A way with words: Patty Griffin's powerful new CD reveals a singer-songwriter at the height of her craft.An honorary lesbian who ranks among straight-but-friendly Lilith Fair Lilith Fair was a concert tour and traveling music festival, founded by musician Sarah McLachlan, that consisted solely of female solo artists and female-led bands; it ran from 1997 to 1999. and Songwriter Tour alums Mary Chapin Carpenter Mary Chapin Carpenter (born February 21, 1958) is a five-time Grammy Award-winning American country/folk singer-songwriter and guitarist with a diverse musical style. Biography Childhood , Shawn Colvin, and Dar Williams, Patty Griffin is finally approaching a level of mainstream success that once seemed impossibly remote. After a bumpy debut that included two shelved albums and an unceremonious dismissal by major record label A&M, she bounced back with a Grammy nomination (2002's 1000 Kisses); cover turns by luminaries including Bette Midler, Emmylou Harris, and the Dixie Chicks (she also served as the Chicks' opening act during their Fly Tour 2000); and now her third solid release on Dave Matthews's ATO ATO Australian Taxation Office ATO Ambito Territoriale Ottimale (Italy) ATO Alpha Tau Omega ATO Air Traffic Organization (FAA) ATO Arab Towns Organization ATO Air Tasking Order ATO Assemble To Order imprint, on which she sounds better and digs deeper than ever before. A lo-fi recording of her parents singing the title track--one of their favorites--is nestled between tracks 6 and 7, anchoring this most personal and poignant collection of stories and memories. Musically, its 11 songs sport more arrangement and forethought fore·thought n. 1. Deliberation, consideration, or planning beforehand. 2. Preparation or thought for the future. See Synonyms at prudence. than her 1996 bare-bones demo debut, Living With Ghosts, and the minimalistic Kisses, striking a nice middle ground between the starkness of those releases and the overwhelming fury of her anomalous 1998 rock foray, Flaming Red. Griffin's soulful Americana style blends elements of folk, country, bluegrass bluegrass, any species of the large and widely distributed genus Poa, chiefly range and pasture grasses of economic importance in temperate and cool regions. In general, bluegrasses are perennial with fine-leaved foliage that is bluish green in some species. , pop, and--on this album, especially--blues and gospel. "Standing" sounds straight out of a Southern Baptist church, a swaying spiritual with haunting organs, punctuating guitar licks, and choir-like backing vocals. The album's leadoff radio single, "Love Throws a Line," borrows from more rhythmic gospel traditions, working a countrified coun·tri·fied also coun·try·fied adj. 1. Resembling or having the characteristics of country life; rural. 2. Lacking sophistication. R&B vibe that has "road music" written all over it. Adequately discussing Griffin's lyrical prowess could fill a book. Her agile command of rhyme, meter, repetition, and alliteration alliteration (əlĭt'ərā`shən), the repetition of the same starting sound in several words of a sentence. Probably the most powerful rhythmic and thematic uses of alliteration are contained in Beowulf, on "Rowing Song" rivals traditional folk classics. Meanwhile the nostalgic piano ballad vignette "Mother of God" and tender guitar remembrance "Florida" evoke the styles of storytelling peers Tori Amos and Suzanne Vega, respectively. Indeed, every Griffin lyric is a literary deconstructionist's dream, but the fact that she pairs her poetic lyrics with penetrating vocals and infectious melodies that make you want to belt along at the top of your lungs is a testament to why--especially with Impossible Dream--she seems poised to finally reach that unreachable star. Coble co·ble n. 1. Nautical A small flatbottom fishing boat with a lugsail on a raking mast. 2. Scots A kind of flatbottom rowboat. is a freelance writer who pens the self-syndicated music column Stereo Homo. |
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