Smith said the inspiration for “The Cry of the Heart” arrived when she and Stuart heard “I Just Don’t Believe Me Anymore,” a new song written by Smith’s longtime collaborator Dallas Frazier, famous for country hits like “Elvira” and “All I Have to Offer You (Is Me).” “It’s one of those hillbilly songs I love,” Smith said. “I told Marty, ‘I have to record this.’”
Hargus Robbins, an accomplished session pianist known as Pig who played on Smith’s debut single, the new album and countless sessions in between, said Smith comes to the studio well prepared. “She knows her songs when she comes in,” he said. “She doesn’t have to fumble over the melody or how she wants to phrase them.” Having recorded with Cline, he said he understands firsthand the comparisons between the two artists. “They’re both strong-willed people,” he added. “They know what they want and they expect to get it.”
The new album’s opening ballad, “A Million and One,” recalls a classic Smith torch song, with the singer detailing the number of teardrops she’s cried over an imaginary lover (“A million and one tears/A million and two”). Smith and Stuart co-wrote “Here Comes My Baby Back Again,” which blends Smith’s sensibility with her husband’s love of rock ’n’ roll, on a tour bus. The closer, Merle Haggard’s “Jesus, Take a Hold,” is a song Smith first recorded in the early ’70s. This time, it’s stripped back to spotlight Smith’s impassioned voice.