Matt Smith

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

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, Hollywood Review

Matt Smith—Eight Album Release (6-String Ranch Records)

Austin’s Matt Smith (he of 6 String Ranch Recording Studio fame) is a well-kept secret as a guitar slinging, song writing, and man of rock ‘n’ roll colors who, for thirty 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 thegreatest 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 danceand then order that oozing and super spiced sausagepizza.

Now, it should be noted that Matt’s eight albums arrived in the mail. Yeah, I am a self-confessedwallflower, but these are the perks of being a reviewer. All these CDs sort of make that lavish four album 1971 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(!) MS’s muse is all over the spectrum—rock, soul, (sort of) jazz, acoustic tunes, acoustic guitar instrumental stuff, gospel, and (one) bit of weird dancefloor beats. And in fairness (again!) it’s important to say the one common denominator through all of this musical flux is Matt’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. Matt sizzles all over the rock ‘n’ roll barroom dance floor. This is urgent rock ‘n’ roll that oozes pizza and sweet nectar beer.

A close second (almost) favorite is Matt Smith’s World Live at the Saxon Pub which conjures, with sax, keyboards, and ethnic percussion, a jazzy vibe—with superb guitar riding like a drunken pony express through New York Saturday night jook joints.

There are several Volumes of Matt Smith music 1988-2020, which serve as greatest hits 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 Matt echoes the blues folk sound of Canada’s national treasure, Colin Linden. That’s a big complement. “Shine Your Light on Me” gets a big dramatic Bruce Springsteen arena treatment, as “Dance on the Blue Ball” is tough like an Aerosmith tune, which morphs into the country picking of “LicketyPick.” As said, these songs run the road map of America. And then, 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 Bridge of Sighs big rift “Day of the Eagle”period. That’s another big complement.

Now, the big 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 the various Volumes. But the Live at the Saxon Pub and Chop Shop sport pretty nice pop-art images.

But back to new “flagship release” Being Human: It 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 collaborate 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 WannaDo the Don’t” suddenly injects electric dancefloor beats with a Sly and the Family Stone funk that bumps into the B-52’s “Dance This Mess Around,” while Matt’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 loveable) 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 pianobreathed 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 Defnut, 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 guitar instrumental of quiet beauty. Matt plays a guitar gifted from his great-grandfather who bought the guitar “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 trueAmerican 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 American big and very weird rock ‘n’ roll “yawp” that bumps and grinds but also whispers with acoustic sounds; and these grooves get soulful, but they still pray with commercial biblical salvation. Then the oddball curve is thrown, and ultimately, Matt plays music that oozes with the hottest cheese and those spiced sausages that simply desire to mix on the dancefloor, in a salty place which will always require a Texas bar room beer rock ‘n’ roll chaser.

Bill Golembeski

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