DBT #244 More Than a Whisper - Celebrating the Music of Nanci Griffith
Sometimes I find myself in a mood where I say, "Enough David, you have too much music that you haven't listened to yet" and then the email comes from Bandcamp that Rounder has release a celebration of Nanci Griffith's music... Dang I love Nanci Griffith's music; plus this is so fitting because she put together such awesome cover albums that were tributes to her peers. I looked at the list of various artists and it was like looking at my library, I bolded the only ones not in the library until this purchase.
More Than A Whisper: Celebrating The Music Of Nanci Griffith is an all-star tribute to the legacy of the GRAMMY award-winning singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Featured artists include Brandy Clark, Shawn Colvin, Iris Dement, Steve Earle, Mary Gauthier, Emmylou Harris, Sarah Jarosz, Lyle Lovett and Kathy Mattea, Ida Mae, John Prine and Kelsey Waldon, Todd Snider, Billy Strings and Molly Tuttle, Aaron Lee Tasjan, and The War And Treaty covering some of Griffith’s most notable releases.
The first listen and I'm clicking "Heart" over and over; this release is truly at the heart of my blog mission, "Good Music has NO Expiration Date" My hope is that fans of all these artists rediscover her music, because as Jeff Gemmil said,
A part of me wonders why these songs and not others—there’s nothing here from what I consider her greatest album, Flyer, nor any of her latter-day gems, such as “Traveling Through This Part of You” or “Hell No (I’m Not Alright).” But second guessing is part and parcel of a fan’s-eye-view of a tribute album, isn’t it?
There is not a dud in this whole album; and I know that Sarah, John & Kelsey, Brandy Clark, and Todd Snider's songs will be the most played. Here is the album and it's setup to start with John's duet that according to Kasey was not supposed to be a duet when she got there.
For this review I'm not going to go through each song because I have review envy, Jeff did an amazing job hitting all the songs, PLEASE READ HIS Review. I would add like Jeff, Nanci's music always has meant so much to our family. Car rides across the state, picking up each new release at the Golden Ring Folklore Center, seeing her up in Bayfield at the Big Top, and those great Austin City Limits shows. Because of Nanci, I kept digging deeper into her friends like Lyle Lovett & Robert Earl Keen; and of course all the artists she covered on her "Other Voices, Other Rooms" She was to me a true musical blessing.
Jeff mentions he missed the honky tonk piano on "Listen to the Radio" and I missed the hit guitar note on "Love at the Five and Dime" that was meant for Nanci's memories of the elevator bell.
My favorite songs missed:
Working in Corners, yes I was young once:
Once in a Very Blue Moon, yes Lyle Lovett looks pretty young in this video:
Nanci was friends with everyone and to honor Jimmy Buffett's recent passing; here's their cover of a Clive Gregson song:
Next steps:
- Stop over to the Review page to my other most spinned and loved albums.
- Browse the rest of the blogs by stopping at this "Theme Page."
- Enjoy Tune Tuesday which brings you one song from a past blog post.
- See what other post have been most popular recently with our Stats Page.
- Find out who in the world thinks he has the authority to write this blog in the About.
- Let me answer why you won't find the playlists on Spotify here.
- Finally, the Mission page explains why there is no advertising cluttering the page.
If you use Facebook, we have a page that will help you remember to read the next post.
You could always decide to feed my music addiction and donate to the cause. If you did, I will spend it only on music and even will buy the music you recommend if you tell me to. Here's a Paypal donate button
