On Stage 10/5 - Stephen Simmons
Stephen Simmons was raised in the small town of Woodbury, Tennessee. His mother was a schoolteacher and his father held a factory job. In his family, they were the first generation that didn’t work the farm. Now a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee, Stephen’s vision entails more than just reflections of rural America. The songs on his new recording, Something In Between, deal with existential realities that are familiar to country and city dwellers alike: redemption, heartbreak, hangovers and the loneliness of the road.
Like Stephen’s previous records, The Superstore, Last Call and Drink Ring Jesus (which were compared to everyone from Johnny Cash to Ryan Adams), Something In Between combines virtuosic songcraft and musicianship with unparalleled artistic honesty. “Don’t Mind Me,” for example, turns a jaded eye toward the perils of drunken conversation and the frustrations of a barroom troubadour. “And don’t mind me,” he sings, “Just keep it moving along/ The last thing in this world that I need/ Is a bar full of yapping jaws/ And don’t mind me/ Man I’ll pay when I’m done/ Already owed everybody/ Before I ever begun.”
Something in Between differs somewhat from Stephen’s previous work. If anything, the new recording focuses more on the microcosm of human relationships and less on the broader questions of faith and redemption that defined Last Call and Drink Ring Jesus. The title track, for instance, articulates the shifting emotions felt at different times during a relationship. In “We’ll See,” there’s a dark cloud hanging over a new connection. Then there’s the worn and weary lover and his collection of new scars in the rocker “New Scratches,” which is perhaps Stephen’s most confessional work to date.
An all-star cast backs Stephen on Something In Between. Produced by Richard McLaurin (Maura O’Connell, Matthew Ryan) at David Briggs’ legendary House of David studio, the recording makes the most of that facility’s live-in-your-living-room sound. Joining Stephen and Richard are guitarist Joe McMahan (Allison Moorer, Kevin Gordon), steel guitar great Al Perkins (Crosby Stills & Nash, The Rolling Stones), fiddler Tammy Rogers (Reba McIntire, Trisha Yearwood), bassist Billy Mercer (Ryan Adams, Todd Snider) and drummer Ken Lewis (Holly Williams, Amy Grant). David Briggs himself plays on several tracks. The pianist, who’s best known for his long stint with Elvis Presley, has played on recordings by a virtual Who’s Who of pop and country, including Linda Ronstadt, Eric Clapton and Loretta Lynn.
Something In Between is available on Americana Records and Rounder Records Europe.
