There are some of the great songs from the tradition on this CD. Emily has chosen Fair Helen of Kirkconnel from her own Dumfries and Galloway area and the lovely Borders song Time Wears Awa. There are new songs too - the title track A Day Like Today was written by Emily and the first tune on track 3, Party in my Pants, was penned by the band's fiddler Jamie McClennan. The latter named for CD producer Jack Evans favourite chat-up line - as Emily says in the sleeve notes " It has a 100% record - it always fails".
Emily's band for this album are:
Ross Ainslie
An outstanding player on whistles and both Highland and Small pipes, Ross was born in Perth.l The quietest member of the band (so far...), Ross used to play with McNaughtons Vale of Atholl pipe band (Grade 1). At only 19 years of age he has toured with Gordon Duncan and was involved in Ivan Drever's band "Clueless" before recently playing with "Flook!" and Dougie MacLean.
Jamie McClennan
Born in New Zealand, our fiddle player Jamie, was influenced by his parents' involvement in the folk music scene. Progressing from folk and blues to his own distinct blend of Scottisd and Irish styles led to Jamie leaving New Zealand and heading across the waters to Scotland. With a tendancy to dance while playing (those feet just wont keep still!) Jamie also plays piano, mandolin and whistles. He has recorded an album with Kiwi band Crannog "Lets Not and Say We Did" and now in Scotland with folk band Camhanach - Danny Award winners at Celtic Connections Festival.
Sean O'Donnell
Sean was born in Derry, Northern Ireland. He studied German and French at Queens University, Belfast before living in Austria for two years working as an English teacher. Playing guitar from the age of 16 in various pubs and rock bands, Sean started playing at folk sessions 7 years ago while studying for a Masters at Coleraine University. Since moving to Glasgow in 1996, Sea's face has become well-known and, with the odd exception, well-liked, on the session scene there. Prior to joining Emily's band, Sean played with (among others) Clare McLaughlin (Deaf Shepherd), Michael McGoldrick, Scottish based band Daimh and he currently plays with Scots/Irish band Beneche.
Ross and Sean have moved on to pastures new and, in the second half of 2004 Emily and Jamie have been joined in the band by guitarist Steve Byrne, well-known for his work with Malinky
She sings with a lovely natural expressiveness.....A debut to be proud of.
This recording formed part of the Dumfriesshire-born singer and accordianist's prize as Scotland's Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2002, and while it may have arrived a bit sooner than expected in her career, it's still a debut to be proud of......with their zest, imagination, youthful accomplishment, and feeling for the tradition, Smith and her band of only a few months should be filed under ones to watch.
Emily Smith has a fabulous voice......
It can be a risk to sound mature , when one is young, but when you hear a voice such as Emily's grab hold and mix with the folk lyrics, images and messages over the rhythms and melody's provided by her band members, it is done naturally. A brilliant performance. She is definately going to go places. Remember that.
A vibrant new talent well worth looking out for.
Emily Smith “A Day Like Today” Foot Stompin¹ Records CDFSR1716 This year¹s winner of the BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician Award and rightly receiving lots of plaudits for this and her live shows. A refreshingly diverse vocal range which finds its own balance between subtlety and rawness depending on the material, plus any CD with a tune on called “Party In My Pants”is worthy of at least a mention (the title apparently comes from producer Jack Evans). A vibrant new talent well worth looking out for.
The music here already has a persuasive freshness and vitality, even on the familiar tunes.
Emily Smith is the current holder of the Young Scottish Traditional Musician Award, and this debut album with her own band provides ample confirmation that the Borders-bred singer, accordianist and pianist was a worthy winner. She will add even greater authority with more experience, but the music here already has a persuasive freshness and vitality, even on the familiar tunes. She chose a nice variety of traditional and contempory material, and is precise in her judgement when it comes to tailoring her phrasing and delivery to the expressive requirements of a given song.
Emily and her band have a maturity of playing and a mutual understanding that will win them many friends in the years to come.
A Day Like Today is the debut album of singer and accordionist Emily Smith from Thornhill in Dumfriesshire, which features a variety of trad songs from big ballads to Burns – the latter with a transformationally up-tempo arrangement from the band’s fiddler Jamie MacLennan. The band line-up is Jamie on fiddle, Emily herself on box and piano as well as vocals. Ross Ainslie on pipes and whistles and Sean O’Donnell on guitar. Young people who will go far in my opinion – apart from anything else, Emily was the 2002 winner of BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Singer of the Year Award. Emily and her band have a maturity of playing and a mutual understanding that will win them many friends in the years to come. The Scots Magazine..March 2003
An accomplished box and piano player, Smith is also an evocative singer, well capable of passing the "small hairs on the back of the neck" test on big ballads..
.....such as the Cruel Mother. She can also write songs that could easily be traditional, and her own tune to Fair Helen of Kirkconnell is as good as any I've heard. Well-served by her band, some inventive arrangements and the eminently safe hands of producer Jack Evans, A Day Like Today is another remarkable debut album, full stop. Not too long ago, at least one young female singer who plays accordeon and keyboards was subject to an awful lot of hype from certain quarters. In Emily's case such hype - should it happen - would actually be better deserved. A Day Like today is a more thoughtful grower than the upfront Full Steam Ahead but as things stand both look set fair to appear in this year's top ten album list.
Customer Reviews
Emily Smith Caroliene
Went and saw Emily & band while they were touring NSW. Was blown away by the talent of all of them.
Hope they will come back soon.
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