Nanci Griffith With The London Symphony Orchestra – The Dust Bowl Symphony
Call it Moody Blues Syndrome. Or maybe Paul McCartney Disease. Whatever it is, there’s something about the lure of a big full-blown symphony orchestra that attracts some rock, pop and country singers who want to prove they know they difference between fiddles and violins. Perhaps they think their music will be transformed into something stately, something important, maybe even something immortal, by enlisting some dude in a tuxedo using a baton to command massive string and horn sections. Instead, such projects usually end up sounding pompous, cluttered, and/or sweetened to the point of sugar shock.
I’m not sure what Nanci Griffith’s thinking was in doing this album, mainly a collection of her better-known songs re-recorded with her own band as well as the London Symphony. But what she succeeded in doing was making many of her songs, which sounded fine in their original form, sound like middlebrow mush. To her credit, Griffith does not let the orchestra overwhelm the proceedings; her voice still dominates, and you can still hear guitars on most of the cuts. But the strings and flutes give most of the tracks a syrupy feel.
The presence of guest-star vocalists on a couple songs doesn’t help matters much. Darius Rucker (Hootie & the Blowfish) duets with Griffith on a stale version of “Love At the Five And Dime”; Crickets guitarist Sonny Curtis can’t save “Tell Me How” from being one of the most lifeless Buddy Holly covers ever recorded.
There are a few listenable tracks on The Dust Bowl Symphony. “It’s A Hard Life (Wherever You Go)” is a song powerful enough to withstand a lot, and the orchestra doesn’t get in the way too much. On the other hand, like so many other songs on this record, nothing really is gained by bringing in the strings. The one tune on which the backing actually works is the bluesy “Drops From The Faucet”, which recalls Tom Waits’ “Please Call Me, Baby” or an old sexy Julie London tune.
I’m not quite ready to call for a “Stop the Violins” movement; I still love my Sgt. Pepper’s, Astral Weeks, Pet Sounds, early Drifters and “Theme From Shaft” records as well as the next fan. But the next time some singer decides it’s time to give the old repertoire a musical facelift with a grand old orchestra, they should listen to The Dust Bowl Symphony to see how these things can turn out.