***1/2 Chris Smither

LIVE AS I'LL EVER BE

(Hightone)

This CD casts its net over concert recordings from '96, '97, and '99 for a best-of collection of material from the second wind of Smither's career. After his promising emergence in the '70s, when he penned hits for Bonnie Raitt and making his own mark as a guitarist, Smither hit the skids for a decade. In the mid '80s he bested the bottle and resumed, writing beautiful blues-drenched ballads that have their own sort of wistful existentialism. Tunes like "No Love Today" (inspired by the call of a street vendor), "Link of Chain," and "Can't Shake These Blues" seem to cry out for clarity in their search for a man's role in the universe -- or at least within his own life.

Smither's got a sense of humor, too, and it shows often in his writing, even as he dips into his vat of gritty human pain to make an insightful observation on the passing of love ("Winsome Smile") or the erosion of spirit caused by weakness and self-doubt ("Cave Man"). This is deep stuff, with a true artist's verbal and six-string literacy to match -- to say nothing of Smither's voice, which carries a great burden in its dry edges and husky tone. Expect a local CD-release concert as fall arrives.

-- Ted Drozdowski