What's Been Said about SMITHFIELD FAIR & CHARMER(updated
7/8/2010)
The warm live quality of the songs makes you feel like you have old friends sitting with you, playing songs from the heart.
...this is a CD that will delight young and old... Get a copy for your collection. It’s a real charmer. - C. Michael Price, Ceili Magazine
For 20 years...Smithfield Fair has managed to blend original, Celtic-based songs with aspects of bluegrass,
Appalachian, and other forms of American music. The quartet features Dudley-Brian Smith's powerful guitar playing, singing, and songwriting; Jan Smith's melodic and ethereal
accordion work and adept vocals and harmonies; Bob Smith's rock-steady and solid bass; and the singularly named Frang's percussion. The general subject matter tends toward Scottish
songs, such as the driving Longships, the Dougie Maclean-influenced James of the Glen, the melodic My Heart's in the Highlands, and the majestic Moon Over Caledonia. This compilation
(20420) gathers 20 tracks from the group's 10 albums and certainly represents a very best of this unique and passionate band. - Lahri Bond, Dirty Linen Magazine
Charmer was an acoustic and vocal quartet that featured Dudley-Brian Smith, Jan and Bob Smith, and brother Joel on guitar and vocals. Unlike Smithfield Fair, Charmer focused more on American singer/songwriter content with a very strong melodic and harmony-centered approach. The Perfect Cafe is a 20-song 'best of' collection of original material from their eight albums over a 16-year run. There were strong influences of contemporary writers including Dan Fogelberg, Jesse Winchester, Michael Brewer and Tom Shipley in the group's timeless Americana approach, and songs such as 'Flying High', 'Wishing Well', 'Compassion in the Crowd', and 'Rebecca' demonstrated them to be accomplished writers and musicians. The Perfect Cafe is a chance to rediscover a band that should have received wider recognition for its excellent music. - Lahri Bond, Dirty Linen Magazine
This dedicated Scottish trio has created
a lovely album (Winds of
Time) comprised wholly of original tunes that play up each band member's strengths. It's one thing to
write songs, but quite another to craft music and lyrics that sound for all the world like they have the
weight of a hundred years or more behind them. …a worthy accomplishment in my book. Smithfield Fair is an
uncommonly subtle band, and that trait shows in its music. …suddenly I was struck by a rapid succession
of "where did this gem come from?" It's good stuff, but you don't realize how good until you've had time to savor it.
Unpretentious and earnest, the 17 songs included here are all worthy efforts and offer a pleasant evening's listening.
Many of the compositions here already sound like they've been performed at gatherings for decades, if not centuries.
More than simple pastiche, this music captures the spirit of older folk and Scottish songs, and if the end result
isn't modern, then at least it's timeless. In the long run, that's probably a nobler achievement. - Jamie Lynn Blaschke, Green Man Review
It’s a
global wind that blows through Smithfield Fair’s latest CD (Winds of
Time). It tosses about eternal themes of
lost loves, yearnings for days that will never return and the ultimate sadness
of being alone. 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. The musicianship is outstanding and I
appreciated the fact that the instruments never overwhelmed the message and the
beauty of the words. 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
Smithfield Fair lays down more original music with its 10th effort. The group may draw its strength from Bonnie Scotland, but its folksy original sound also pulls from jazz and other influences - Alex V. Cook, 225 Magazine
Smithfield Fair, an almost-impossible-to-categorize folk/roots band has mesmerized audiences worldwide over the radio, television, film, clubs and concert halls...has earned praise for its tight arrangements, elegant song selection and some of the most haunting vocal harmonies this side of heaven. - R.U. Eddy, GrisGris Magazine
...breezy arrangements, gliding accordion lines, sustaining harmony notes and feathery guitar picking all done at an unhurried pace. Smithfield Fair always manages to state its point with positive reassurance and calming poise. From the sounds of it, Smithfield Fair seems to be walking through this world just fine, thank you, and savoring every minute of it. – Dan Willging, Offbeat Magazine
…based
around strong songs with strong harmonies taken from or drawing on Scottish
traditional sources, presented in uncluttered arrangements…hearty singers and
capable multi-instrumentalists. – Tom Nelligan, Dirty Linen
Magazine
…much like
a folksy Supertramp. … weaves
traditional tunes with
…overall
reminded me of early Clannad… Dudley-Brian Smith's
rapid-fire guitar reminds me of the flamenco stylings
of the Gypsy Kings. I've come to expect nothing less from Smithfield Fair. – Jayme Lynn Blaschke,
Green Man Review
What began for me as an
experimental "listen" to an intriguing CD called Cairdeas would soon become so
much more. My most recent experience with Smithfield Fair, in Jacobites By Name,
proved absolutely captivating! My admiration for their music has now become a
passion. Smithfield Fair captures the essence of the Scottish spirit, brings
"the cause" to life and keeps the home fires burning in the most
important of places -- the heart. – Lynne Remick,
Rambles Cultural Arts Magazine
Traditional tunes abound,
but the original songs sit comfortably side by side with them in a style
influenced by traditional hymns rather than modern gospel or Christian rock,
and even the traditional songs are often arranged in a fresh way or set to new
tunes or lyrics. The playing, particularly Dudley-Brian Smith's mandolin
playing, is wonderful, and the harmonies are exquisite. – Dave Soyars, Dirty Linen
Smithfield Fair's music is
so evocative and timeless that it's worth mentioning in every page devoted to
What makes (this music) so
viable revolves around how Smithfield Fair rolls it all into one cohesive
whole. The harmony vocals are another strong point, subtle but reassuring. – Dan
Willging, Off Beat Magazine
They found old,
long-forgotten material and with it, new inspiration. – Debi
Moen, Performance Magazine
…songs come heavily misted
with the salt spray of
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