1,000 Kisses (CD - 2002)

Personnel includes: Patty Griffin (vocals, guitar, finger cymbals); Emmylou Harris (vocals); Doug Lancio (electric & 12-string guitar, mandolin); Brian Standefer (cello); Michael Ramos (accordion); John Deaderick (piano); Giles Reaves (vibraphone, drums, djembe, bells); Dave Jaques (bass).

Recorded at Doug's Basement, Nashville, Tennessee on April 21-27, 2001 and at Los Maranitas Studio, Austin, Texas on May 17 & 18, 2001.

1000 KISSES was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Folk Album.

Personnel: Patty Griffin (vocals, guitar, resonator guitar, finger cymbals); Doug Lancio (electric guitar, 12-string guitar, mandolin); Carrie Rodriguez (violin); Michael Ramos (accordion); Kami Lyle (trumpet); John Deaderick (piano); Giles Reaves (vibraphone, drums, hi-hat, djembe, tom tom, bells); Luis A. Guerra (acoustic bass).

Audio Mixers: Doug Lancio; Giles Reaves; Patty Griffin.

Recording information: Doug's Basement, Nashville, TN (04/21/2001-05/18/2001); Los Maranitas Studio, Austin, TX (04/21/2001-05/18/2001).

Illustrator: Joey Reese.

Unknown Contributor Roles: Michael Ramos; Patty Griffin.

Patty Griffin's third album, her first material to be released since 1998 (the absorption of her former label, A&M, in the Polygram-Universal merger left an album Griffin cut in 2000 in the vault, where it's sadly likely to stay), strikes a stylistic middle ground between the stark voice-and-guitar approach of her debut, Living with Ghosts, and the eclectic textures of Flaming Red. 1,000 Kisses was mostly recorded live in the studio with a small acoustic band, including Doug Lancio on guitar and mandolin, Brian Standefer on cello, Giles Reeves on vibraphone and percussion, and Michael Ramos on accordion; the feel of the performances is close and intimate, with the occasional cough or footfall audible in the background, and these sessions capture more than a bit of the cinéma vérité mood of Living with Ghosts. But if the album's production style is subtle, it's also a superb match for the material, and without forcing their hand, Griffin and the musicians can sway from the life-on-the-street swagger of "Chief" to the Latin romanticism of "Mil Besos" to the torchy late-night blues of "Tomorrow Night" without missing a step, finding a broad emotional spectrum in these low-key sessions. And while 1,000 Kisses finds Griffin blending covers in with her own compositions for the first time, she proves to be a first-rate interpretive singer (her version of Bruce Springsteen's "Stolen Car" actually improves on "the Boss"' original), and her own songs are splendid, especially the moving widow's lament "Making Pies" and the moody lead-off track "Rain." And regardless of who wrote the material, Griffin's voice -- a tower of strength capable of expressing remarkable emotional vulnerability -- remains a wonder to behold. 1,000 Kisses finds Patty Griffin at the top of her game, and one can only hope we don't have to wait four years for the follow-up. ~ Mark Deming

Patty Griffin's success is either a testament to the eclecticism of the American music-buying public or to the success of the soundtrack to the movie OH BROTHER WHERE ART THOU? 1000 KISSES isn't a great departure for the Boston singer-songwriter--she's still singing the kind of perfectly formed mini-stories that inhabited her debut album, 1996's LIVING WITH GHOSTS. The main difference here is the assurance with which she presents her material--it's spare, sparsely orchestrated, mostly just acoustic guitar and bass, with the accent on her world-weary yet optimistic vocals and lyrics, eschewing the rock accompaniment of her previous album, FLAMING RED.

Griffin's songs aren't particularly country-based, but more part of a long line of American folk music that spans both the omnipresent "Man of Constant Sorrow" and the songs of Lucinda Williams. She's equally at home with the cozy domesticity of "Making Pies" and the aching loneliness of "Rain," while the Latin-tinged "Mil Besos" (the 1000 kisses of the title) is a sultry delight. 1000 KISSES finds Patty Griffin settling in to her stride as a smart teller of stories old and new, big and small. minimize