Lone Star State of Mind
Her first record for MCA: a step toward mainstream country, and the first From a Distance.
Nanci Griffith, 1987
- Released
- 1987
- Recorded
- July 1986
- Studio
- Soundstage and The Back Stage Studios, Nashville
- Label
- MCA
- Producer
- Tony Brown and Nanci Griffith
- Length
- 35:38
Her fifth album and first for MCA, recorded in Nashville in July 1986 and mixed by Steve Tillisch. Bela Fleck, Mark O'Connor, Lloyd Green and Russ Kunkel played, with Mac McAnally and Lucy Kaplansky on harmonies. It reached 23 on the US country albums chart, her best placing there, and number one on the UK country chart, where it stayed in the top 20 for over a year. The title song by Fred Koller, Pat Alger and Gene Levine made 36 on the country singles chart, one of only three Griffith singles to reach the country top 40.
AllMusic's Thom Owens heard her commercial breakthrough and her first direct step toward mainstream country. Robert Christgau gave it a B and thought she too often still sounded like a folkie.
Track listing
- Lone Star State of Mind3:56
- Cold Hearts/Closed Minds2:40
- From a Distance4:10
- Beacon Street2:49
- Nickel Dreams2:48
- Sing One for Sister3:20
- Ford Econoline2:10
- Trouble in the Fields3:18
- Love in a Memory3:17
- Let It Shine on Me2:59
- There's a Light Beyond These Woods4:21
Personnel
- Nanci Griffith acoustic guitar, vocals
- Pat Alger acoustic lead, hi-string guitar
- Bela Fleck banjo
- Lloyd Green dobro, pedal steel
- Mark O'Connor fiddle, mandolin, mandola, viola
- Russ Kunkel drums
- Mac McAnally acoustic guitar, harmony vocals
- Lucy Kaplansky harmony vocals
- John Barlow Jarvis piano
- Emory Gordy Jr. bass
More from Nanci Griffith
The Last of the True Believers (1986), Other Voices, Other Rooms (1993)
Sources
- Lone Star State of Mind, Wikipedia
- Nanci Griffith album notes, Mainly Norfolk