Impossible Dream [Digipak] (CD - 2004)

Personnel: Patty Griffin (vocals, guitar, piano, background vocals); Patty Griffin; Craig Ross (baritone guitar, synthesizer, tambourine, percussion, background vocals); John Deaderick (organ, drums); Brian Beattie (field organ, pump organ, arco bass); Frank Swart (bass instrument); J.D. Foster (bass guitar, percussion); Jonathan Greene, Jon Greene (drums); J.A. Foster (percussion); Doug Lancio (guitar, mandolin); Lisa Germano (zither, violin); Michael Ramos (trumpet); Sumner Erickson (tuba); Ian McLagan (piano, electric piano); Rev. Brady Blade, Billy Beard (drums); Emmylou Harris, Julie Miller, Buddy Miller (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Robbie Adams.

Recording information: Kingsway, New Orleans, LA (10/2003); Small Festival Balls (10/2003); Wire Recording, Austin, TX (10/2003).

Photographer: Traci Goudie.

Expanding on her 2002 all-acoustic outing, 1000 KISSES, Patty Griffin delivers a stellar, full-band sound on her masterful fourth album, IMPOSSIBLE DREAM. With support from producer/guitarist Craig Ross, as well as guest vocalists Buddy and Julie Miller and Emmylou Harris, Griffin serves up a hearty mix of Americana-flavored fare marinated in organic ambiance. Possessing a voice with a slight twang, reminiscent of Iris DeMent, Griffin belies her Boston roots with a wealth of Southern-flavored songs that include "Standing," a goose-bump-inducing tune with gospel overtones, and "Useless Desires," a high-lonesome tale with fiddle accompaniment by Lisa Germano. Diehard Griffin fans will be pleased to finally see the studio version of longtime concert favorite "Florida" and a handful of tracks inexplicably rejected by her prior label. Foremost among them is the seven-minute epic "Mother of God," a gorgeous, piano-laced composition that threads memories together in a manner that shifts the mood from melancholy to bright hope. minimize