Patty Griffin

[Gold Trumpet]

So I'm venturing to this forum for a second....

Anybody else like her? Does a thread already mysteriously exist about her?

I've been getting into her lately. She's a singer/songwriter out of Maine who got big in the Boston folk music scene in the 1990s and had the odd job of playing a goofy secretary on Suddenly Susan. (I never watched the show)

See, I've never been into singer/songwriters ever, but she clicks with me. Her album 1000 Kisses is especially fantastic. Its a stripped down album of simple songwriting to match simple muscianship. The range of songs is even more noteworthy. She goes from subjects and tempos as mundane and quircky as 'Making Pies' to as heartbreaking as 'Nobody's Crying' where her vocals carry intense power. By the end of the album, she blends the lighthearted with the tragic only to end with two songs (one Spanish) that almost have no identity to the rest of the album.

Her latest, Impossible Dream, is good but lacking. The good is the depth and nuance of the music. Larger production value has weilded her better songs that musically are more interesting. The problem is the urgency of the songs that are suppose to be urgent don't feel so. The power of those songs aren't as strong as the ones on 1000 Kisses. She mixes more poetry and softer vocals here that also brought me more displacement to the songs. I'd still recommend a purchase, but the darling album for her so far is 1000 Kisses.

Any good introduction is served with her best song, "Nobody's Crying." The power of that song is breathtaking and it becomes hard not to listen to it everyday even if the rest of the album is ignored.

[Pedro]

its great that you mention her as she doesn't get enough respect.  i believe RK likes her alot.  i think she's fantastic.  I saw her play live and her voice would just give me chills.  it's so powerful and when she's alone with a guitar it's quite arresting.  "poor man's house" from her first album might be my favorite.  Her second album. Flaming Red, had a bit too much going on production wise through most of the album, and I would agree that the stripped down moments are her best

[RegularKarate]

I agree that Impossible Dream is just not nearly as good as 1000 Kisses, but she's pretty great overall.

I wouldn't call "Making Pies" mundane though.  It's a pretty damn sad song with a lot of emotion.

[Gold Trumpet]

I wouldn't call "Making Pies" mundane though.  It's a pretty damn sad song with a lot of emotion.

I wouldn't either. The topic just is. The result is magnificent.

And maybe "mundane" isn't even the right word. Maybe "ordinary". Its just a very domestically minded song compared to the usual songs of grief.

[Gloria]

I'm a big fan of Patty Griffin.  I agree, "Nobody's Crying" is a haunting and beautiful song.   "Making Pies" is such a simple, touching song.  I'm so glad you brought up "Poor Man's House", Pedro, because that's probably one of my favorite songs by her.  I think one of the best songs on Impossible Dream was "Useless Desires".  I like folky stuff, and her first album is still probably my favorite.

[PopsUp]

a little trivia : cameron crowe wrote elizabethtown while listening to 1000 kisses.

... which is a very fine and elegant album, a little too short and a little too commom (i mean it's just like the billion excellent albums of the same genre that preceded it) but it's really good. nobody's crying, rain and long ride home are the best songs in my opinion and her voice is her strongest point...

i don't have her other albums, and i'm don't think i'll get them. but it's very pleasant.

[Pedro]

patty griffin is also in part 2 of the cremaster cycle