Nanci Griffith - Flyer

Nanci Griffith has worn her success well. Along with Lyle Lovett, she has sold the most records of any Texas singer/songwriter, and she has done so on her own terms. Flyer is a jaunty, sometimes driving collection of original songs exploring the politics of the heart and featuring a number of effective guest artists, most notably members of the Counting Crows, Dire Straits, and even R.E.M. But Flyer remains central to her growing body of work for the songs, some of Griffith's most poetic and concise, moving at once beyond a purely Texas folk style and into folk-rock, and yet staying true to her narrative gifts. --Roy Kasten Amazon.com

Her best... My favorite

I'll start by saying that I have been listening to Nanci Griffith for my entire life.*(15 years)* That's because she is one of my mother's favorite artists, so I'm quite familier with her work. But out of of all her albums, Flyer is totally my favorite. I think that it's somewhat diffrent from her other albums, with more flow, and less, as I call it, twang. You know, that country sound. I like that.


It's hard to name my favorite song. Most likely Southbound Train, or Goodnight to Mother's Dream.

Southbound Train, to me, is everything lonely and sad whenever I hear it. The kind of sound that makes my heart twist around in this weird way, just listening to that piano and her voice.


I'm sitting on a southbound train
Staring at the sky
I'm thinking of my childhood
And I'm trying not to cry
While a stranger sleeps against me
And it feels like I'm his wife
Towns and cities flutter past
Like the pages of my life


And I love Goodnight to Mother's Dream, even though I'm not sure why. In a way, it just connects with me, the lyrics and music. And the chorus is beautiful.


And the sailors on the water
...They all want the captain's daughter
They want her beauty and her youth
To grace their bow out on the sea
Me, I'm getting older and I'm plain
As plain can be
Got a bank full of mother's dreams
Maybe mother just didn't see
That love would be the only thing
Her daughter would ever need


The rest of the album is just as perfect. "Always will," "Talk to Me While I'm Listening", "Fragile", And "On Grafton Street" are particularly amazing. Each of her songs are are like individual storys, and they all connect to me in a way that I can't really describe. Let's just say they touch you, and can stay with you long after you hear them. All of her music has always been deep and beautiful, but this album truly shines. In my opinion it's the best of her work, and most defenently my favorite.


I would like to say more, do a page on every song, maybe, but I won't. But I'll say this: Rock on, Nanci. May 25, 2006

Can't live without it

I actually bought this CD again to replace the first one that I lost in a move. I went a few months without this CD and found myself missing it, like an old friend. This is classic Nancy at her best. Well written, well produced, well done. "Flyer" gives me goosebumps every time I hear it and I listen to it frequently. August 15, 2005

This great vocalist's best album!

I discovered Nanci Griffith whilst tuning into BBC Radio 2 one morning, on came this song called TIME OF INCONVENIENCE which is on this CD - great lyrics, great guitar riffing, great harmonies, then I went out and got hold of the CD. I've since got hold of many more and recently took my wife to see her live in Bristol on April 13th, truly a fine show! I am now hooked. Nanci is an inspirational person and has one of the finest and most unique voices in music you will hear. This LP begins with FLYER, a tale like many of her songs of lost loves and brief encounters during travels, which strikes a chord and themes the album - another good example is SOUTHBOUND TRAIN, a truly moving ballad with a piano accompaniment that brings a tear to my eye each time I hear it. More uptempo, rather rockier numbers include the aforementioned TIME OF INCONVENIENCE and ANYTHING YOU NEED BUT ME - I will say they remind me of REM purely because Peter Buck guests on guitar on this CD. You also have Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton from U2 and Marc Knopfler of DIRE STRAITS on DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME, one of the stand out tracks - so basically this will appeal to a wider audience than folk purists. You also get THE CHIEFTANS accompanying Nanci in ON GRAFTON STREET, inspired by her travels to Dublin - and the last track, THIS HEART you could be forgiven for thinking it is a Buddy Holly cover with its rockabilly riffing - Crickets member Sonny Curtis guests here on guitar as well! So all in all this is an album that no Nanci fan should be without. If you're new to her music, this is a great place to begin, then I would recommend BLUE ROSES FROM THE MOONS, LONE STAR STATE OF MIND and also her OTHER VOICES cover version albums which show the versatilty of her fine vocal talent as good starting points. Then as I am, get hold of the rest! April 23, 2005

Almost Perfect

It's unfathomable that people think (as one reviewer mentions) that this is a lesser work by Griffith. For me this is the zenith of her career. I doubt she can ever top it.

If you haven't heard Griffith sing you may be startled at her mousy voice. On this album she empties herself of thoughts & hurts, in a related series of songs that never grow repetitive. I have worn out my cd and put it away so many times. 6 months will pass and I'll pull it out and happily rediscover it again. The music just washes over you.

I love the songs: Flyer, On Grafton Street, there's too many to name... but I offer special praise for "Fragile." Fragile is the song I put on when I want to retire to a beautiful America which has nothing to do with the hateful nationalism of neo-conservatives. The aural flow of the background singers, after Nanci's lyric finishes is a wordless tribute to the American experiment.

The guest contributions (from Peter Buck, Indigo Girls) give her such a fuller freer sound, with the best work coming from someone whose own work I don't even care for; Counting Crows Adam Duritz' harmony & backing vocals here are exceptional and sit behind Nanci's singing perfectly. They're sooooo beautiful. It took me some time to even note that the haunting final vocal (Heeeyy, Ohhhhh. ) in Talk to Me belongs to him. It gives me chills.

My only quibble: Southbound Train and Time of Inconvenience try too hard to be deep. We saw her Valentines Day show at the Vic Theater in Chicago when she toured for this. It was a total love fest for her. A wonderful memory.

This is a great, moving, classic album in any category. I consider it one of the 3 best CDs I've ever heard. Best Wishes, Nanci.

I'll sign off with a poigant lyric from Always Will. "Now love has been my passer-by / Stood to still to catch your eye / but there out on the avenue / In your fathers tie I'll remember you." November 25, 2004

Great!

"On Grafton Street" and title track are pure gold.
There is no such thing as a bad Nanci Griffith album. Like one reviewer said, "These songs melt my heart." I couldn't agree more. June 15, 2004

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