Regrooving the Dream

Patty Larkin

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 25, 2000)
• Original Release Date: July 25, 2000
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Vanguard Records
• ASIN: B00004TZZ1
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #48,904 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
If a musician could be described in baseball terms, Patty Larkin would be the ultimate utility player. She can do a little bit of everything--she's a poetic songwriter, a passionate vocalist, a knockout guitar player, a savvy entertainer, and a creator of music she plays herself on a multitude of instruments: guitars, lap steel, mandolin, accordion, and keyboards. The Boston native draws on a world of sounds--R&B, blues, Celtic, jazz, rock, even samba--for an inventive and innovative songbook that creeps into the contemporary fabric of America. Larkin has always balanced roots steeped in folk music with a modern pop edge, while never allowing her witty, thoughtful lyrics to take a backseat. On Regrooving the Dream, those lyrics ride shotgun. --Scott Holter

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Multi-faceted Patty Keeps Pushing The Envelope, August 9, 2001

By	Meathook Williams "stepfather of the blues" (Warwick, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

With each new album, Patty Larkin expands from her folk roots into uncharted realms both as a performer and songwriter. To these we must now add producer as well. Co-producing (with Bette Warner) her latest "Regrooving The Dream", Patty has absolutely mastered the studio and tamed it to serve her whims. The aural magic that only someone comfortable wearing all three caps can craft is blissfully evident here. This patchwork of sonic landscapes and spellbinding lyricism is even more dynamic and emotional than we've come to expect from this now seasoned artist. From her days as a street busker and Boston's "Best Kept Secret" she's matured into the complete artisan shown here, garnering a whopping eleven Boston Music Awards along the way. Her supple pipes suit her tremendously diverse repertoire to a T, and are among the very best anywhere. Her lyrics wend from the weary to the provocative, from the playfully absurd to the tragic. A Berklee alum, her guitar styles are often astonishingly beautiful, from intimate yet forceful chordings to molten slide work. Among the several other instruments she plays (all quite well) is my old favorite, the accordian, used to marvellous effect on the rai tinged "Anyway The Main Thing Is", my favorite track. Talk about rockin' the Casbah. Between the squeezebox and the "manic mariachi" horn section, you could be in pre-war Algiers. Unafraid to take the "path less often travelled", but obviously pouring her heart into this project, she's put together a masterpiece of americana. Well chosen cohorts like Marc Shulman, Glen Velez and the eclectic Mike Rivard, serve to round out her sound, never intruding, acting as extensions of her own voice. Exemplary sonics add even more impetus to an already winning work. This contemplative gem surely counts as a classic without genre, often the very best kind. Exploratory, yet at the same time, supremely confident, Larkin's omniverous musical vision has struck paydirt once again.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars regrooving is soooo fine!, July 27, 2000

By	Douglas Stapleton (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

another sharp and powerful album by patty larkin. this one strikes me as slightly more composed, with a quiet restraint- similiar in feeling to pershiable fruits. what it reminds me of is someone whispering to my ear, or reading me a story at night- private, complicit conversations. the songwriting is great- i think sparser - with a quality like litany- listings and repetitions of thoughts and phrases that give a mood and insistent to the work. the guitar work is patty as ususual- amazing - and the production is just surprising at times- those horns! i wont say more.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guitar Wizardry, both acoustic and electric!, January 25, 2001

By	Stuart Weaver "noneyet" (Saint Augustine, Florida USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Patty Larkin has long been regarded as one of the best guitarists in contemporary folk, and this album helps cement that reputation. Stylistically, this album recalls "Perishable Fruit" but in most respects surpasses the performances. The music she brings forth from the guitar is both beautiful to the ear and challenging to the mind. Should you have the chance to see her live, DO IT! To hear the ability on an album is one thing: to see her replicate it live with only one guitar is breathtaking. Buy 2 copies of this CD and send one to your best friend. They'll thank you for it!