Pierce Pettis's work has always been rooted in southern red clay but his new one seems to be a deeper study into the lives of those located south of the Mason-Dixon line. The packaging is littered with old photographs of such a life and the cover is a painting by Georgian folk artist Rev Howard Finster. The title track, "Little River Canyon," "Moontown, " and "Georgia Moon" are the songs that have the most geographically located lyrics but rural small town philosophy is the hinge to every song on State of Grace which has to be the most satisfying Pettis release to date.
The late Mark Heard gets his third Pettis cover version on the opening sound-setter "Rise From the Ruins" and in some ways Pettis is taking up the mantle of that particular niche in Heard's career. The arrangements are a little more minimal, intimate and almost rustic than anything before. Pettis's voice is given more freedom for passion and the supporting cast of Tim O'Brien (bouzouki and mandolin), Colin Linden (electric resophonic guitar), Alison Brown (banjo) and particularly Stuart Duncan (fiddle and octave violin) play with a sense of feel and soul that just gives these songs the very best kind of home.
On this album there is a special sense of the life ever after. He makes God live as part of the poetry without any seeming conscious effort. Check "Georgia Moon," for me, one of his finest moments:
Georgia Moon
Hanging down like a tear
From God's own eye
Whether writing by himself or with a co-writer, here Tim O'Brien, Tom Kimmel, Clive Gregson, and Gordon Kennedy, it is little wonder that the likes of Garth Brooks, Susan Ashton and Dar Williams have mined his catalogue. But it might just be time that it is his own work and not that covered by others that gives this finest of writers his livelihood.
Other coverage for this album
The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Ken MuellerHaving been a fan of Pierce Pettis for quite some time after discovering his first three releases, I was a bit disappointed in his last two discs, and was a bit curious about State of Grace. Fortunately, this latest release from Compass Records sees Pettis reverting a bit to the earthier, rootsier, grittier sound of his earliest work. His first three albums, Tinseltown, While the Serpent Lies…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Chris MacIntoshState of Grace is the sixth full release from this amazing singer/songwriter and is perhaps his best yet. I have only seen Pierce in concert once, at the Cornerstone festival back in 1992, where he accompanied Mark Heard in what was to be Mark's final show. In the last ten years he has released a series of albums that keep getting better and better. His voice and guitar are two equal extensions…The Phantom Tollbooth 2001Reviewed by Chris ParksState of Grace, Pierce Pettis' latest album, is a series of celebrations of and ponderings about our homes, temporal and eternal. Celebration dominates, however, as this album is much lighter in atmosphere than either of his two previous albums. This is not to say that Pettis's lyrics are either lightweight or unrealistic. Pettis has lost none of his ability to create thoughtful and…Similar sounding releases
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