Search - Anne Hills, Smith Michael :: Paradise Lost & Found

A new Michael Smith album - a reason to live!

09/15/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This great collaboration between Michael Smith and Annie Hills is a must for Michael Smith fans and I would strongly encourage you to become one. "The Dutchman" and "Spoon River" are on Smith's great 1991 CD "Michael Smith", but I have been disappointed that two of Michael's best loved songs did not have better versions by him. This CD rights that wrong. "We Become Birds", previously done on Smith's 1994 CD "Time" in a soft, reflective mood, is redone here but joyful and upbeat. It turns out this song works either way. There are 7 new (or new to me) songs written by Smith alone or in collaboration with Hills, the late Steve Goodman, and others. I do not possess the gift for words to describe how good they ALL are. Suffice it to say I have seven new favorite songs. Add to that two penned by Hills, including "This Rain", which, replete with 12 string guitar and harmonica, invokes for me all the ambiance of sixties folk music, but without the annoying idealism. Polyanna meets reality. Michael Smith adds a nice touch with his ad-lib backup vocals during the chorus which lie somewhere on a line between a primal scream and a plaintive cry , but closer to the latter. If you like acoustic guitar singer/songwriters, with well crafted songs, simply but beautifully done, this is a great CD! Buy it!"