Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Rob Thomas, Emblem/Atlantic Records 2019.
Three times Grammy Award winner, Rob Thomas, took 2018 off to recharge his batteries and in the process wrote Chip Tooth Smile.
The opening track sets us on the journey of a man who is content with his position and time in life.
One Less Day (Dying Young) is a song that could only have been written by someone who has lived long enough, and gained some life experiences, that allows them to view life’s experiences from distance.
He sings: “I’m not afraid of getting older I’m one less day from dying young.” The song, and album, is like a journey that inevitably leads back to the beginning but this time we reach the starting place a lot wiser and prepared for the difficulties ahead.
It’s been three years since Rob Thomas released an album and in a way he sees Chip Tooth Smile as a new beginning.
He had spent three years constantly touring prior to taking a break and the time away from performing proved to be very productive.
When he came to record the album he had 60 songs or part songs to choose from.
He enlisted the help of long-time friend, Butch Walker, as collaborator to help him whittle the list down.
Working with Butch was a first for Rob and Butch wanted a rawer sound.
Nothing on the album is over-produced and Butch set the recording studio up as if he was recording a live band.
This approach has encouraged Thomas to push himself as a lyricist.
He adopted the role of storyteller. “I was writing about experiences I’ve been through that I could only have experienced by getting older, by facing mortality, by having a son, a family, and by having responsibilities… it’s very autobiographical.”
Musically the album travels from folk to country rhythms in tracks like The Man To Hold The Water with its finger-picked guitar through to the raw and boisterous blues of I Love It, my favourite track on the disc. It contains an interesting phased synth solo, something you don’t often hear.
Early in The Morning is another fantastic track. There is great space in the mix that allows for the build up and release of tension.
Chip Tooth Smile is an album about experience and the perspective that comes with age and it is a beauty.
