Eric Church is certainly one of the more tenacious artists in country music. After three modest hits and a total dud from his second album, he managed to keep plugging along. Sure, it took a fairly lazy (if catchy) list song called “Love Your Love the Most” to get him another hit, but he made up for it at least somewhat with “Hell on the Heart.” Both of these songs, despite being a little lightweight, snuck unassumingly into the Top 10, opening the gates for Eric to try something a little more interesting. And “Smoke a Little Smoke” is certainly one of the more interesting cuts on Carolina.
The song is a driving, raucous, infectious take on losing one’s problems in the one-two combination of booze and smokes. It’s gritty and loud, with up-front guitars, emphatic percussion and echoing background vocals. The sound is well-suited for Church’s slightly gruff delivery, easily channeling more than a couple of his outlaw heroes. Furthering the theme, the album version makes it pretty clear that it ain’t just Marlboros he’s smoking — he sings about finding his “stash” near the end. While the radio edit changes the two instances of “find my stash” to “find my glass” and “strike my match,” these subtle changes don’t feel like they bowdlerize the song, nor do they feel like an unnecessary change (compare, say, “spittin’ my dip inside/tonight” from Jake Owen’s “Eight Second Ride”). However, the re-recorded vocals for those lines weren’t integrated particularly well into the mix, causing a couple distinct hiccups here and there. But that’s just a small complaint.
Eric Church has consistently shown an affinity for drawing from outlaw influences and putting a modern spin on them. While his lyrics sometimes leave a little bit to be desired, his best work shows a constant evolution and refinement to his sound. “Smoke” ranks as one of his best cuts so far. It’s bound to keep plugging along for a long time on the charts, and no matter how high or low it peaks, I have a feeling that Church will continue to grow as an artist.
You can support Eric Church by purchasing this single at Amazon | iTunes.
0 Comments