The recordings on this collection feature more orchestration and backup vocals than Smith had had previously. It's true that the flow of Smith's hit singles slowed to a trickle, but the singing here remains superb. TUCKER: One reason this new box set is important is because it puts to rest a misconception about Smith's career that by the early '70s, she was on a downward slide. Just when the sun shines the brightest and the nights are so hard to get through, I think of you and change into the latest shade of blue. SMITH: (Singing) Just when it starts to get better, right when your memory might end, when I've said goodbye to the old crowd, and I'm finding myself some new friends. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LATEST SHADE OF BLUE") Here's the title song of the new box set that collects her Columbia work, "Latest Shade Of Blue."
To my ears, her first Columbia single, "Pass Me By (If You're Only Passing Through)," the song that began this review, is superior to the hit Johnny Rodriguez made of it the year before, and it signaled a fresh beginning for Smith as an interpreter of heartbreak.
But feeling that the label wasn't promoting her work very well, she signed a new contract with Columbia. Over the course of nine years, Smith had 16 Top 10 country hits on RCA Records. Listeners knew instantly that this was one of the greatest sad song singers ever recorded. KEN TUCKER, BYLINE: In 1964, Connie Smith's very first single, "Once A Day," went all the way to No. Hey, pass me by if you're only passing through. (SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PASS ME BY (IF YOU'RE ONLY PASSING THROUGH)")ĬONNIE SMITH: (Singing) Would you look at what came down the road today? Wanting me to be one more mistake you make. Together, Ken says these two releases do a lot to confirm Smith's status as one of country music's finest song interpreters. The other is her most recent collection, 2021's "The Cry Of The Heart," produced by her husband, country music star Marty Stuart. One is a new box set from the German reissue label Bear Family Records called "Latest Shade Of Blue - The Columbia Recordings 1973-'76," (ph) four CDs chronicling Smith's entire output at Columbia Records. He's been listening closely to her two most recent releases. You may not know Connie Smith, but our rock critic, Ken Tucker, includes himself among the many hardcore country fans who consider her one of the greatest country vocalists ever.
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