Nanci Griffith, Ruby's Torch

Tracks & Durations

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Review

Folk/country singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith shifts into chanteuse mode on this lovely outing. The sumptuous string-drenched arrangements are a change from Griffith's typically stark recordings featuring acoustic guitar and skeletal backing, but it's a natural progression in her nearly three-decade career. She has previously worked with an orchestra, on 1999's The Dust Bowl Symphony, but those results were mixed, due to the instruments' nearly overwhelming presence. On Ruby's Torch, the accompaniment is more organically integrated, and the sound supports Griffith instead of vice versa. No stranger to covers, Griffith taps Tom Waits for three of his older ballads, Jimmy Webb for one, and a few less famous tunesmiths: Donagh Long, Frank Christian, and Charles Goodrum, whose "Bluer than Blue" is a highlight. The durable "Late Night Grande Hotel," one of Griffith's most enduring originals, also makes an appearance in what could be its defining version. This is beautiful music for somber, but not depressing, moods, and closing-time last calls. The chestnut "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning," best known in its classic rendition by Frank Sinatra, fits perfectly in this company, and the opening "When I Dream," written by Sandy Mason, sets the tone of regret and longing, both in life and love, that dominates the album. This lush, reflective work is a wonderful vehicle for Griffth's yearning, supple voice. It shows her to be as commanding a torch-song interpreter as a guitar-strumming roots veteran, and points the way for future projects in this vein. --Hal HorowitzRounder Records is pleased to announce the release of Ruby's Torch, a new album by Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and "folkabilly" artist Nanci Griffith. Ruby's Torch is a collection of intimate torch songs, some penned by Griffith, others by some of her musical heroes. "Recording an entire record of torch songs has been a dream come true for me," says Griffith, "and something my listeners have been asking me to do for many years."

Rather than relying on tried-and-true torch standards, she pays homage to an eclectic array of influences. "When I Dream" has been performed by Crystal Gayle and Willie Nelson, and represents country balladry at its most powerful. Griffith also tips her hat to Jimmy Webb, whose masterful songwriting is at its peak in the touching "If These Walls Could Speak." Griffith offers lush interpretations of three Tom Waits numbers: "Grapefruit Moon," "Ruby's Arms," and "Please Call Me, Baby."

Also included is "Bluer Than Blue," the bittersweet ballad penned by Charles Goodrum and popularized in the late '70s by one of the masters of mellow country-pop, Michael Johnson. Griffith also offers her take on the bluesy, winsome "Drops From the Faucet," written by former Blue Moon Orchestra Guitarist Frank Christian, as well as the delicate yearning of "Never Be the Sun" by Irish baladeer Donal MacDonagh Long.

The one track with a genuine torch pedigree, "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning" (popularized by the inimitable Frank Sinatra), fits in seamlessly, thanks to Griffith's ability to mesh her many inspirations and deliver them with her own charismatic style.

"The challenge in performing these songs is that you have to somehow remain true to the spirit of the song but infuse it with your own story," Griffith explains. "If you don't fill the song with your own emotions, then you really are just going through the motions."

Backing Griffith on this collection is the Blue Moon Orchestra, which has been with her since 1986. Over the past two decades these musicians have evolved with Griffith every step of the way. Which is what makes the reinvented versions of "Brave Companion of the Road" (from Griffith's 1989 album, Storm) and the title track to her 1991 album, Late Night Grand Hotel, so fascinating.

"Sometimes you find whole new personalities in songs when you perform them in a new setting," Griffith observes. "It's like looking at a landscape from different angles. You can really appreciate all the textures and features of the terrain if you approach it from different directions."

Griffith has been described as a singer-songwriter's singer-songwriter, but the accolade really rings true if you consider some of her biggest fans: Bob Dylan (who requested that Griffith sing "Boots of Spanish Leather" at his Madison Square Garden anniversary concert) as well as Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson, who have performed Griffith's songs. And then there are the awards: five Grammy nominations (including a win for 1993's Other Voices, Other Rooms) and two more for her dazzling performances on albums by the Chieftains.

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