Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
A lit candle might not have the same impact on the heart of the shadows as a star but in the spark of intimacy it provides, the silhouettes seem to take on a deeper, romantic shade which captures the eye’s intensity. To be held though by the light of a star is to enjoy the celestial, the eternal, and whilst a candle speaks of privacy, of warmth between the playful and the coveted, to be invited by the words, Meet Me On The Far side Of A Star speaks into the forever and open expanse of universal understanding.
It is to understanding that Christine Smith bustles with experience and the instantly familiar, a selection of songs that breathes in the stardust that is the origin of life, and turns the rays to music, the choruses of myth, of love and power; a sense of surrounding that can only come from the heart of someone who absorbs the world and who wishes to see others, the listeners, be bathed in the warmth of a different plane.
The far side of the sun is the unexplored, we rarely are given such opportunities to step out of its shadow, and indeed for Ms. Smith who has spent the vast majority of her career giving the audiences distinct pleasure as she shared stages and recording time with notable music luminaries as Bruce Springsteen, Crash Test Dummies, Jesse Malin and Amy Grant, and who now emerges from that far side of the star to create her own image on the worlds below.
The listener though will emerge from the experience not looking at the heavens as if searching for some celestial sign, for in the musicians humble prowess lays the secret of the album’s desire and panache, for it is that once spoken of candle flickering with wildness and serene allure that captures the framing of Christine Smith’s songs; and in tracks such as You Can’t Hurt Me Anymore, Trying Not To Fall In Love, Feels Like Yesterday, I Know This Moon and We’re Never Going the taste of the gothic romance is inspiring, it puts the star into terminal shade and the evoking of the image is magnified by the candlelight pouring its enthusiasm and passion into the listener’s soul.
An album of drama and the exotic, Christine Smith has revealed what grace lays beyond the other side of a star when it is allowed to be viewed, and the temptation to journey to that place.
Christine Smith releases Meet Me On The Far Side Of A Star on November 1st via Foxy Loxy Records.
Ian D. Hall