Nanci Griffith - The Complete MCA Studio Recordings

Artist:

Griffith, Nanci

UPC:

008817038124

See Also:

Lang, K.D.

Description:

Personnel: Nanci Griffith (vocals, acoustic guitar); Mark O`Connor (acoustic guitar, mandolin, violin, viola); Byrd Burton (acoustic & electric guitars); Mac McAnally (acoustic guitar, background vocals); Billy Joe Walker, Jr. Rick West (acoustic guitar); Phillip Donnelly (electric guitar); Jerry Donahue (electric guitar); Pat Alger (guitar); Lloyd Green (pedal steel guitar, dobro); Bela Fleck (banjo); Emory Gordy (mandolin, electric bass); John Catchings (cello); James Hooker (piano, Hammond B-3 organ, synthesizer); John Jarvis (piano); Roy Huskey, Jr. (upright bass); Mo Foster (electric bass); Russ Kunkel (drums, percussion); Fran Breen (drums); Albert Lee, Tanita Tikaram (background vocals). Producers include: Tony Brown, Nanci Griffith, Glyn Johns, Peter Van Hooke, Rod Argent. Compilation producer: Mike Ragogna. Recorded between 1987 & 1991. Includes liner notes by Scott Schinder. The standard line on Nanci Griffith`s five-year sojourn at MCA Records is that Griffith, a Texas-born singer/songwriter, earned a major-label Nashville contract after four independent folkie releases on the basis of Kathy Mattea`s Top Ten country recording of her song "Love at the Five and Dime," at a time when country music seemed more open to new sounds and MCA`s Tony Brown was also signing such mavericks as Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett. But after two albums, Lone Star State of Mind (1987) and Little Love Affairs (1988), met resistance, failing to produce a major country hit, Griffith was transferred to the label`s pop division, where Storms (1989) showed promise but Late Night Grande Hotel (1991) turned out to be too much of a pop move and turned off her existing fan base without attracting a new one. Then MCA dropped her. After a sojourn at Elektra Records, Griffith returned to indie status with Rounder in 2002, which oddly landed her back at MCA, since the major had a distribution deal with Rounder. MCA has also reissued Griffith`s early albums, which gives the label a considerable stake in her catalog. So, there is a full-priced one-disc compilation of her actual MCA recordings (From a Distance: The Very Best of Nanci Griffith), a discount-priced Millennium Collection best-of, and now this two-disc package combining all four MCA albums with a few rarities. And when you listen to it from beginning to end, the standard line no longer seems to hold. The first two albums are no more country than Griffith`s early "folk" albums, and the last two are not so "pop." The distinctions have more to do with production approaches, which pale before the dominant aspects of the music -- Griffith`s sweet and sour voice with its distinctive twang and the terrific songs. Maybe there was something to the notion that Griffith, who delighted in showing listeners what novel she was reading on her album covers, was a bit too erudite for a Nashville thrush, but the result is a set of songs, written by her and some well-chosen others, that stand up well a decade later and are likely to sound just as good many decades hence. ~ William Ruhlmann

Track Listing:

DISC 1:

1. Tumble and Fall - (previously unreleased)
2. Lone Star State of Mind
3. Cold Hearts/Closed Minds
4. From a Distance
5. Beacon Street
6. Nickel Dreams
7. Sing One For Sister
8. Ford Econoline
9. Trouble in the Fields
10. Love in a Memory
11. Let It Shine on Me
12. There`s a Light Beyond These Woods (Mary Margaret)
13. Anyone Can Be Somebody`s Fool
14. I Knew Love
15. Never Mind
16. Love Wore a Halo (Back Before the War)
17. So Long Ago
18. Gulf Coast Highway
19. Little Love Affairs
20. I Wish It Would Rain
21. Outbound Plane
22. I Would Change My Life
23. Sweet Dreams Will Come
24. Wooden Heart - (previously unreleased)

DISC 2:

1. I Don`t Want to Talk About Love
2. Drive-in Movies and Dashboard Lights
3. You Made This Love a Teardrop
4. Brave Companion of the Road
5. Storms
6. It`s a Hard Life Wherever You Go
7. If Wishes Were Changes
8. Listen to the Radio
9. Leaving the Harbor
10. Radio Fragile
11. It`s Just Another Morning Here
12. Late Night Grande Hotel
13. It`s Too Late
14. Fields of Summer
15. Heaven
16. Power Lines, The
17. Hometown Streets
18. Down `N` Outer
19. One Blade Shy of a Sharp Edge
20. Sun, Moon, And Stars, The
21. San Diego Serenade
22. Stand Your Ground - (previously unreleased)

Album Information

Release Date:

06/17/2003

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Country

Subgenre:

Progressive Country

Label:

MCA Nashville

Catalog Number:

0000447

Original Release Year:

2003

# of Discs:

2

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Guest Artist:

Bela Fleck; Billy Joe Walker, Jr.; Mark O`Connor; Albert Lee; Tanita Tikaram

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