, as well as for Smith, Webb, and the others. The opener, “Struggle On,” sounds a bit like something Todd Rundgren might have done in the early 70s, while “Dance with Me” bears a strong Caribbean flavor and, like the title suggests, a supremely danceable number, especially with all the percussive elements going on. The eight minute “Junkie for Your Love” dates back to one of Smith’s earlier bands and their album Meet the Monstas, a supremely fun romp featuring accordion and steel pan with a beautiful sax solo. Listening to this set, the band embraces a number of different styles, but shies away from the harder-edged blues rock of Smith’s trio. The funky eight minute instrumental “Jazzhaus” lives up to its name and features amazing solo spots for steel drums, sax, and organ. For the record, there is only one cover tune among the album’s nine tracks, and again it’s Stephen Stills’ “Love the One You're With,” a similar style to the one by Chop Shop, but with all the additional instrumentation of the sextet in the arrangement, and more powerful vocals, the song really explodes with intensity. The initial measures of closing instrumental “Hot Club of Brooklyn” are vaguely reminiscent of an Irish jig, but the tune really gets moving when it hits a Django Reinhardt-like swing. There’s a lot of great writing and musicianship across these two live sets, definitely worthy of attention.

Daily Pop News “Live at the Saxon Pub” by Guitarist Matt Smith 

September 22, 2020 by Jodi Marxbury 

Rolling out of the shadows with a fiery guitar-driven groove that only gets hotter as we press on, “Simple Song” is anything but, and it’s a fair taste of what listeners should expect to find around every turn in the new album Live at the Saxon Pub from Matt Smith. Billed as Matt Smith’s World, Smith and his collaborators shred through ten solid jams in this live LP that live up to the Austin setting in which they were conceived and then some, and whether you’re familiar with his work or not, melody-lovers are almost certain to walk away just as satisfied as any diehard fan will be. 

 The beat takes center stage in “Love the One You’re With,” “Hot Club of Brooklyn” and “Six Degrees of Separation,” and while it’s not the only element of note in the big picture here, the percussive component tends to set the foundation for the majority of climactic moments in Live at the Saxon Pub. It adds a ton of color to the backend of tracks like “Dance with Me” while stirring around in the darkness for “What Wil I Do Without You,” its presence always affecting the greater narrative at hand in some fashion or another. 

Bold melodies are never far away in Live at the Saxon Pub; in all honesty, I think “Struggle On,” “Jazzhaus” and “Junkie for Your Love” sound all the more larger than life because of the venue in which they’re being presented to us. All of this content has a very natural, unforced feel to it, exploiting both the chemistry of the band and the undisputed connection the players have with the audience. The entire record aches with Austin energy, which is still a pretty desirable attribute in alternative music these days. 

As compositionally contrasting as “Love the One You’re With,” “Walk the Talk” and “Struggle On” might be on paper, there’s a continuity to this tracklist that I was immediately taken with the first time I sat down to hear this record. Everything sounds born of a mighty jam session to begin with, and thus, all the more organic in spirit when it’s being played to us in an environment it was never meant to leave in the first place. We might be living in so-called isolation times, but an album like this has a fantastic way of bringing the chills of a live club show into a pair of headphones. 

A terrific encapsulation of Austin vitality and compelling American songcraft of the more classic variety, Live at the Saxon Pub is a must-listen if you’re into smart indie rock with a dirty country soul. Matt Smith’s World start a blaze that comes close to burning out of a control in a couple of spots here, but if you’ve ever heard anything this singer/songwriter has recorded prior to his most recent release, you should be expecting plenty of attitude. The bottom line? This is a quality LP no matter how you look at it. 

Jodi Marxbury

Title - 8 New Releases from Matt Smith! Artist - Matt Smith

For those not in the know, Matt Smith, a Capital District-raised, Austin-based artist, has just released eight (8) new albums as well as ten digital releases from his catalog of recordings!

The albums - all curated from the 10 previous albums that have been released since the start of his solo career - will be available everywhere music is streamed or bought and hard copies of the albums are available through Austin’s Waterloo Records and at www.6stringranch.com.

When asked about why he was releasing them all now, Matt Smith says, "It’s an election year and there’s COVID. I had them all ready, and rather than dribble them out, why not put it all out at once? That way, I can get back to work on new material.”

Smith has been working on the flagship release, Being Human for four years. The album addresses broad themes of love, death and spirituality, along with timely issues such as immigration, narcissism and addiction.

Comprised of eight new tracks, it opens with the smooth hipsway of 'Sanctuary' which is backed up seamlessly by the rhythmic, one-two vibe of the title track, 'Being Human,' the tremendously funky 'Everybody Wanna Do the Don't,' and then the guitar rock of 'I Got the Girl.'

Up next is the ornately beautiful storytelling of 'How We Got to Here,' which is followed by the mid-tempo rocker 'Down in the Hole,' the free flowing positivity of 'God Is Watching over You,' with the album closing on the slow blues, last dance sway of 'I'd Do Anything for You.'

Parlor is a solo acoustic instrumental album recorded entirely on an 1890’s Thompson and Odell parlor guitar that has been handed down through four generations of the Smith family.

Opening with the Romani-French, jazz-esque beauty '29th St Rag,' that's backed by the gentler orchestrations of 'First Love,' the stunningly precise fretwork of 'Blue as Blue Can Be,' the foot-tappin', guitar-slappin' melodies of 'Spring In My Step,' and then comes one of my own personal favorites, the scholarly 'Daydreams.'

Next up is the slow, lowdown blues swagger of 'Blues in the Parlor' which is backed by the ornate, laid back and reflective 'After the Goldrush,' the wondrously articulated theme within 'Slacker,' and then the buoyant, and somewhat perky 'Dressing For Church.'

We then get yet another fantastic track in the form of the free-wheelin' majesty of 'Traveling Man,' which is backed by the exotic 'Desert Meditation,' with the album rounding out on playfully funky 'Isla Mujeres,' closing on the one-minute epilogue, 'That’s All Folks!'

Chop Shop – Live at Strange Brew was recorded at the legendary south Austin venue during the band’s weekly Sunday afternoon residency.

Chop Shop was Smith’s trio that used song format as a platform for creativity and improvisation, featuring Smith, along with Ed Friedland (bass) and Bryan Austin (drums).

Opening with the thunderous blues rock of 'Tough Guy / Tsurfin' the Tsunami,' that's followed by the blues funk of 'Trust Yourself,' the lowdown and staggered guitar work of 'Shelter from the Storm,' before bringing the levels down for the Down South ballad, 'Shades of Grey.'

A cover of folk rock musician Stephen Stills' 'Love The One Your With' is up next and is followed by the guitar melodies of 'Greenfield Grove,' a song written by Tony Joe White in 1967 and popularized by R&B vocalist Brook Benton in 1970, 'Rainy Night in Georgia,' coming to a close on the frenetic guitar work of 'Too Much / Smell My Mandolin,' a sloth-like rendition of James Brown's 'I Feel Good,' and, finally, a finger-snappin' jam in the form of 'Blueswalk.'

Matt Smith’s World – Live at the Saxon Pubfeatures Smith, along with Austin pros Ernie Durawa (drums), David Webb (keyboards, vocals), Joe Morales (sax, flute, vocals), Aaron Lack (steel pan, percussion, vocals) and Mark Epstein (bass).

The album was recorded by Richard Vannoy during the band’s weekly residency at the iconic venue.

Yet another brilliant live album, this one opens with the Gospel blues of 'Struggle On' and backs that up with the rock guitar and Hammond exploitations of 'Walk the Talk,' the piano blues of 'Simple Song,' the mid-tempo hipsway of 'Dance with Me' and then the smooth guitar rock of 'Six Degrees of Separation.'

Next up is the seven minute long, rock and reggae-influenced jam 'Jazzhaus' which is followed by the their version of 'Love the One You're With,' the lowbrow, slopping Parisian blues of 'Junkie for Your Love,' rounding out with the low light, late night smoky club vibe of 'What Will I Do Without You,' closing on the frenetically magnificent, cultured guitar frenzy of 'Hot Club of Brooklyn.'

Matt Smith: 1988-2020, Vols. 1-4 round out the eight-album release.

Vol. 1 - Upstate NY: 1988-1994 opens with the frenzied 'Happy Jack,' the blues rock of 'Elevator of Love,' the lush AOR pop of 'Shine Your Light on Me,' the upbeat, guitar rush of 'Dancing' on the Blue Ball,' and then both the frenetic tinkling and guitar work of 'Lickety Pick' and the gentle storytelling of 'Reason to Be.'

The Springsteen-esque 'House of Fire' is next and is followed by the rocker 'Runnin' Just as Fast as I Can,' the ornate guitar blues of 'Falling in Love Again,' the funky 'Perfect World,' and then rounds out on the gut-wrenching honesty of 'Not That I'm Afraid of Love,' closing on the melodic AOR, and sax-imbued 'After All These Years.'

Vol. 2 - NYC: 1994-2005 opens with upbeat and perky outlook of 'Beauty and Light' which is backed by the old school feel of 'Big White Moon,' the searingly tender, Springsteen-esque 'Ballad of the Lower East Side,' the low slung blues of 'Shelter from the Storm' and then the low key acoustic guitar work of 'Holy Ground'

The appropriately titled 'Big Fun' is all sorts of just that, and is followed by the beautifully melodic 'Greenfield Grove,' the deep guitar funk of 'Ashes in the Wind,' the meaningful hopes and wishes of 'One Perfect Moment,' and then we get a stand out gem in the form of the upbeat, and always generous Louisiana funk n' roll that resides within 'Montreal.'

The guitar jam of 'Touch Guy' is then backed by the Hawaiian harmonies of 'Alo Moana,' with the album coming to a close on the ferociously fervent 'Djeet Yit?'

Vol. 3 - NYC/Austin: 2005-2011 opens with his version of 'A Rainy Night in Georgia,' and that's backed by the mid-tempo, percussion-imbued ballad 'Save Your Love for Me,' and the low slung, tender duo of 'Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying' and 'I Wish You Love.'

The sultry blues rock comes back for 'I Want to Love You' which is followed by the deeply sung and resonating 'Junkie for Your Love,' the acoustic storytelling of 'Jesus in Mexico,' the tempo turned up for 'Struggle On,' the album rounding out on the blues rock of 'Six Degrees of Separation,' and then closing on the mid-tempo AOR of 'How It's Gotta Be,' and the always amazing to hear freneticism of 'Hot Club of Brooklyn.'

The very last album of the eight (8) just released, Vol. 4 - Austin: 2011-2020 opens with the thunderous blues rock of live tracks 'Trust Yourself,' his rendition of 'Love the One You're With,' and then the slow 'n' easy 'Shades of Grey.'

Next up we get some acoustic renderings, firstly in the form of the light and breezy 'Daydreams,' the ornately cultured 'First Love,' the playful, yet always dedicated guitar work of 'Isla Mujeres,' and then we the frenetically sculptured 'Traveling Man.'

This album then rounds out with a trio of live tracks, the first being the rocker 'Simple Song,' the funky blues of 'Walk the Talk,' the album coming to a close on the romantically free flowing 'Dance with Me.'

Other Matt Smith albums that have been re-released digitally are:

Matt Smith Band / Whisper to a Scream / Tanqueray Rocks: Live at The Ritz / Delta Radio / Black and White / Big Fun / Free Beer and Chicken / What I Feel for You / Chop Shop / and Matt Smith’s World.

Currently the co-owner of 6-String Ranch studios in Austin, Smith has produced and engineered over 100 commercially-released albums, television commercials and film soundtracks.

As a session musician, he has played multiple instruments for many artists in New York and Austin. He is accomplished on a wide range of stringed instruments including acoustic, electric, and baritone guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, dobro, sitar, Mohan vina, steel guitar, ukulele, saz, cumbus, charango and tiple.

As a musician, teacher, producer and author, Smith has dedicated himself to the art and craft of making music for over 30 years.

He was a senior music instructor for the National Guitar Workshop, leading workshops in Connecticut, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Austin, Nashville, Florida, Seattle, Oakland, the United Kingdom and Germany.

It’s not only difficult to find someone with Smith’s breadth of experience, but equally rare to find someone who shares his knowledge so generously with colleagues.