Neal Smith: “Killsmith Goes West” (2023) CD Review

Though Neal Smith is pictured on the cover of his new album, Killsmith Goes West, with a guitar, he is primarily a drummer, known for his work drumming with Alice Cooper. He is also a vocalist and songwriter, and this new album features all original material. It’s a bit different from what you might expect from him. This album, as the title indicates, has more of a country rock sound, but a raw, bluesy, rocking, dangerous-sounding sort of country. This is his fourth solo album to use “Killsmith” in its title. Neal Smith plays drums, percussion, rhythm guitar and keyboards on this release. Joining him are Rick Tedesco on lead guitar, slide guitar, rhythm guitar, bass, keyboards and backing vocals; Peter Catucci on bass and backing vocals; Pete Hickey on keyboards; Stu Daye on slide guitar, rhythm guitar and backing vocals; Arlen Roth on guitar; and Gary Oleyar on fiddle.

Neal Smith kicks off the album with “Shaughnessy Highway,” which actually begins with directions, which I appreciate. Not sure in this time of bloody GPS whether anyone can remember and follow directions anymore, but I love the way this one starts: “Take Shaughnessy Highway to the fork in the road/Drive about a mile and turn on Cherokee Hill/Follow that down until the end of the road.” The directions lead to the home of the main character he sings about in this song. An interesting way of introducing her, right? This song has a raw sound, particularly in Neal Smith’s vocal work, and features some nice guitar work. That’s followed by “Tequila, Tamales & A Woman.” I love that title. This is a song about gambling and gunfights, perennial subjects for western songs. It’s told from the perspective of someone in jail, scheduled to die. “Tequila, tamales and a woman/That’s my dying request.” I’m not sure that counts as a last meal, but why not? Best to give this guy what he requests. You get the sense he might come back and haunt the hell out of you otherwise. “Tequila, tamales and a woman/Before they put my wicked body to rest.”

“Big Wheels Rollin’ West” is a song of the road that moves at a good clip. It is a lot of fun, a song that fits in with those classic truck driving numbers. There is some delicious work on a guitar, and of course a rhythm to keep you in motion, pushing forward. It’s a highlight of the disc, and obviously a good choice to have with you on those long drives. Neal Smith then changes gears with “Coffee, Beer & Borrowed Time,” a mellower number. Here he tackles another classic country topic, splitting up with a woman. “Yeah, my life’s off track and I’m down on my luck/Living on coffee, beer and borrowed time/A good woman’s damn hard to find/Time hasn’t been a friend of mine.” This track features some nice work on fiddle. “Too much coffee and too many beers,” he sings. But wait, just how many is too many? He then says, “If you see her, tell her that I’m fine,” though that doesn’t seem to be the case. In the track’s second half, there is a delicious lead on keys.

Neal Smith starts rocking on “Pull It Out Smokin’,” a song with more of a hard rock sound. This one too deals with gambling and gunfights, and bravado. I do get a bit tired of this track after a while, but that might be because I am diametrically opposed to firearms, and there is a lot of gun imagery in this one (there have been more than a hundred mass shootings in this country this year, and it’s not even April). Then “Sunsets Of Gold” has a sweeter sound, which I love. “The winter was lonely, lonely and long/Right here beside me is where you belong.” Those lines stand out in particular, because my girlfriend was on the other side of the country for the entire winter, and it was rough. This track features more wonderful stuff on violin, and some of the album’s best vocal work. It is one of my favorites.

“If Jesus Was A Gunfighter” places Jesus in the wild west and makes him a law man. “Hallelujah, hallelujah.” But don’t worry, “Jesus never kills, just shoots the gun from the outlaw’s hand.” The lines “He was born in a stable just outside Santa Fe/The savior of the west, alongside horses and the hay” make me laugh. This is obviously a playful number. It is followed by “Jukebox Rose,” a prettier tune about a girl who lets loose when the music plays. “She’s the only honky tonk girl for me/Tough, sweet and mean in skintight jeans/Let me tell you, she’s a bad boy’s dream.” And then suddenly the song takes a turn in the second half, and Rosie runs afoul of the law. Then “Evil Wind” begins with a wind sound effect. An evil wind sound effect? Sure. And then the guitar takes over. This track features another strong vocal performance, and is one of the album’s coolest songs. There is even the sound of a whip cracking. The album concludes with “Tattooed Cowgirl,” another character portrait. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “She’s hot when she’s dressed, even hotter when she’s bare/She’s so good-looking she should be illegal/Smoking hot and knows it too.” He then clarifies what it is she has done: “If broken hearts and promises were a crime/She’d be tossed in prison for a long, long time.”

CD Track List

1. Shaughnessy Highway
2. Tequila, Tamales & A Woman
3. Big Wheels Rollin’ West
4. Coffee, Beer & Borrowed Time
5. Pull It Out Smokin’
6. Sunsets Of Gold
7. If Jesus Was A Gunfighter
8. Jukebox Rose
9. Evil Wind
10. Tattooed Cowgirl

Killsmith Goes West is scheduled to be released on March 31, 2023 on Kachina Records.