Lone Star State of Mind
Lone Star State of Mind | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 1987 | |||
Recorded | July 1986 | |||
Studio | Soundstage/The Back Stage Studios, Nashville, Tennessee | |||
Genre | Country | |||
Length | 35:38 | |||
Label | MCA | |||
Producer | Tony Brown, Nanci Griffith | |||
Nanci Griffith chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Robert Christgau | B[2] |
Lone Star State of Mind was the fifth studio album released by Nanci Griffith, and her first album for MCA Records. Griffith's music took a turn from her original folk music base into more commercially viable country music. For this album, she enlisted the talents of veteran country producer Tony Brown. The album garnered her first appearance on the Billboard Country charts, rising to #23 on the Country Albums chart, and was her highest charting album. The title track, "Lone Star State of Mind," became the first of only three Griffith singles to enter the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It peaked at #36, while two other singles from the album, "Cold Hearts/Closed Minds" and "Trouble in the Fields", reached #64 and #57 respectively. "From a Distance" failed to chart because it was released only as a promotional single in the USA. That song successfully hit the charts when Bette Midler covered it in 1990.
Critical reception[]
Thom Owens of AllMusic wrote of the album, "Lone Star State of Mind was Nanci Griffith's commercial breakthrough, largely because it was her first step directly toward mainstream contemporary country."[1]
This album was given a mark of "B" by Robert Christgau in his review. He wrote, "Band's the same, and there's not a whole hell of a lot of distance between Jim Rooney, a marketwise old folk pro, and Tony Brown" and concludes with, "Too often, though, she's still a folkie playing just folks."[2]
Track listing[]
All tracks are written by Nanci Griffith, except as indicated.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Lone Star State of Mind" | Fred Koller, Patrick Alger, Gene Levine | 3:56 |
2. | "Cold Hearts/Closed Minds" | 2:40 | |
3. | "From a Distance" | Julie Gold | 4:10 |
4. | "Beacon Street" | 2:49 | |
5. | "Nickel Dreams" | Mac McAnally, Don Lowery | 2:48 |
6. | "Sing One for Sister" | Robert Earl Keen, Jr. | 3:20 |
7. | "Ford Econoline" | 2:10 | |
8. | "Trouble in the Fields" | Griffith, Rick West | 3:18 |
9. | "Love in a Memory" | 3:17 | |
10. | "Let It Shine on Me" | Paul Kennerley | 2:59 |
11. | "There's a Light Beyond These Woods (Mary Margaret)" | 4:21 | |
Total length: | 35:38 |
Personnel[]
- Nanci Griffith - acoustic guitar, harmony vocals
- Pat Alger - acoustic lead guitar, hi-string guitar
- John Catchings - cello
- Philip Donnelly - acoustic guitar, electric guitar
- Béla Fleck - banjo
- Emory Gordy Jr. - electric bass and mandolin on "Sing One for Sister"
- Lloyd Green - dobro, pedal steel
- Roy Huskey Jr. - upright bass on "Sing One for Sister"
- John Barlow Jarvis - piano
- Lucy Kaplansky - harmony vocals
- Russ Kunkel - drums, percussion
- Mac McAnally - acoustic guitar, harmony vocals
- Mark O'Connor - fiddle, mandolin, mandola, viola, violin, acoustic guitar on "From a Distance"
- Rick West - acoustic lead guitar on "There's a Light Beyond These Woods" and "Trouble in the Fields"
Production[]
- Producer - Tony Brown
- Producer - Nanci Griffith
- Recorder and Mixer - Steve Tillisch
- Second Engineers - Mark J. Coddington, Tim Kish, Russ Marting, Marty Williams
- Project Coordinator - Jessie Noble
- CD Art Direction - Simon Levy
- CD Design - Camille Engel Advertising
- CD Coordinator - Katie Gillon, Sherri Halford
- Photography - McGuire
Track information and credits adapted from the album's liner notes.[3]
Chart performance[]
Chart (1987) | Peak position |
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U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums | 23[4] |
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b Thom Owens. "Lone Star State of Mind - Nanci Griffith | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "CG: nanci griffith". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 2016-06-20.
- ^ Lone Star State of Mind (liner notes). Nanci Griffith. MCA Records. 1987. MCAD-31300.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
- ^ "Nanci Griffith Album & Song Chart History - Country Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
- Nanci Griffith albums
- 1987 albums
- Albums produced by Tony Brown (record producer)
- MCA Records albums