Search - Patty Griffin :: Children Running Through

Teresa S. from WINDHAM, ME
Reviewed on 4/24/2010...

CD was in excellent condition.

Rick S. from MORGANTON, NC
Reviewed on 9/14/2009...

This particular CD is so far, in my estimation, the finest Patty Griffin has done lyrically and especially vocally. I have liked everything she has written, but she soars with new restraints and heights of her voice that just make me grab my remote control and jab repeat to wring a cut over and over. I have finally gotten through the entire CD after a week's ownership, and have recommended this one artist and CD to many of my family and friends, even my pastor at church. Patty delivers throaty, husky complaints of past lives, times lost and fondly remembered in so descriptive, back-then-when-I-was-young songs. "Heavenly Day" is a song just like that: "Tomorrow May Rain With Sorrow
Here's A Little Time We Can Borrow
Forget All Our Troubles In These Moments So Few
Because Right Now
All We Really Have To Do
Is Have Ourselves A

Heavenly Day
Lay Here And Watch The Trees Sway"

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When the History of Her Career Is Written...

John C. Bergeron | Saint Paul, MN United States | 02/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Dylan's "Blood on the Tracks," Young's "After the Goldrush," Browne's "Late for the Sky," U2's "Joshua Tree," McLachlan's "Surfacing"...and while some reading this might legitimately plug in different titles for these artists, my point is that every great artist has one (or perhaps two) works that immortalize their careers. Thankfully, Patty Griffin has a long way to go, but it's hard to imagine anything she'll do from here on overachieving this magnificent release. The purity and passion of her singing, the power and profundity of her lyrics, which can almost literally turn one's heart inside-out, the confidence, versatility and genius she demonstrates in moving from gospel to gorgeous strings to hard edged folk to Hispanic-tinged brass arrangements left me, an already dedicated fan, feeling that Patty Griffin has, with "Children Running Through," guaranteed herself a permanent place in the pantheon of the very greatest singer-songwriters of all time. Again, Griffin is still in the middle of what has already been an amazing career, so if this sounds like an obituary, I don't mean it to. It's just hard to imagine anything she (or anyone else, for that matter) will do from here on being better than this. That said, I guess it won't really surprise me if she finds yet another, higher mountain to climb. Bottom line: If you consider yourself an audiophile or a collector of the best music ever recorded, your collection won't be complete until "Children Running Through" is added to it. This is a great and timeless record."

An Artist at Her Peak

Harris J. Schneider | Skokie, IL USA | 04/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Patty Griffin is an incredible writer, singer and performer. I have been a fan of hers for about 6 years. My love of her music has been fairly consistent, although I have doubted for awhile whether she'd ever release a true classic record. I absolutely adored 1,000 Kisses, but maybe because it's got more of a consistently melancholy mood, it's always seemed to be more of a niche record for Patty. With Children Running Through, Patty's hit paydirt.



Much like Car Wheels on a Gravel Road is the standard for Lucinda Williams, this record will always be the one that other Patty records are judged against. Sure, certain fans will always prefer Living With Ghosts. Some may prefer 1,000 Kisses or Flaming Red, but to the vast majority of music fans, Children Running Through will be the one great Patty record.



Maybe it's the production. It all just sounds so great. Each song seems to have been a success in achieving what it set out to achieve. Patty's a jazzy crooner on the opener "You'll Remember", a funky rapper on "Stay on the Ride", a folk storyteller on "Trapeze", a bona fide rocker on "Getting Ready", a piano balladeer on "Burgundy Shoes" and a Sam Cooke styled soul singer on "Heavenly Day" and that's just the first half of the record.



She's dabbled in most of these styles at times throughout her career, but in each case never more successfully than here. While many loved her rocking out on the title track to "Flaming Red", she's clearly brought her rock to new heights with "Getting Ready". Her Emmylou duet on "Trapeze" is as gorgeous a song as she's ever done, and as piano ballads go, none rank with "Burgundy Shoes".



Tracks 7-12 are a little less diverse than the lead 6 tracks, although "No Bad News" sounds like a perfect choice for the next Dixie Chicks single to me; a toe tapping countryish rocker with an infectious acoustic guitar riff driving it home. Apparently, this song is inspired by none other than our president, which only makes the song more enjoyable for me.



I can continue discussing the record track by track, but really there's no point. Patty's incomparable as a songwriter - she writes great melodies, thoughtful lyrics and does a wonderful job putting these songs together. Then this record, really for the first time, reveals her incredible singing - in all the varying styles I mentioned - and it is just a beatifully produced record. The strings, the percussion, the piano, all fit the songs just about as perfect as possible.



The only way Patty can sound better than on Children Running Through is in a live setting. If you get a chance to see her reveal that voice live, don't miss it. It's a real event."