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Discovering Patty Griffin

I've never listened to Patty Griffin before, but I just bought four of her albums at the same time and just started playing through them all: Living With Ghosts, Flaming Red, 1,000 Kisses, Children Running Through... and right now I'm dazed and confused by the sheer awesomeness of her work. (I was born in California so I can use "sheer awesomeness" with impunity). I'm just blown away and have barely begun to register it all yet. Her voice, the perfection of the subtleties to her singing across multiple different styles, the songwriting, the flawless production... wow!

Some time ago I put together a whole long list of artists from one of the recommendation threads that was going on this website, and Patty Griffin wasn't mentioned even once (out of 120 artists, some of whom were recommended more than 20 times each). How can this be? She kind of reminds me a bit of Shelby Lynne and Michelle Shocked (two of my favorites) sometimes, though that's only a small part of what I'm hearing.

So anyway I was wondering what do you all think of Patty Griffin? And how have I missed out on her all this time? Is my first impression wrong, will her work fall flat after a few listens? Shoot who else with this kind of talent am I still missing??

Tags: griffin, patty

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Permalink Reply by Brian Floyd on February 4, 2012 at 8:37am

I discovered Patty a couple of years ago but didn't get to see her live until this past Hardly Strictly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. Three songs into her set I texted 20 friends that without a doubt Patty is the best female singer, singer-songwriter, and performer of our generation. She is simply amazing!

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Newport on February 4, 2012 at 10:24am

I saw Patty for the first time at Myrtle Edwards Park in Seattle, opening for Lucinda Williams, circa 1999. A beautiful evening; I danced with my lovely wife, Suzanne. My friend, Brad, danced with his delightful daughter, Cassady, 7 at the time. No alcohol at Myrtle Edwards, only Starbucks that night. I'd been listening to Living With Ghosts (1996) and Flaming Red (1998). Flaming Red in particular is a bit different from what came after. Mad Mission, Blue Sky & One Big Love are still included on many compilations. Patty became and remains among my all-time favorite artists. I've enjoyed seeing her with Buddy Miller, Robert Plant and with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Emmylou, Dar Williams and Shawn Colvin. She continues to grow and change. All of her music is essential.

A brief note about Lucinda. 1991. Car Wheels On A Gravel Road. The best CD of the 1990's? Someone once refered to it as Car Tires On A Gravel Road. Cassady corrected them. Even at 7 ya' never forget...............

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Permalink Reply by Brian Morris on February 4, 2012 at 2:35pm

One of the few things as good as Patty's music is seeing the look on the face of a friend when they hear her music for the first time. I usually play "Rain" or "Forgiveness" or "Mother of God" or "Burgundy Shoes" or "Top of The World" - it doesn't matter much which song I pick she has so many amazing songs. I still remember sitting in The Somerville Theater just outside Boston in 1995 at an Ellis Paul concert and seeing a petite redhead come out on stage and explode into the first few chords of "Moses". I was amazed at that time and her music still amazes me. The passion, the honesty, the truth. It's all there in abundance. Can't wait for her new studio album that is supposed to be released later this year.