Artist Guide

Mr. Smoke (New Album Alert!)

June 17, 2023:

NEW ALBUM ALERT!

Buy Mr. Smoke's new STILL SMOKIN' album at Apple.

STILL SMOKIN' Track List:

1
Put It On Him

2
Come On Baby

3
Dope Love

4
Stop, Drop & Roll (feat. F.P.J.)

5
Nobody's Business

6
Smoke Slide

7
Dish It

8
Money Maker

9
Right Kinda Lovin'

10
Tonight

Daddy B. Nice notes:

Mr. Smoke notched a #1 song in August of 2019 with "Love Stand" from his debut album Who Want Smoke (scroll down this page). I'm not sure there's a #1-ranked single this time around, but STILL SMOKIN is otherwise in the same vein. The vocals are occasionally hindered by what sounds like a bad case of (coincidentally enough, given his name) "smoker's throat". Not phlegmy like latter-day Bobby Bland. Not hoarse and scratchy like Johnny James. But sandpaper-rough enough to render the Gwen McCrae "Rocking Chair"-inspired "Come On Baby," for example, pretty one-dimensional.

The set begins to hit its stride with "Dope Love" and "Stop Drop And Roll" featuring F.P.J., reaching an epiphany with the hard-pounding dance jam, "Smoke Slide," the perfect vehicle for Mr. Smoke's pipes: bluesy and overpowering in the John Lee Hooker style. "Dish It," "Nobody's Business," "Money Maker" and "Right Kind of Lovin'" inhabit a kind of middle-ground slightly below the former trio, and "Tonight," the last track, appears to be Mr. Smoke's bid to replicate the success of "Love Stand" with arguably his most expressive vocal.

Also of note: Mr. Smoke is good at booking. He has developed a solid reputation for touring the southern soul circuit with a cracking full band, headlining smaller venues and opening for bigger acts in larger venues. "Smoke Slide" in particular should energize those live fans.

Listen to all the tracks from Mr. Smoke's STILL SMOKIN album on YouTube.

Buy Mr. Smoke's new STILL SMOKIN' album at Apple.



August 3, 2019:

NEW ALBUM ALERT!

Buy Mr. Smoke's WHO WANT SMOKE? album at Amazon.

WHO WANT SMOKE Track List:

1
Nevermind Them Haters

2
Weekend

3
Money

4
Good Lawd

5
Pride Aside

6
Whoa Ni

7
Good to U

8
Rock Me

9
Love Stand

Listen to all the tracks from Mr. Smoke's WHO WANT SMOKE? album on YouTube.

Daddy B. Nice notes:

Here's yet another new artist with an uncannily accurate ear for southern soul. And make no mistake: this influx of talent from a younger generation unfulfilled by other music genres is the reason southern soul music is booming. Mr. Smoke constructs mid-tempo songs (southern soul's "sweet spot") with programmed orchestral instrumental tracks and melodies that linger long after listening. His vocals are superb but don't "show off" or call attention to themselves. Especially radio-friendly tracks include "Money," "Good Lawd," "Whoa Ni" and "Weekend". But the "killer" cut may be "Love Stand," a prime candidate for the top spot on Daddy B. Nice's Top Ten "Breaking" Southern Soul Singles for August 2019.

Daddy B. Nice adds:

It's a wrap, the reactions to this song are overwhelmingly positive, and so it's official.

***********

Daddy B. Nice's Top 10 "BREAKING" Southern Soul Singles For. . .

-------AUGUST 2019-------

1. "Love Stand"------Mr. Smoke

From Mr. Smoke's debut album, Who Want Smoke?, "Love Stand" is a ballad in the deep, soulful tradition of "I'm Trapped" by Carl Sims, who coincidentally released his annual single this month, twenty years after he helped jump-start contemporary southern soul in Shreveport, Louisiana. The beat goes on. The torch is passed.

Listen to Mr. Smoke singing "Love Stand" on YouTube.

See Daddy B. Nice's Corner: Top 10 Singles.

************

Listen to Mr. Smoke's WHO WANT SMOKE? album on Spotify.

Buy Mr. Smoke's WHO WANT SMOKE? album at Apple.

--Daddy B. Nice

About Mr. Smoke (New Album Alert!)

Mr. Smoke, aka Bruce Smith. Lives in Phenix City, Alabama. From Tuskegee, Alabama.