PATTY GRIFFIN – Silver Bell – CD review

PATTY GRIFFIN
Silver Bell
UMC

An album that was lost in the midst of record company mergers and machinations, this was intended to be Patty Griffin’s third full length album. But like many others, it was shelved when A&M were taken over back in 2000. However, some of the songs managed to escape the fire with the Dixie Chicks covering ‘Truth #2’ on their 2002 album “Home”, and lead chick, Natalie Maines, singing ‘Silver Bell’ on her solo debut, “Mother”, as well as Griffin herself tackling some of them.

So, was it worth the wait? Well, we’ll never really know as Griffin brought in Glyn Johns to strip away the glossy production of Daniel Lanois, which means it now sounds more like a modern Patty Griffin record. Which is a good thing, but it would have been nice to compare versions. However, what we do have is quality.

There are a handful of tracks here, that are as good as anything she’s recorded with the aforementioned, Emmylou Harris enhanced ‘Truth #2’, the best of them all. Elsewhere, the likes of ‘Sooner Or Later’, ‘So Long’ and ‘Driving’ would sit happily on any of her later and lauded releases.

A lot of things get shelved for good reason, but this isn’t one of them. Recommended.

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