Hi Sharon,

If you prefer, he is a writer who sings his own songs. I can judge his live performances only from his 2 live albums, the latest of which has 11 out of 13 Smither songs. During his entire recording career, there is only one album - 'It ain't easy' - that has more covers than Smither originals:

'Live as I'll ever be'          11 out of 13 are Smither songs
'Drive you home again'          7 out of 11 are Smither songs
'Small Revelations'             8 out of 11 are Smither songs
'Up on the lowdown'             6 out of 10 are Smither songs
'Happier blue'                  6 out of 12 are Smither songs
'Another way to find you'       10 out of 18 are Smither songs
'It ain't easy'                4 out of 14 are Smither songs
'Don't it drag on'             6 out of 11 are Smither songs
'I'm a stranger too'            7 out of 11 are Smither songs

I think it is fair enough to say that he is predominantly a writer who sings his own songs, at least in respect of recordings.

I am not sure what you mean by 'traditional blues'. But, if you mean recordings of songs by people like Skip James, Willie McTell etc, Smither has recorded a total of 6 in his entire recording career - a couple more if you count Chuck Berry as blues, which I don't. I wouldn't say that was a 'heavy emphasis' on blues. But, I don't know how he structures his live performances - maybe these have a 'heavy emphasis' on blues but, if so, that is not reflected in his choices for his latest live compilation 'Live as I'll ever be'.

--Stewie.