The first two songs on this album, "Out Loud" and "Little Devil" are by far its best. "Out Loud" does the trick as an album opener: it builds pleasantly for a couple of minutes to the unexpected hook on "Ain't it time we need to change -" and then swirls home on the rush provided by that giddy upsurging wave of sweetness; leading in turn to "Little Devil", which is, along with Camille's "Paris" (see immediately previous entry), the only new song I've heard in the last few months that I've wanted to listen to over and over, back to back...I'm at a loss to explain why I like it so much - but it's definitely mostly in the chorus, something in the melody and the way she sings it, sort of yearning and hopeful and matter-of fact at the same time...there's real character and nuance to Smith's vocals on both verses and chorus, without any sense of overstatement, but also a winsome simplicity running throughout...it's really a wonderful song.
There's nothing else on Long Island Shores to match that initial hit...the rest is perfectly nice, but unmemorable - Smith is a convincing singer and a decent arranger, and her sound is a nice spin on contemporary country, but the songwriting is generally perhaps too subtle for its own good. Still, I reckon that the opening salvo is worth the price of admission on its own.
