Judge Smith 2025-2026
Running for cover and looking for refuge, an esteemed English auteur issues a double-barrel of soul-searching missives.
Existing as a creator in a class of one’s own doesn’t imply loneliness – there are always friends to support an artistic urge – but once art and method merge, it’s often impossible to appreciate either, and Judge Smith is well aware of such a paradox. With his voice a perfect fit for original pieces – the jolly pastiches of “Zoot Suit” and chamber ditties of "The Trick Of The Lock" alike – and his music fueling the performances, the venerated Brit allowed musicianship per se to fall through the cracks between the songs. And although Judge let himself shine on "Mr. Mckilowatts Dances" as an instrumentalist, in order to focus on vocals the pure expression of the master’s singing had to be separated from his writing. So when Smith ran out of fresh or archival material to lay down yet still wanted to record something in good company, the idea of doing covers cropped up – as alien as it may seem for this deviser.
The release of five borrowed cuts also afforded him a chance to give a physical form to a major mini-opus which didn’t seem commercial enough to see the light of day as a single disc, and perhaps the listener should start their journey chronologically, with “The Overstayer” providing the drama and addressing the woes of our times with immense sympathy.
The Overstayer
The 17-minute, four-part suite finds Smith assuming the role of chanteur-narrator, while the titular character is passionately portrayed by Dorie Jackson, whose father David, Judge’s old compadre, delivers the reeds that, alongside Robert Pettigrew’s pipe organ, produce the sound not far from what VdGG used to radiate ages ago – so there’s eternity concealed in these grooves now. Solemn and deeply emotional, marrying the liberties of jazz with the symphonic discipline, the story of an educated immigrant in the United Kingdom feels ready for a transfer to the stage, yet it’s not so theatrical as to distract the audience from the melodic beauty and tight harmonies. Jovial in some places and tragic in others, “The Overstayer” can’t help but move even the cynics, especially with the pleas of “I will teach your children” and “I will be one of you” hanging in the air, and the latter coincidentally edging close to the “She’s Leaving Home” refrain.
The universal scope and poetic turns of the composer’s lyrics are bound to lodge in the sonic spectator’s memory, just as the classics Judge picked for “Copy Cat” stayed in his mind’s eye. It’s worth noting that four of the five singers who inspired Smith’s takes have passed away, which adds to the poignancy of the veteran’s versions.
Copy Cat
Judge being Judge, he couldn’t choose the most famous renditions of familiar tunes for all the covers – and he wouldn’t be able to tap into Judy Garland’s teenage dream on “Over The Rainbow” anyway – so it’s extremely gratifying to hear Smith whistle the perennial before planting the Israel Kamakawiwo’ole Hawaiian template in Albion soil and drily intoning the evergreen lines in the Joe Brown manner, accompanied by ukulele. And it’s fantastic to catch him doing “First We Take Manhattan” according to Joe Cocker’s peculiar approach, rather than Leonard Cohen’s, because that’s where the Judge’s immaculate vocal abilities are exposed for everybody to admire, with Pettigrew’s piano and Jim Christopulos’s drums bolstering the septuagenarian’s boisterous romp. Still, Smith’s wails on “Werewolves Of London” come across as even more authentic – unlike Warren Zevon, he’s walking on home turf here, after all! – as John Ellis’s guitar riffs support the number’s refrains quite effectively, and he bounces off “White Light/White Heat” with total abandon.
However, “Hold Me” – plucked from P. J. Proby’s schmaltz – shows Judge’s humor and enviable vigor as well as his sentimentality, and indeed, holding this twofer and playing it is an endearing experience.
*****
