With the third volume of Sonny Smith's 100 Records project, he's once again ditched the Sunsets and inhabited a universe of fictional musicians. He's back as Hank Champion, the poet who talks about his sex life over a quaint country instrumental. Zig Speck and the Specktones, the garage rock band formerly fronted by Ty Segall in Volume II, return with an earwormy nugget called "Fruitcakes". He's a soul group, a reggae band, a folkie guitar picker, and a country balladeer. The LP has a similar aesthetic to one you might find from grabbing several 45s out of a bargain bin and putting them on a compilation. But here's the important bit-- even when he travels outside his comfort zone, Smith sounds decidedly like himself.
In an interview about the project back in 2010, Smith hinted that he was less than confident in his ability to deliver such a wide range of songs. "There was one guy that was kind of a reggae guy, and I don't play reggae music or whatever, so that was kind of tricky." And in reference to the soul characters, "I can't sing like Otis Redding or anything." On paper, it makes sense that Smith's voice could potentially pose a limitation for those genres-- his voice is distinctively his own. But by side-stepping vocal affectations and delivering strong, tight arrangements, he's crafted some legitimately catchy reggae and soul songs. With a strong organ solo and a quiet, echoing piano driving the beat, "Half Boy Half Girl" is a reggae ballad that smacks of early American R&B. (Makes sense-- the Wailers, after all, were inspired by that stuff.) And with a killer hook and some on-point back-up singers, "A Steady Stream of Love" is one of the best country soul throwbacks in recent memory.
The tinges of country in Smith's soul music make sense-- the most recent Sunsets album, Longtime Companion, featured some beautiful country songs ("Year of the Cock" appears there and here), and by letting himself stretch out under the guise of different personae, Vol. 3 is a great venue for his knack with the genre. His two songs as Bobby Hawkins are maybe a bit too simplistic-- he delivers a lonesome howl on "Minimum Wage" and drawls out the titular lyrics of "Difficulties, Mistakes and Errors". He offers 1970s country rock barn burners ("Cosmorama") alongside quiet Johnny Cash-like acoustic tracks ("Some Women Artists All Around Town").
Vol. 3 is at its best when Smith is at his boldest, like when he's offering a cautionary tale to the masses (and the president) on "If You Don't Make a Change". Although the instrumental tracks "Medication" and "Wolf Like Howls From the Bathhouse" are subdued by comparison, they serve the crucial role of offering a palate cleanser between stylistic shifts. And while you can almost always predict the genre by looking at the track and fake artist name (the Wayward Youth are behind the reggae song, Little Antoine and the Sparrows did the soul song), it's to Smith's credit that only one track, "Space Travel's in My Blood" by Earth Girl Helen Brown, feels like a throwaway novelty song due to its cartoonish sci-fi sonics. For an art project that's in constant danger of veering into gimmickry, his final 100 Records collection is much stronger than it has any right to be.
