Sonny & the Sunsets – Tomorrow Is Alright LP

Description

The Sonny inSonny & the Sunsetsis Sonny Smith, andTomorrow Is Alrightrepresents a small portion of what hes been up to since he started playing music. He broke in as a blues pianist, released a bunch of solo albums in the 2000s, and — most impressively — in 2009 he conceived and completed a project called 100 Records, which involved making up fictional bands and singers from all different eras and styles and then writing and recording songs for each of them.The Sunsetswere involved in that project too, but first they recordedTomorrow Is Alrightin various locales around San Francisco during 2007 and 2008. Its not surprising that Smith would be able to undertake a project like 100 Records, asTomorrowshows hes a songwriter willing and ready to try different things with a very high success-to-failure ratio. Whether its the ramshackle three-chord pop of Too Young to Burn that opens the record, the sparseJonathan Richman-influenced shaggy dog tale Planet of Women, the murky pop-psych of Death Cream, the nearly seven-minute country-rock (well, ifthe Velvet Undergroundwere a country-rock band) jam “Lovin on an Older Gal, or the rollicking campfire doo wop folk of Chapters, Smith isnt content to stick to one style. The one constant on the record is the loose and easy backing of the Sunsets (who includeKelley Stoltzon drums), the casual production values, and Smith’s persona. His offhand vocals, off-kilter lyrics, and general good-natured approach help makeTomorrow Is Alrightan unassuming, low-key gem — the kind of record that sounds good when you need some pleasant background music to get you through a tough day, but also something you can really connect with if you listen beyond the surface. If you arent already familiar with Sonny Smith, this is a fine place to start your investigation. -All Music Guide