Search - Patty Larkin :: Regrooving the Dream

Multi-faceted Patty Keeps Pushing The Envelope

Meathook Williams | Warwick, Massachusetts | 08/09/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With each new album, Patty Larkin expands from her folk roots into uncharted realms both as a performer and songwriter. To these we must now add producer as well. Co-producing (with Bette Warner) her latest "Regrooving The Dream", Patty has absolutely mastered the studio and tamed it to serve her whims. The aural magic that only someone comfortable wearing all three caps can craft is blissfully evident here. This patchwork of sonic landscapes and spellbinding lyricism is even more dynamic and emotional than we've come to expect from this now seasoned artist. From her days as a street busker and Boston's "Best Kept Secret" she's matured into the complete artisan shown here, garnering a whopping eleven Boston Music Awards along the way. Her supple pipes suit her tremendously diverse repertoire to a T, and are among the very best anywhere. Her lyrics wend from the weary to the provocative, from the playfully absurd to the tragic. A Berklee alum, her guitar styles are often astonishingly beautiful, from intimate yet forceful chordings to molten slide work. Among the several other instruments she plays (all quite well) is my old favorite, the accordian, used to marvellous effect on the rai tinged "Anyway The Main Thing Is", my favorite track. Talk about rockin' the Casbah. Between the squeezebox and the "manic mariachi" horn section, you could be in pre-war Algiers. Unafraid to take the "path less often travelled", but obviously pouring her heart into this project, she's put together a masterpiece of americana. Well chosen cohorts like Marc Shulman, Glen Velez and the eclectic Mike Rivard, serve to round out her sound, never intruding, acting as extensions of her own voice. Exemplary sonics add even more impetus to an already winning work. This contemplative gem surely counts as a classic without genre, often the very best kind. Exploratory, yet at the same time, supremely confident, Larkin's omniverous musical vision has struck paydirt once again."

Regrooving is soooo fine!

Douglas Stapleton | Chicago, IL USA | 07/27/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"another sharp and powerful album by patty larkin. this one strikes me as slightly more composed, with a quiet restraint- similiar in feeling to pershiable fruits. what it reminds me of is someone whispering to my ear, or reading me a story at night- private, complicit conversations. the songwriting is great- i think sparser - with a quality like litany- listings and repetitions of thoughts and phrases that give a mood and insistent to the work. the guitar work is patty as ususual- amazing - and the production is just surprising at times- those horns! i wont say more."

So Much Talent

Stuart Weaver | 08/22/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Seeing Patty Larkin live got me hooked, but this is her best album yet. She is one of the best female guitarists out there, and her lyrics are all worth listening to. This is a great investment for anyone who wants to hear excellent singer/songwriter-with-an-edge music."