Ron Sexsmith
"I wish life had warned us long ago that we're on the wrong half of a disappearing act."
Ron Sexsmith (1995)
Rating (Out of 10): 9.5
Tracklisting: Secret Heart/There’s A Rhythm/Words We Never Use/Summer Blowin' Town/Lebanon Tennessee/Speaking To The Angel/In Place Of You/Heart With No/Companion/Several Miles/From A Few Streets Over/First Chance I Get/Galbraith Street/Wastin' Time/There's A Rhythm
For many years, Canadian singer songwriter, Ron Sexsmith, remained a mystery to me. I was aware of his existence having seen bits and pieces written about him in various music magazines, but I knew absolutely nothing at all about who he was or what his music sounded like. When I first happened on his first album completely by chance, I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but I definitely wasn’t expecting what came out of the stereo speakers. From the very first note of 'Secret Heart' I was hooked. The entire album is filled with simple, beautiful songs dominated by acoustic guitars and the understated voice of Ron Sexsmith. Ron Sexsmith is not the best singer in the world, but he has one of those voices that grab you, laden with emotion and filled to the brim with passion. ‘Secret Heart’ is possibly one of the most lusciously beautiful love songs I have ever heard. Very simple in structure, yet incredibly effective and emotional and with lyrics that get right to the point. The rest of the album follows on in a similar vein. Songs like ‘Words We Never Use’, ‘Wasting Time With You’ ‘Lebanon Tennessee ‘and ‘Galbriath Street’ are all very simple, poetic and have lyrics that tap into a vein and make you want to cry. ‘Speaking With The Angels’ is one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. Sexsmith's voice sounds so delicate, I just want to run up and give him a hug. And the subject matter is so sad and beautiful. It reminds me of the film ‘Untamed Heart’ and I’m sure that if this song had been around at the time of the film’s release it would have been used on the sound track. ‘Summer Blowin' Town’ and ‘First Chance I Get‘ are the only up-tempo songs on the album and work to add a bit of a variety. ‘Heart With No Companion’ is a cover of the Leonard Cohen track, and Sexsmith has completely transformed it to the point that you can barely recognise it. The album ends with a second version of ‘There’s a Rhythm’ although the first version is much better and I’m sure what he hoped to achieve by putting two versions of it on the same album.
Ron Sexsmith was already 31 when his debut album was released, but was depicted on the front cover looking like a lost, dishevelled teenager, which I think is part of his charm. The whole album has a slightly lost, confused, poignant feel about it and that coupled with the fact that he is an amazing song writer, an incredibly talented musician and a superb vocalist makes it a very special album indeed.
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Other Songs (1997)
Rating (Out of 10): 8.5
Tracklisting: Thinking Out Loud/Strawberry Blonde/Average Joe/Thinly Veiled Disguise/Nothing Good/Pretty Little Cemetry/It Never Fails/Clown In Broad Daylight/At Different Times/Child Star/Honest MIstake/So Young/While You're Waiting/April After All
The CD booklet that accompanies Ron Sexsmith's second album 'Other Songs', is filled with old black and white pictures; some of Ron himself and others who might well be his grandparents or anestestors or might be random people, picked from old books or albums. Each picture captures an image and an emotion: a birthday party, street scene, a holiday. Ordinary people going about their ordinary lives, captured on film for people to look at 50 years later and imagine their lives, their hopes, their dreams. Each picture tells a story, celebrating the ordinary, capturing the moment and holding it there, years after the subjects have passed into oblivion. And that pretty much sums up 'Other Songs' and the work of Ron Sexsmith in general. His songs tell stories, lyrics about seemingling random occurances; and turns them into something special. The title 'Other Songs' implies irrelevance and indifference, but that's about as far from the truth as it's possible to be. This album is not trivial. It shows what the important things in life should be, the things that are important to people like Ron Sexsmith. 'Average Joe', 'Clown in Broad Daylight', 'Child Star'. 'Strawberry Blonde'. There's a motley crewe of characters in this album, child stars, tramps, clowns, lost little girls in the real world they are the ignored, put-upon misfits; but in Ron Sexsmith's eyes they are the heros and he gives them the tributes they deserve. There are other more personal tracks on the album. Songs such as the beautiful 'Thinking Out Loud' and 'So Young' have a more tender, personal approach that hails back to his debut album.
The album opens with 'Thinking Out Loud', a Ron Sexsmith signature bittersweet ballad with personal lyrics and delicatley plucked accoustic guitar. His voice sounds amazing here; raw, filled with emotion and passion. 'Other Songs may not be my favourite Ron Sexmsith album, but it holds a special place in my heart for the simple reason that it contains 'Strawberry Blonde', my favourite Sexsmith track, and in my opinion, the best thing he's ever written. It has a simple format, a storytelling approach, but it a song that makes you think. The classic Sexsmith tragic tale with a happy ending. 'Other Songs' has a mixture of styles and genres. 'Clown In Broad Daylight' provides the best upbeat moment on the album with brass accompiament and a generally happy feel to it. The album ends with the beautiful 'April After All', one of those songs you play to yourself to remind you that things aren't as bad as they seem.
'Other Songs' may not have the sheer magical quality of his self-titled debut, but it is not without it's own personal beauty and works to confirm Ron Sexsmith as one of the best contemporary singer songwriters in the music industry. The mixture of folk, rock, and simple ballads shows Sexsmith's ability to turn his hand to just about everything and make it work. It is a album full of variety but that still manages to fit together perfectly and prove without a doubt and everything Ron Sexsmith touches turns to gold.
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Blue Boy (2001)
Rating (Out of 10): 8.5
Tracklisting: This Song/Cheap Hotel/Don't Ask Why/Foolproof/Tell Me Again/Just My Heart Talkin'/Not Too Big/Miracle In Itself/Thirsty Love/Never Been Done/Thumbelina Farewell/Parable/Keep It In Mind/Fallen
Ron Sexsmith's 2001 release 'Blue Boy' is the most musically diverse album of his career. Produced by Steve Earle and Ray Kennedy it sees Sexsmith make a significant departure from his usual low-fi accoustic style and instead employs a richer, larger, more jazz and blues influenced style. On first listening to Blue Boy, it's almost hard to believe that it's a Ron Sexsmith album at all. If you come to it expecting his trademark bittersweet ballads you're in for a huge shock. The sound is much bigger, with a lot of tracks employing a 'big band' sound with a large variety of instrumentation including trumpets, saxaphones and bazouki. But give it a few listens and the initial shock will disappear and turn into immense satisfaction. With 'Blue Boy' Ron shows the diversity of his talent but the essence of Ron Sexsmith the artist is still there. Songs such as 'Foolproof', 'Just My Heart Talkin' and 'Fallen' show that Ron hasn't completely left his simple, accoustic roots that we know and love. But Blueboy is a much more complex album than anything he has released before. It is evident that in the writing and recording of it he was stretching his abilities as a singer songwriter and it defintiley paid off. The opening track 'This Song' acts as the signature track of the album. With its big band feel it is a very strong opening number that lets you know right from the start that Ron means business. 'Cheap Hotel' is another great track. With it's storytelling lyrics it is similar in partsd to 'Strawberry Blonde', but with a very country feel to it, it definitely fits well into this album as a whole. 'Foolproof' is a very delicate, beautiful track with a trumpet solo introduction and a very bluesy feel to it, but my favourite track on the album is, without a doubt, 'Just My Heart Talkin'. Ron's voice sounds magnificent and the beautiful backing vocals complete the song to perfection. 'Thumbellina Farewell' is a cover of a Kyp Harness song. Ron's love of Canandian songwriters is always present both in his albums and concerts in the inclusion of tracks by the likes of Leonard Cohen and Daniel Lanois. This time is the turn of the little known Kyp Harness and as always, Ron makes the song his own to the point that its hard to imagine it ever being sung by anyone else. 'Not Too Big' is probably the furthest away from a Ron Sexsmith track as it's possible to get. A funky, bluesy little number with Ron's voice sounding distant and husky, it is definitely different from anything he has done before, but in his own remarkable style, he makes it work. 'Miracle in itself' is the only piano ballad on the album andwith its string accompaniment is incredibly beautiful.
It was probably quite a brave thing for Ron to do in releasing this album. He had already set himself a repuation as a certain type of songwriter and in releasing 'Blue Boy' he went against all the stereotypes and expectations, to prove that he had more than one string to his bow. But his braveness defintiely paid off. That's one of the things I love about Ron Sexsmith. With many musicans pandering to the fan's or record company's demands, it is refreshing to find someone who stays true to himself and writes from his heart, placing the utmost importance on pushing his own musical abilites outside the realms of expectations and at the same time creating something well-crafted and performed. The brilliant tracks aside, the main thing that makes Blueboy such a great album is the daring and bravery that went into its making, and that's something for which Ron Sexsmith deserves unlimited credit and praise.
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Cobblestone Runway (2002)
Rating (Out of 10): 9
Tracklisting: Former Glory/These Days/Least that I Can Do/Disappearing Act/For A Moment/Gold In Them Hills/Heart's Desire/Dragonfly On Bay Street/The Less I Know/Up The Road/Best Friends/Gold In Them Hill (remix)
From the cover pictures and songtitles, it would be easy to classify the music of Ron Sexsmith as melancholy, introspective and biterweet, and while for the most part this may be true, there is also a dinstinctly positve side to Ron Sexsmith and 'Cobblestone Runway' is his most positive album to date. Recorded over a seven day period in London with proucder Martin Terefe, 'Cobblestone Runway' leaves behind some of the folksy, lowfi style of early Sexsmith albums and replaces it with uptempo tracks with a highly produced feel to them. Sexsmith has openly discussed how 'Cobblestone Runway' was written during a time of emotional upheavable for him. Having split up with his longterm girlfriend, and finding himself with no-where to live and having to move in with his manager It's surprising that this album is so positive and upbeat. And it's easy to see that situation reflected in the majority of the tracks, with the central theme being the idea than things can and will get better. 'Cobblestone Runway' is the album that really sees Sexsmith come to age as a lyricist. Not that there was ever any doubt of his ability to write a song, but this album is full of philisophicial, deep-thinking maturity. Each song shows hope, makes us see the light at the end of the tunnel, makes us search for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. 'Former Glory' opens the album and immediately displays the sort of well crafted, high quality songs that make up the rest of 'Cobblestone Runway'. With it's beautiful strings, sincere and uplifting lyrics, and an incredible vocal performance from Ron, it truly is a wonderful track. 'These Days' is probably the most well know song on the album thanks to its use in the film 'Intermission' and provides a great upbeat momenton the album with great backing vocals and quite a rocky feel to it. Without a doubt the best song on the album is 'Gold In Them Hills'. It's the sort of song you can listen to after a hard day when everything is looking bleak and pointless and it will immediately make you believe that there is hope. And it's such a beautiful song with a sparce yet beautiful piano accompiment and somber strings and Ron's voice sounding so sweet and delicate. It's a song that really touches you. 'God Loves Everyone' is a delicate, beautiful track which focuses on Sexsmith's unique voice and its difficult not to be affected by it. 'Disappearing Act' is one of the very few songs with with slightly down-beat lyrics, yet as it's the most uplifting song on the album musically it's hard to see it as depressing. The album ends with a second version of 'Gold In Them Hills' this time featuring vocals from Coldplay's Chris Martin. This version is more upbeat musically than the original, but it really works, and the harmonies that Ron and Chris produce together are nothing less and perfection. With Cobblestone Runway Ron Sexsmith yet again shows us another side to his multi-faceted talent. It's definitely one of his best albums to date with hardly a bad song on it.
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Retriever (2004)
Rating (Out of 10): 9.5
Tracklisting: Hard Bargain/Imaginary Friends/Not About To Lose/Tomorrow In Her Eyes/From Now On/For the Driver/Wishing Wells/Whatever It Takes/ Dandelion Wine/Happiness/How On Earth/I Know It Well
2004 has been a great year for album releases with so many fantastic albums having been released in the early stages of the year. Before the release of 'Retriever' I had already been struggling to decide on a favourite between Morrissey, Franz Ferdinand and PJ Harvey, and then Ron Sexsmith came and confused me even more. You always know that a new Ron Sexsmith album is going to be a good one, but I hadn't planned on it being quite so fantastic. Immediately upon listening to the very first line of the very first song I fell in love with it, as if I'd heard the album a million times before. It felt familar, confomforting, like putting on your big old favourite jumper on a cold winter morning while you lie on the sofa and consider facing the day ahead. That's not to say that's its boring or samey (quite the opposite actually). Listening to 'Retriever' I had almost the same experience as I had when I heard Ron's debut album for the first time. There's something startling familiar about it. Something that you've never heard before, but immediately feels right. And you just want to wrap yourself up in it and listen to it over and over again as if you've found that perfect experience, that perfect moment, and you don't want to let it go.
'Retriever' is quite different to Sexsmith's other albums. It's a lot more poppy and upbeat that his previous offerings, and it's something that works for him. His trademark simplicity and beauty are still there but there's an underlying positivity that's missing from a lot of his previous albums. 'Retrevier' is probably Sexsmith's most Commerical and accessible record to date, but it's also his most consistant with every single song being amazing with absolutley no filler at all. It's pretty obvious that Ron Sexsmith has found love and happiness prior the the recording of this record and many of the songs celebrate that relationship. But this is Ron Sexsmith, not Westlife, so forget about cheesy romantic ballads and instead think about love as something spiritual, something to be cheerished, challenged and worked at. But it's not all about love; Ron The Phillosopher is still here in songs like 'For The Driver' and Imaginary friends, celebrating the ordinary, commenting on our daily grind and routine. The album opens with 'Hard Bargain' and 'Imaginary Friends' which are two of the strongest tracks on the album and gets the album off to a brilliant start. 'How on Earth' provides one the utter highlights of the album. The opening line where Ron's Voice sounds like something sent from heaven, so delicate, fragile and utterly beautiful is my favourite moment on the whole CD. Being someone who is fascinated by song titles and their meanings and relevance to the album, I was puzzled at first about the title of Ron's latest offerring. Most of his album title are short and simple and seemingly straighforward, but with probably a personal meaning to Ron Himself. But 'Retriever' is probably his best title to date. And when you think about it, it fits the feel and themes of the album perfectly. There are several possiblities when you think about the word Retriever. Noions of searching come to mind, questing, looking finding. going for something or someone you want and getting it. Or Maybe it's a reference to his relationship - Retrieve Her - find a lostlove and get her back. But the most probable is the big old shaggy Retriever dog, ever-faithful and loving, always there, even when the day is long and the bills are piling and the tears are streaming down your face, much like the album itself.
There's something very special about Ron Sexsmith, someting that goes beyond the music. Something that makes you think and wonder and dream; something passionate and challenging and wonderful. The world is suddenly transformed into a beautiful magical place when listening to a Ron Sexsmith album and 'Retriever' is no exception.
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Sexsmith & Kerr - Destination Unknown (2005)
Rating (Out of 10): 8
Tracklisting: Listen/One less Shadow/Lemonade Stand/Reacquainted/Chasing Forever/Counting On Time/Only Me/You’ve Been Waiting/Raindrops in My Coffee/I’ve Been Away/Diana Sweets/Your Guess Is As Good As Mine/Tree Lined Street
On reading previews of the latest Ron Sexsmith album ‘Destination Unknown’, Sexsmith described the album as his attempt to create a sound similar to that of the Everly Brothers. Not having much knowledge of the afore mentioned duo, that statement brought a smile to my face, as I pictured something cheesy, funny and dated, but one listening to the album, this was definitely very far from the truth On ‘Destination Unknown’, Sexsmith teams up with long time drummer and cellist Don Kerr to produce an album that focuses on vocal harmonies, and creates something very special and very unique. Kerr has been in Sexsmith’s band since the beginning, often providing vocal harmonies on the albums along with playing drums and cello, but this time, rather than just being seen as a member of the band, Sexsmith gives Kerr equal billing on the album cover. As Kerr has provided the vocal harmonies on previous Sexsmith albums, I already knew that the result was going to be good, but I didn’t realize just how beautiful it was going to be. The two voices compliment each other beautifully, and the tracks are all very carefully written to make sure that the focus is very much on the two voices, with everything else very much secondary.
On the sleeve notes, Sexsmith describes how he wrote the songs for ‘Destination Unknown’ during the time that he was writing the material for ‘Retreiver’, but kept the songs aside for a different project as he thought they would benefit from dual vocals.
Sexsmith has described the album as ‘a collection of misfit songs sung by a couple of misfits’. But misfits songs are about as far from the truth as possible as they all fit together perfectly, the songs are all very similar, giving a very good flow to the album. And if Sexsmith and Kerr, with their beautiful voices and never ending talent are to be described as a couple of misfits, then I’m sure that a misfit is something we all wish we were.
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Time Being (2006)
Rating (Out of 10): 8.5
Tracklisting: Hands Of Time/Snow Angel/All In Good Time/Never Give Up/I Think We're Lost/Reason For Our Love/Cold Hearted Wind/Jazz At The Bookstore/Ship Of Fools/Grim Trucker/Some Dusty Things/And Now The Day Is Done
Ron Sexsmith is definitely keeping himself busy these days. Just eight months after ‘Destination Unknown’, the project he undertook with long time band member Don Kerr, he has delivered his third album inside two years. ‘Time Being sees Ron teaming up again with Mitchell Froom who produced his first three albums perhaps in an attempt to recapture the musical style of his early work. ‘Time Being’ lies in between his last two albums in terms of musical style. The rock anthems of Retriever are missing with songs leaning more towards the ‘Destination Unknown’ style ballads but containing more substance and without the emphasis on vocal harmonies. As the title suggests, ‘Time Being’ concentrates very much on Sexsmith’s fascination with time which proliferates most of his albums. The message here seems to be a bittersweet one, with Sexsmith’s advice being to live in the present, to accept things as they are for now, and not to place too much hope in the future. He seems to be telling us, that things are ok for the time being, but no promises.
‘Time Being’ is a bit of a grower. It lacks a Sexsmith classic like Strawberry Blonde or Disappearing Act that jumps out at you instantly. But there is a peacefulness about this album, and the serene beauty of his first album is definitely present. What is missing though is the simplicity of his early works. ‘Time Being’ is a very complex album which requires a lot of work from the listener. To be honest, when I first listened to this album I didn’t really like it. I think it was partly down to Ron Sexsmith overload, and partly because I didn’t really understand what he was trying to do. With ‘Time Being’ Sexsmith really pushes himself as a musician, stretching himself beyond his usual limits. It is an album that is very different from any of his previous work. While in certain ways it resembles his first three albums in terms of beauty, but the simplicity of those albums is replaced with complexity, audacity and maturity. ‘Snow Angel’, ‘All In Good Time’ and ‘Ship of Fools’ are the stand out tracks for me on an album where there is little or no filler. The closing track ‘And Now The Day Is Done’, owes more than a passing resemblance to Nick Drake’s track ‘Day Is Done’ in both style and lyrical content.
Time Being isn’t like any other Sexsmith album. You won’t recognize the Ron Sexsmith that we know and love, and change is difficult to accept, hence the initial dislike. But this is definitely an album worth sticking with and it makes you wonder just what Ron is going to come up with next. We probably won’t have long to wait!
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