{"id":17124,"date":"2023-11-02T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-02T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/?p=17124"},"modified":"2023-10-26T12:33:06","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T11:33:06","slug":"honours-and-tributes-for-nanci-griffith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/2023\/11\/02\/honours-and-tributes-for-nanci-griffith\/","title":{"rendered":"HONOURS AND TRIBUTES for Nanci Griffith"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

HONOURS AND TRIBUTES for Nanci Griffith<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

+ plaudits (and apologies) from Norman Warwick<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, the music industry lost one of its finest talents: singer, songwriter, and guitarist, Nanci Griffith<\/a><\/strong>. The Texas-born, Grammy Award-winning artist, who would have celebrated her 70th birthday next week, was revered for her compelling storytelling, her distinctive vocals, and her special brand of Americana (which she dubbed \u201cfolkabilly\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Griffith\u2019s trailblazing legacy were honoured through two special releases arriving this September. The first, Working in Corners<\/em>, reissues Griffith\u2019s earliest\u2014and long out-of-print\u2014albums, including her 1978 debut, There\u2019s a Light Beyond These Woods<\/em>, 1982\u2019s Poet in My Window<\/em>, 1984\u2019s Once in a Very Blue Moon<\/em>, and 1986\u2019s Grammy-nominated The Last of the True Believers<\/em> (featuring \u201cLove at the Five and Dime\u201d and \u201cGoin\u2019 Gone\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Included in the collection are rare photos and ephemera, plus liner notes by Holly Gleason and producer Jim Rooney (left)<\/em><\/strong> , who worked closely with Griffith during this period. Rooney, who co-produced the box set, also weaves in memories from a myriad of Griffith\u2019s friends, peers, and collaborators. Set for release on September 8 via Craft Recordings, Working in Corners<\/em> will be available as 4-CD and 4-LP vinyl box sets, while There\u2019s a Light Beyond These Woods<\/em>, Poet in My Window<\/em>, and Once in a Very Blue Moon<\/em> will make their long-awaited return to digital platforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Griffith\u2019s music will also be celebrated through the all-star tribute, More Than a Whisper: Celebrating The Music of Nanci Griffith<\/em>. Arriving September 22 via Rounder Records on vinyl, CD, and digital, the album features Griffith\u2019s friends, collaborators, and fans interpreting her most beloved songs, including Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett and Kathy Mattea, Shawn Colvin, John Prine and Kelsey Waldon, Sarah Jarosz, Steve Earle, and Mary Gauthier, who also shares her admiration for Griffith in heartfelt liner notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Recorded over several years in studios across America, More Than a Whisper<\/em> (right)<\/em><\/strong> also includes stirring contributions from Brandy Clark, Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle, Iris DeMent, Todd Snider, and Aaron Lee Tasjan, while Ida Mae and The War and Treaty both appear exclusively on the expanded CD, digital, and HD versions of the album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All proceeds from More Than a Whisper<\/em> (right) will benefit Nashville\u2019s Cumberland Heights, a non-profit treatment facility offering hope and healing to those affected by drug and alcohol addiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than a Whisper: Celebrating The Music Of Nanci Griffith
Various Artists
Rounder Records<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Respectful and Loving Tribute Offering New Perspectives on Familiar Favourites<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tribute albums fall into various categories \u2013 there\u2019s the off the wall reinventions, the soundalikes, the irreverent and the respectful. This tribute falls very much into the latter category, collecting as it does, several artistes who either had a connection with the late Ms Griffith, or are musically coming from a similar ballpark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Sarah Jarosz (left)<\/em><\/strong> has a take on \u201cYou Can\u2019t Go Home Again\u201d<\/em> leads things off \u2013 and it\u2019s all very pleasant, but maybe a bit too low key for the opening track. Jarosz\u2019s vocal echoes the purity of Griffith, set against a gentle arrangement and shows her off as a rich vocalist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first track that got publicly released from the compilation is up next \u2013 John Prine & Kelsey Waldon\u2019s take on \u201cLove at the Five and Dime<\/em>\u201d could have stepped off the \u201cIn spite of ourselves\u201d \/ \u201cOr worse for better\u201d<\/em> sets and it\u2019s exactly as you might expect \u2013 there\u2019s a uniting quirky character in Prine and Waldon\u2019s voices that suits the anecdotal narratives of the song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tempo ups (as much as it might on a fairly laid-back collection) with the Molly Tuttle\/Billy Strings interpretation of \u201cListen To The Radio<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tuttle takes the foremost vocal chores, with a Griffith-like tremble in her voice and there\u2019s astute picking from, presumably both. It\u2019s not as fiery as the two players sometimes perform, but fluid and melodic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emmylou Harris steps up next, with a rough and tumble ride through \u201cLove Wore a Halo\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vocally, there\u2019s a rasp in Emmylou\u2019s voice and the call and response in the latter part of the song adds to its rough and rowdy ways (\u00a9 Bob Dylan).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is succeeded by Lyle Lovett and Kathy Mattea\u2019s emotive version of \u201cTrouble In The Fields<\/em>\u201d where Lovett is the vocal lead on this, with Mattea taking a supporting role and unexpectantly his vocal is a soulful, teary take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Brandy Clark (righ<\/em><\/strong>t) takes on \u201cGulf Coast Highway<\/em>\u201d and there\u2019s a slight shift towards a fuller sound than on the previous tracks, with Daniel Lanois-esque reverb-drenched guitar, whereas Shawn Colvin on \u201cOutbound Plane<\/em>\u201d favours a more mellow Tom Waits rhythmic approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If guessing the acts who might contribute to a Nanci Griffith tribute, I wouldn\u2019t have suspected Ida Mae, but their slide\/dobro workout of \u201cRadio Fragile<\/em>\u201d sits well amongst the company elsewhere on display. Steve Earle is one I would have guessed though \u2013 he brings a Celtic flavour, pipes and all to \u201cIt\u2019s a Hard Life Wherever You Go<\/em>\u201d which musically leans on his rocky Copperhead Road period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of the younger generation, Aaron Lee Tasjan turns in a powerhouse performance reminiscent of a Prince ballad, quite beautifully on \u201cLate Night Grande Hotel<\/em>\u201d \u2013 probably this reviewer\u2019s highlight of the album. He\u2019s then followed by \u201cFord Econoline<\/em>\u201c, by Todd Snider who\u2019s much more in traditional mode than his Eastside Bulldogs persona\u2026although that might have been an interesting take on this song.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The most Griffith-esque of the acts is probably Iris Dement \u2013 it was a good choice to get her to cover \u201cBanks of the Pontchartrain\u201d<\/em> which she infuses with soulful gospel \u2013 vocally, there\u2019s an idiosyncratic vocal resemblance with Griffith and this works exactly as you might expect. Mary Gauthier, who wrote the liner notes for the release takes the penultimate track \u201cMore Than a Whisper<\/em>\u201d and offers a smooth, measured vocal interpretation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Anyone who\u2019s seen The War And Treaty (left)<\/em><\/strong> live won\u2019t be surprised that they were trusted with probably the most famous song from Griffith\u2019s repertoire, \u201cFrom a Distance<\/em>\u201d \u2013 and they nail it perfectly \u2013 there\u2019s the right measure of gospel power and soulful restraint in Tanya and Michael\u2019s vocals and the arrangement builds and subsides without ever being bombastic or too swanky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


It\u2019s a fine way to end what is, as I mentioned at the start, a very respectful tribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A good compilation often works in more than one way \u2013 to the initiated, it offers new perspectives on familiar songs \u2013 to the uninitiated, it offers a way in to an artist through a more familiar third party. This collection does both and does both well and was released on 20TH<\/sup> September 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have had seven articles published about Nanci, nd those of you who read yesterday\u00b4s More Than A Whisper piece will know that Nanci and I had quite a run in when she rng me once to plat heck about what she thought was an unfair review. I apologies unreservedly, because I had wrapped up my concerns about the state of  \u00b4my\u00b4 Americana music at the time in one Nanci Griffith gig. I was out of order<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

cover<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acknowledgements<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primes source was a review by Nick Barber published in The Rocking Magpie, which looks at Americana and Roots music. All photographs were taken from on line sites offering free to use photographs. For more comprehensive details on our attribution policies visit https:\/\/aata.dev<\/a> dated 7th<\/sup> April 23<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A good compilation often works in more than one way \u2013 to the initiated, it offers new perspectives on familiar songs \u2013 to the uninitiated, it offers a way in to an artist through a more familiar third party. This collection does both and does both well and was released on 20TH September 2023.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17130,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,45,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-literary","category-music","category-performing-arts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17124"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17364,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17124\/revisions\/17364"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aata.dev\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}