{"id":668266,"date":"2016-08-25T10:18:57","date_gmt":"2016-08-25T14:18:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/?p=668266"},"modified":"2017-03-08T15:11:35","modified_gmt":"2017-03-08T20:11:35","slug":"paul-michael-smith-full-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/2016\/08\/25\/paul-michael-smith-full-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul Michael Smith: ‘Full Circle’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"pms\"Umpf.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yeah, it\u2019s not the most technical way to describe Paul Michael Smith\u2019s \u201cFull Circle,\u201d but it\u2019s the first word, phrase or sound that comes to mind after listening to it. Your heart goes out to him because you can tell how hard he tries. Plus, as he likes to boast pretty much anywhere you find information on him, the dude writes like a billion songs a day or some such nonsense.<\/span><\/p>\n

Well. These 11 tracks suggest that perhaps he might want to focus on the age-old adage that quality can trump quantity. Because \u2026 again. Umpf.<\/span><\/p>\n

It starts with the set\u2019s weirdest moment \u2014 a moment that also probably doubles as its best. \u201cBig Daddy\u201d eases in with worldly jazz horns that give way to a simple backbeat and tasteful acoustic guitar picking. Things take a turn, though, with Smith\u2019s lyrical acumen \u2014 or, well, lack thereof \u2014 as he outlines a story that kind of\/sort of tells the tale of a drug addict or a funeral or someone being \u201ckilled for\u201d his \u201cdough.\u201d It\u2019s so unbelievably odd that it actually half-works because of its shameless eccentricity.<\/span><\/p>\n

From there, however, things get embarrassingly tacky. Yes. Even more tacky than, again, someone being \u201ckilled for\u201d his \u201cdough.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cReal American Heroes\u201d is a play on the unsung knights in shining armor who do outrageously noble things like pay bills and \u201ceat peanut butter to survive.\u201d This is all on top of your atypical coffee shop structures that come fully equipped with tambourine and easy-going acoustic guitar chords. The only saving grace is a tiny shot of backing vocal harmonies that are elevated almost entirely because of the cheese that surrounds them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI Do, Don\u2019t You\u201d plays in that same universe where Smith\u2019s understated, overbearingly pleasant voice carries the track even if the words emanating from it sometimes veer into absurdity. \u201cDo you think all governments are corrupt? And we have a duty to disrupt? By getting angry and erupt? You\u2019re damn right, I do,\u201d he proclaims in the song\u2019s second half and \u2026 whoa, there, man. Settle down. As a song, it works in the sense that it establishes the Thurmont singer as someone who knows how to crescendo and decrescendo, but as a meditation on rhetorical questions, it\u2019s nothing short of a disaster.<\/span><\/p>\n

Things don\u2019t improve when Smith decides to plug in and offer up what limited electric guitar skills he has. \u201cI Love You All Over\u201d is just a tiny bit creepy with how unapologetically explicit the singer is with his language. In some ways, it works as a low budget college radio single from 1987, but even that\u2019s a stretch. The band isn\u2019t tight, the spine isn\u2019t creative, and the so-called emotion Smith is attempting to convey when he shouts \u201cbaby\u201d is cringeworthy in its perversion.<\/span><\/p>\n

So what\u2019s good? Not much. But \u201cZorro (The Street Troubadour)\u201d takes tiny cues from Simon & Garfunkel with its inoffensive aesthetic and street angel mentality. Plus, the background noises add a fun effect that proves this is a guy who cares about detail. And \u201cButton My Buttons\u201d is a sweet idea, if nothing else. Throughout it, the singer outlines the latter half of a life where companionship is valued and friendship is the currency of choice. Because honestly, who hasn\u2019t wondered if their current lover will still be around when he or she gets old? It\u2019s a universal concept.<\/span><\/p>\n

But then there\u2019s \u201cOff On Your Own,\u201d which is a watered-down ballad about watching a child come into her own. And \u201cLover\u2019s Faith,\u201d which feels like too much of a fourth-rate cover band who tried to write a song that they believe pays homage to the Beatles. And \u201cChristmastime Again,\u201d the album-ender, proves not all Christmas songs are created equal, and, in fact, that some Christmas songs are anything but necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet it fits in with the crux of \u201cFull Circle,\u201d which, at the end of the day, is a showcase for someone who believes he can pull songs out of thin air while taking any type of subject matter and making it interesting. Truth is, nobody can do that \u2014 not even the best songwriters alive. You have to think. You have to work. You have to consider more than one or two options when you\u2019re inspired to tackle an issue. Simply asking the listener if he or she \u201cever feels insane,\u201d as Smith does on \u201cI Do, Don\u2019t You\u201d isn\u2019t good enough when its accompanied by similar tropes that do anything but inspire anyone to actually answer the question.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, sure. Paul Michael Smith has a fine enough voice. Use all the cliched names with whom he might be vaguely compared \u2014 James Taylor, Art Garfunkel, etc. And yeah, you can\u2019t fault a guy for trying to hang his hat on versatility. But sometimes taking the time to paint a great picture can often be far more rewarding than aimlessly splashing colors on a canvas 10 times a day for the sake of the mere production of something you can call art. Quality over quantity can be a good thing. It\u2019s something Smith should consider.<\/span><\/p>\n

For now, though, these 11 songs leave you wanting to say one thing. Umpf.<\/span><\/p>\n

* 1 1\/2 STARS OUT OF 4 *<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Umpf. Yeah, it\u2019s not the most technical way to describe Paul Michael Smith\u2019s \u201cFull Circle,\u201d but it\u2019s the first word, phrase or sound that comes to mind after listening to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-668266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=668266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/668266\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=668266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=668266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fnpsites.net\/playlist\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=668266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}