Pete Considine

Usually, when your at a show and the crowd is chanting
"Freebird,"it's not a good sign. But if your ever at a 
bluessmyth concert and the lighters start waving, odds
are good that the crowd actually thinks they're back
in 1976 listening to the original gods of Southern Rock.

Bluessmth, a trio from Calgary in Canada's wild frontier, has
clearlyput their influences to good use. Flavors of ZZ top
 and Lynryd Skynyrd, combined with a deep and heavy
humbucker fuzz, form an expansive backdrop for Chris
Yaholkoski's whiskey-soaked vocals and pistol-hot
guitar work. Yaholkoski's bassist brother, Jason, and
drummer Calvin Becker hold down the rhythm section
with a propulsive beat that drives bluessmyth far past
the level of oridinary blues bands. And touches like
the slippery slide that appears on songs like "Run For
Your Life" or the Hammond organ on " Bring It On" temper
all that fire like a cold rain in a heat wave - sometimes
surprising amd completely welcome.

Having been lucky to get a copy of their latest album to 
review, I was treated to a few special gems that you might
not hear otherwise. The instumental bookends to the "Story
of Emmett Till" are vintage blues/rock of the finest sort:
"Innocence Bound," an evocative acoustic tune full of the hope
and warmth the title implies, and "The Phoenix," a straight-
up rock  jam with a melodic lead part worthy of the Allman
Brothers.

Bluessmyth is the kind of band that make you wonder why 
the 70's revival focused on bellbottoms and wide lapels
instead of what really mattered - the pre-disco music that
rocked audiences to their souls.