If you want to hear pure country from her, check out either The Last of the True Believers (was going to be my pick but I changed it at the last moment), Once In a Very Blue Moon or Lone Star State of Mind (I know: those titles, huh?). Her later albums tend to be a little more on the poppy side, and the ones before those kind of veer more in the folk direction.

Edit: Clare is a county in Ireland, which is why the song is titled "From Clare to Here". It's a lament from an Irish immigrant for his homeland. Not actually as old as I thought: written in 1976.

That chick in the Luke Bryan video looks like she’s older than me and holy **** his wife is hideous

What video? Nanci's 65 now, as it happens.

https://youtu.be/yjaQEZXvtdU

How is this country? This is the same stuff i heard on this album. :confused:

TBH I'm not sure where the divide with folk and country is, but this was her last with a label which concentrated on folk, so maybe there's folk in there. But to me it's always been a country album.
Try this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9C-huUmaxk
or this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo9CqczEnWI
or maybe this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZAxIcw8y1Q
They're all good songs.

"Folk" in the original sense was music passed on for generations from person to person, not through any recorded means like books or records. Folk is now called Traditional music. Most people consider American Folk Revival as "Folk" so what was once called Folk (originally) is now called Traditional Appalachian music. Even in Germany they make a distinction between Volksmusik and Volkstümliche Musik.

Country is really a genre of Pop music, and has its own charts like pop music does. Country includes influences are wide and varied from (Traditional) Folk, Country Blues. Cowboy Songs, Gospel, Western Swing, Bluegrass, Old Timey etc. Country can be broken up into things like Bakersfield sound, Nashville sound.

Bluegrass has five instruments:

1. Fiddle
2. Mandolin
3. (Acoustic) Guitar
4. Banjo
5. Stand-up Bass

There are no drums in Bluegrass, if you hear drums it's not Bluegrass or they're violating the Golden Rule etched in stone by Bill Monroe.

If the music is influence by Appalachia traditional music, consist of predominantly acoustic instruments and the sounds lies somewhere between "Folk," Country and Bluegrass I would consider it "Old Timey."

St. Olav's Gate The song was also done by Russell and Nanci Griffith together. Since the music is mostly all instrumental it's more Old Timey than Country music. The lyric is closer to Marty Robbins' story telling style and Honky-Tonk drinking song. It's also in 3/3 Waltz time.
Fly By Night twangy guitar, pedal steel and drums makes it definitely more Country
Looking For The Time Country with Old Timey fiddle.

Meh. These songs didn't need a country-fied interpretation. Did make me want to go listen to some Brooks & Dunn and Pure Prairie League though, so guess that has to count for something.

6 out of 10

Finally Trollheart shows some interest in half decent music and all you could do for him is a "5 out of 10?" We should be encouraging him, not discouraging him. :rolleyes:

I upped it one point because the songs are good even if I don't like the interpretations too much.

Yeah, it's not like I've suddenly become interested in this. I've been a fan of Nanci since back in the late eighties. Admittedly, Lone Star State of Mind, released 1987 (though I can't be sure when I heard it, say it was close to release date even so) was I think the first time I listened to country without sneering. Hey, I was younger and more stupid then (hard to believe the latter could be true but there you go...) :p:

Thanks for the very helpful notes on separating folk from country, btw! :thumb: