Patti Witten
"Tell The Wind"
by Johanna J. Bodde
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PATTI WITTEN "Tell The Wind" (Potent Folk Records) The praise comes from no less a singer-songwriter
than Rosanne Cash: "Patti's new record is beautiful, her voice is so radiant and
the writing is better than ever." Rosanne has made albums with easy to relate
to, potential hitsongs and gripping stories, but also elusive albums full of
introspective poetry. There's a simular, although less obvious difference
between Patti Witten's last CD "Sycamore Tryst" -featuring prize tracks like
"Black Butterfly", "Sweet Home", "Sunny Day In Terre Haute" & "Another
Minute More"- and the new one "Tell The Wind", which is more of a little gem
that asks for time to grow on you.
As her bio tells us, Patti's childhood was steeped
in music and art. Her mother, a classical pianist, and her father, a musician,
art collector and rare books dealer, met at Yale School of Music in the 1950s.
The middle child of three daughters, Patti was a serious violin and flute
student through high school and taught herself to play guitar from the early
records of Simon and Garfunkel, Joni Mitchell and Leo Kottke. She played in a
handful of post-college bands as a sideman on alto flute, backup vocals and
rhythm guitar. But playing in bars wasn't easy after facing up to a drinking
problem and Patti finally quit the bands and the bars after the untimely death
of her husband and music partner during the painful end of their
marriage.
For most of the 1990s Patti worked as a graphic
artist and book illustrator while her guitar gathered dust. The long hiatus from
music ended when, searching for solace during the collapse of her second
marriage and the aftermath of her father's sudden death she picked up her guitar
and began to write. Then fate stepped in: on the merits of a homemade audition
tape she was invited to join in a songwriting workshop led by Rosanne Cash.
Patti had finally found her voice as a songwriter. Over the next few years
Patti's accomplishments grew quickly with the release of three independent CD's.
>From Grand Prix in the Great American Song Contest, shows from Seattle to New
York City, the honor of having her album liner notes written by Rosanne Cash, to
TV and film placements and radio play nationwide and in Europe.
But fate was not through with Patti. Disillusioned
with the life of a touring musician she would nearly call it quits in 2005.
Ironically, once freed from the expectation of performing Patti began work on
the songs that would become her newest album, "Tell The Wind".
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 And how did "Tell The Wind" turn out? It's an album
full of artistic, sophisticated and somewhat poppy folkrock, a bit more
alternative than its predecessor, with a few more electronical sounds too. Also
more introvert. Slow to midtempo at the most. The lyrics are more poetic,
abstract and impressionistic than the storytelling on "Sycamore Tryst". And I
still love Patti's beautiful, sensitive voice! Have to make a comparison with
Sarah Harmer this time. She plays acoustic guitar, while Rich DePaolo does
almost everything else: playing bass, electric and acoustic guitar, mandolin,
pedal steel guitar, percussion, organ, toy piano, trumpet, he also sings
background vocals. Drummer is Bill King, additional guest musicians are Robby
Aceto and Robert Powell. The production is excellent, crystal clear, perfectly
mixed, all thanks to the multi-talented Rich DePaolo! (He also worked with Donna
The Buffalo.)
Opening track "Encircled" circles indeed, with its
long lines and self-willed phrasing. "And you can be a passenger on a train
between the stations with your enigmatic, post traumatic, helpless gestures."
Probably the most rocking track on the album too. The first four songs sound a little too much alike to make a very deep or lasting impression on me though. "Almost Just As Good" (on the subject "women always want to know what a man is thinking") has another remarkable line: "Women navigate by landmarks, and paths of least resistance". Do we agree? The landmarks, O.K.... "You're So Mine" builds up to a good climax, where the electric guitar in the end almost hurts the ears. Then the real beauty starts to unfold with resigned
"No More Crying", acoustic guitar and pretty pedal steel guitar, played here by
Robert Powell. Title track "Tell The Wind" is definitely the heart of the album,
inventive percussion on the intro, melodiously flowing with a downright gorgeous
arrangement... Just as impressive is the song that follows, "Perfect Blue", the
beautiful slow ballad Rosanne Cash never wrote, showcasing Patti's vocal the
best way possible. "Dandelion" is the surprising cover on the album, it
shows indeed the M. Jagger / K. Richard credit, but I wanted to listen twice to
be sure. It features a cool toy piano... "Blind" is sad and simply stunning
-awesome (acoustic) guitar work!-, while last song "April Fool" fools around a
bit with an electric guitar looping: back to the circle of the
beginning!
Give this album a little time and it will turn out
to be just the same kind of trusted musical companion as "Sycamore Tryst"!
--- Written by Johanna J. Bodde, August
2007.
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