Search - Micah Blue Smaldone :: Some Sweet Day

"Jimmie Rodgers meets Mississippi John Hurt meets Ian Whitcomb on this wonderful time-machine debut. Crank up the old Victrola and listen up!" - SING OUT Some Sweet Day marks the solo debut of Micah Blue Smaldone, a young musician from the wilds of Maine with a curious mastery of prewar music styles. His fresh rendering of country-blues and ragtime idioms is at once unique and familiar, steeped in the melancholia of heartbreak, the companionship of lonely hours, and the weight of the workingman's grind. Some Sweet Day is laden with astounding guitar work, recalling the dazzling syncopation of Blind Blake, the delicate touch of Mississippi John Hurt, and the clever arrangements of fellow Maine native Craig Ventresco (guitarist on the Crumb and Ghost World soundtracks). Smaldone's distinct voice almost bypasses categories of race or genre, as did many performers of the 1920s such as yodeling cowboy Jimmie Rodgers, minstrel man Emmett Miller, or songster Robert Wilkins. Smaldone's songwriting draws from old vernacular, regional styles, and topics of the day that are often analogous to current sentiments and events. The sincerity, dearness, and good humor of these songs, along with his authentic approach to performing and recording them, serves to resurrect an era of music all but lost to young music enthusiasts.