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1000 Kisses

Patty Griffin - 1000 Kisses Audio CD

A fair review of the Patty Griffin "1000 Kisses" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Patty Griffin reviews here, or go back to the Patty Griffin tabs.

Band: Patty Griffin
Title: 1000 Kisses
Rating:

Release Date: 2002-04-09
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Rain 2: Chief 3: Stolen Car 4: Making Pies 5: Be Careful 6: Long Ride Home 7: Nobody's Crying 8: Tomorrow Night 9: Mil Besos 10: Reprise

If You Buy Only One Patty Griffin Recording.....This Is It!
Personal, soulful and haunting; there is not a bad song in the collection. 1000 Kisses is singer-songwriter Patty Griffin's masterpiece. If you are new to Patty Griffin or don't own any of her recordings, I highly recommend that you start with this one. The songs are acoustic and lean, pared down to their essential spirit. Patty's voice is rich and controlled, her words poetic and moving. There is something extremely traditional yet very contemporary about Patty Griffin. My personal favorite on this recording is "Tomorrow Night". .

Better Late Than Never
I am now going back to her library of cd's to see what I have been missing over the years. I was only introduced to the music of Patty griffin in 2007 and had the pleasure of seeing her in concert. 1000 kisses is a fine collection of songs and one of my favorite cd's to listen to. Like so many other talented songwriters that do not get air time, we hear other artists perform her songs. . . the Dixie Chicks and Emmylou Harris come to mind. Hearing the songs from Ms. Griffin is a simple joy.
Share your discoveries with others. I wish I had listened years ago.

Accept no substitute
For my money, her powerful voice is beyond compare. After having recently bought several CD's by female artisits, at least in part because they were likened to Patty Griffin, I felt compelled to write a review of this disc, which is one of my favorites of hers. Her strong yet beautiful voice is put to especially good use on "1000 Kisses," with its sparse musical arrangements and extremely personal, heartfelt songs. "Making Pies" is one of my favorite songs of all time. I cannot recommend this CD highly enough. .

She is so good
I would place this CD 2nd of the 5 I have heard, just after Living with Ghosts. I think Patty Griffin is incredible.

POTENT, SOULFUL VOCALS WITH AN EMOTIONAL EDGE; OUTSTANDING SONGS WITH INTIMATE LYRICS
PG had been flying under my personal radar up until about 6 months ago, so I'm a 'tad' late with my review of '1000 Kisses' - but, even though it's probably redundant by now, review it I must (call it a 'labour of love'). Unfortunately, in the UK, this type of music doesn't get much exposure - national and local radio programming is predisposed to playing 'top 40', 'britpop', and 'classic rock' (but I think they are beginning to see the light).

PG has a unique voice which combines the fragile poignancy of Emmylou Harris (but more soulful) and the bluesy edge of Bonnie Raitt (but more incisive); a voice which, more often than not, is drenched with high voltage emotion (even during her 'softer' moments, that emotion is still there - if somewhat understated). Occasionally, she has a slight tendency to (almost) shout, rather than sing, her words and, on 'Stolen Car', I thought she struggled a little with the low notes. However, I can easily live with such minor distractions because, basically, PG is one fine singer - her timing is subtle and she exhibits vocal dexterity as she wraps her voice around individual words (for example, just listen to how she sings the words 'all alone' in the first verse of 'Be Careful').

The songs are not complex and, arguably, a few sound a little 'old-fashioned' - but this doesn't matter, they are fine songs nonetheless with some oustanding lyrics; they are influenced by many different genres - folk, country, 'late night' blues and latin romanticism. The playing by her session musicians is very tasteful and the album has a (predominantly) semi-acoustic sound with some added echo; it also has a very natural 'studio live' feel to it - no 'wall of sound' over-production here !

I enjoyed all tracks (although the instrumental 'Reprise' is too short to make any lasting impression) - a few comments about my favourites :

RAIN (Patty Griffin) - A slow tempo song which has a rather pretty undulating melody - giving it a slight folksy flavour. It has melancholic lyrics describing a once good relationship which, for some reason, has gone sour (the 'rain' and 'dark clouds') - but, whether from hope or desperation, the lady is still 'holding on' (but only to a dream ?). It's a very sad song, and one where the contrast between melody and lyrics lends a bittersweet quality.

MAKING PIES (Patty Griffin) - A song with more of a country feel about it. It sort of 'strolls along', in keeping with the lyrics which are about the humdrum life of an older woman who makes pies for a living. To break up the monotony, she reminisces about rather ordinary events in her family life, past and recent present. She's resigned to making pies for the foreseeable future - so she may as well make the best of her situation. The subject matter of the song might seem a little dreary, but the song itself isn't.

BE CAREFUL (Patty Griffin) - My most favourite track, a haunting slow tempo song which sends shivers along my spine; PG's vocals are breathtaking - a blend of delicacy and simmering emotion, and sung with indescribable poignancy. I think the song has a slight bluesy hue and it also seems to have something of a climactic quality (but without going over the top). I'm not quite sure what to make of the lyrics - perhaps, a simple reminder that 'all the girls' are emotionally vulnerable (indeed, as most of us are). On this album, the playing by PG's musicians is very low-key, but this track demonstrates how much empathy they have with her music - there's an exquisite 40 second instrumental bridge featuring the interwoven sounds of nylon string guitar and accordion, underscored by cello and vibraphone.

MIL BESOS (Elena Valdelamar) - The album title track (of sorts); I can't comment on the lyrics because I don't understand most of them. Rhythmically, the song is a slow rhumba or a beguine (not sure which - but you'll know what I mean when you listen to it). Based upon most of her other songs, I would have guessed that PG's vocal range is one of mezzo-soprano - but here it's more like a sultry contralto (but, regardless of any formal definitions, she definitely has a wide vocal range). PG temporarily abandons her regular musicians (apart from Brian Standefer on cello) and the sparse production, in favour of a more opulent sound; almost 2 minutes of this track are devoted to instrumental music.

I also have 'Children Running Through' and 'Impossible Dream' - I like these albums a lot also; but of the three, '1000 Kisses' is my favourite. I cannot imagine anyone, who likes this type of music, being disappointed with this album; it really doesn't get much better than this - classy stuff, 4. 5 stars.

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You can see a complete list of all Patty Griffin discography, or go back to the Patty Griffin tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.