Alfie Smith releases his eighth album, Every Rome Needs A Nero, and that is excellent news for blues lovers. The Hamilton-based troubadour is a popular and crowd-pleasing fixture on the Ontario’s blues/folk/roots festivals and club circuit,
His return to the recording arena with Every Rome Needs A Nero finds Alfie at the height of his creative powers. He is a triple threat: a guitar virtuoso fluent on slide and vintage National and resonator instruments, an eloquent songwriter in the classic blues tradition, and a powerful singer with a voice to match his formidable physical presence. That deep voice sounds like it has been dredged from the depths of the muddy Mississippi River. It is rich and earthy, and capable of expressing tenderness, melancholy, joy, and, in the case of the new album’s title track, righteous anger.
"Alfie Smith is one bad Mother @%*er." - Mel Brown
Alfie fully flexes his songwriting muscle on Every Rome Needs A Nero, and the gap between albums meant he had a large selection of material upon which to draw. The title tune and opening cut sets the stage sweetly, via a cool trumpet solo, crisp acoustic guitar and a laidback vibe. Smith’s voice locks into a mellow groove, while lyrics featuring historic references remain relevant today.
One song here, “All The Blues I Need,” is reprised from Come On In My Kitchen. This new version, featuring trumpet and rollicking piano, has a New Orleans feel, appropriate since Alfie and Nicole were married by a riverboat captain on the Big Easy’s last remaining operating steamboat! “That song actually came out of an argument we had,” Alfie recalls. “Nicole told me ‘you’re all the blues I need,’ and I thought, ‘that’s a good line. I’ll steal it.’ Everything else in the song is made up except for the fact I married a beautiful Italian woman! “
One fully autobiographical tune, and a highlight on an album devoid of lowlights, is “East End Girl.” It can be viewed as both an ode to a lover and a homage to Hamilton, the gritty city in which Alfie Smith was born and raised and has always chosen to live in. The song is full of local references, and Alfie explains that “I like songs that mention a place as they give you an image.” One example here is “in Gage Park, we played in the fields,” alluding to Hamilton’s famed Festival of Friends that Alfie has played so often. The city’s huge Supercrawl festival, another event on his resume, also gets name-checked. “My first real experience of live music was at Festival of Friends, back when I was maybe 4,” Alfie recalls. “Because of that I wanted to be a musician. I grew up watching [local folk legend] Jackie Washington there, and I’ve now played FoF more than anyone except him!”
The wide range of tones and themes on Every Rome Needs A Nero is complemented by the musical contributions of a stellar cast of Hamilton players supporting Alfie’s resonant vocals and fluent and versatile guitar work. That list comprises trumpeter Troy Dowding, in-demand pianist/keyboardist Jesse O’Brien (Colin James, Lee Harvey Osmond), drummer Dave Gould, bassist Justine (The Bass Machine) Fischer (Espanola, Logan Staats), Brandon Bliss (Monster Truck) on B3 organ, and Melissa Marchese and Jenni Pleau on backing vocals.
Alfie Smith’s recording career now spans more than a quarter century, beginning with his 1998 debut, Alfred John Smith.
Hamilton is a city renowned for its true grit character and working class roots, and Alfie Smith, born and raised there, exemplifies these qualities. He takes pride in the fact that “I’ve never had a day job, and have been able to make a living as a full time musician and have always owned my own home.” Put that feat down to a combination of Smith’s strong work ethic and immense musical talent. He has long been an in-demand performer at such major Ontario blues and folk festivals as Mariposa, Home County, Winterfolk, Harbourfront Blues Festival, Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival, and many more. In winter months he can be found playing bar and theatre shows on a regular basis, alongside yearly shows at Isla Mujeres, in Mexico.
Smith’s multiple talents have been recognized by both The Hamilton Music Awards, which nominated him 12 times, in the Best Male Vocalist and Best Guitarist categories, and the Toronto Blues Society, who selected him to represent them at the prestigious International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2010 and he also represented Wester New York in Memphis in 2018. Alfie’s prodigious skill as an instrumentalist on banjo, 7-string slide guitar, lap steel, resonator guitar and more has brought him endorsements from, amongst others, Goldtone Banjos, Godin Guitar, and Goodman Guitars, who named a guitar model after him.
Now, with Every Rome Needs A Nero, Alfie Smith has emerged as an artist totally ready for prime time. As Brandon Bliss declares, “So many more people need to hear this guy!” Amen!
