Patty Griffin - Impossible Dream

Patty Griffin's considerable promise is fully realized on Impossible Dream, her fourth studio album. Dixie Chicks fans who loved the trio's cover of Griffin's "Top of the World" will find the blueprint take here, but it's just one of several standouts. "Useless Desires" and "Don't Come Easy" show Griffin in her prime as a heartfelt folk-rock singer-songwriter, while "Love Throws a Line" and "Standing" offer intriguing bluesy/gospel counterpoints. "Kite" nearly floats away on a subtle piano breeze that personifies its mood of Sunday-afternoon solitude. The zenith is "Mother of God", an emotionally wrenching seven-minute masterpiece that begins as a heavy-hearted rumination before transforming midway into an abstract refraction of pure musical radiance and lyrical reassurance, like the cocoon setting loose its beautiful butterfly. --Peter Blackstock Amazon.com

 Impossible Dream is impossibly good
There are debates all the time about whether or not Patty Griffin's forays in to the rock world (a la Flaming Red) was wise, but for Patty Griffin purists, "Impossible Dream" is a sophisticated, moving throwback to her roots.

For anyone who does not realize how many people have covered Griffin's songs, her ability to string poetry together with melody is stunning, but nothing can parallel her power and range as a singer. I have all of Griffin's studio CDs as well as live recordings, and I've seen her in concert, and she's truly mind-blowing in every situation.

For me, I almost wish I was hearing her music on vinyl instead of through the more crystalline, flawless medium of digital audio. Something about her folk roots does bump up against the almost-too-clean production values, and there's a part of me that longs for her to crank out another stripped-down solo record like "Living With Ghosts." However, the purity and strength of her signing certainly does shine on CD in a way that might not fully be represented on an LP. She's just almost too good to be captured well in any recorded medium.

Though there are few viable hit-worthy singles on the album, that's not what Patty Griffin lovers require anyway. Instead she plumbs the depths of human longing and suffering, along with interjected morsels about her take on the state of the world. All of it, regardless of the subject, is tinged with some degree of sorrow or pain, which is at the heart of any great folk music and the hard living that accompanied it historically. With "Impossible Dream," Griffin continues her legacy as an indelible folk icon, setting new standards for musicality within a medium often focused more on story. Patty Griffin is the rare embodiment of both virtuosic musical talent and subtle lyrical storytelling. May 8, 2008

 Impossible to say enough!
I've been listening to Patty Griffin since her first album. To me, she is the finest female singer/songwriter on the planet today. She paints some of the most compelling lyrical images you have ever read, and then couples them with the most heart-rending voice I think I have ever heard. Quite simply, this album represents her at her apex. I basically have not stopped listening to it since I purchased it. If I could only take two albums with me to a desert island, I would take Impossible Dream and James McMurtry's "Where'd You Hide the Body." Then I could die there in peace. If you've never heard Patty Griffin, you can't go wrong buying this album. Every person I have exposed to her has become a fan -- without exception. She's simply that good. August 13, 2007

 Patty Griffin Rules
This album is fantastic as are all her albums. A mix of Shawn Colvin, Norah Jones and Bonnie Raitt. But better than all of them. You won't regre this album or Impossible Dream(her best, I think) July 16, 2007

 What a voice
I love Patty Griffin! I just discovered her and after buying the first CD I purchased all that I could find. She has such a clear voice and I love her songs. She is my all time favorite. July 5, 2007

 music for when I'm alone and happy about it
I love patti griffins sharp, intense voice and melancholic and still life-assuring mood. I just cant help singing along and dancing in my livingroom! I wish I lived closer, so that I could go to her concerts. ( i love in Denmark. I first heard Patti Griffins music in a bookstore in London four years ago. I went to the counter and asked: Who's that? and bought her newest cd a few days later. I also wathced her in one of Matthew Barneys artfilms. My other greatest favorite singer is Gillian Welch. June 8, 2007

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