The bluesmen of the Delta and the Appalachian mountaineers made timeless art with just voice, guitar, and a stomping foot. And that is the root of the art of New Orleans native Chris Smither. The uninitiated, listening to Smither play live, might think two or even three musicians are pounding away. But it's just Smither – guitar in hand, foot stomping, voice sure and steady – who projects an uncannily full sound for a single musician. A master of delicate, intricate finger-picked melodies (the man is a hot picker), Smither is perhaps the most talented contemporary American artist to wed the muscular Mississippi Delta with the smokey Appalachians.

Over the past decade Smither has released one gem of an album after another. His music draws as deeply from the blues as it does from American folk music, modern poets, and humanist philosophers, prompting critics to refer to his art as "streetwise mysticism." Smither's fiercely loyal audience reflects the diversity of his sources. Guitar-heads are drawn to his blues-derived fretwork. The more poetic among us admire the "edge" of his seemingly casually tossed off lyrics.

Smither's 11th studio album, "Train Home," is utterly devoid of extraneous instrumentation, yet boasts that fullness that is so central to his sound. In addition to covers of songs by Dave Carter, Bob Dylan, and his hero Mississippi John Hurt, Smither debuts seven original songs, ranging from the humorous, self-deprecatory stolen-car narrative "Let It Go" to complex meditations on death and transcendence in the title track. "This one wound up surprising me," says Smither. "It is by far the most acoustic, rootsy feel I've ever had on a produced record...it sounds surprisingly spontaneous and unrehearsed."

"Bathed in the flickering glow of passing headlights and neon bar signs, Smither's roots are as blue as they come," writes Rolling Stone. "There is plenty of misty Louisiana and Lightnin' Hopkins in Smither's weathered singing and unhurried picking. So fine." During the 1960s folk revival he sat at the feet of the masters, learning their techniques. Now, Smither stands as a master in his own right.