Smokie - Original Album Classics (2009) {5CD Box Set}

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Smokie - Original Album Classics (2009) {5CD Box Set}

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The box set contains the first five original studio albums of Smokie: Pass It Around (1975), Changing All The Time (1975), Midnight Cafe (1976), Bright Lights & Back Alleys (1977), The Montreux Album (1978).

Originally formed in Yorkshire, England, in 1966, Smokie hit the British pop charts several times during the late '70s with updated psychedelic pop, influenced by the band's stay on Mickie Most's Rak Records as well as the writers of most of the band's hit material, Rak's Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Vocalist Chris Norman, bassist Terry Utley, and guitarist Alan Silson had played in the Elizabethans, but formed the band Kindness in 1968, with the addition of drummer Pete Spencer. The quartet recorded many singles during the late '60s and early '70s, but failed to show any chart activity until 1975. That year, signed to Rak Records and billed as Smokey, the band hit number three in the U.K. with "If You Think You Know How to Love Me." After another Top Ten hit, "Don't Play Your Rock 'n' Roll to Me," Smokey became Smokie; during 1976, the group scored with three Top 20 hits, including the number five "Living Next Door to Alice." Smokie hit number five both in 1977 ("It's Your Life") and 1978 ("Oh Carol"), but the band's chart run ended by early 1980, and following 1982's Midnight Delight, they disbanded. Both Spencer and Norman continued to work at Rak during the '80s, writing hits for several groups; they re-formed Smokie in 1988, resurfacing with the LP My Heart Is True. Two more albums, All Fired Up and Greatest Hits Live, followed, with the group remaining active throughout the 1990s, issuing new material as well as a number of hits collections. ~ John Bush

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Smokie - Original Album Classics (2009) {5CD Box Set}

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This was the debut album for Smokie, an English quartet who were a pet project for legendary English pop producers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. Although their unique blend of country-rock and pop would soon make Smokie a big success in Europe, their style comes off as tentative and unfocused on Pass It Around. The group's instrumental performance is tight and their Beach Boys-meet-Sweet vocal harmonies are quite pleasing to the ear but their songwriting abilities are not up to snuff. Too many of the songs are weighed down with lightweight lyrics: "It Makes Me Money" is a petulant jab at rock critics, and "A Day at the Mother-in-Law's" is a gimmicky novelty tune that wears out its welcome after the first listen. The worst offender in this respect is "Headspin," a song that wastes its catchy central country-rock riff on a silly lyric about getting drunk. Other songs feel more like loose collections of riffs than fully realized compositions: "Goin' Tomorrow" rides its galloping guitar riff into the ground through endless repetition, and "I Do Declare" runs into the same problem despite a catchy chorus. Despite this problem, echoes of the group that Smokie would eventually become shine through here and there: "Daydreamin'" works an infectious harmony-driven chorus into a likable guitar-fueled melody and the surprisingly complex arrangement of "Don't Turn Out Your Light" weaves serpentine guitar lines and a chorus built on escalating harmonies into a beguiling little pop tune. In the end, though, the inconsistent moments outweigh the solid tunes. Thus, Pass It Around can only be recommended to the Smokie completist. ~ Donald A. Guarisco

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Smokie - Original Album Classics (2009) {5CD Box Set}

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On Changing All the Time, Smokie realizes the promise that was only hinted at Pass It Around. This album presents a confident and stylishly crafted blend of country-rock muscle and pop hooks that helped the group become a European phenomenon. Changing All the Time also benefits from the production and writing assistance of hitmakers Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, who provided Smokie with a bounty of hit singles: "Don't Play Your Rock and Roll to Me" is a slick slice of country-pop with clever lyrics comparing a bad romantic relationship to a worn-out record, and "If You Think You Know How to Love Me" is a sweet ballad that accents the group's acoustic delivery with a sweet, heart-tugging string arrangement. The group also scored a hit with the title track, the gorgeous country-rock equivalent of a power ballad that marries the group's soaring harmonies a solid combination of acoustic guitar, smooth slide guitar riffs, and creamy strings. Despite the fact that these hits were penned by Chinn and Chapman, the rest of the album proves Smokie was more than capable of writing their own material: "Julie" is a lilting, mostly a cappella ballad that provides an emotional vocal showcase for lead singer Chris Norman, and "It's Natural" is a tightly arranged\acoustic tune that brims with captivating vocal harmonies and strong pop hooks. Some of the other tunes don't capture the attention as easily as the aforementioned songs ("Back to Bradford" and "Give It to Me" forsake the captivating melodies of the other songs in favor of a minimalist, riff-based approach), but everything on display here is energetically performed and slickly produced. All in all, Changing All the Time is one of the most consistent albums in the group's catalog and a fine introduction to Smokie. ~ Donald A. Guarisco

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Smokie - Original Album Classics (2009) {5CD Box Set}

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This 1976 follow-up to the successful Changing All the Time finds Smokie pursuing the same kind of country-flavored pop that made that album a hit. With Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman once again in the producer's chairs, the band produced some notable hits in Europe: "Something's Been Making Me Blue" layers Smokie's trademark harmonies atop a rousing country-rock tune driven by tasty guitar work, and "Wild Wild Angels" is a dramatic power ballad that highlights a strong lead from whiskey-throated vocalist Chris Norman. Smokie also scored a hit with "I'll Meet You at Midnight," a surprising departure from their usual formula where the band plays a backup role to a dramatic, French-styled string arrangement that sets the melody. Despite these strong hits, the remainder of Midnight Café hits a few rough spots: "Make Ya Boogie" is a dull and overlong boogie rock tune that could have been performed by any rock band, and the attractive melody of "Poor Lady (Midnight Baby)" is marred by mean-spirited and misogynistic lyrics that mercilessly skewer the down-on-her-luck groupie of the title. Despite these occasional lapses in quality, Midnight Café does offer some decent tunes between the hit singles: "When My Back Was Against the Wall" is a dreamy ballad driven by an ethereal string arrangement, and the epic "Going Home" allows the bandmembers to stretch out and show off their formidable instrumental chops. In the end, the album serves up enough solid tunes to satisfy the group's fans, but casual listeners may want to track down the album's hits on a Smokie compilation. ~ Donald A. Guarisco

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Smokie - Original Album Classics (2009) {5CD Box Set}

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On their fourth album, Smokie attempt to broaden their country-flavored pop with a few stylistic experiments. The resulting album is successful for the most part. For instance, their European hit "It's Your Life" effectively marries the group's sweet harmonies to a reggae-styled pop melody, and further spices things up by throwing in a surprising Beatles-styled midsection. Another song with a Beatlesque feel is "Sunshine Avenue," a full-on tribute to the Fab Four's psychedelic era that mimics the group's sonic affections from that time (electronically filtered vocals, stately horns, and a rollicking pop melody) and even name-checks Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. However, the biggest surprise in the experimental vein is "In the Heat of the Night," a gritty midtempo rocker that effectively pits a muscular, guitar-heavy performance from the band with a sweeping, cinematic string arrangement to create a convincing tale of life on the mean streets of the city. In fact, this song was so strong that producer Mike Chapman later revived it as the title track for Pat Benatar's 1979 debut album. Bright Lights and Back Alleys also features an impressive, punchy cover of the pop classic "Needles and Pins" done in the traditional, acoustic-flavored Smokie style. A few weak tracks occasionally weigh the album down (example: "Walk Right Back" is a dull boogie-style rocker that feels like filler), but Bright Lights and Back Alleys is an overall solid album that offers plenty of worthwhile tracks to entertain Smokie's fans. ~ Donald A. Guarisco

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Smokie - Original Album Classics (2009) {5CD Box Set}

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Surprisingly, no hits surfaced when The Montreux Album was released. The great "For a Few Dollars More" is here, and along with the original "The Girl Can't Help It, " they should have had much more success than they did. This is a solidly played and recorded work. ~ James Chrispell