Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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One of the most celebrated singer/songwriters of her generation, Nanci Griffith had a gift for writing songs that were literate and emotionally complex while also sounding thoroughly universal, even when they most often reflected small-town Texas life. A proud daughter of the Lone Star State, Griffith liked to call her music "folkabilly," reflecting her influences in folk, country, early rock & roll, and the Texas songwriting community that for her was both an inspiration and a home base. Though her music was steeped in tales of ordinary lives, she wasn't afraid to speak her mind about social and political matters, and injected a progressive sound and feeling into music that embraced traditionalism. 1984's Once in a Very Blue Moon, her third album, was the creative breakthrough where she hit her stride as a songwriter and performer, 1993's Other Voices, Other Rooms was a celebration of her influences and was a critical and commercial success, and 2004's Hearts in Mind was an ambitious collection of politically oriented songs.

Nanci Griffith was born in Seguin, Texas on July 6, 1953 into a family with a creative bent – her father, who worked in publishing, sang in a barbershop quartet in his spare time, and her mother was a real estate agent who dabbled in acting. Her family soon moved to Austin, the focal point of Texas' cultural and bohemian communities, and after her parents divorced when she was seven, Griffith developed an interest in music. She was a passionate fan of the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Loretta Lynn (a woman who played guitar and wrote songs, not yet common in country music), and Odetta. Her father introduced her to the noted folk singer Carolyn Hester, who encouraged her to express herself through music, and took her to see the iconic Texas songwriter Townes Van Zandt, whose music spoke to her on a deeply personal level. Her accumulated influences began to take root, and at the age of 12 she was writing original material and performing at local coffeehouses. While music was Griffith's passion, she opted to study education at the University of Texas in Austin. After graduating she took a job teaching Kindergarten. She devoted evenings and weekends to playing clubs and coffeehouses, where she shared stages with a number of other rising singer/songwriters, among them Lyle Lovett and Lucinda Williams. In 1976, Griffith married fellow songwriter Eric Taylor, and two years later, she won the New Folk Competition, a prize for promising singer/songwriters presented as part of the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival. Her victory earned her enough attention in the Southwestern folk scene that she was able to leave teaching behind and make music her job.

In the wake of winning the New Folk Competition, Griffith signed with Philo Records, an established folk music label distributed by Rounder Records. Her first two albums for Philo, 1978's There's a Light Beyond These Woods and 1982's Poet in My Window, were modestly successful, but 1984's Once in a Very Blue Moon was the work of a more accomplished and nuanced performer, and it caught the attention of critics, as well as country radio, where the title song grazed the lower reaches of the country singles charts. (It also included her gender-switched version of Lyle Lovett's "If I Were the Man You Wanted" two years before he would issue his debut album.) 1986's The Last of the True Believers was similarly well-received, and included the song "Love at the Five and Dime," which became a major hit when Kathy Mattea brought out a cover of the tune the same year. As Griffith's star rose, she was signed to MCA Records, and her first album for her new label, Lone Star State of Mind, arrived in 1987. The title track was Griffith's first single to break into the Country Top 40, and her recording of Julie Gold's "From a Distance" (later a major American hit for Bette Midler) became a surprise smash in Ireland, and she developed a devoted following in the United Kingdom, enough so that she maintained an apartment in Dublin for several years.

Though Griffith was earning rave reviews and the respect of her peers, the gentle feel of her voice and the personal, folk-influenced tone of her songs didn't always fit the demands of country radio, though "I Knew Love" from 1988's Little Love Affairs did edge into the Country Top 40. Griffith and MCA decided to take a different approach for her next LP. 1988's Storms was produced by Glyn Johns – who had previously worked with the Who, the Rolling Stones, and the Eagles – and was eagerly embraced by her audience in Ireland and England. She moved even further into pop on 1991's Late Night Grande Hotel, but it was her final studio album for MCA, and she struck a new deal with the traditionally artist-friendly Elektra Records. Her first project for the label was a journey back to Griffith's roots in folk music; 1993's Other Voices, Other Rooms saw her interpreting 17 classic songs that had inspired her in her youth, and included guest appearances from Bob Dylan, John Prine, Alison Krauss, and Emmylou Harris. It earned Griffith her first gold record in the United States, and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

After the success of Other Voices, Other Rooms, Griffith's next project was a set dominated by original material, 1994's Flyer, another star-dappled release that included appearances from Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. of U2, Peter Buck of R.E.M., Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, and Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits. The album rose to number 48 on the Top 200 albums chart, the highest placement of her career, and on 1997's Blue Roses from the Moon, she got to fulfill a longtime dream of recording with Buddy Holly's Crickets, who also accompanied her on her supporting concert tour. However, this period saw Griffith facing some major personal challenges. In 1996, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and while she responded well to treatment, she developed cancer in her thyroid in 1998. While fighting the disease, she brought out a follow-up to Other Voices, 1998's Other Voices, Too (A Trip Back to Bountiful). It was not as well-received as the original, and in response to some poor reviews, she wrote a scathing letter to several Texas publications who she felt were not supportive of her work, which made for uneasy relationships with some of her former colleagues, as well as causing concern among her fans. (In an interview with Texas Monthly regarding the controversy, she revealed she had been living with depression for some time, and that her thyroid condition exacerbated the condition.)

Griffith took creative detours with her next two albums; The Dust Bowl Symphony featured new recordings of songs from her back catalog, this time with orchestral arrangements, and 2001's Clock Without Hands moved away from "folkabilly" in favor of an approach informed by contemporary adult alternative pop. The albums were the last under her contract with Elektra, and 2004's Hearts in Mind, a set of songs informed by the American invasion of Iraq, was initially released only in the United Kingdom. Griffith teamed with Rounder Records to issue 2006's Ruby's Torch, a set of torch songs that was a long-simmering passion project for her. After battling writer's block, she composed another batch of political and social commentary for 2009's The Loving Kind. She was once again forced to confront health problems when she was diagnosed with Dupuytren’s contracture, which caused the skin on her hands to thicken, making it difficult for her to play guitar. Pete and Maura Kennedy of the folk group the Kennedys had been serving double duty in Griffith's band, and as she prepared to cut another album, they disassembled their home recording studio, set it up in Griffith's home in Nashville, and used the gear to record 2012's Intersection. After touring in support of the album, Griffith, who generally shied away from discussing her personal life, gradually retreated from the spotlight, and quietly retired from music. On August 13, 2021, Nanci Griffith died in Nashville at the age of 68.

John Bush, Allmusic.com

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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Nanci Griffith's 1978 debut for Philo is certainly not as consistent as her mid '80s albums; however, it should not be overlooked by fans of introspective, personal story songs. "Alabama Soft Spoken Blues" may be her single most beautiful melody, with "Michael's Song" and "West Texas Sun" not far behind. There's an innocence and delicacy to Griffith's voice, and she's well served by producer Mike Williams's acoustic colorings. These nine songs reveal Griffith's beginnings, point to where she would venture, and satisfy through their luminous, lyrical grace.

Roy Kasten, Amazon.com Editorial Review

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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While Poet in My Window is only a small step up from Nanci Griffith's debut, the album finds her inching toward the mature art of Once in a Very Blue Moon. While guitars and an occasional mandolin embellished There's a Light Beyond These Woods, a fuller country sound graces its follow-up. Pedal steel and multiple acoustic guitars fill out "Can't Love Wrong" and "Heart of a Miner," giving them lots of body. While Griffith's vocals sometimes bordered on timid on her first album, the bigger country-folk sound inspires a more vigorous approach here. Indeed, on "Wheels" and "October Reasons," she shows herself capable of belting out a phrase or two without losing the vulnerable underside of the song. Evelyn Taylor offers a bit of harmony here and there, adding to the "bigger" sound of the album and pleasantly complementing Griffith's voice. Lyrically, A Poet in My Window offers sharp observations and memorable lines on pieces like "Workin' These Corners." When Griffith sings "She's just a hill country girl home from the city/Her pockets full of plenty of those neon lights" on "Waltzing With the Angels," she manages to be both clever and insightful. While all of these elements work together to create a strong impression on Poet in My Window, the songs lack the standout quality that would mark a half a dozen cuts on Once in a Very Blue Moon. The earlier album is nonetheless easy on the ears, and fans unfamiliar with it will appreciate watching a young poet find her bearings.

Review by Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Allmusic.com

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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This is Nanci Griffith's fourth and final release on Rounder Records' folk subsidiary, Philo. At the time Griffith relocated to Nashville, TN, her decidedly Texan sense of musicality had already begun developing subtle hues of Appalachia as well as the cosmopolitan country that would inform her mid- to late-'80s stint on MCA. However, it is the overwhelming strength and conviction in the singer/songwriter's original material on The Last of the True Believers that remain indelibly impressed upon enthusiasts and critics alike. As such, Griffith has retained a copious sampling from the disc in her subsequent live performance repertoire. Griffith's crystalline vocals are well matched to the warm, earthy acoustic instrumentation on the intimate "More Than a Whisper" and "The Wing and the Wheel." At times, the delicate interplay creates a mutual envelopment of the human vocal instrument with that of the stringed nature – most notably on the heartfelt "Love at the Five and Dime." By way of contrast, Griffith defies her somewhat introverted image on the tongue-in-cheek (no pun!) love song "Looking for the Time (Workin' Girl)" and the effervescent waltz "Love's Found a Shoulder." Lying nestled between are spry melodies such as "Banks of the Pontchartrain," featuring some nice picking from Béla Fleck (banjo), and "Goin' Gone," which perfectly captures some of Lloyd Green's finest pedal steel work on the disc. Griffith's pure and otherwise unaffected performance style would continue to carry through her subsequent efforts, most notably Lone Star State of Mind (1987), which in many ways is a companion, rather than simply the follow-up, to The Last of the True Believers.

Review by Lindsay Planer, Allmusic.com

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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Nanci Griffith has the kind of beguiling singing voice that's effortless and easily beautiful – like a pretty girl who doesn't ever need makeup to be radiant. Sounding a little bit like Emmylou Harris is never a bad thing, but Griffith doesn't stop there. She duets with Harris and a host of other country and folk notables on Other Voices, Other Rooms, her first collection of cover songs. Like Harris, Griffith can climb inside a character-driven song with a simple twist of inflection or a lingering note. This is what she does on Vince Bell's "Woman of the Phoenix," deftly painting images of a winter freeze, cacti, and Michael, the "rock 'n' roll hood from the Odessa plains." Dylan's "Boots of Spanish Leather" rambles like the Texas countryside and features the man himself on harmonica. The guest list for Other Voices really is incredible. Alison Krauss, John Gorka, Edgar Meyer, Amy Ray, and Emily Saliers – it's a regular homespun who's who. There's plenty to sigh about here, and occasionally the album can almost be too tasteful for its own good. But raveups like Woody Guthrie's "Do-Re-Mi" let Griffith trade some serenity for dustbowl grit (the addition of John Prine's lascivious gruffness helps a lot, too), and the frustrated anger of "This Old Town" only supports this. What might be most refreshing about Other Voices, Other Rooms is its ability to access the warm tones of country, grassroots, 1960s folk, and the '70s songwriting tradition while still sounding more like it comes from Griffith's Texas roots than anywhere else. This is highly recommended for fans of Griffith or any of the like-minded artists who help out here.

Review by Johnny Loftus, Allmusic.com

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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After getting increased exposure with her exquisite cover album Other Voices, Other Rooms, Nanci Griffith emerged with an album of originals that demonstrated to her new fans that she was more than just an interpreter of songs. She has always been a gifted and versatile songwriter with a knack for stepping inside her characters in story songs, but she writes from a more personal perspective on this album. With the help of high-profile friends from U2, Dire Straits, Indigo Girls, and Counting Crows, she incorporates more rock & roll instrumentation (electric guitar, piano, drums) into her acoustically based music. In fact, many of the highlights of this album involve collaborations. Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits) adds his usual tasteful guitar work in "Don't Forget About Me," and Adam Duritz of Counting Crows delivers perhaps his best vocal performance in the playful duet "Going Back to Georgia." As in previous releases, she wrestles with issues of love and loss; however, the songs resonate on a deeper level as she writes from the perspective of someone who has seen and done a lot but still longs to connect souls with one special person ("Southbound Train," "On Grafton Street"). Although she falters a bit when choosing to tackle politics ("Time of Inconvenience"), this is her most consistent album of original songs in almost a decade.

Review by Vik Iyengar, Allmusic.com

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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Nanci Griffith - Albums Collection 1978-1994 (5CD)

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