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Patty LarkinCountry of origin:U.S. Type of music generally:Contemporary folk / pop Status:Most recent release, Still Green (2013) See also:Official Patty Larkin page Comparisons:Susan Werner, Cheryl Wheeler, Christine Lavin, Dar Williams. (Sherlyn.Koo) Covers/own material:Mainly her own material, with a few covers. General comments:Patty Larkin has described her music as "folk music meets the Beat Generation meets rock n roll"—a blend of folk and pop, with a good dose of humour and a twist of rock. Patty has been a part of the New England folk scene for many years, and has won a record nine Boston Music Awards. She is a fantastic guitar player with a wonderful voice, and is also an excellent songwriter with a slightly skewed sense of humour. Well worth checking out. (Sherlyn.Koo) Comments about live performance:live, patty larkin delivers a smorgasbord of nifty rocked-up numbers and personal insanity (the channeling of carmen miranda was one particularly inspired moment). (woj@smoe.org) Recommended first album:Live in the Square for folk fans, Strangers World for ecto fans. Recordings:
Step Into The LightRelease info:1985—Philo—PH 1103 Availability:Fairly available in the U.S. Ecto priority:Recommended for folk fans. Group members:Patty Larkin—vocals, six string guitar, high string guitar, electric guitar, accordion Guest artists:Emily Bruell—viola Produced by:Gragg Lunsford and Patty Larkin Comments:Step Into the Light is a pretty good debut album, although in my opinion Larkin hadn't quite hit her vocal stride when this was recorded. In fact, the first few times I heard this album I didn't think it even sounded like her at all. Still, the album is nicely produced and contains some great songs ranging from Patty's specialty, ballads about love ("Valentine", "Day to Day") to more upbeat, humourous numbers ("Caffeine", "Not Bad for a Broad"). A record that grows on you the more you listen to it—recommended for fans of Larkin's more folky work. (Sherlyn.Koo) I'm FineRelease info:1987—Philo—PH 1115 Availability:Fairly available in the U.S. Ecto priority:Recommended for folk fans. Group members:Patty Larkin—vocals, acoustic guitar Guest artists:Tony Allen—drums Produced by:Darleen Wilson, also co-produced by Patty Larkin and Gragg Lunsford Comments:I'm Fine is another very good effort from Larkin, following much the same vein as her debut Step Into the Light. Again, the album is nicely produced (this time by Darleen Wilson), with some excellent songs, including the title track, "Justine" and "Rescue Me". The Philo version of this album also includes four tracks taken from Patty's debut, most likely for marketing reasons. As with the first album, I'm Fine is recommended for fans of Larkin's more folky work. (Sherlyn.Koo) Live in the SquareRelease info:1990—Philo—PH 1136 Availability:Fairly available in the U.S. Ecto priority:Highly recommended for folk fans Group members:Patty Larkin: vocals, acoustic guitar Guest artists:Richard Gates—bass Produced by:Darleen Wilson Comments:Live in the Square is a wonderful album, showcasing as it does both Larkin's captivating live performance and her slightly twisted sense of humour. Included here are some hilarious gems unlikely to ever be recorded in the studio, such as "Me", "I'm White" and "At the Mall"; wonderful covers of "The Letter" and Andy Barnes' "The Last Leviathan"; and of course the usual ballads, mostly taken from Patty's earlier albums. I love this album; I don't think there's a weak track here. Highly recommended for all folk fans. (Sherlyn.Koo) TangoRelease info:1991—High Street Records—72902 10312-2 Availability:Available in the U.S. Ecto priority:Highly recommended for folk fans Group members:Patty Larkin: vocals, acoustic guitar Guest artists:Darol Anger—violin Produced by:Will Ackerman and Patty Larkin Comments:Patty Larkin's High Street debut is another excellent album. The production is a little sparser than on Larkin's first two albums, which works to great effect in bringing her voice and guitar to the forefront. Standout tracks include "Chained to These Lovin' Arms", the title track and the powerful "Metal Drums", a song about toxic waste dumping in Holbrook, Massachusetts. (Sherlyn.Koo) Angels RunningRelease Info:1993—High Street Records—72902 10318-2 Availability:Available in the U.S. Ecto priority:Recommended for folk fans Group members:Patty Larkin—vocals, guitar, mandolin, accordion Guest artists:Jonatha Brooke—vocals Produced by:Ben Wisch Comments:Angels Running is a slightly erratic effort which assembles Larkin's most impressive backing cast yet. It contains some of the most beautiful ballads Larkin has written to date, including "Good Thing" and "I Told Him That My Dog Wouldn't Run" (with gorgeous backing vocals by Mary Chapin Carpenter). Other standout tracks include the guitar solo "Banish Misfortune / Open Hand" and "Who Holds Your Hand", which features guest vocals by Jennifer Kimball and Jonatha Brooke of The Story. Some of the tracks don't quite seem to gel but overall this is a fairly good album, recommended for people who liked Larkin's previous album Tango. (Sherlyn.Koo) Strangers WorldRelease info:1995—High Street Records—72902 10335-2 Availability:Available in the U.S. Ecto priority:Highly recommended for both folk and ecto fans. Group members:Patty Larkin—vocals, electric guitar, acoustic tremolo guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar. Guest artists:Jonatha Brooke—vocals Produced by:John Leventhal and Patty Larkin Comments:Strangers World is quite a departure from the folky sound of Larkin's previous albums. With the aid of the multi-talented John Leventhal and with added contributions by Ben Wisch and Pierre Marchand, Larkin's sixth album has more of an ethereal feel than anything else she has done so far (not surprising when you consider Marchand's CV). With guest appearances by Bruce Cockburn, Shawn Colvin, Jonatha Brooke and Jennifer Kimball, the lineup is impressive, and this album certainly does not disappoint. For a change, the songs focus more on hope than on love; the general atmosphere of the album itself is introspective and moody, yet hopeful at the same time. Standout tracks include "Johnny was a Pyro", "Me and This Train" and "Mary Magdalene". Highly recommended, both for folk fans and for ecto fans who are interested in hearing Larkin for the first time. (Sherlyn.Koo) Perishable FruitRelease info:1997—High Street Records—72902-10354-2 Availability:Available in the U.S. Ecto priority:Recommended for folk fans Group Members:Patty Larkin—vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, bazouki, national steel, electric slide guitar, acoustic slide guitar, beach guitar Guest artists:Bruce Cockburn—backing vocals, acoustic guitar Produced by:Patty Larkin Comments:"Plucked, thumped and sampled on stringed instruments" reads the back of this album. But don't be fooled. Despite the concept (even the percussion was produced by using brushes against steel strings and sticks against guitar bodies), this is not a concept album. Rather, Larkin's music seems to have gained new degrees of freedom—these songs are simply happy to be themselves. Even the simplest song here seems to dictate its own pace—for once the music is ruling the production, not the other way around. The best tracks on this album are the incredibly catchy "Wolf at the Door", a nonsensical groove tune about (I think) an encounter with celebrity; "The Road", a song which perfectly conveys the pace of the highway; and "Brazil", an atmospheric love song. Other excellent tracks include "Coming Up for Air", with breathy guest vocals by Jane Siberry, and the slightly absurd "The Book I'm Not Reading". Overall, this is an excellent album, laid back yet tight in all the right places. Highly recommended. (Sherlyn.Koo) a gogo: Live On TourRelease info:1999—Vanguard Records—79547-2 Availability:Wide Ecto priority:Highly recommended Group members:Patty Larkin Produced by:Patty Larkin and Bette Warner; Associate Producer Ron Schreier Comments:It's really good. I wish she had put in some between song banter though. It's an interesting mix of songs—6 from Angels Running, 4 from Strangers World, and only 2 from Perishable Fruit. And a few others. I don't know why the back catalogue is more prevalent on the album. Still the versions (all solo I think) are energetic and refreshing, and even the songs I don't like that much on the studio albums, I like much better here. (JoAnn Whetsell) regrooving the dreamRelease info:2000—Vanguard Records—79552-2 Availability:Wide Ecto priority:Highly recommended Group members:Patty Larkin—vocals, electric guitar loop, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, octave mandolin, keyboards, accordion, acoustic slide, harmonica, bass, lapsteel, backing vocals Guest artists:Ben Wittman—drums, rods, brushes, dumbek, lapsteel percussion Produced by:Patty Larkin and Bette Warner (1 song co-produced by John Leventhal) Comments:This album is pretty good—nothing really grabbed me like her last two have, but I think it's going to grow on me pretty quickly. It is complex, lush, and nothing like what she's doing live. (meth@smoe.org) Red=LuckRelease info:2003—Vanguard Records—79727-2 Availability:Wide Ecto priority:Highly recommended Group members:Patty Larkin—vocals, acoustic, electric, slide, baritone, 12-string & 12-string electric guitars, piano, octave mandolin, accordion, lapsteel percussion, harmonica, backing vocals Guest artists:Ben Wittman—loops, drums, drum loops, percussion Produced by:Patty Larkin, Bette Warner & Ben Wittman Comments:If you like Patty's earlier releases, you'll like the songs on Red=Luck, a fresh mix of Patty's brand of folk/rock. If you're into harmonies, you're in for a treat. Patty has lots of guests on backing vocals (and contributes her own too), and they move many of the songs from being merely very good to really memorable. (JoAnn Whetsell) Watch the SkyRelease info:2008—Vanguard—79851-2 Availability:Wide Ecto priority:Recommended Group members:Patty Larkin—vocals; baribow, acoustic, electric, baritone, bass, acoustic slide, baritone slide, lap steel, slapsteel, National Steel, and nylon string guitars; bass; banjo; bazouki; drum loops; toy organ; door chimes Produced by:Patty Larkin Comments:I really want to love Patty's new album, her first completely DIY album, ...but I don't. I don't dislike it either, and maybe that's worse. Only because it would at least mean a strong reaction. And because sometimes active dislike translates, with adjustment, into like and even adoration. But Watch the Sky kind of leaves me flat. I love the song "Hallelujah," which I find the most memorable and the only song that demands repeat listening. I like all 3 opening tracks in fact, but after that it just kind of gets flat, and when it's over I don't really remember much about it. When I listen carefully to the whole album I don't really have any complaints, but it just doesn't really do anything for me. In sound it's like some of Red=Luck and Regrooving the Dream (both of which I mostly love) and I also hear the influence of some of the earlier women on the La Guitara album (earlier in terms of history, not album order). I wish I'd seen Patty earlier this year; maybe hearing the songs live would have helped me appreciate the album more. (JoAnn Whetsell) 25Release info:2010—Road Narrows Records/Signature Sounds Recordings—SIG 2028 Availability:Wide Ecto priority:Highly recommended Group members:Patty Larkin Guest artists:Martin Sexton—guest vocals, whistle (1–1) Produced by:Patty Larkin and 25 Friends; Frank Gallagher (1–7) Comments:Instead of releasing a traditional retrospective, Patty decided to celebrate her 25 years in recorded music more creatively, by recording 25 of her songs, love songs, with 25 friends. The songs are gently reworked for the most part, and the result is an intimate record that reveals more with each listen. (JoAnn Whetsell) Still GreenRelease info:2013—Signature Sounds—SIG 2057 Availability:Wide Ecto priority:Highly recommended Group members:Patty Larkin—vocals, guitars, bass, piano, mandolin, octave mandolin, loops, organ, keyboards Guest artists:Catherine Bent—cello Produced by:Mike Denneen and Patty Larkin Comments:I keep trying to describe why I like Patty's new album so much, but having failed, I'll just say that it's a really good folk album with a laidback feel, a bit like Perishable Fruit though not as lush. (JoAnn Whetsell) Further info:
Thanks to Sherlyn Koo and JoAnn Whetsell for work on this entry.
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