SMITHFIELD FAIR: Winds of Time

Smithfield Fair

Winds of Time

© 2004 Stevenson Productions (783707845326)

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Acoustic music with driving rhythms and Celtic/Scottish undercurrents, passionate delivery, and unique harmonies.

notes

Smithfield Fair is a song-driven musical trio with close warm harmonies, driving rhythms, and a variety of acoustic instruments, including guitar, mandolin, bagpipes, accordion, and bodhran. The music has massive energy and passion and the songwriting is subtle, concise and intriguing. Critics have hailed their original material, and it regularly receives radio airplay worldwide. Singer/guitarists Jan and Dudley-Brian Smith founded the group in 1989 and drummer Frang Bladen was added in 1995. The trio has a long-standing reputation for fiery performances and polished passions. Family and cultural connections merge to create a unique sound and musical experience that has awed and excited audiences all over the world through live performances and radio. Smithfield Fair is joined on this recording by superbly understated acoustic bassist Bob Smith, aggresively innovative guitarist David Praet and fiddler Gina Forsyth of the Malvinas. The trio draws on Celtic backgrounds and world-travel and this prohibits any limitation by culture or heritage. Truly world music, the sound has a unique acoustic and vocal overcoating that gives it an enigmatic timeless, depth and warmth. Critics agree that Jan Smith's voice leaves the listener feeling he/she has just had a one-on-one conversation, while the combination of Dudley's guitar work and Frang's drumming creates an enormous underpinning for the songs. A lot of sound for a trio. Find Smithfield Fair and their music on the web at www.smithfieldfair.com.

reviews

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  • Global wind blows eternal themes
    author: Gail Roberts, SCMA Ceilidh Magazine

    It’s a global wind that blows through Smithfield Fair’s latest CD. It tosses about eternal themes of lost loves, yearnings for days that will never return and the ultimate sadness of being alone. The theme of journey is embodied in each song in a different way, from the regret of a much traveled sailor in Twice Around The World to the poignant desire to go back to a younger age in Yearning. All of the music on this CD is original – written by D.B. and Jan Smith and it is timeless. The influence of their Celtic roots is strong, in both the musical composition and themes, but all of the songs and the message at their heart belong to the whole world. A Single Day, a beautiful wish to spend even a single day as the eagle and the hawk, should be required listening for every politician making decisions regarding our environment. It’s a stirring reminder that we need to do a far better job in taking care of this earth on which we live. In the fervent tradition of social commentary of Celtic and American folk song, Time, The Mighty Hero serves as a reminder of how fleeting power is and how only Time remains eternal. The musicianship is outstanding and I appreciated the fact that the instruments never overwhelmed the message and the beauty of the words. In addition to vocals by Jan and Dudley-Brian Smith (as well as acoustic guitar, accordion, 6 & 12 string guitars, acoustic bass and mandolin – WHEW), the CD features Frang Bladen on vocals, bodhran and percussion, Bob Smith on acoustic bass guitar, David Praet on acoustic lead guitar and Gina Forsyth, of the Malvinas, on Fiddle. In a unique completely instrumental song, called March of Time, Jan combined an exceptional combination of percussive guitar and drumming. It’s rich and deep and wonderful. I’ve been a folk music fan for forty years and this CD resounds with the same truth, grace and courage of the traditional songs of Ireland, Scotland and Appalachia. Universal messages, universal stories, but told in a unique and original way. Smithfield Fair continues to grow finer with each passing year. After listening to this CD several times, I am hard pressed to name a favorite song. It is most definitely going into our travel music collection, to be played over and over on long trips, each listening revealing yet another fine layer to examine and think about – and most of all - to enjoy. This is a MUST addition to every Celtic music lover’s collection.

  • Smithfield Fair's Finest Hour
    author: Dan Willging, Offbeat Magazine

    Forget that they adorn the tartan, celebrate the Kirking of the Tartans or call Jacobites by name. Forget that they could cull from the bottomless treasure trove of Scottish music and literature for several lifetimes or never tire of haggis. Smithfield Fair has just turned another corner in their venerable 15 years of existence. The Baton Rouge trio's eighth album symbolizes the ultimate conquest of any musical endeavor by pulling off an applause worthy, 17-track quality affair of all original material. Powerfully rendered with teeth-clenching conviction and fist-waving solidarity, Smithfield Fair tackles topical themes of the human experience such as love lost, soul recovery, preserving the long road and the unforgiving nature of time. Amazingly, the bulk of these tunes possess a universal nature beyond being part of any Scottish paradigm. They're timeless, in a sense, since many of these motifs are also prevalent throughout centuries of traditional music. Yet, it's Smithfield Fair who bridges the gap between anything rooted in the past and their own modern sensibility. Musically, it's a combination that can't be beat: succulent arrangements capitalizing on Dudley-Brian Smith's thrashing guitar strumming, wife Jan's gliding accordion stylings and Frang Bladen's heartbeat-emulating bodhran tappings. The vocal harmonies are often chilling, story lines haunting and the articulate deployment of dynamics yields maximum impact. Additionally, Smithfield Fair consistently adjusts the hue by alternating vocalists and dialing in an occasional crafty instrumental. Special guests include guitar slinger David Praet, who peels off many a pristinely picked, galaxy-surfing solo, and fiddler Gina Forsyth who adds to the magic on three tracks. Each performance is so grippingly rendered, it's as if they were destined to be their last. But truthfully, Smithfield Fair has just entered their finest hour. -Dan Willging

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