CD Review

by Bob McKillop

 

Putnam Smith weaves moody, pensive songs from strands of deep, resonant vocals and old-time instrumentation.  The stories and observations in his music take their time, and appear slowly and carefully from within the fabric; lines repeat, and phrases are left missing for the imagination to complete.  His themes tend to illuminate the sacred moments where relationships reach their tipping points, where the true nature of a person appears, and when the landscape of our lives somehow becomes crystal clear before us.

His second CD, and first studio album, is entitled “This Blue”, and was released in 2007.  It was co-produced with Dan Mazal and recorded mostly at Castle Freak Studio in San Antonio, Texas.   On his website, he refers to it as “the album I’ve always wanted to make… a return to the intimacy of a raw, acoustic sound”.  This CD is very intimate; sparsely produced, simply arranged, and full of the casual sounds and conversations that surrounded the tracking of the music.  It’s very organic and personal; I felt very close to Putnam and his music.

“Seaside Motel” is a very representative cut.  The song begins with finger-style guitar and Putnam’s vocals, and he creates a very introspective mood.  Plinking keyboard traces and reverb-laden chords ratchet up the drama ever-so-slightly toward the song’s early ending.  The lyrics trace a languid conversation between two maybe-lovers that leaves their final disposition as uncertain and tentative as the melody in this tune.  Putnam uses great symbolism in the lyrical hook that opens and closes the song.

 

“Would you leave him like you left your men before?

Would you leave me scrawling love notes on your door?

You say, Well that’s so hard to tell this early in the morning…

Seaside Hotel… sign says vacancy”

My favorite cut is “Reese Witherspoon Is His Queen”.  Strong guitar work, a foundation laid by Seth Yentes’ solid cello tones, and emotive, declarative backing vocals from Sarah Jessop help make this song so affecting. With this song, Smith steps out of the songwriting rut in which we sometimes find him. It is a profile of someone Putnam must have known as a mentor, someone who left a strong impression on him in his youth.  This person is dealing with some internal demons, and some external difficulties, but Putnam bathes him in a sympathetic, compassionate light, a light of understanding, that illuminates his internal dignity.

“And night after night he dreams,

Of knights in armor and horses and torture scenes

He dreams of trumpets and servants preparing a feast

And he is king of the castle,

And Reese Witherspoon is his queen…

His wife makes the morning coffee and this month’s rent”.

“Hummingbird Song” is most evocative of the old time sound that Putnam seeks to master and authenticate with his music.  Claw-hammer banjo simultaneously provides a strong rhythm and brings us the harmony that defines the song.  Putnam sets the lyrics down inside the patches of bare ground between the grassy swaths of banjo picking, and there you have it, this simple, catchy, love tune.

Seth Yentes plays cello in a way that compliments Putnam’s rich, textured, tenor voice in these songs.  We also get pedal steel from Nate Flemming, fiddle from Katherine Gill, and the afore-mentioned Sara Jessup’s wonderful backing vocals.  Smith provides the guitar, banjo, mandolin, piano, and other backing vocal tracks.   I enjoyed the simple, yet creative production and tracking.  The album jacket is unique – plain brown cardboard, letter pressed personally by Putnam (with some help) on a 1901 hand-set and pedal-powered Pearl press.  Nice touch!

You can purchase Putnam’s fine album at CD Baby and at his shows.  He is appearing at The North Star Music Café twice in early April, and at One Longfellow Square on April 21.