Customer Reviews

From a Distance: The Very Best of Nanci Griffith

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was turned on to Nancy Griffith back in 1988 by a young country western singer attending Manhattan's American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Music. Knowing my interest in music, he convinced me buy "One Fair Summer Evening," which immediately became a seminal part of my music collection.

Now, on one CD you get some of the best songs from that album as well as many other favorites - all beautifully remastered. I compare this lady's musical progression (bear with me here) to Woody Allen's growth as a filmmaker. She is never satisfied to stick with what made her popular. She's always expanding her music to reflect her own personal interests and causes. Sometimes that has led to less than perfect albums. But you have to admire someone who wants to grow as a person and as an artist.

I finally had the privilege of seeing her in concert last December here in NYC (rescheduled from 9/14/01, for obvious reasons). And I repaid a longstanding debt to the guy who connected me with her music so many years ago - I took a lady to the concert who had never heard Nanci's music. In one evening she became a devoted fan.

Do yourself a favor and buy this CD. I'd have to highly recommend "One Fair Summer Evening" also. It includes the song "Red Brick Floor," which is just beautiful. My view is that Ms. Grifffith should be a lot more famous than she is. Her voice and talent are huge. But I have the impression that isn't as important to her as making little pieces of art with her Blue Moon Band.

As a fan of Nanci Griffith for many years, I was delighted at the prospect of a new "Best of" CD. That is, until I saw that 15 of the 22 cuts on "From a Distance" were previously released together on an earlier compilation, "The MCA Years: A Retrospective," issued in 1993 and still readily available. Which begs the question: Why is this CD necessary? If the material itself is glorious, the marketing motivation for re-re-releasing it is much less so. I would encourage potential buyers of this to instead purchase the earlier compilation, which also includes the great songs "Deadwood South Dakota," "So Long Ago" and "Listen to the Radio," and also buy the live CD "One Fair Summer Evening." Then one would have truly the finest of Nanci Griffith's music from those MCA years.

This CD is fantastic for fans looking for a good Nanci compilation. You get all her greatest songs, including my favorite track, which is a live version of her masterpiece "Love At The Five & Dime." In addition to this live gem, you get all of Nanci's classics, such as "Outbound Plane" and "Gulf Coast Highway," and you can hear how the Bette Midler standard "From A Distance" is supposed to sound!

Yes, this collection is basically an updated, repackaged version of her early '90s "Retrospective," CD, but this collection has two things going for it over the previous "Best Of" release: it includes more songs, and the music has been digitally remastered. All the songs sound great and are indicative of Griffith's work during her brief stint at MCA Records. (One question: why was "Listen To the Radio" not included in this collection?)

This is a great CD to give to a friend who you want to introduce to Nanci Griffith and it is a great replacement disc for your old, worn-out "Retrospective" CD. After all, you cannot go wrong, this is Nanci Griffith, for Pete's sake!

Others have noted the duplication between this disc and the prior MCA-era collection. I don't have a major problem with a new collection displacing an old one, but I take an even more dim view of the way MCA has titled this project: released in 2002, the "best of" moniker is more than misleading, since these tracks are culled from only five years (the most recent recordings from 1991) and as many albums from an artist who has released gobs of music before and since.

Note that for a few dollars more you can buy "The Complete MCA Recordings", a 2-disc set which includes the four studio albums represented here *in their entirety* (this disc does include a few very good live tracks not on that set). Since Griffith has had few "hits" as such, the song selection for this set really comes down to an editor's choices; there are many equally strong songs from this period not represented here.

Having said all that, on its own merits this is a fine collection, showcasing Griffith's most fertile and appealing songwriting period, after she fully developed her storytelling skill and vocal style but before she gained elder-stateswoman status by helming the "Other Voices" projects. As one might expect from late-80s country-folk, there is a certain sameness of stylistic and production approach here and Griffith's signature woman-child voice can sometimes become cloying. But taken in small doses nearly every one of these songs has the capability to surprise and delight.

I only recently discovered this amazing talent. The album is infectious. Simple yet eloquent work!

Received this CD very quickly. Good condition.

Thank you,
F.Baerman

I give the album 5 stars because any of Nanci's songs are worth 5 stars and if you've never heard Nanci Griffith, this gives the new listener a taste of Nanci's extraordinary work. However, having been a fan since 1987, I have every album, every video and every compilation and cannot understand the need for another "compilation" - if this latest album becomes available on DVD that would definately stir up a new interest.

I give the album 5 stars because any of Nanci's songs are worth 5 stars and if you've never heard Nanci Griffith, this gives the new listener a taste of Nanci's extraordinary work. However, having been a fan since 1987, I have every album, every video and every compilation and cannot understand the need for another "compilation" - if this latest album becomes available on DVD that would definately stir up a new interest.

Nancy is one of my favorites and because I only have her music on old records, I thought I should get the C Ds The music is great and I love her songs. Everyone should have the pleasure of listening to Nancy Griffith.