Greg Smith – Above the Clouds

The summer is about ice cream, cool breezes, suntan lotion, and swimming pools. The warmth on your cheeks and the bright lights in the sky could turn any bout of the blues into the warmest hues. Puppy dogs run through the weeds and make each patch of grass their own. That’s how the lackadaisical music found here will make you feel. These songs are a weight off your shoulder and a sigh of relief. This album is about as sunny and sweet as a sun-dried raisin. Not to mention, it’s saturated with a flurry of Sno-Cones before it ever gets too parched. Greg Smith cooks cinnamon and spice in this caramel-corn creation.

To produce such sundry selections, Smith uses a cornucopia of equipment. His gear consists of models from the collection of D’Angelico, Paul Reed Smith, Taylor, Gitane, and Yamaha. He even adds orchestrations by way of software package called Finale. Smith is the very definition of versatility. As the liner notes point out, he is well-versed in both straight-ahead and smooth jazz. His repertoire also incorporates avante garde, rock, funch, afrocubun, pop, blues, country, folk, Brazilian, new age, and classical. If you like a good blend, you’re really in for a treat as this album traverses every bit of this terrain.

To give you a better handle on his stature, Smith performs regularly in several groups across many genres. If you frequent the music scene in the city of Tampa Bay, you might find him performing as a solo acoustic guitarist. I must attest; this is where he excels the best. Additionally, if it were necessary to drop names, he could confirm his involvement with Edger Winter, Chick Corea, Larry Coryell, Pat Metheny, Jeff Berlin, Glen Zottola, Juliette Lewis, and Manfredo Fest, plus numerous others. No matter how you slice it, he has the resume, the references, and the work experience. With that, I think we’ve covered all the bases.

Without further ado, let’s peruse the crunchy clusters found inside this finger-licking good bucket of grub:

Above the Clouds – He starts with an extraordinary instrumental. It’s a morning at Club Med followed by an afternoon at The Paradise Inn. The evening is capped off with cocktails and stogies inside The Gold Bar. The experiences chronicled here is more along the lines of The Flamingo Kid than a Bronx Tale. Only heaven can be found in this kitchen, which is why this is dedicated to the incredibly cloudy artwork of Jim Warren. The impressive design on the cover is supplied by this extremely doting artist. It’s an interesting culmination of white stallions in the sky. Even though there is overcast, your skin will receives plenty of sunlit beams and affable. There’s also a generous ration of gracious radiation. To soak up this song, all you need to do is lay back on the furnitute in the patio and hit play.

Mountain Hike – This gets off the smooth road and onto a rustic path. It’s a little grimier than the last, but like a youngin’ in the mud, it’s pure unadulterated fun.

Stop Sign in Brazil – In these diarios de motocicleta, Ernesto and Alberto motor through the streets and alleys of several South American towns. A frog is snuggled inside the daypack that’s burrowed in the cargo hold. The amphibian whistles and croaks as they cruise along in their journey.

D’s Dream – Like a Dreamsicle, it drips of orangey acrid syrup. You can’t help but lick this juicy wet stick. As if it were a sage, the guitar mystically overshadows the scene by hitting both low notes and lead sounds.

Lava – This song flows down the cracks and crevices of a mountainside. This liquid monster is sinister in its intentions. It means to burn your flesh as the heat can be felt from miles away. Take awe in its beauty but heed its perilous warning.

Appaloosa – We only encounter the affirmative and upstanding citizens in this exultant rendition of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. The acoustics dominate the nomadic deserts whereas the dust devils roll passively through its isolated plains. This is quite different from the rest. It offers an intriguing reprieve from the other glossy prints.

Forties – Out of the scorching atmosphere presented by the last, we enter into this ventilated sitting room. This lounge features a pair of essential components. First, there’s a moody bass that’s far from basic. In parallel comes a jazzy guitar that’s attuned to be adjacent. In this glass, we mix ice tea with lemonade. Some call it a Floater while others say it’s an Arnold Palmer. If it’s spiked with something other than fruit or herbs then it’s certainly been extracted from rocks of Long Island. In any event, the results are purely crisp refreshment. Altogether this ditty is quite the way to take a load off. Moreover, the chairs are comfortable while the fans are set to full blast. By the way, the inspiration behind this song was a dream on the eve of the fortieth birthday of Smith’s wife.

Valgar – There is nothing vulgar about these expressions. The Calypso-inspired cadence accompanied by countless cackles and squawks instantly reminds me of Neal Morse’s “The Man Who Would Be King”. In case you didn’t know, the term is not a spelling error. Instead, it marks another special date on the calendar. Keeping in line with the naming convention previously established, it’s an allusion to his friend Gary and his mother-in-law Val’s mutual birthday.

Summer Sand – This is about as sparse as sand on a beach. The guitars provide the subtlest pull. With your toes sloshing about in these soggy tiny pebbles, you’re totally liberated by the tug of this shallow quicksand.

Calamity – With the clank of a mallet on solid hunk of wood, it sounds like roofers pounding their nails into the shingles and shale. Before their hands can tire, they lift a bottle of Corona to their lips. This invigorating beverage urges them onto to the next task. In the solution one can taste, a pang of maracas and a twist of lime.

Chessmates – As the Packer’s perform the Lambeau Leap, the Cheeseheads go wild. This game on the gridiron is a literal chess match. However, before the hut-hut-hike is to take place, no creature is stirring, not even a mouse. The only motion being made is the sweaty breath from these beasts of bastion as they stare their opponents down. It calm and volatile at the same time as the participants wait for the quarterback’s call.

Wren S0ong – Whether it’s African or European, estimating the Airspeed Velocity of an Unladen Swallow should be easy when you hear the serene iterations flowing through this piece. It’s an offering of the olive branch, which makes it exceptionally peaceful. To accomplish its mission, several kinds of soft-spoken guitars accompany an outgoing piano.

Figaro Tree – In his innovations, he assimilates a String Quartet in this track. Throughout the album, he’s successfully kept his crop diverse. As we clear the final remaining corner, he applies another newfangled option. We get folk and flamenco coupled with the mariachi man’s aura. In a stretch of relaxing riffs, a drifter passes through the bridge in the middle.

Postitude: Back into the Clouds – This story ends where it begins with a dedication to bassist and composer, Chris Needy. As the water ripples, the original song refracts in the most tranquil of tracks. While the initial instrumental was great, there’s actually improvement seen in this particularly meticulous reflection.

In summary, Greg Smith’s Above the Clouds is like a fresh waft of air after the rain in the summertime. If I were the weatherman in this world, I’d predict excellent conditions and scores of stunning days ahead.

8.25/10

[If you want to learn more on your own and willing to do a little self-study, visit Greg Smith at gregsmithguitar.com.]