Lonesome Highway Reviews “Stealin’ Stuff”

“‘Expect the unexpected’ is possibly the best advice when approaching the music of the eccentric East Nashville resident Stuffy Shmitt. Following his 2020 pandemic release STUFF HAPPENS and CHERRY from earlier this year, his latest recording finds the ever-restless artist raiding the back catalogue of a diverse range of artists to reconstruct ten songs that fall into place remarkably well.

Growing up in Milwaukee in a dysfunctional and often frenzied family environment, Shmitt moved to New York and Los Angeles, and his near ‘meltdown’ has been well documented by Lonesome Highway in an interview and our previous album reviews of his work.

Now permanently residing in Nashville, which may be considered the mecca of Country and Americana music but can also boast a bohemian collective of musicians and producers, mainly living in East Nashville, that also thrive on the more experimental and abstract. Shmitt is unquestionably central to that community. 

Impossible to pigeonhole, his restless and edgy leanings have resulted in a back catalogue that shifts between rock and an occasional Americana side plate. STEALIN’ STUFF finds him in the main shifting his attention in a ‘down and dirty’ blues direction and raiding the songbooks of legendary artists. Bo Diddley’s Mona has an early Rolling Stones feel, and Lead Belly’s prison work song Take This Hammer gets a rootsy makeover. He does justice to Sam Cooke’s classic Bring It On Home To Me with his tender-hearted rendition, and his livelier take on Robert Johnson’s acoustic blues Ramblin’ On My Mind breathes new life into the song.

When Shmitt turns his attention away from the blues legends of yesteryear, things take on an entirely different backdrop and finds him toying with some unexpected selections. He sticks close to the original version of The Psychedelic Fur’s Here Come The Cowboys, less so with an acoustic take of The Del Fuegos’ I Still Want You. The pick of the crop is an outrageous and eyebrow-raising adaption of Madonna’s Like A Virgin. Bordering on the terrifying, it plays out like the soundtrack to a horror movie that is best watched with hands partially covering the face yet is hugely rewarding despite the induced terror. 

Self-produced and recorded at Wirebird Productions in Madison, Tennessee, the regular collaborators of Shmitt, Irakli Gabriel and Chris Tench (guitars) are credited. Voiceovers were added by locals The Wild Ponies (Doug and Telisha Williams), alongside the late comedian and recording artist Lord Buckley. 

Don’t expect STEALIN’ STUFF to dent the Billboard Charts or feature on your local radio station, but look no further for sheer playfulness, escapism, and a rollicking good listen.”

-Declan Culliton 

*”Despite, Lonesome Highway’s expectations, They are in fact playing both “Cherry” and “Stealin’ StufF” on the radio. Thanks WMOT!”- Stuffy