State of Grace, Pierce Pettis' latest album, is a series of celebrations of and ponderings about our homes, temporal and eternal. Celebration dominates, however, as this album is much lighter in atmosphere than either of his two previous albums.
This is not to say that Pettis's lyrics are either lightweight or unrealistic. Pettis has lost none of his ability to create thoughtful and thought-provoking songs, either writing on his own or with others. Pettis also demonstrates his skills as an interpreter of others' songs. The album begins, as have his last two albums, with a cover of a Mark Heard song. Pettis makes "Rise from the Ruins" his own with the instrumental arrangement, but the song is still recognizably Heard's expression of hope for restoration. Pettis's rocking cover of Bob Dylan's "Down in the Flood" is also a treat: Dylan's writing sung by a pleasant voice.
Several of the songs are notable for their celebration of earthly homes. The title cut is a tribute to Pettis's home state of Alabama. "A Mountaineer Is Always Free" celebrates co-writer Tim O'Brien's home state of West Virginia. Both songs are quite catchy, and it wouldn't surprise me if either was used in tourism commercials for the states by which they were inspired. "Moontown" is an ode to the positives of small town life that features Pettis's knack for clever lyrics:
Tourists stop for gas
All heading southbound for Orlando
Wondering how we ever stand it here
Stuck in this dry county
No Budweiser, No Black Label
But we can dream you under the table
Here in Moontown....
"Georgia Moon" and "Little River Canyon" are looks back to Pettis' youth. In the latter, Pettis mixes some humor with the nostalgia, singing of his teen years when he and his friends were "at the height of adolescence / totally insane / with heads more full of hormones than brains."
Pettis doesn't focus exclusively on earthly homes. "We Will Meet Again" and "I've Got a Hope" express his longings and hopes beyond this earth. The latter is a perfect end for the album, sung with conviction and power:
I try not to forget
That every hair is numbered
Every footstep, every breath
And this life that I am living
It will not end in death
I've got a hope...that is not in this world.
The musical arrangements use a wider variety of instruments than in the previous two albums, which were more guitar-dominated. Pettis adds some harmonica to his guitar playing. Tim O'Brien plays mandolin and bouzouki, Stuart Duncan plays fiddle, and Alison Brown plays banjo.
Garry West's production makes this album pleasant to listen to without seeming overly polished. The whole album has a rootsy feel and sound to it that makes it excellent listening for those journeys home.
4 tocks
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Ken MuellerHaving been a fan of Pierce Pettis for quite some time after discovering his first three releases, I was a bit disappointed in his last two discs, and was a bit curious about State of Grace. Fortunately, this latest release from Compass Records sees Pettis reverting a bit to the earthier, rootsier, grittier sound of his earliest work. His first three albums, Tinseltown, While the Serpent Lies…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Chris MacIntoshState of Grace is the sixth full release from this amazing singer/songwriter and is perhaps his best yet. I have only seen Pierce in concert once, at the Cornerstone festival back in 1992, where he accompanied Mark Heard in what was to be Mark's final show. In the last ten years he has released a series of albums that keep getting better and better. His voice and guitar are two equal extensions…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Steve StockmanPierce Pettis's work has always been rooted in southern red clay but his new one seems to be a deeper study into the lives of those located south of the Mason-Dixon line. The packaging is littered with old photographs of such a life and the cover is a painting by Georgian folk artist Rev Howard Finster. The title track, "Little River Canyon," "Moontown, " and "Georgia Moon" are the songs that…Similar sounding releases
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