From: owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org (mad-mission-digest) To: mad-mission-digest@smoe.org Subject: mad-mission-digest V11 #76 Reply-To: mad-mission@smoe.org Sender: owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-mad-mission-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk * If you ever wish to unsubscribe, send an email to * mad-mission-digest-request@smoe.org * with ONLY the word unsubscribe in the body of the email * . * For the latest information on Patty's tour dates, go to: * http://www.pattygriffin.net/PattyInConcertDB.php * OR * go to http://www.atorecords.com * . * PLEASE :) when you reply to this digest to send a post TO the list, * change the subject to reflect what your post is about. A subject * of Re: mad-mission-digest V8 #___ gives readers no clue * as to what your message is about. * Also, PLEASE do not quote an entire digest when you reply to the * list. Edit out anything you are not referring to. mad-mission-digest Friday, March 9 2007 Volume 11 : Number 076 Today's Subjects: ----------------- MM: Patty's awesome review in Folkwax ["Luca, Joseph \(EHS\)" Subject: MM: Patty's awesome review in Folkwax Howdy--- I've not yet read it, but they give CRT a perfect 10... If you want to go to the site itself, please tell them them Darboy sent you... http://www.visnat.com/entertainment/music/folkwax/feature.cfm Ciao, Joe Front Porch A FolkWax Review Spotlight On Patty Griffin's Children Running Through FolkWax Rating: 10 By Arthur Wood Patty Griffin's voice and acoustic guitar debut recording, Living With Ghosts, in truth a demo, didn't credit a producer. On each of her subsequent studio recordings - the ones that were officially released, that is - Griffin has engaged a different producer. Austin-based Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Lee Ann Womack, Trail Of Dead) is the latest addition to her list and the pair shares the "produced by..." credit on this set. As for location, Children Running Through was recorded in a temporary studio set up in a rented house across the street from Griffin's Austin home. 1000 Kisses [2001] and Impossible Dream [2004] found Griffin, in the main, stylishly exploring singer-songwriter territory. Folk-Rock, Roots Rock, call it what you will, the latter discs were blessed with melodic story songs of breathtaking grace. Lyrically speaking, Children Running Through possesses a more impressionistic feel and in parallel with that approach the artist has now added Gospel and Soul to her melodic curriculum vitae. With bass, brushed drum, and vocals, album opener, "You'll Remember," has the feel of a pre-WWII-composed torch song. Furthermore, it's the shortest cut on Children Running Through and fulfils the role of prologue, a summation of the contents of this album even. In terms of storyline, what appears to ensue in "Stay On The Ride" is a (question and retort - I hesitate to say "answer") conversation between an aged passenger and the driver of a bus. The instruments on this cut possess a distinctly sharp metallic sound, from Michael Longoria's cymbals to Jim Hoke's supporting saxophone, while Griffin's bell-like vocal is literally up front and in your face. The foregoing apart, the thought occurs that the veiled undercurrent in Griffin's lyric relates to life as a journey; the point being that it's not yet time for the aged passenger to undertake his last ride in the company of the grim reaper. Replete with a fits-like-a-glove supporting vocal from her buddy Emmylou Harris, "Trapeze," based on a childhood recollection, finds Griffin engage with the acoustic face of her musical canon. Contemplating the possibility of multiple layers of meaning, the mature-in-years circus performer storyline apart ("she took to the air with the greatest of ease"), the lyric is a testament to the endurance of the human spirit when it comes to stumbling while in love or over life's obstacles. The foregoing is perfectly encompassed in the extended version of the chorus: "Some people don't care if they live or they die/Some people want to know what it feels like to fly/They gather their courage and they give it a try/And fall under the wheels of time going by" and the closing line will doubtless touch a personal nerve with listeners. At the close of the track, as her voice reaches a crescendo, one can't help but wonder how such overwhelming volume, depth, and consummate vocal control can come from this delicate, Piaf-like figure. With barely a two-second gap following "Trapeze," the sound of an aggressively strummed guitar introduces "Getting Ready" in which the sneering narrator relates to her current amour, "I'm getting ready to let you go." Griffin, vocally, adopted a Rock chick approach on her sophomore effort Flaming Red and while the melodically boisterous "Getting Ready" raises that ancient spectre, these days her upbeat musings display far more control. The opening line of the "Burgundy Shoes" lyric mentions Bangor; Griffin was born and raised in Old Town, Maine. Based on a childhood bus ride with a beloved matriarchal figure (her mother?) - "You're the most pretty lady in the world" - Griffin casually, yet slyly drops in the multiple Beatles lyric references ("Michelle ma belle a song that you loved then/You hold my hand and sing to yourself sun") and moves on to repeat the word "sun" ala the George Harrison composition "Here Comes The Sun." Embracing simple yet spot-on remembrances ("We climb on our seats, the vinyl is cold"), "Burgundy Shoes" equates to one of those golden, goosebump-raising moments that makes hanging around this old Earth worthwhile. While I could quite happily sit here all day pressing the button to repeat "Burgundy Shoes," we must move on. All I can relate regarding "Heavenly Day" - and I trust my words won't be misconstrued - is who knew that a girl from Maine could sing Gospel with such potency and sensitivity. For Griffin, maybe it was a "Heavenly Day" when she wore her "Burgundy Shoes"? You gather the ingredients, weigh and mix them, and then bake the cake. Later comes the addition of a thin layer of marzipan, topped by a similar thickness of icing, and then the creator adds some appropriate final decoration. As with "Getting Ready," "No Bad News" opens with an energetically strummed, metallic-sounding acoustic guitar. Rat-a-tat-tat machine-gun drumming eventually breaks cover and midway through the cut the addition of brass instruments amounts to a spirited final flourish. Like decorating a cake or making a pie even, "No Bad News" just builds and builds to such a wonderful climax. Maine, another mode of transport (trains in this case), and the adoption of a male persona are the foundations for the gentle "Railroad Wings," a contemplation on life and the passage of time. As the lyric attests we humans rarely share our innermost secrets, even with those closest to us: "There's things I'll never tell you til the day I die/Things I done, I can never undo, hiding everything." "Up To The Mountain (MLK Song)" is, musically, cut from the same cloth as "Heavenly Day." Last year Solomon Burke included it on his bestselling album Nashville and Griffin's backing vocals could be heard there. "MLK" in the song title is, of course, none other than Dr. Martin Luther King [d. 1968]. In terms of Griffin's highly personal, reflective lyric, the Mainer has taken as her foundation King's "I've been to the mountain top" address delivered in Memphis on the day prior to his assassination. Toward the close, that address included the prophetic "Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now." Featuring Ian McLagan's piano, a John Mark Painter string arrangement (his string arrangements enhance a number of other cuts), and Griffin's soulful vocal, this song is surely destined to become an American songbook standard. "I Don't Ever Give Up" could be interpreted simply as a personal attribute. However the determined narrator goes on to survey "this is how I see my life" on a much broader canvas. Death isn't a new topic for Griffin as was evidenced by "Long Ride Home" on 1000 Kisses and "Someone Else's Tomorrow" complements its predecessor rather than treading old ground. With "We filed out of the churchyard so cold it was silver" the narrator details, with total economy, her remembrance of that gray-skied Sunday morning in winter. Similarly set at the close of another year, this album gently draws to a close with the thoughtful waltz-paced "Crying Over." Back in the real world where commerce and art clash like leviathans, you should be aware that three versions of Children Running Through have been released. There's the standard twelve-track version, while Barnes & Noble are (for the minute?) retailing a version with two previously unreleased bonus tracks ("Free" and "Up Or Down"). Finally, "Moon Song" is available as a bonus track when you download the entire album from iTunes. It's a sad situation when, after the event, the poor fan discovers he/she didn't score the cherry on the cake. And finally, I have no doubt that Children Running Through has assured Griffin a place in countless end-of-year polls in the categories of best artist and album Arthur Wood is a founding editor of FolkWax. You may contact Arthur at folkwax@visnat.com . ------------------------------ End of mad-mission-digest V11 #76 *********************************