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Byther Smith – All Night Long
Delmark DE 708 (1997)
Compact Disc

"The most powerful poet of Chicago Blues!"

Byther Smith, the former boxer, is a scrapper, a hard worker and a musician who now fights his fight from stage and studio, sweating out his rage as he dances in his corner; sparring with the audience and battling with the world. He takes his anger and muscles it into his instrument, knocking off hunks of raw emotions in dissonant chords and in jabbed, stabbed, and lacerated notes. He spits it into his lyrics, and shouts it in strangled, unashamed cries and fiery exhortations. Byther worked with many of the greats including Otis Rush, Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Jimmy Reed and, for six years, Junior Welles. His first Delmard album, Mississippi Kid (Delmark 691), received critical acclaim including this quote from David Whiteis of the Chicago Reader: “‘Smitty’ is as powerful a blues poet as any working today.” All Night Long features thirteen new Byther Smith original compositions.

1 Cried Like A Baby Child 4:58
2 I'm Your New Lover 4:58
3 Walked All Night Long 5:37
4 Hey Mr. Dee Jay 5:17
5 Look Over Your Shoulder 5:18
6 Live On This Man's Name 4:30
7 Something's Wrong With This Picture 5:20
8 What Did I Do? 5:18
9 Mother You Say You Don't Like The Black Colors 2:15
10 Daddy's Gone 6:13
11 Daddy, You Got A Son 4:16
12 Is He White Or Is He Black? 2:27
13 Thinking Real Hard 4:57

(all songs originals by Byther Smith)

Recorded at Riverside Studio on April 1, 2 and 3, 1997

Byther Smith - vocals, guitar
Greg McDaniel - bass
Tino Cortez - drums
Pat Hall - keyboards
Jeff Jozwiak - rhythm guitar
Sonny Seals - tenor sax (3, 4, 7)
Steve Berry - trombone (3, 4, 7)
Malachi Thompson - trumpet, horn arrangements (3, 4, 7)


Producer, Supervised By – Robert G. Koester
Recorded By – Paul Serrano

"Every note in his guitar is accounted for in the emotional stakes and his shouting vocals follow a similar parallel...Smith makes every minute count." - BLUES & RHYTHM magazine