Charles Joseph Smith
Collected Works and War of the Martian Ghosts
This album is on a presale. Purchase of pre-sale items will not ship until on or about the release date. All items purchased with a pre-sale item will ship on or around the date of the release of the pre-sale item.
Expected Release Date: 04/03/2026
Charles Joseph Smith
Collected Works and War of the Martian Ghosts
Purchase of pre-sale items will not ship until on or about the release date. All items purchased with a pre-sale item will ship on or around the date of the release of the pre-sale item.
Expected Release Date: 04/03/2026
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD: Digital download of 32 tracks of lossless audio and a high resolution PDF of the Liner Notes (about the life and work of Charles Joseph Smith including 9000 words and 30 photos, poetry, quotes, and more) direct from the Sooper Store.
DOUBLE VINYL SET: The definitive collection of Dr. Charles Joseph Smith's original recordings in a deluxe double vinyl Collector's Edition set. First Pressing (ed. of 500). Two 150g Black Vinyl Discs in black polylined innersleeves. Single pocket jacket with extra wide spine. Includes a twelve page full color Liner Notes Booklet insert (11 in. x 11 in.) containing 30 archival photographs, poetry, interviews, quotes, and 9000 words of liner notes about the life and work of Charles Joseph Smith. Full color labels. Shrink-wrapped with a hype sticker.
TRIPLE CD SET: The definitive collection of Dr. Charles Joseph Smith's original recordings in a deluxe triple CD Collector's Set. First Pressing (ed. of 500). Three full color printed discs in a gatefold 8-panel DigiPak. Includes a twenty four page full color Liner Notes Booklet insert (4.75 In x 4.75 In.) containing 30 archival photographs, poetry, interviews, quotes, and 9000 words of liner notes about the life and work of Charles Joseph Smith. Full color labels. Shrink-wrapped.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY: The official self-published Autobiography of Dr. Charles Joseph Smith titled The 88 Keys That Opened Doors: An Inspiring Memoir of an African-American Man Who Achieved the Impossible Even as he Faced the Challenges of Being on the Spectrum. The story of Dr. Charles Joseph Smith's incredible life, in his own words, in prose that will leave you lauging and crying. Self-published (2021). Soft cover edition, 199 pages. Edited by Kate Hutchinson. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
VINYL SET + AUTOBIOGRAPHY: The ultimate collection of Dr. Charles Joseph Smith's life and work, including Collected Works and War of the Martian Ghosts double LP set (w/ 12 page Liner Notes Booklet Insert) and Charles' self-published 2021 autobiography, The 88 Keys that Opened Doors, bundled together at a discounted price.
CD SET + AUTOBIOGRAPHY: The ultimate collection of Dr. Charles Joseph Smith's life and work, including Collected Works and War of the Martian Ghosts triple CD set (w/ 24 page Liner Notes Booklet Insert) and Charles' self-published 2021 autobiography, The 88 Keys that Opened Doors, bundled together at a discounted price.
Pianist Charles Joseph Smith always has used music to challenge limitations. When this world offered him only scant possibilities, he went on to imagine a new one
– Aaron Cohen, DownBeat
A champion of the outre, odd, and endearing
– Chicago Reader
A monumental musician… a staple of the DIY scene
– Angel Bat Dawid
He is among the most widely-talented artists I have met
– Bill MacKay
DIY spaces come and go, but people such as Charles Joseph Smith give the city’s nebulous underground scene a sense of cohesion
–Chicago Reader, 2018
Collected Works and War of the Martian Ghosts is the definitive recorded collection of living Chicago DIY legend, Dr. Charles Joseph Smith. Born on Chicago's southside in 1970, Smith is a lifelong resident of the Beverly neighborhood who went on to earn 3 degrees in piano (Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctorate) and perform as a concert pianist in 5 countries (USA, Italy, Germany, France and Hungary). The album also marks the first archival release from Chicago’s Sooper Records.
All of the music here is being made widely available for the first time. This 90-minute collection is compiled from 30 years of Charles’ self-released original music spanning concert piano, electroacoustic experimentation, electronic beats, free improvisation, and two instrumental sketches of his evolving sci-fi opera, War of the Martian Ghosts (a 2023 electronic realization, and a 2018 piano realization). This double Vinyl / Triple CD Collector’s Edition comes with an extensive Insert Booklet containing 9000 words including poetry, interviews, quotes, 30 archival photographs, and extensive liner notes on the life and work of Charles Joseph Smith written by Sooper co-founder Glenn Curran (edited by Sadie Dupuis). This is a piece of Chicago music history.
Dr. Charles Joseph Smith’s remarkable story begins with a mute child’s gift for music, and the purposeful way he nurtured this talent to become both life practice and raison d'être. Charles recounts this artistic journey in his autobiography, The 88 Keys that Opened Doors, a self-published book that chronicles a life in which music was (and still is) the primary key to overcoming immense challenges posed by Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
His career as a musician starts in the church, reaches into the international concert piano circuit, and eventually settles to bear strange fruit in Chicago’s experimental underground. Along the way, Charles Joseph Smith’s compositional voice absorbed and metabolized popular music spanning pop to jazz, the gospel of the church, the canon of the classical conservatory, modern dance scores, and the rule-shattering experimentalism of his city’s DIY subculture, where he has been a mainstay for over 30 years. Since the mid-1990s, Charles has been performing, dancing, and selling his self-published musical and written works in person, often at the local shows he frequents. He is known around Chicago as a living symbol of the power of music, and of the beloved spirit of community at the heart of DIY. This is the definitive collection of his original recordings—though it would be impossible to ever encompass the galaxies of music, poetry, and prose penned by the prolific Dr. Charles Joseph Smith.
Composed and performed by Charles Joseph Smith
Recorded and Mixed by Charles Joseph Smith between 1993 and 2023
“Love Theme” and War of the Martian Ghosts (2018 Piano Realization) recorded and mixed by Dylan Piskula in 2018
Additional mixing by Brok Mende
Mastered by Brok Mende at Friends of Friends Recording in Chicago, IL
Cover photo by Pasha Petrosyan
Back cover photos by C. Bennorth Photography, Dennis Larance, Ray Ellingsen
Portraits by Dennis Larance
Archival Photos provided by the Smith Family
Photos of Mr. Forefinger by Ray Ellingsen
Layout and design by Izzi Vasquez
Produced, Researched and Archived by Glenn Curran
Liner Notes by Glenn Curran
Edited by Sadie Dupuis
Additional archiving by Frances Farlee
