Marathon – Darden Smith

Marathon – Darden Smith

Tracks: 15

Darden Smith is one of Austin’s most revered musicians, and with an impressive catalogue over twenty five years, (one CD of which saw him collaborate with British folk singer Boo Hewerdine)  to his name already, Marathon is his new release.

Interestingly, the result wasn’t quite what Smith set out to create. After composing a performance work for the Austin Symphony Orchestra in 1999, Smith, known primarily as a singer-songwriter,
wanted to challenge himself with another large symphony or theatrepiece. He experimented with different approaches until settling in 2003 on an idea for a song cycle, a set of songs that could later integrate aseries of monologues for the stage.  The result was Marathon.

The album is not about a race, but rather is inspired by and evocative of the stunning country out in the far West of Texas.  Marathon, for those who are wondering, is a small railroad town north of the Big Bend, on a grassy plain below the Glass Mountains – that’s a part of Texas I haven’t yet visited but must.  I suspect that Darden Smith’s greatest skill is that he creates the images and atmosphere of that sprawling land that is Texas, every bit as well as fellow Texans Tom Russell, Sam Baker and Kimmie Rhodes, or indeed author Cormac McCarthy.   I have found that once you have been to Texas it gets under your skin and stays there; something about Smith’s writing about Texas has the same effect.   In fact he has himself described Marathon as a place of mind and says the songs of Marathon are as much about the places within us all.

It is almost impossible to select standout tracks, as somehow the CD is greater than the sum of its parts, but perhaps Sierra Diablo, Marathon Sky, Tinaja and 75 Miles of Nothing are the most striking. 

Well worth a listen whether you love Texas or have never been and I wonder what this CD has the potential to become...