By Jason Bennett
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Singer/songwriter Patty Griffin, a favorite at Tall Stacks 2003, brings her folk rock tunes back to Cincinnati tonight in a sold-out performance at the 20th Century. As a testament to her local fan base, the show is the second fastest sellout for a concert the 20th Century has seen.

Griffin emerged on the music scene in 1996 with her first album, Living with Ghosts. Recorded as a demo tape, it was released in the same format, just Griffin and a guitar. Her second album, Flaming Red, brought the addition of a small band, and an awakening of her political/social voice with the song "Tony," the tale of a closeted homosexual teen who endures great abuse from his peers and eventually commits suicide.

While her third effort, 1,000 Kisses, was a bit on the softer side with lyrics such as "I have found in your love my lost faith, now my life has a reason," in the title track, "Mil Besos." Griffin's current release, Impossible Dream, brings her back to the sorrowful tunes of Living with Ghosts and Flaming Red.

In addition to being featured on the movie soundtrack for Matthew Barney's avant garde film project Cremaster 2, several of Griffin's songs have been covered by artists including Reba McEntire, Martina McBride and the Dixie Chicks.

With the release of Impossible Dream, Griffin displays the breadth of her advanced musical prowess. Ranging from the gospel sound of "Love Throw a Line" and the country twang of "Top of the World," to the Sarah McLachlan feel of "Kite Song" and soulful jazz in "Standing."

Griffin blurs the lines between the personal and the political in her music with the album's lead- off track, "Love Throw a Line." Speaking of the turmoil in today's world she sings, "There's a war and a plague, smoke and disaster ... motherless children ... no chance for our survival." Then she issues the challenge: "Love you better pick up your pace, if we're gonna win this race."

Impossible Dream doesn't focus entirely on negativity and darkness of the world. As a reminder of the strength of the human spirit, the title track is in the middle of the album and offers a ray of hope. In an abbreviated, poignant, a cappella version of the song, Griffin's parents, amateur singers, are heard on the CD and remind us of a time when the world didn't seem so complicated.

As Griffin herself described it in publicity material for the CD, "The Impossible Dream (speaks) from a time when people thought about nobility, when they were trying to be above greed."