Music review: Patty Smyth – ‘ItĢƵ About Time’
“ItĢƵ About Time” is the aptly titled latest effort from Patty Smyth. The album is a pleasant surprise and a fresh reminder about the singer-songwriterĢƵ talent for crafting and delivering memorable songs.
While it might serve as a brief reintroduction to her music, it certainly is as welcomed as it is unexpected.
Smyth started her musical journey as the lead singer and focal point of Scandal by dishing out infectious tracks like “Goodbye to You,” “LoveĢƵ Got a Line on You” and “The Warrior.”
After Scandal disbanded, Smyth continued on her own and released two albums that featured the standout tracks “Never Enough” and “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough.”
Things have been pretty quiet after 1992ĢƵ self-titled release with Smyth slowing things down to concentrate on her marriage to tennis great John McEnroe and the raising of her family.
Twenty-eight years later, Smyth is poised to make a comeback with a new album containing six original tracks of reflective ballads and spirited anthems as well as two engaging covers.
“Drive” is the sentimental opener about the fond memories between Smyth and her sister and the urge to reconnect once again as Smyth sings, “We were young/We were free/Ruled the world/You and me.”
Things heat up quickly as Smyth delivers one of the best tracks of her career with “Build a Fire.” The smoldering number demonstrates SmythĢƵ enduring love for her husband after 23 years of marriage and spotlights the passion that still burns as they continue to navigate both the good and bad times together as she confesses, “My hands must be tattooed all over you by now/I placed a million crazy kisses on your mouth/I’ve been holding you so long, I’ve lost all track of time.”
Once invited to join Van Halen by guitar great Eddie Van Halen, SmythĢƵ voice is still as vibrant as ever as she infuses a sexy streetwise tone when delivering “No One Gets What They Want” and “Only One.”
Smyth covers “Downtown Train” by Tom Waits for a second time and gives it a stripped-down feel that showcases her gorgeous vocals as the native New Yorker speaks from experience when declaring, “The downtown trains are full/With all those Brooklyn girls/They try so hard to break out of their little worlds.”
As we all know, Smyth managed to bust out of her little world in a big way. With a 38-year career in the books so far, the 63-year-old still has plenty of time to add to her numerous musical highlights.

