Patty Griffin was genuinely surprised by the invitation to record a gospel album. “I’m not a gospel singer,” she says from her home in Austin. “My voice just doesn’t have the power for it.” Thinking it would be a good challenge, though, she agreed to the project under one condition: that Buddy Miller produce it. The resulting collaboration is Downtown Church, Griffin’s seventh and most recent album, which meanders gracefully through sacred song tradition, speaking to gospel fans and the Patty Griffin faithful alike.
With the creation of Downtown Church, Griffin, who is heralded as one of today’s great songwriters, found herself in an unusual situation. Rather than writing songs for an album, she needed to select an album worth of material from the vast and varied gospel tradition. This is where Miller, whom Griffin describes as having more knowledge of American roots music than anyone else she knows, came into play. He began sending Griffin numerous songs to filter through. So many, in fact, that her iPod crashed. “I knew a few songs from that world,” says Griffin, “but not like Buddy.”
Miller, who is widely celebrated as a musician, songwriter, engineer and producer, was, according to Griffin, the only person for this job. “Buddy’s an amazing guitar player, brilliant musician and brilliant songwriter,” says Griffin. “But the best part of Buddy is that he’s a great human being, a joy to be around.” The fact that they recorded the entire album in one week is a testament to Miller’s vision and experience. “Buddy made us work really hard,” says Griffin, “and we didn’t mind.”
In the spirit of the project, Griffin wanted to record the album in a church. She thought Miller would find a little country church somewhere, but he was able to secure the Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tenn., an architectural anomaly built in 1849 in the Egyptian Revival style. “The church was incredible,” says Griffin, who recorded her vocals from the pulpit. “It’s over 150 years old and was a hospital for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. There’s an incredible, heavy vibe there. I didn’t want to leave.”
A self-described lapsed Catholic, Griffin wanted the album to include sacred material from a variety of cultures. “In keeping with my multiple personalities, I tried to fish around in different traditions,” she says. “I even talked to a rabbi and tried to get some Hebrew music, but I didn’t have time to learn how to do it properly.” The final collection of songs ranges from American roots and vocal group styles to Hispanic traditional numbers, plus some old-school God’s-gonna-get-you gospel, and two Griffin originals. Downtown Church also features some big-time guest vocalists, including Buddy’s wife Julie Miller, Emmylou Harris, Raul Malo, Shawn Colvin and Ann and Regina McCrary, whose father, Samuel McCrary, was a founding member of the legendary gospel group the Fairfield Four.
The song “Death’s Got A Warrant,” with lines like, “God’s got your number/He knows where you live,” is among Griffin’s favorites on the album. “Death does have a warrant for you,” she says, “but we live most of our days not acknowledging that fact. The original version is much spookier than mine, though,” she says with a laugh. “It’s three wizened old women singing about what they know. It’s a warning.”
The surprise inclusion of the foot-stomping blues number “I Smell a Rat” adds a healthy dose of skepticism to the otherwise praise-heavy album. “Buddy kept playing that song throughout the week while we were changing equipment,” Griffin says, “and everyone in the band is well-equipped to play in that style, so we decided to record it.”
The response to Downtown Church has been positive, but Griffin wouldn’t know it. “Specifically on this record, I’m not reading reviews,” she says, and reiterates that she feels a bit “out of her depth” singing gospel. Seems, however, that she’s the only one who thinks so, as Downtown Church hit number one on Billboard’s Folk Album chart, and has stayed in the top five for the last seven weeks. For Griffin, the project was an opportunity to challenge herself and try something new. “I wanted a chance to learn some things,” she says. “I’ll leave it there and hope for the best.”
PATTY GRIFFIN AND BUDDY MILLER perform Friday, April 9 at 8pm at the Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz. Tickets are $32 advance/$35 door/$47 gold circle, available at Streetlight Records or www.pulseproductions.net.
