Personnel includes: Nanci Griffith (vocals, guitar); Bill Dillon (acoustic & electric guitars, mandolin); John Keane (electric guitar, steel guitar, background vocals); David Mansfield (dobro, mandocello); Fran Breen (bass harmonica, drums); James Hooker (piano, Wurlitzer piano, harmonium, Hammond B-3, keyboards, background vocals); Dave Schools (bass); Jerry Marotta (drums, percussion); Pat McInerney (percussion); Pat McLaughlin, Lee Satterfield, Holly Tashian, Jennifer Kimball, Kathi Whitley (background vocals); Sam Llanas, Kurt Neumann, Mark Knopfler, Emmylou Harris, Mary Ann Kennedy, Pam Rose, Tony Levin, Peter Buck, Larry Mullen Jr., Adam Duritz, Adam Clayton, Indigo Girls, The Chieftains, Al Anderson, Sonny Curtis.
Producers: Peter Collins, Peter Buck.
Engineers: David Leonard, John Keane.
FLYER was nominated for Best Contemporary Folk Album in the 37th Annual Grammy Awards.
Personnel: Nanci Griffith (vocals, guitar); Sonny Curtis (vocals, guitar, electric guitar, background vocals); Pat McLaughlin (vocals, mandola, background vocals); Emily Saliers, Amy Ray (vocals, background vocals); Bill Dillon (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin); Frank Christian, Byrd Burton (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar); Al Anderson (acoustic guitar, electric guitar); John Painter (electric guitar, slide guitar, strings, accordion, flugelhorn, bass guitar); John Keane (electric guitar, steel guitar, gut-string guitar); David Mansfield (electric guitar, dobro, mandocello, mandolin, violin); Mark Knopfler (electric guitar); Sam Llanas, Adam Duritz, Kurt Neumann (gut-string guitar); Derek Bell (harp); David Davidson , David Angell (violin, strings); Andy Carlson (violin); Martin Fay, Se?n Keane (fiddle); Kristin Wilkinson (viola, strings); John Catchings (cello, strings); Ron de la Vega (cello); Dave Schools (strings, bass guitar, 6-string bass); Michael Rhodes (strings, bass guitar); Matt Molloy (flute); Paddy Moloney (pennywhistle); Mickey Raphael (harmonica); Tony Levin (didjeridu, bass guitar, Chapman stick); Eberhard Ramm (French horn); James Hooker (piano, harpsichord, harmonium, keyboards); Adam Clayton (bass guitar); Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums, bongos, cowbells, percussion); Pat McInerney (drums, cymbals, tom tom, percussion); Fran Breen (drums, cymbals); Jerry Marotta (drums, percussion); Eddie Bayers (drums); Mary Ann Kennedy (percussion, background vocals).
Audio Mixers: David Leonard ; John Keane.
Audio Remixers: David Leonard ; Larry Mullen, Jr.
Photographer: Rocky Schenck.
Unknown Contributor Roles: Emily Saliers; Fats Kaplin; Daniel Smith; Martin Fay; Jerry Dale McFadden; Adam Duritz; Larry Mullen, Jr.; Amy Ray ; Nanci Griffith; Se?n Keane ; Sonny Curtis; Eddie Bayers.
With FLYER, Nanci Griffith continues her successful reign as folk music's best country artist. Unlike Mary-Chapin Carpenter who brought a homogenous blend of pop country/folk to the masses, Griffith still struggles on the fringe. Griffith's music is more sophisticated than Chapin's, but it is her high-register, nasal twang that holds her back from mass popularity. But she doesn't mind -- she has a strong cult following and is well respected by her peers.
It is the contribution of those peers that allows FLYER to soar. Griffith is joined by guitar virtuoso Frank Christian, the Indigo Girls, Emmylou Harris, The Chieftans, Adam Duritz of Counting Crows, and U2's Adam Clayton. They breeze through mostly Griffith originals, bolstered by Griffith's unique vocals which sometimes sound like Iris Dement, Suzanne Vega, or Shawn Colvin. Many songs have a strong British Isles influence, a region where Griffith is enormously popular.
It was Nanci who first introduced Julie Gold's classic "From A Distance"; on FLYER she presents Gold's new "Southbound Train." Griffith spreads her own musical wings, flying from country and folk to Tex-Mex swing and rock. The Indigo's harmonies twist like vines with Griffith's vocal on "These Days In An Open Book" and Crows' Duritz does his Van Morrison slurry best on the duet "Going Back To Georgia."
FLYER, like her classic LATE NIGHT GRANDE HOTEL, proves Griffith to be the most articulate spokeswoman of country folk.
Professional Reviews
Rolling Stone (12/1/94, pp.122-123) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...intricately sculpted folk pop...succeeds gloriously. Armed with a batch of poignant, melodic songs, Griffith has come up with the most affecting record of her career...a mature artist at the peak of her genre-busting career..."
Q (10/94, p.116) - 4 Stars - Excellent - "...[her] latest batch of songs manage to be both her most familiar and candid..."
This title is unavailable for purchase as none of our regular suppliers have stock available. If you are the publisher, author or distributor for this item, please visit
this link.
