Patty Griffin - Children Running Through

On her fifth studio CD, folk-rocker Patty Griffin employs three timeless themes--childhood, flight, and death--to craft her most musically diverse and accessible album yet. But while moving through jazz, beatnik, classic and modern folk, gospel R&B, Americana, and moody piano ballad, Griffin keeps her backing quiet and spare, all the more to showcase the power of her deft storytelling and the bell clarity of her unadorned soprano. On song after song, the characters who waft through her experience are on the move, chasing one thing and fleeing another--on trains, ships, buses, in cars, even on the aerialist's bar--ultimately trading an ending of one kind for a new beginning and transference. Sometimes--as on the Rickie Lee Jones-ish "Stay on the Ride," where an old man with no name answers an existential urge for going--they don't even know what it is. "Trapeze," the most resonant offering, follows an aging circus performer who'd rather work without a net than take her chances in love. Here, Emmylou Harris adds one of her most aching harmony lines to Griffin's exquisite, ethereal lead, while in the next track, "Getting Ready," the singer turns a 180, laying a sneering Dylanesque vocal over a fiercely scrubbed acoustic guitar and an occasional dissonant kiss-off. "Baby, baby, you were my drug/And I was just your cigarette," she drones knowingly. One suspects that particular object of her affections will soon regret it. --Alanna Nash

More from Patty Griffin

1000 Kisses	Living With Ghosts	Impossible Dream
Flaming Red	A Kiss in Time

Amazon.com

Excellent CD!

I just purchased this CD and abosolutly love it. Every song has it's own unique sound. Patty's voice is wonderful. Most CD's I buy have one or two songs that I can skip over but not this CD. I love every song on it. September 5, 2008

a move away from rock and roll

My wife and I were pleasantly suprised by this classy and robust work. I only read a review but took a chance and happy I did. Mellow but strong and not something you will ever hear on a radio station. A sophisticated move up and change of pace from good old R&R. Good with dinner, a drink or driving down the road. July 23, 2008

One of my All-Time Favorites!

This album is amazing! We listen to over and over again and love every song on it! What an amazing artist! The symbolism and imagery she uses are amazing. I feel like listening to this music feeds my soul. Love, Love, Love it!! June 18, 2008

Oh wow!

This is one of those remarkable albums that can appeal across multiple tastes, a music lovers album. Really. I think there's such quality here, such a density of time, rhythm and feeling that irrespective of the artist you've just switched over from this album will catch you. Maybe you wouldn't pursue the genre (if any really fit) but you will move on knowing you've caught an artist at their best, and you've been moved in some way. Truly beautiful. May 31, 2008

Patty Griffin & Lion in the House

Fans of Patty should try and see a documentary called 'Lion in the House' which features one of her loveliest tracks, 'It Don't Come Easy'. The doco is about how children and their families deal with pediatric cancer and is unbelievably moving. April 22, 2008

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