Americana -- from contemporary folk through bluegrass, honky-tonk country, blues, Tex-Mex, and R&B to country-rock.

20 MP3 Songs in this album (73:28) !
Related styles: COUNTRY: Americana, COUNTRY: Country Folk

People who are interested in Ry Cooder John Prine The Band should consider this download.


Details:
A Message from the Producer
Starting from a craftsmanâs solid basis and musical expertise in traditional styles like bluegrass, folk song, and honky-tonk country music, Mayne Smith is fearless about plunging into a wide variety of other American song styles, and uses them to get to the emotional heart of the situation heâs exploring in his lyrics.
On this album, you hear him writing not only classic honky-tonk and bluegrass (both styles he uses beautifully); you also hear charming early 60s pop/rock (âMy Dancing Days,â âLetting People Goâ), gutbucket Mississippi/ Chicago blues (âTransAtlantic Bluesâ), smooth jazz tunes (âSolitaire,â âSaturday 6 A.M.â), raw roadhouse R&B (âStoned Againâ), an intimate acoustic love song (âMy Heartâs Contentâ), good-humored Tex-Mex (âMojave Windâ), and a bravura rendition of the Louisiana/Texas 12/8 slow-dance lament (âTo Each His Ownâ). You hear the way he can use an old song to build a new one â working the melody of âCareless Love,â one of the all-time great American folk songs, into his own âCareless Love Again,â in a way that somehow makes you hear the meaning of the older song with a poignant new awareness. And you hear a song (âSaturday Matineeâ) which spans traditional Appalachian folk ballads, gritty blues, and down-and-dirty rock and roll to tell one of the great American road stories â a story that is true and taken directly from Mayneâs own life experience, and which he somehow uses to comment on the power of myth, movies, heroic archetypes in our lives â all in the tough, concrete, concise language of a narrative folk tale, of a guy sitting next to you in a bar talking to you about his hard life. This is songwriting on a level that would knock Raymond Chandler out! Mayne just writes the song because â heâs who he is.
Itâs his musical craft, combined with his ability to get to the heart of the matter and really touch you with a song, that makes him so inspiring to work with, that keeps me coming back to his music. Itâs this quality of emotional authenticity â along with the wonderful singing, writing, and playing â that makes this an album for you to keep coming back to and keep thinking about.
â Johnny Harper, May 2008

(Visit MayneSmith.com for more information about Mayne.)