Children Running Through

The next album from my list that I am hearing is Children Running Through by Patty Griffin. Griffin is a singer-songwriter from Maine that has been recording for over fourteen years. Her songs have been covered by a few country artists, including the Dixie Chicks and Emmylou Harris. While her sound is primarily associated with folk music, she sometimes drifts into classic soul and rock music. She has a sweet, bluesy voice that complements her musical style.

#99 – Patty Griffin, Children Running Through (Metascore = 87)

Children Running Through starts with the quiet ballad “You’ll Remember”. The second song, “Stay on the Ride”, is completely different. “Stay on the Ride” is a soulful number, Griffin using her soulful side to tell the story about the path that will always take you somewhere. Her voice is really strong here and should have been released as a single. This is a great tune.

Joining Griffin on “Trapeze” is Emmylou Harris, another artist with an album on my list of albums (to discuss later). Harris’ voice harmonizes easily with Griffin’s as they tell the story of a trapeze artist who has gone through her share of troubles and heartaches during her life. This song also should have been a single. “Getting Ready” is the next song on the album, and at this point I have to say listening to her is like listening to Sheryl Crow with better songwriting. Whereas Sheryl Crow started recording a few years earlier and had some good songs early, her songwriting has sort of fallen off in favor of those that are hits and the rest of the album is filler. Griffin’s songs during the album have all been at least pretty strong. You can hear that in the aforementioned songs as well as “Getting Ready” and “Burning Shoes”. Not all of them are winners (“No Bad News”, “Getting Ready”), but they’re not bad either.

“Heavenly Day” was actually one of the two singles actually released from the album, and it is one of the best tracks from the album. Just listening to her sing the words (along with the rest of the lyrics) and you just feel like today is the best day—no worries, no concerns, just happiness. “Up to the Mountain (MLK Song)” was the second single from the album and also is very highly regarded. The song was originally covered by Solomon Burke before Griffin recorded her own version, and it has been recorded by other artists as well. Just as the title refers, the song is about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s famed “I’ve Been on the Moutaintop” speech, which he did before his assassination. The song itself is very inspirational while never feeling overwhelmed by the strings or other background instruments; in a lot of ways, it’s just Griffin and the piano.

Overall, I have found Children Running Through to be a pleasant album to hear. Is it the best album I have heard so far? No, but Griffin’s performance throughout the album is impassioned and beautiful and makes the album definitely worth a listen.