Customer Reviews

Other Voices Other Rooms

5 star:		(38)
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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was my first Nanci Griffith album, and it was something of a gamble (she has her share of critics). But I definitely won in a big way. This album has grown on me so tremendously. This album features an assortment of songs from a long line of great American songwriters (frequently the songwriter is on the track somewhere). The combination of vocals, lyrics, and instrumentation is pure, natural, unforced beauty. The production is clean, bright, and straightforward; no gimmicks or interference. This album is perfect for its genre.

Right now, I can't even name the standout tracks. This is a very rare example of an album that is full of standout tracks; not a weak moment from start to finish (and running at just over an hour, with 17 tracks, that's no small feat). True, no new ground is being broken here, but that's exactly the point. It's back to the basics, yet still fresh and modern. Its beauty and simplicity is wonderfully infectious.

If this sounds even slightly interesting to you, then I think you're likely to enjoy it. Why this 1993 album isn't priced higher is beyond me. So take advantage of it while you can.

Folkie/singer/songwriters such as Nanci Griffith are the most joyful of live entertainers to watch. Partially because it's almost always in an intimate environment, and you can feel that the performer is almost singing directly to you. Plus the songs have to be heartfelt, or the whole concept just doesn't work.

Problem is, most of them can't sell a record to save their lives. Sure, Bob Dylan isn't starving, but let him try to release a few albums without rock accompaniment and see what happens to his record contract. So what do they do?

Well, how about releasing an album of songs by the masters of the field, as performed by the featured artist? And have the songwriters themselves perform as backup musicians or singers. Then every few months or so, somebody else can do the same thing, and all of a sudden we'd have some pretty good music being released.

For this is one dynamite collection of songs. So what if they're not her songs. They're done in earnest, and open doors to me as to what other artists are capable of. Or sometimes it's nice to hear a song you're familiar with done by somebody else. I actually have had the original album that has "Tecumsah Valley" on it for twenty-five years now. Since we won't be hearing Townes Van Zandt singing anytime soon, this is a great way to revive it. I also find myself playing "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" over and over again, and as the father of four, "Turn Around" leaves me a sobbing ... every time I hear it.

Like I said, let everyone take their turn in the rotation. This is a very special album to me.

You know the old game about choosing ten CDs to take with you to a desert island to listen to for the rest of your life. Other Voices, Other Rooms would be on my list.

That may seem like excessive praise for a CD that's not overly original and done by a singer who doesn't have one of the great voices of our time. But I love every song on this album -- save "Turn Around." The coincidence of good songs, good arrangements, and the perfect voice for the material makes this CD exceptional. Arlo Guthrie's duet with Nanci on "Tecumseh Valley" (heartbreakingly sad) is one highpoint. Equally sad and equally beautiful is "From Clare to Here." And Bob Dylan's harmonica on "Boots of Spanish Leather" and Don Edward's yodel on a great cowboy song, "Night Rider's Lament," are outstanding. The wonderful "Across the Great Divide" by the late Kate Wolf if another tearjerker. This one is special for me. I've listened to it for years and it never gets tiresome.

Smallchief

This music is soul balm. Every song here is searingly gorgeous. Each an American classic, simply yet elegantly delivered by one of the lushest female voices in the business. With just a touch of Texas twang.

I own Nanci's greatest hits album, as well. It's good, but I have to say that this album is better, since the songs here are just transcendant. I'm unfamiliar with her other albums, but based on these two, I can assure you I intend eventually to collect everything she's ever done.

I really encourage you to buy this album. If you like folk or country, you absolutely will not regret it.

Need I say more? I adore this CD - not only do you get Nanci Griffith at her best, you also get guesting with her - Emmylou Harris, the Indigo Girls, Arlo Guthrie, Odetta, John Prine and even Bob Dylan on harmonica on her brilliant version of the Dylan classic BOOTS OF SPANISH LEATHER! This is her first covers album and the better of the two I think, but only just! ACROSS THE GREAT DIVIDE, a Kate Wolf song, has some beautiful harmonies in the vocals. TECUMSEH VALLEY is another of the strongest tracks and is both a joy but heart-wrenching as well as you listen to the lyrics. If you read Nanci's book OTHER VOICES - A PERSONAL HISTORY OF FOLK MUSIC then you will appreciate these songs even more and maybe be inspired to check out the original versions. DO RE MI is a fun, uptempo track orignally done by Woody Guthrie. SPEED OF THE SOUND OF LONELINESS has been much covered and is another live favourite with a repetitive but infectious riff throughout. FROM CLARE TO HERE is a true classic - orginally done by Ralph McTell, which shows there's more than just the Streets of London for this guy - this one has some Celtic sounds thrown in for effect and works well. NIGHT RIDER'S LAMENT is an old cowboy song done well, but watch out for the yodelling! This is fun, however, done by one Don Edwards. The CD closes with WIMOWEH, a familiar tune which was massacred by Tight Fit in 1982 under the guise of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, itself a 1960s pop hit - WIMOWEH in its proper form, a protest song sung by waiters back in Africa in the 1940s so it would seem, is far better! This CD is recommended to anybody with a love for old folk music done by perhaps the finest female vocalist to ever come from Texas!

I feel that this shines through as an exceptionally well crafted album - Nanci endeavours to highlight that she owes a lot to individuals who have paved the way for folk musicians such as herself. She includes songs by giants like Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan(she sings this particular song as it is the one that he requested she perform at his historic Madison Garden 30th anniversary concert), Townes Van Zandt, Tom Paxton and many more. But my favourite song on this album is one by a lesser known, but equally as qualified, singer-songwriter - Kate Wolf: "Across The Great Divide" pulls at the heart strings and is treated with tenderness by Nanci, as Wolf would have wanted.

As a 17 year old Nanci fan with nearly every album of hers, I feel that some reviewers are being slightly unreasonable in their criticism of this one and its sequel. I concede that her voice is not quite as strong as when she started out making records but with age has come depth, as is illustrated in her albums subsequent to this, which I advise you to have a listen to(particularly "Clock Without
Hands").

Listen to this album and I guarantee you you'll want to hear more, and her other albums are superb as well. She has a warmth that will reel you in and capture your interest. Her storytelling equals that of some of the individuals being covered on this record, which is something special. Once you've heard Nanci, their's no going back!

This is the perfect CD for a long car trip. It requires no skipping and will have you singing along after the second time through. I have purchased it four times. I didn't think you could wear out a CD until I got this one. What a voice!

From the splendid opening of Kate Wolf's "Across the Great Divide" this CD explores reaches of American music that you'll never hear on contemporary radio. Yet the music is sassy, clever, emotional, and evocative--and that's just the first couple of tracks. I listened to the CD and then began to explore the work of people like Kate Wolf, Townes van Zandt, Jerry Jeff Walker, and others whose music is as strong and creative--and well worth seeking out.

I like Nanci best when she's interpreting the work of others. I love Nanci's own work, don't get me wrong, but every song on this album is a gem. My personal favorites: Boots of Spanish Leather (Dylan), Speed of the Sound of Loneliness. I'm looking forward to picking up the sequel to this album. Hopefully some generous soul reading this review will see my wish list and buy it for me. :)

Nanci Griffith has a beautiful voice and uses it on this album to sing some of the most beautiful songs written by contemporary folk artists. This CD has been one of the most heavily played in my house for the last decade and I never tire of it - in fact I am currently writing a novel and the only CD I listen to while writing it is this one. That is the scope of its breadth and power, of its shimmering and relentless beauty.

It's a captivating work of collaboration that fills the spirit with the sort of haunting loneliness that feels good. Infinitely listenable.