Linda Smith - Emily's House
(Preference Recordings)
3 Stars (out of 5 stars)
Reviewed: February 27, 2002
By Tom Schulte
Linda Smith made this home recording during a month-long residency at The Millay Colony for the Arts, Austerlitz, New York. The Millay Colony is the former home of poet Edna St. Vincent Millay and it is with a poet's care that Smith penned the provided lyrics to such tracks ripe with emotion as the title song. It is the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay that Linda breathily delivers in "The Time of the Year." Linda also sets to music the work of another poet, Louise Bogan's "Night." Linda, a moody, dusk-toned vocalist, brightens her pieces with tambourine and understated guitar accompaniment. Taking on at times baroque sounds ("No 2 People"), a newly acquired keyboard appears in place of the trusty Casio used on earlier recordings. Way ahead of the curve, Linda began making her own 4-track recordings inspired by 60's radio pop in 1986 and continues her work based on that varied tradition of sounds sweet and memorable, pop and nostalgic.