Boston's Patty Larkin remains a cult curio despite a string of fine folk records featuring her original songs. This one has plenty of delicate moments showcasing her finely-crafted acoustic guitar playing, the best being 'Booth of Glass' and 'Helen'. Elsewhere the upbeat 'Do Not Disturb' and 'Pundits & Poets' ring with sly humour.
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Translucent Soul Ellis Paul 1998 [Philo]
As the cornerstone of the Boston school of songwriting, Paul is an important figure in the modern folk revival. As one might expect from its title, this is widely regarded as his most confessional album. It is all played out in the modern folk-pop style Paul helped create, although artistically things are markedly more serious than on previous efforts.
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Cry, Cry, Cry Cry Cry Cry 1998 [Razor & Tie]
Get three of the best songwriters in folk together for an album and it would be reasonable to expect an outpouring of originality. Not the case here, with Richard Shindell, Lucy Kaplansky and Dar Williams opting to do a set of covers. Along the way a few of the lesser-known troubadours of modern folk get some well-deserved attention.
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Sylvia Hotel Cheryl Wheeler 1999 [Philo]
Wheeler can go from upbeat contemporary, to trashy urban, then intimate traditional folk in the blink of an eye. On 'Unworthy' and 'Potato' she also proves no slouch at folksy humour either. Just when you think the smorgasbord is full, there's a sly slice of bluesy roots on the feline 'Meow'. A little disjointed, but plenty of varietal spice.
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Ten Year Night Lucy Kaplansky 1999 [Red House]
With successive albums Lucy Kaplansky is taking a much greater role in penning her own songs. With the exception of a Steve Earle cover, all the tracks here were co-written with husband Richard Litvin. Playing a lightweight alt-folk style similar to that of Suzanne Vega, Kaplansky examines the ups and downs of middle age with great aplomb.
Somewhere Near Paterson Richard Shindell 2000 [Signature]
While many would opt for 1992's Sparrows Point as Shindell's best, this is the album that found his star on the rise following a successful collaboration with Dar Williams and Lucy Kaplansky who cameo here. The set consists of sparse confessional singer/songwriter material with the occasional string backing. Not the cheeriest album around.
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The Company You Keep John Gorka 2001 [Red House]
While significant commercial success to match his critical accolades always seems to evade singer/songwriter Gorka, there are few who would deny that his recorded output is of a consistently high quality. Friends Ani DiFranco, Patty Larkin, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and Lucy Kaplansky all lend a hand with some typically intelligent observations.
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1000 Kisses Patti Griffin 2002 [ATO]
It was a long wait, but 1000 Kisses was well worth it. Griffin hits home and flaunts her Boston/Cambridge folk heritage on this instrumentally sparse set of mostly originals. By 2004's Impossible Dream her music would become more polished and produced, but Kisses is the record her fans truly adore. One listen shows there's good reason for that.
