Silver Bell

Silver Bell

Silver Bell is Patty Griffin’s “lost album.” Set to be released in 2000, it was shelved due to record-label mergers; Griffin moved on with 1000 Kisses and found her rightful place among alt-country singer/songwriters. But during these earlier days, there was a push from her record label to make more mainstream records, ones with more variety and an emphasis on modern sounds. Glyn Johns was hired to remix this reissue to tone down the harder edges of the album, which was originally recorded at Daniel Lanois’ New Orleans studio. A scorching full-band blast-off like “Boston” can’t be tamed. It’s a well-written hard rocker that Griffin nails perfectly. Several tunes on the album—“Mother of God,” “Top of the World”—showed up re-recorded on Impossible Dream, while The Dixie Chicks, among others, covered songs from this unreleased treasure. Songs like “What You Are,” “Fragile," and “So Long” shouldn't go unheard by her hardcore fans, and the Lanois-ish “Fragile” (the one previously undiscovered track not from the original album) is an intriguing work between artists. 

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