// Nanci was expected to be on the Letterman show
// last night. We missed it, hope you didn't.
// Now that the new album has been released in the
// States, we have lots of reaction to it.
// Some like it: some don't
// Enjoy...BP

----------------------------------------------------

Subject: NN: Best Ten List on the web
    Date: Fri, 28 Jan 2005 14:38:47 -0800
    From: "Susan Holmes" (sue@denicefranke.com>

Here is the direct link to the NanciNet Best Ten CDs of 2004:
http://nanci-griffith.com/nanci_links/TopTens/index.html

Cheers,

Sue

Susan C. Peete-Holmes
Denice Franke at: http://denicefranke.com
Louise Taylor at: http://louisetaylor.com
Patio Records at: http://patiorecords.com
Nanci Griffith at: http://nanci-griffith.com

----------------------------------------------------


Subject: NN: RE: Best Ten List on the web
    From: "Ken Stiffler" (ksls@kmsx.net>
    Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2005 09:43:44 +1300

>> Here is the direct link to the NanciNet Best Ten CDs of 2004:
http://nanci-griffith.com/nanci_links/TopTens/index.html
((

Thanks, Tony and Sue. Brings to mind something I've wondered for
awhile now, and maybe a NanciNetter can answer: Are Patty
Griffin and Julie Miller (nee Griffin) related? They sound very
nice singing together, whether related or not. But then, Julie
and Karen Peris of Innocence Mission sound good singing
together, too, though the sound of their combined voices is very
different from the sound of Julie's and Patty's voices combined.


Ken

----------------------------------------------------

Subject: NN: More CDs for "the list"
    From: "fpsiegal" (fpsiegal@worldnet.att.net>
    Date: Sun, 30 Jan 2005 15:11:44 -0500


Jason Crigler Band, "Down Like Hail," incredibly original,
musical,
fascinating!

FP Siegal

----------------------------------------------------

Subject: NN: A very belated top 10 list
    From: "David Grant" (david@grantguerrero.com>
    Date: Mon, 31 Jan 2005 03:00:14 -0600


Hi y'all.

I know we're well into 2005, but I've finally come up with a
list of my favorite albums of 2004.

10. Simon & Garfunkel - OLD FRIENDS: LIVE ON STAGE

    Not much needs to be said about this one.  It's fantastic.

9. Various Artists - TODAY'S CHRISTMAS

    This one makes the list because of the sheer "rarity" factor
of a couple of its songs.  Mary Chapin Carpenter's
"Christmastime in the City" makes a long-overdue appearance on
CD, and a previously unreleased Darden Smith track turned up
here as well.  Both date to about 1990, and represent some
material that Sony has had sitting in its vaults for nearly 15
years.  A few semi-rarities also turned up on this collection,
including Rosanne Cash's "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear."

8. Linda Ronstadt - HUMMING TO MYSELF

    One of the best voices there is, doing some of the best songs
ever written.

7. Duran Duran - ASTRONAUT

    The highest praise I can give this one is:  This sounds like
a Duran Duran album.  Not like the forgettable stuff they did in
the '90s, but like the Duran Duran of the early '80s.  What can
I say?  I played it a lot more than U2's new one, which might
sound like the "old" U2 but doesn't feel "classic."

6. Nanci Griffith - HEARTS IN MIND

    I liked this album better than any of her studio albums since
FLYER.  Nanci seems more settled on this one, and it has a
really nice balance of stories and politics.

5. Olivia Newton-John - INDIGO: WOMEN OF SONG

    Olivia pays tribute to her favorite female singers of the
past 50 years with this Australia-only release, produced at the
Indigo Ranch recording studio in Malibu by Phil Ramone (it has
nothing to do with the Indigo Girls).  Olivia sings songs made
famous by the likes of Doris Day, Judy Collins, Joan Baez, Julie
London, Karen Carpenter, Cilia Black, and a number of others.
It's quite a bit better than I expected it to be, and it really
shows off Olivia's versatility as a performer.

4. James Taylor - A CHRISTMAS ALBUM

    This one was a total surprise.  It seems that if you wait
long enough, every artist under the sun will eventually release
a Christmas album.  Looking at the track list, this initially
looked like another collection of the same old tired Christmas
songs, but the production by Dave Grusin is remarkably fresh and
interesting, and James Taylor sounds as good as ever.  The "new"
Christmas song here, "Who Comes This Night," is simply perfect.
Unfortunately, this CD was only available in late 2004 at
Hallmark Stores, and there is no indication as to whether it
will be released generally in the future -- some of those
Hallmark Christmas CDs become very collectable.

3. Mary Chapin Carpenter - BETWEEN HERE AND GONE

    This is MCC's strongest album in a decade, and it contains a
song that has become one of my all-time favorites of hers,
"Elysium." While it suffers from the same problem that plagued
TIME* SEX* LOVE* -- it gets a little bogged down in the middle
-- it is an album that I have played literally hundreds of times
over the past few months.

2. Brian Wilson - SMILE

    No, this isn't a re-release.  Brian Wilson finally completed
the concept for this famously-unfinished album (begun in 1966),
and this album was recorded by Brian Wilson and his current band
for release in 2004.  Time did not soften the edges, as it seems
to do so often, but rather allowed these songs to become fully
realized.  The new version of "Surf's Up" is worth the price of
the album alone, but the whole project is simply amazing.  It
sounds as it probably would have sounded in 1967, had it been
finished then, except without the other Beach Boys (who aren't
really missed, to be honest).

1. Dougie MacLean - WITH STRINGS

    Technically, this one might have been released in late 2003,
but I didn't find out about it or get my hands on it until 2004.
  It was, without a doubt, my favorite album of 2004.  Dougie
took ten of his own songs and created arrangements for string
orchestra, resulting in the most stunning collection of music
I've heard in years.  It is very similar in concept and
execution to Nanci's DUST BOWL SYMPHONY; sort of a greatest-hits
collection with a totally different sound.  I had to pull the
car over the first time I heard the new version of "Stepping
Stones," because I couldn't draw myself out of the song to pay
attention to the road.  Words cannot describe how achingly
beautiful this album is.


A few re-releases/remasterings of note from 2004:

Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - MARY POPPINS

    I love Julie Andrews.  There, I've said it.  This is a 2-CD
release coinciding with the new 40th Anniversary edition of the
movie on DVD.

Eric Taylor - SHAMELESS LOVE

    Nanci's ex-husband's debut album from 1981.  It's nice to
finally have on CD, even though I was always very happy with the
quality of the vinyl release.  But the CD has bonus tracks, so
it's absolutely worth getting.  Oh, and Nanci sings on it.

Beach Boys - PET SOUNDS (DVD-Audio)

    This is a release containing a new 5.1-channel remix of the
original PET SOUNDS album, which is not-incorrectly labeled as
one of the greatest records of all time.  Hearing "Wouldn't It
Be Nice" in surround is amazing.

Motown Records - ORIGINAL ARTIST KARAOKE series

    These are a series of discs (12 so far) that contain all the
great Motown hits from the old days, remixed to leave out the
lead vocals.  What you end up with are the instrumental backing
tracks to just about every Motown song you can think of, and you
get to actually hear the brilliant session musicians who played
those instruments and created that unique sound.  Plus you get
to be the lead singer, which has proven to my partner what I've
said for years -- "I coulda been a Supreme!"


OK, that's all for tonight.

David

----------------------------------------------------

Subject: NN: Nanci on the radio
    From: "Daniel Horan" (dhoran@wylelabs.com>
    Date: Tue, 1 Feb 2005 16:10:38 -0600

If you missed Nanci on the Radio today in NYC, I recorded it on
the computer, and have burnt it to CD, with track-cuts nicely
inserted.  If anyone would like a copy, then email me off-list,
and let me know how you want to do it.  I will only ask that you
pay me for postage, and the cost of the blank CD-R.

You can either send me a blank CD-R yourself, or let me know how
much you want me to spend buying you one (quality or cheapo).
The audio quality of the recording of course, is not exactly
Hi-Fi, but it sounds good.  I recorded, and will burn it, with
Real Player Plus.  I used CD Wave Audio Editor by Mike Looijmans
to insert track cuts.

Note: this was recorded off of the internet audio stream...not
off of the radio, I'm in Tulsa, OK...not quite close enough to
NYC to use the radio...

--Daniel

----------------------------------------------------

Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2005 12:59:03 EST
    From: PRobin5478@aol.com
    Subject: NN: re: the new album


I guess no one wants to post about HEARTS IN MINDS --
undertandably --so I'll go.

I'm sorry to say it but the album is a major disappointment.
After three listenings, I don't think there's one song on the
album that would make my Top 100 Nanci songs.  As underpar as
CLOCK WITHOUT HANDS was, at least it  had "Traveling Through
This Part of You" and "Midnight in Missoula," two very good
songs.

The new album, I'm afraid, signals a further decline in Nanci.
The great years are over...at least, for the time being.

I'm going to skip the Wiltern show here in LA.  I just don't
want to see her sing these songs, plus the same "greatest hits,"
over and over again.

Maybe I should put on LITTLE LOVE AFFAIRS to clean out my ears
and remind  me what a first-class talent she once displayed.


Peter

----------------------------------------------------

Subject: NN: Hearts In Mind
    Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2005 11:21:51 -0800 (PST)
    From:  "JAMES WARD" (jward39212@yahoo.com>

Except for the one post from PRobin....no one is saying anything
about the new CD.

I said this months ago when I received a copy from the UK, I
believe, Hearts in Mind could be Nanci's "masterpiece".  I find
Heart of Indochine and Old Hanoi to be particularly breaktaking.
  The only song on the entire disc I didn't care for was the duet
with Jimmy Buffett.

Anyone, I love the disc and hope I get to see Nanci perform
again this year...with the entire Blue Moon Orchestra!

James

----------------------------------------------------

Subject: NN: Hearts In Mind
    From: prive@charter.net
    Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2005 22:00:17 +0000


There is no doubt that Nanci Griffith's later CD's do not
compare with her earlier work. One huge difference is that her
voice has changed so much. I have not been excited about her
CD's following Flyer. But after just a couple of listenings, I
think I really like this CD. She seems more comfortable with her
new voice, not so much of the forced affectations. She seems to
strain on Beautiful, but the orchestration is a delight and the
story it tells brings a tear. And I like the production of the
CD, she and Pat McInerny make a great team!!

I have tickets to see her in Chico, CA. It looks like I might
not make it. I am very, very disappointed.

----------------------------------------------------

Subject: Re: NN: re: the new album
    Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2005 14:44:32 -0800
    From: "Merle Stringfield" (merles@qualcomm.com>

> I'm sorry to say it but the album is a major
> disappointment.  After three listenings, I don't
> think there's one song on the album that would make
> my Top 100 Nanci songs.

Music is such a wonderful thing. It's amazing how one album can
illicit such diverse opinions. I've also listened to it 3 times,
and it is more enjoyable each time. "Big blue ball of war" is an
instant classic. "Angels" is a masterpiece.

> As underpar as CLOCK WITHOUT HANDS was,

This is one of my favorite albums of all time. Every song is
great. It's one that generally is always in rotation in the 10
CD changer in the car. In fact, I listened to it this morning on
the way to work.


> The new album, I'm afraid, signals a further
> decline in Nanci.  The great years are over...
> at least, for the time being.

While I'm on a roll, I find the "new" Nanci a more mature artist
who isn't afraid to venture into different areas of music, and
while some of it is mellow, her singing continues to get better
and stronger. There's even a hint of "standards" in some of the
songs. (Wee small hours; Last song for Mother, etc) Personally,
I like to see an artist reach out  and explore different
territory.


> I'm going to skip the Wiltern show
> here in LA.  I just don't want to see her
> sing these songs, plus the same "greatest hits,"
> over and over again.

I have tickets for her show in San Diego at 4th and B and
absolutely cannot WAIT to see her sing these songs and if she
sings some "greatest hits" that's cool too.


> Maybe I should put on LITTLE LOVE AFFAIRS to
> clean out my ears and remind  me what a first-
> class talent she once displayed.

"Little Love Affairs" is a classic for sure, but so is the new
stuff, at least to me it is. I think she is a first class artist
today who just doesn't want to do the same type songs that she
has done in the past. I salute her for branching out in
different directions while maintaining her dignity, style and
grace.

My 2 cents from San Diego,
Merlot

----------------------------------------------------

Subject: NN: New Album
    Date: Fri, 04 Feb 2005 11:43:35 +1100
    From: "Barry Medway" (bmedway@austarnet.com.au>


WOW!!  Fancy having very opposed views on the new Nanci Album
"Hearts In  Mind."..Most interesting.  Having not heard it yet I
cannot enter the fray, other than to say I was very underwhelmed
with  Clock when first played but found over time it grew on
me.  There must be more of you that have the new one by now.
Please post your impressions.
Thank Yew.
Can anyone comment on the quality of the DVD for A Fair Summer
Evening? I have always been disappointed with the quality of my
VHS version & would gladly update if the DVD is superior.

Barry.
----------------------------------------------------

Subject: NN: Hearts in Mind
    Date: Thu, 03 Feb 2005 21:32:32 -0700
    From: "Paul Larsen" (pbl2@utah.edu>

Hey, all.  I just picked up the new album today.  Had quite an
ordeal last night going to all the wrong stores looking.
Finally, a friend of mine from work who is a weekend DJ at KRCL
(www.krcl.org) here in Salt Lake called an indie CD dealer she
frequents and found me a copy.

While I have only had time to listen to it twice, and then with
only half an ear since I was at work and commuting home, I feel
that the assessments comparing this opus to CWH are appropriate.
  I confess that I was hoping for something musically more along
the lines of Flyer or OVOR, but this album stands well on its
own.

The song where it really hit me that the Nanci of the late 80s
and early 90s is gone (has evolved) was "Back When Ted Loved
Sylvia."  As the song ended, I realized that this song, while
stylistically different than her early work, was as beautiful as
anything she has done.

Many of the songs are dripping with melancholy, yet I could
almost see how her life experiences have helped her cope with
the rough patches.  This was best manifest in the song "Mountain
of sorrow" where the lyrics go:

    "And it's just one more sorrow
     To throw upon the heap
     Mountain of sorrow...steep"

And there are some upbeat, hopeful songs on here too, so I don't
have to worry about taking Zoloft before listening. Again, this
is Nanci who has evolved, and would agree with the comments that
she is becoming more comfortable crossing over into jazz (except
for the attempt at scat.  She should avoid repeating that
experiment on future albums IMHO).  From a diehard who will be
at the show next time she graces our fair state, 7 out of 10.

Paul Larsen

----------------------------------------------------

Subject: NN: NNC, but very music related
    Date: Sat, 05 Feb 2005 15:31:05 -0600
    From: "Ed Maier" (evmaier@sbcglobal.net>

Converting vinyl to CD

A few weeks ago I upgraded my wife's aging Dell Celeron 600 with
a Compaq SR1200NX that I bought from Office Depot on sale for
$399 after rebate. I just finished converting the Ray Charles'
1962 album, "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music." It
came out very nicely.

Here's what I used:
1. RCA Lab 1200 turntable (bought it at a garage sale a few
years ago).
2. Open source (free) digital audio editor software, Audacy
1.2.3 available from (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/>  (Yes,
it's *really* free.)
3. Computer with stereo line-in jack for the soundcard.
4. CD burner.
5. Software such as Sonic RecordNow V.7 to convert WAV files and
burn them to a CD which will play on any home or car CD player.
(Mine came with the new computer.)
6. An operating system such as Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, or
even GNU/Linux. (I used WinXP Pro).
7. Cables from the turntable (usually RCA phono jacks) to the
1/8" stereo line-in jack on the soundcard. They make adapters
from RCA phono to 1/8" stereo.

I downloaded the audio editor and already had everything else,
so my cash outlay was zero. If preserving your vinyl recordings
to CD is of interest to you, contact me off-list for a more
detailed explanation.

Ed Maier
Arlington, TX

----------------------------------------------------

Subject: Letterman
    From: Halesbop@aol.com
    Date: Sat, 5 Feb 2005 12:40:15 EST

Oh, I liked it! Beautiful is one of the handful of songs I'd
heard off the new one (WDET has been playing some tracks) and,
hey, it's not bad. I  thought she looked good, too, for a woman
her (my> age. :) Seriously,  liked her look, her hair. She was
animated, voice a little ragged but as  someone noted she's
accepting how she sounds now.

Me, too.

Reckon I'll have to get out and buy the cd and of course I'd go
see  if/when she gets to Great Lakes region. Last time I saw her
(Ark benefit w/Billy  Joe Shaver and Cash Bros July 2003) I was
so unimpressed that I thought it best not to post on NN about
the show. But Nanci is still Nanci and I love her. For  over 21
years now.

Steve
that said, I have heard and don't care for the Buffett duet.
Now, 15-20 years ago that would have been a dream pairing
though

----------------------------------------------------

Subject: Re: New Album
    From: "Daniel Horan" (dhoran@wylelabs.com>
    Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2005 19:46:41 -0600

I haven't heard the new album yet either (it's on it's way from
Amazon).  As far as the OFSE video is concerned, it has a grainy
quality which is intentional.  I'm sure the DVD will have it as
well (I have the LaserDisc, and it's also the same).  I was
annoyed by it as well when I first saw it years ago, but it has
grown on me...

I'm excited to see the additional music videos on the disc.  The
very first time I ever heard or saw Nanci Griffith was seeing
the video for "It's A Hard Life" on VH1.  I've never seen it
since.  It'll be nice seeing it for a second time.

----------------------------------------------------

Subject: nanci's recent work
    From: "Bob Kelley" (robertokelley@comcast.net>
    Date: Thu, 3 Feb 2005 18:37:42 -0500

Hi folks,

I almost never post and have not heard the new CD.  Shame on me,
right?  I wanted to seek the healing powers of (anonymous)
confession.  Yes, yes, I'm a recovering 56 year-old Irish
Catholic.

When it was first released, I loathed and I was publicly
critical of "Clock without Hands" - after only a couple listens.
  Then, as I re-listened to the stark and profound vulnerability
that she was expressing, I began to embrace
the CD (pun unintended but appropriate).

Her message in that CD probably touches my own defensiveness and
vulnerability (despite a loving wife and four great sons).  I
respect her ability to acknowledge that she may be incapable of
sustaining intimate relationships.  I still love the CD and
listen to it regularly.

I'll undoubtedly buy Hearts in Minds but I'll try to reserve
judgment for a few years. I'm a slow learner.

Thanks for all the comments and opinions on which I usually just
eavesdrop. You guys are great.


Bob Kelley


----------------------------------------------------




Questions about NanciNet?  Send e-mail to bpage3@yahoo.com