Tell Someone

Chronique

On the sepia-toned cover of the Kenny & Amanda Smith Band's Tell Someone, a man stands up in the back of a Studebaker pickup truck, facing a seated, outdoor audience. While the subject of the photo may seem rather obscure today, it was, back when Studebakers where still made, common for ministers to preach from any available pulpit. Tell Someone, then, is Kenny & Amanda Smith Band's pulpit, and their fundamentalist-Christian sermon is delivered in 13 songs, or chapters. Stylistically, the band wraps each song in bluegrass banjos, guitars, fiddles, mandolins, and tight harmony. Amanda Smith handles most of the leads, and her country tinge adds a touch of authenticity to what might have seemed too smooth thanks to the clean production and precise harmonies. The band is a crack unit, with Kenny Smith on guitar, Jason Robertson on mandolin, Jason Davis on banjo, Daniel Carwile on fiddle, and Zachary McLamb on bass, and the material is likable and handled well. The Kenny & Amanda Smith Band have carved out an interesting niche on Tell Someone, marrying contemporary bluegrass musicianship and vocal styles to gospel lyrics. For fans who like the rough and tumble of old-fashioned gospel, Tell Someone will appear lacking in emotion; for those who always thought old-time gospel too much of a free-for-all, Tell Someone will be a welcomed change.
© Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr. /TiVo