Classic Americana Albums: Nanci Griffith “One Fair Summer Evening”

MCA, 1988

Quality songcraft and small club ambience.

Cover art for Nacni Griffith "One Fair Summer Evening"A smattering of crowd noise, then a quiet voice announces “Y’all welcome…Nanci Griffith”, and we’re spirited back to a warm Texas night in 1988, at the Anderson Fair, an old music hall in Houston.

“One Fair Summer Evening” is the document of that show (actually a combination of two shows on successive nights), and it captures a performer at the very peak of her powers. Live albums are a difficult thing to pull off, often because the energy of the moment does not translate so well from the show’s sound system to small home speakers. Given the intimacy and lack of volume at small shows, folk performers often come off better in this, and this record is testament to that.

Griffith was in the middle of a purple patch, having released stand out albums “The Last of the True Believers” (1986), “Lone Star State of Mind” (1987) and “Little Love Affairs” (1988) which established her as a writer of immense skill and poignancy. She was at pains to make the connection with the literary world, with two of those covers featuring prominently placed books, while her best songs had a storytelling strength behind them, tiny character studies wrapped in delicate melodies.

So, why choose a live album over any of those, as being a classic? Partly because, just occasionally, her studio albums could slightly overwhelm the subtlety of the songs, with production which was a little too enveloping. Mainly, though, because the extra dimension of Griffith onstage is an essential part of what made her so special. To hear these songs close to their original genesis, with just Griffith’s skilled picking and the elegant piano of regular collaborator James Hooker, is a gift that goes on giving.

A case in point is one of her greatest songs, “Love at the Five and Dime”, a tale of a couple who are nothing particularly remarkable, but in Griffith’s hands, their story unfolds like a novel. It traces the highs and lows of Eddie and Rita, a couple who have their travails, but end up with something like a happy ever after, or at least, a normal ever after, even though Eddie has withdrawn from the music scene ‘when arthritis took his hands’ to sell insurance, and Rita is still working at the local Woolworth store. The heartfelt final words, where they dance together to the radio in the kitchen, is such a warm image. Where it wins out over the album version, is that it showcases an exceptional guitar part by Griffith which is somewhat lost in the original…but even more, because it also showcases how easily Griffith can work an audience, with an extended spoken intro which is both hilariously off-kilter yet somehow on-point.

This is a theme in the album, with entertaining spoken interludes illuminating the songs that follow; and the songs, when they come, are beautifully represented in their stripped back acoustic settings. As a result, the focus is on the words, and that is just where it should be, with Griffith handpicking some of her very finest, from the small-time farmer in “Trouble In The Fields“, to the odd combination of strength and fragility in “More Than A Whisper”.

On top of this, as she always did on those early albums, Griffith also covers other artists songs, though these are frequently under-rated writers. So there is a joyous version of Bill Staines’ “Roseville Fair”, which could easily be a Griffith song with it’s small town love story; Julie Gold’s “From a Distance”, which proved an important launching pad for both writer and artist; and possibly best of all, the intensely detailed “Deadwood, South Dakota” by Eric Taylor, who had been Griffith’s spouse for a few years, though they were separated by the time this album came out.

Griffith has a straightforward poetry to her musings on the characters she sings about, but it may not be intense enough for everyone’s tastes. There are no songs about depravity of behaviour, no drug-addled brains or suicide or the darkness in the human soul. What there is, in abundance, is an understanding and skilful rendition of the quiet existence of ‘ordinary’ lives, of people getting on with it, taking small pleasures where they can, trying to work out why their relationships work or don’t work; the themes are small, in a way. Small, but resonant; and with a depth that has enduring truths in there, if we can listen quietly and carefully enough to hear them. Her skill with a melody shouldn’t be underestimated either, which is why these songs still carry weight over thirty years on. It’s a record with a warmth running right through it; and if the world seems overwhelming at times, it’s worth remembering we can close our eyes, take a breath, feel the air around us, and take some joy in a fair summer evening.

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Dante Rebori

Great post about the marvelous Nanci Griffith!

jonathanauk

Thank you! Gotta love Nanci!

conormg

What a wonderfully tuned description this is of that very special record. I could almost feel I was there. Thank you.

jonathanauk

Thanks so much! I’m glad this record means a lot to other people, too.

Pete

Just so ya know,Nanci’s ex was the late,great Eric Taylor.

Martin Johnson
jonathanauk

Oh my goodness, of course he was! I’ve called him Anderson before, I think it’s because I associate him with this record so much, and it was recorded at the Anderson fair! (rolls eyes at self). Mea culpa , and thanks for the spot 😊

Alan Peatfield

Fell in love with Nanci back in the mid 80’s. My love affair continues to this day. For the last few years I’d heard that she wasn’t in good shape; in fact “quite poorly”. Does anyone know her current state of health??

Peter Pearson

Last I heard, she had had breast cancer but was recovering well.

Paul Kerr

Sad to hear that Nanci passed away today, a tragic coincidence.

jonathanauk

Such terribly sad news. As with all fine artists, her work will live on, and we are thankful to have it.

Paul davis

I remember listening to one fair summer evening looking out one afternoon over the plains of tsavo west in Kenya. It is still one of my favourite albums of all time .I just love her voice snd her story telling. I was really upset to hear of her passing I s as Keats thought one day I would hope to see her live. She has added something to my life I will never gorgrt

jonathanauk

Fantastic memories, Paul, what an image. I think Nanci has meant a lot to a lot of people

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