The Complete MCA Studio Recordings by Nanci Griffith (CD only, MCA, 2003)
by Dave Hjortland
Americana music lost another giant with the passing of Nanci Griffith in August of 2021, at age 68. I haven’t stopped mourning her passing, and doubt that I ever will. I didn’t discover her music myself until the release of her 10th album, Flyer, in 1994. On first hearing I wasn’t so sure about her distinctive voice, and I imagine that voice may have deterred a few others from giving her music a serious chance. But after a brief time of actually listening she became my favorite contemporary female artist. I have all of her albums, and feel blessed to have seen her live in concert four times.
She was born and grew up in Texas, where she developed her musical roots and was a fixture in the music scenes of Houston and Austin in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s. She moved to Nashville in 1986, and was a friend to and influence on many other aspiring and established music stars. When she started recording in the late 1970’s her record company first tried to promote her as a country artist, but her music spanned and transcended many genres for such a simple classification. If a label is necessary, I think that only ‘Americana’ would begin to encompass the extent of her work.
Other artists had great success recording her songs, but though she was one of the most loved and respected singer-songwriters of her generation she never attained true super-star status.
Readers of Stereophile magazine – which will, I imagine, include just about every person reading this – may have noted the excellent review by Robert Baird in the December edition of a box set reissue of her first four albums, originally put out by Philo in 1978-86. The first three of those are... good, but her 4th, Last of the True Believers (Philo-Rounder, 1986) is great, and where she really hit her stride as an artist.
Her first eight albums were released on vinyl. Of those, recommending a ‘best’ is just not possible, though her 6th, Little Love Affairs (MCA, 1988) Is my favorite of her vinyl releases.
But there are two CDs that I consider essential and often recommend to friends. The Complete MCA Studio Recordings (2003) is a 2 CD release that collects four studio albums she recorded for that label, remastered with sound that is – dare I say it? – as good as if not better than the vinyl albums. Over the course of these four albums you will experience the truly amazing breadth and depth of her music. I usually cite a few songs in my reviews as worthy of special attention, but as there are 46 songs collected here that would be an impossible task. I can only say that Griffith’s talent is in full flower here, and while some of these songs may not trip everyone’s trigger, many of them cannot fail to impress anyone with any receptivity at all to folk/rock/pop genres of music.
I also strongly recommend Dustbowl Symphony (CD only, 1999), recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra. With the orchestration this is not a ‘typical’ Griffith album, but it is undeniably a great one, and perhaps is more attuned to the taste of those with orchestral inclinations. I live in the hope that it will one day be released on vinyl. Her songs, many of which are from previous albums, are given a new and different life here. “It’s a Hard Life,” one of her best-known songs, is a cut I often use during stereo demos.