Dallas Morning News, 2/24/95
by Mario Tarradell
In a quiet, reserved way, Nanci Griffith is making sure American folk music remains a powerful and personal art form.
No matter what phase of Ms. Griffith's 17-year recording career you explore, whether it's her late-'80's "folkabilly" era (a term she coined to describe the fusion of folk and hillbilly music) or the more recent introspective folk period, chances are you will be captivated by the gentle resilience in her lyrics and the delicate strength of her voice.
That's the essence of authentic folk music. That's the essence of Nanci Griffith's music. Even when she signed to MCA/Nashville, recording albums like 1987's Lone Star State of Mind and 1988's Little Love Affairs, the Austin native always fought being labeled a country artist and maintained her foundation in the more commercially risky folk genre.
But it seems that Nashville can't let go of this talented singer- songwriter. Country vocalists Kathy Mattea, Suzy Bogguss and Emmylou Harris have all recorded Nanci Griffith-penned tunes. Ms. Mattea's version of "Love at the Five and Dime" launched her string of Top 10 hits in 1986.
Expect to hear "Five and Dime" on Wednesday night when Ms. Griffith takes that stage at Will Rogers Auditorium in Fort Worth. No doubt she will also perform material from her last two albums, the Grammy-winning "Other Voices, Other Rooms" (a tribute to the songwriters who inspired her) and "Flyer".
Flyer, released in September, offers a collection of autobiograph- ical songs that deal with social issues and the emotional effects of unrequited love: "Time of Inconvenience" talks about losing one's sense of humanity in a world filled with violence and greed, and "Southbound Train", a heartbreaking ballad is about lost love and the urgent need to find it again.
"Flyer" and Other Voices, Other Rooms have elevated Ms. Griffith's profile among industry types and record buyers. "Other Voices" is approaching gold status (500,000 copies), and "Flyer" is still selling briskly thanks to a recent Grammy nomination in the contemporary folk category.
A gold album would prove a benchmark in a career that has seen more critical raves than action at the cash register. Before 1993's "Other Voices, Other Rooms", a Nanci Griffith CD sold from 250,000 to 300,000. Not bad, but somewhat inadequate when other more pop- or country-oriented folkies (Indigo Girls, Suzy Boguss) are moving half a million compact disks.
"Her time has come," says Lance Cowan, publicity coordinator for the Nashville-based Vector Management, the company that manages Ms. Griffith's career. "And she has never compromised her music for this."
Instead she has held steadfastly to the ideals that make folk music such a real, human form of expression.