Grant Maloy Smith Ramps Up for A Historial New Album
A new single from Grant Maloy Smith delivers a very classic, rustic but current feeling country soundscape that blends the old and new-school set of approaches together seamlessly, all while adding drive to everything, letting the soundscape of the song come through in a boisterous manner.
"Go West, Boys" is quite a romp, featuring all kinds of lush instrumentation from violins to rustic guitars, all bringing that southern-tinged, dirt-road country sound to life.
It's the kind of sound that kicks up dust and really gives you this almost cinematic country approach, riddled with all kinds of twangy tones coming from those guitars and hooks where the violins follow what the guitars are playing, really embedding those melodies in your head.
The chorus of this track is huge. It's not just one vocal but many of them, harmonizing like a choir, and it feels like a crowd singing along. This is a total hands-in-the-air single that feels completely from start to finish.
You can hear instruments like banjos in the background, and the way that the guitars, violin, and banjos are layered is incredible because they all sink together amazingly. Every instrument involved fits together like puzzle pieces, but at the same time, it feels like so much is going on.
The vocals come through with just as much swagger as the instrumentation does. The performance is soulful from all ends.
This is definitely a classic single, and it speaks volumes for the kind of stuff that influences artists like Grant.
When I say that, I don't just mean musical influences, but historical ones as well.
You see, this single is the beginning of a full album called Wild West: American Stories, which is a record about America's expansion westward in the 1800s.
The songs on the record interconnect with each other, each one telling another piece of the story.
The album features all kinds of different aspects and songwriting approaches, collaborations with other artists, and some really intense and Theatrical moments.
"Voices on the Wind" is a perfect example of exactly that. This is a robust single with vast undertones, still brings that cinematic backbone to the plate, manages to portray such a deepening tale, and is done with a uniquely descriptive set of lyrics that tells the story amazingly.
A lot about this record is outstanding, simply because it lets you follow along the story, and the music really gives those tales a certain intensity.
This is one of the most culturally rich albums I've heard in a very long time. It gets so deep into so many different aspects of American history and also hits different emotions along the way.
The album covers everything from Teddy Roosevelt to Lewis and Clark, the Gold Rush, and loads more.
This is a record that's so detailed and goes through so much that it's actually a double album in reality. This is an 18-track piece of work, and it's outstanding because you're able to really pick up on just how much detail was packed into all of this.
This was a very well-thought-out album.
The whole thing is a brilliant release that covers more ground than I might have ever even heard in terms of a record based on American history, and culture.
The record is actually accompanied by a book that is both written and illustrated by Grant himself.
So the best way to listen to this record is to have the book with you so that you can check it out and read through it while the songs are playing. This offers up a whole different level of experience in terms of creative outlet and input.
I'm not sure if this is something that's been done exactly this way before, but it's absolutely intense. I would love to get my hands on the book that goes along with the record, and the best part of it all is that "Go West, Boys" is just one small piece of the whole thing.
One of the things I love about this single is the fact that it opens up the record because it introduces you not just to the story, but to some of the staples that you're going to hear throughout the record itself.
This is a song that will definitely keep you at bay while you wait for the full record to come out. I'm not exactly sure if other singles would be dropped before the album is set to release.
From what I can tell, the album should be released in September.
This first single gives you a great taste of what you're about to embark on, though.
This is an example of an artist who is exploring the roots of his culture, getting into pure American history, and putting together something that is obviously a massive passion project.
In the end, the record is massive, incredibly well-produced, heartfelt, bursting with character, depictive lyrical approaches, and again, that blend of vintage and fresh country feels, which comes down to some of how the record was produced.
The whole thing is bursting with amazing performances from dobro to pedal steel, vocalists that add depth and texture, and so much more.
The album as a whole was written and produced by Grant, who also performed guitars and keyboards.
The fact that it comes with a book is one of the most impressive aspects about it.
An album wasn't enough. He wanted to go all the way and release a book along with it so that you really have different ways to soak in that culture.
Grant Maloy Smith went above and beyond on this one and reasons his music speaks to people.
So, jump on the single now, and look out for the record coming this September.
In the meantime, he's got plenty of other music you can check out, and I suggest you do exactly that.
https://www.grant-maloy-smith.