Home / John Smith / John Smith - Great Lakes

John Smith
01. There Is a Stone
02. Great Lakes
03. England Rolls Away
04. Freezing Winds of Change
05. Town to Town
06. Salty and Sweet
07. She is My Escape
08. Away We Go
09. Perfect Storm
10. Forever to the End
11. Lungs

This is not strictly a new release, as it came out in March 2013, and did not show up on my radar as large as it should. However having recently seen him live, re-listening to his session on the Radio 2 Folk Show and catching his track on David Rotheray's Answer Ballads have all compounded for me to re-visit this album. It is superb and truly original. I strongly urge you to check it out and get the opportunity to see him live whenever you can.

Being dubbed the “future of folk music” by the eminent John Renbourn must be a heavy load to carry but such - if his blurb is to be believed – is the weight that lies upon Mr Smith’s shoulders.

It’s curious because on listening to the opening track “There Is A Stone”, there’s more than a tinge of Bon Iver to the proceedings, John’s soft husk of a voice gently intoning intimacies over his deft picking. The transatlantic feel continues with the title track, a woozy bar room lament with a haunting string backdrop, a song that could sit easily in the repertoire of any Nashville troubadour. The spirit of John Martyn haunts the impassioned “England Rolls Away” setting the scene for a string of songs that impress with the beauty of John’s guitar work and his intertwined vocals. Staggeringly good.

Acoustic Magazine – March 2013

John Smith - Great Lakes

John Smith

CD (Cat No: 506901)

£11.99
Add To Basket Listen to the album

John Smith - Great Lakes

More from John Smith

John Smith

John Smith

John Smith - Headlong

Listen Add To Basket

£11.99

John Smith

John Smith

John Smith - Hummingbird

Listen Add To Basket

£11.99