The Last of the True Believers
Studio album by
Nanci Griffith
Released1986
RecordedOctober 7–9, 1985
StudioJack Clement's Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa, Nashville, Tennessee
GenreCountry
Length35:16
LabelPhilo
ProducerJim Rooney and Nanci Griffith[1]
Nanci Griffith chronology
Once in a Very Blue Moon
(1985)		 The Last of the True Believers
(1986)		 Lone Star State of Mind
(1987)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert ChristgauB−[3]

The Last of the True Believers is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith, released in 1986 by Philo Records. The acclaim accorded her from her previous album, Once in a Very Blue Moon, and this album earned her a contract with a major recording company. Here, Griffith continued her turn toward a more country-oriented work than her first two albums, which were primarily folk-sounding. It also includes two songs which were later hits for Kathy Mattea, "Love at the Five and Dime" from Walk the Way the Wind Blows (1986) and "Goin' Gone", her first number one, from Untasted Honey (1987).

Cover

The photograph on the album cover contains several references to the album's songs. A couple can be seen dancing behind Griffith standing in front of a Woolworth's store as described in "Love at the Five and Dime". The male dancer is Lyle Lovett, who also appears on the album as a vocalist. The man standing at far left is John T. Davis, at the time a music writer for the Austin American-Statesman.

As with other Griffith albums, she is pictured holding books by and/or about southern writers. On the front cover, she is holding a copy of The Kindness of Strangers: The Life of Tennessee Williams by Donald Spoto. On the back cover, she is clutching Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.[4][5]

Accolades and recognition

The album was included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.[6]

It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 29th Annual Grammy Awards.[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Nanci Griffith except where noted otherwise

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."The Last of the True Believers" 2:47
2."Love at the Five and Dime" 4:33
3."St. Olav's Gate"Tom Russell3:03
4."More Than a Whisper"
  • Griffith
  • Bobby Nelson
3:42
5."Banks of the Pontchartrain" 3:39
6."Lookin' for the Time (Workin' Girl)" 2:43
7."Goin' Gone"
4:19
8."One of These Days" 2:54
9."Love's Found a Shoulder" 2:19
10."Fly by Night" 2:36
11."The Wing and the Wheel" 2:41

Personnel

  • Nanci Griffith – vocals, harmony vocals, acoustic guitar
  • Philip Donnelly – electric guitar
  • Pat Alger – acoustic and high-string guitar
  • Rick West – acoustic guitar, mandolin
  • Roy Huskey Jr. – double bass
  • Ralph Vitello – piano
  • Lloyd Green – dobro, pedal steel
  • Béla Fleck – banjo
  • Mark O'Connor – mandolin, violin, mandola
  • John Catchings – cello
  • Kenny Malone – drums, percussion
  • Lyle Lovett – harmony vocals
  • Pros and Cons Harmony Choir (Nanci Griffith, Marlin "Griff" Griffith, Richard Dobson, Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, Tom Russell) – harmony vocals on "St. Olav's Gate"
  • Rachel Peer Prine – harmony vocals on "More Than a Whisper"
  • Maura O'Connell – harmony vocals on "Banks of the Pontchartrain"
  • Curtis Allen – harmony vocals on "Fly By Night"
  • Gove Scrivenor – autoharp on "Goin' Gone"
  • Robin Batteau – violin on "The Wing and The Wheel"

Track listing and personnel from the album's liner notes.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 The Last of the True Believers (liner notes). Nanci Griffith. Philco. 1986. PH-1109.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ↑ AllMusic review
  3. ↑ Robert Christgau Consumer Guide
  4. ↑ Hawkeye Hurst: Nanci Griffith Would Write Even If They Took The Music Away, orlandosentinel.com, August 31, 1986
  5. ↑ The Nanci Users Guide Archived March 27, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (February 7, 2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 0-7893-1371-5.
  7. ↑ Nanci Griffith, grammy.com
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