27-07-2025, 10:11
PATTY GRIFFIN ~ Crown of Roses
![[Image: Patty_Griffin_-_Crown_of_Roses.png]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/ac/Patty_Griffin_-_Crown_of_Roses.png)
It’s difficult to listen to this album. I draw a comparison with Joni’s Blue – naked pain and emotion, all laid bare for the listener – no holding back – the absolute truth. This makes for an extremely impactful experience, but also one that is not easy! One almost feels a tad voyeuristic, in parts.
Musically, the guitarwork is great – diverse styles, accomplished playing, a mix of electric and acoustic, and the strings too convey exactly that tug of melancholy that fits with many of these words. Patty had a battle with cancer and then a bad respiratory condition (possibly as a result of her cancer treatment) that changed her voice forever – very scary thing for a singer - and then her Mom, with whom she had a complex relationship, passed, and this is her working it all out. Therapy, I suppose. To one degree or another I think many will be able to identify with what she is saying – none of us escapes unscathed when it comes to loss.
At around 40 minutes, it’s not a long album but in terms of gut wrench, it’s much more than that. Not necessarily depressing as there is redemption and hope along the way. Unflinchingly honest and beautifully done, but hard to hear.
Tracklisting:
"Back at the Start"
Tex mex guitars (think Calexico) courtesy of David Pulkingham, this is a driving, hooky upbeat opener with a bit of a murky heart. Patty’s voice is raw and cracked – it’s a philosophical tale of having and losing, and ultimately, what that means. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsq-d4wcHR8
"Born in a Cage"
Is obviously a metaphor but I’m not clever enough to work out exactly what that is. A loss of joy, of spontaneity, or literally of more and more of our natural environs due to urban creep? Or are we all now being born in a ‘cage’ – the confines, expectations and dictates of an ever increasingly mad and dictatorial society? Or both? Open to interpretation, I guess. I dunno. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLABCkKhkac
"The End"
I think this speaks to several events - her experience with her voice and cancer, and the journey she’s on now, perforce, and then the death of her mother. How just when you think things can’t get worse, they do, and then you have to start depending on others – become incredibly vulnerable or having to see others become that way. A terrible sadness and a humbling of sorts and then finding the courage to carry on in any case. Lots of deep dark strings on this one, and this is where I really feel that pain – raw emotion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfA6ISXkheQ
"Long Time"
This one is about being in a valley of despair and the effort of will it takes to climb out of a pit of misery. Extremely painful. Hushed on the hand, and on the other, a jangling persistent guitar driving the message home - very blues oriented. There is a tiny little background vocal here, from Robert Plant, her erstwhile partner - given the collaboration, they seem to have remained friendly but whatever the cause of the breakdown of the relationship was – that loss too is still there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7iF7EBwqAQ
"All the Way Home"
Moving up a bit now and back to the Calexico like vibes. This might be a paean to her mother – rather than a dirge. Of all the songs on the album, this is the one that has stayed and played in my head the most - so far! Maybe it's the Spanish guitar thing, which I like.
"Way Up to the Sky"
A simple acoustic ballad – another where you are not sure who this is about. It doesn’t really matter – I can imagine it being universal and the words fitting for many. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3OOim9_OVg
"I Know a Way"
Finding a way forward in gospel-tinged mode. This simply says that new paths can be forged, new ways of seeing and being. Not exactly ‘Hallelujah! I have seen the light’, but something along those lines! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly8CV5NCtJQ
"A Word"
Pondering the mystery of life and love and accepting that we will never know all the answers – about seeing the precious things in life – those that really matter once everything known is stripped away. I think this is also a love letter to her mother, and probably to any of her lost loves. It’s simple, heartfelt, and helped along by gorgeous strings. It closes out the album on a less than mournful note. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke4Zzo_6RAM
I posted “Born in a Cage” on New and Notable, so here’s “All the Way Home” …
It’s difficult to listen to this album. I draw a comparison with Joni’s Blue – naked pain and emotion, all laid bare for the listener – no holding back – the absolute truth. This makes for an extremely impactful experience, but also one that is not easy! One almost feels a tad voyeuristic, in parts.
Musically, the guitarwork is great – diverse styles, accomplished playing, a mix of electric and acoustic, and the strings too convey exactly that tug of melancholy that fits with many of these words. Patty had a battle with cancer and then a bad respiratory condition (possibly as a result of her cancer treatment) that changed her voice forever – very scary thing for a singer - and then her Mom, with whom she had a complex relationship, passed, and this is her working it all out. Therapy, I suppose. To one degree or another I think many will be able to identify with what she is saying – none of us escapes unscathed when it comes to loss.
At around 40 minutes, it’s not a long album but in terms of gut wrench, it’s much more than that. Not necessarily depressing as there is redemption and hope along the way. Unflinchingly honest and beautifully done, but hard to hear.
Tracklisting:
"Back at the Start"
Tex mex guitars (think Calexico) courtesy of David Pulkingham, this is a driving, hooky upbeat opener with a bit of a murky heart. Patty’s voice is raw and cracked – it’s a philosophical tale of having and losing, and ultimately, what that means. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsq-d4wcHR8
"Born in a Cage"
Is obviously a metaphor but I’m not clever enough to work out exactly what that is. A loss of joy, of spontaneity, or literally of more and more of our natural environs due to urban creep? Or are we all now being born in a ‘cage’ – the confines, expectations and dictates of an ever increasingly mad and dictatorial society? Or both? Open to interpretation, I guess. I dunno. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLABCkKhkac
"The End"
I think this speaks to several events - her experience with her voice and cancer, and the journey she’s on now, perforce, and then the death of her mother. How just when you think things can’t get worse, they do, and then you have to start depending on others – become incredibly vulnerable or having to see others become that way. A terrible sadness and a humbling of sorts and then finding the courage to carry on in any case. Lots of deep dark strings on this one, and this is where I really feel that pain – raw emotion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfA6ISXkheQ
"Long Time"
This one is about being in a valley of despair and the effort of will it takes to climb out of a pit of misery. Extremely painful. Hushed on the hand, and on the other, a jangling persistent guitar driving the message home - very blues oriented. There is a tiny little background vocal here, from Robert Plant, her erstwhile partner - given the collaboration, they seem to have remained friendly but whatever the cause of the breakdown of the relationship was – that loss too is still there. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7iF7EBwqAQ
"All the Way Home"
Moving up a bit now and back to the Calexico like vibes. This might be a paean to her mother – rather than a dirge. Of all the songs on the album, this is the one that has stayed and played in my head the most - so far! Maybe it's the Spanish guitar thing, which I like.
"Way Up to the Sky"
A simple acoustic ballad – another where you are not sure who this is about. It doesn’t really matter – I can imagine it being universal and the words fitting for many. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3OOim9_OVg
"I Know a Way"
Finding a way forward in gospel-tinged mode. This simply says that new paths can be forged, new ways of seeing and being. Not exactly ‘Hallelujah! I have seen the light’, but something along those lines! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ly8CV5NCtJQ
"A Word"
Pondering the mystery of life and love and accepting that we will never know all the answers – about seeing the precious things in life – those that really matter once everything known is stripped away. I think this is also a love letter to her mother, and probably to any of her lost loves. It’s simple, heartfelt, and helped along by gorgeous strings. It closes out the album on a less than mournful note. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ke4Zzo_6RAM
I posted “Born in a Cage” on New and Notable, so here’s “All the Way Home” …
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson
